Evaluation of perfluorooctane surfactants in a wastewater treatment system and in a commercial surface protection product
Abstract
The origin and amount of perfluorooctane surfactants in wastewater treatment systems, and the transformation these compounds may undergo during treatment, were evaluated through measurement and experiment. Influent, effluent, and river water at the point of discharge for a 6-MGD wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) were screened for eight perfluorooctane surfactants. N-EtFOSAA was quantified in influent (5.1 +/- 0.8 ng/L), effluent (3.6 +/- 0.2 ng/ L), and river water samples (1.2 +/- 0.3 ng/L), while PFOS and PFOA were quantified in effluent (26 +/- 2.0 and 22 +/- 2.1 ng/L, respectively) and river water (23 +/- 1.5 and 8.7 +/- 0.8 ng/L, respectively). Signals for PFOS and PFOA were observed in influent samples, but exact quantitative determination could not be made due to low recoveries of these two compounds in field spike samples. Although the source of PFOS and PFOA observed in WWTP effluents is not clear, two hypotheses were examined: (1) the highly substituted perfluorooctane surfactants that constitute commercially available fabric protectors can be transformed to PFOS and PFOA during biological treatment in wastewater treatment systems, and (2) the end products themselves are directly introduced to WWTPs because they are present as residual in the commercial mixtures. Biotransformation experiments of 96 h were run to determine whether N-EtFOSE (a primary monomer used in 3M's polymer surface protection products) could be transformed to lesser-substituted perfluorooctane compounds in bioreactors amended with aerobic and anaerobic sludge from the sampled plant. At the end of the aerobic biotransformation experiment, N-EtFOSAA and PFOSulfinate were the only two metabolites formed and each accounted for 23 +/- 5.0% and 5.3 +/- 0.8% of the transformed parent on a molar basis, respectively. Transformation of N-EtFOSE was not observed under anaerobic conditions. A sample of a commercially available surface protection product from 1994 was analyzed and found to contain six of the targeted perfluorinated surfactants, including PFOS and PFOA. These findings suggest transformation of precursors within wastewater treatment is not an important source of these compounds compared to direct use and disposal of products containing the end products as residual amounts.
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N-MeFOSAA is a degradation product of the volatile N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamido ethanol (N-MeFOSE) used in protective surface coatings.
“N-MeFOSAA is a degradation product of the volatile N -methyl per fl uorooctanesulfonamido ethanol (N-MeFOSE) used in protective surface coatings (3M, 1999; Boulanger et al., 2005; Buck et al., 2011).”
From Occurrence of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances in wastewater treatment plants in Northern Italy (2023) · cites this paper as Boulanger et al., 2005
EtFOSE is not biodegradable in anaerobic municipal sludge.
“Boulanger et al. (2005) concluded that EtFOSE is not biodegradable in anaerobic municipal sludge”
From Biotransformation of perfluoroalkyl acid precursors from various environmental systems: advances and perspectives (2021) · cites this paper as Boulanger et al. (2005)
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- Authors
- Boulanger, B., Vargo, J. D., Schnoor, J. L., & Hornbuckle, K. C.
- Affiliations
- University of Iowa (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hornbuckle, Keri C.
- Venue
- Environmental Science & Technology
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2005-06-30
- Volume
- 39
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 5524-5530
- ISSN
- 0013-936X (ISSN-L)
- 1520-5851
- OpenAlex
- W1963870235
- Cited by
- 283
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 20
- FWCI
- 10.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Environmental Science & Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Iowa Research Online (University of Iowa) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Institutes of Health
- Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research, University of Iowa
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (P30ES005605)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Environmental Chemistry and Analysis
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Keywords
- perfluorooctane sulfonamide, PFOS, perfluorooctanoic acid, biotransformation, wastewater treatment plant effluent, perfluorinated compounds
- MeSH terms
- Aerobiosis, Anaerobiosis, Biodegradation, Environmental, Fluorocarbons, Fresh Water, Surface-Active Agents, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Water Purification
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