Quantitative and time-course analysis of microbial degradation of 1H,1H,2H,2H,8H,8H-perfluorododecanol in activated sludge.

A methylene group in the fluorinated carbon backbone of 1H,1H,2H,2H,8H,8H-perfluorododecanol (degradable telomer fluoroalcohol, DTFA) renders the molecule cleavable by microbial degradation into two fluorinated carboxylic acids. Several biodegradation products of DTFA are known, but their rates of conversion and fates in the environment have not been determined. We used liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to quantitatively investigate DTFA biodegradation by the microbial community in activated sludge in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flasks, which we also determined here showed least adsorption of DTFA. A reduction in DTFA concentration in the medium was accompanied by rapid increases in the concentrations of 2H,2H,8H,8H-perfluorododecanoic acid (2H,2H,8H,8H-PFDoA), 2H,8H,8H-2-perfluorododecenoic acid (2H,8H,8H-2-PFUDoA), and 2H,2H,8H-7-perfluorododecenoic acid and 2H,2H,8H-8-perfluorododecenoic acid (2H,2H,8H-7-PFUDoA/2H,2H,8H-8-PFUDoA), which were in turn followed by an increase in 6H,6H-perfluorodecanoic acid (6H,6H-PFDeA) concentration, and decreases in 2H,2H,8H,8H-PFDoA, 2H,8H,8H-2-PFUDoA, and 2H,2H,8H-7-PFUDoA/2H,2H,8H-8-PFUDoA concentrations. Accumulation of perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), a presumed end product of DTFA degradation, was also detected. Our quantitative and time-course study of the concentrations of these compounds reveals main routes of DTFA biodegradation, and the presence of new biodegradation pathways.

Microbial biodegradation of a novel fluorotelomer alcohol, 1H,1H,2H,2H,8H,8H-perfluorododecanol, yields short fluorinated acids.

The accumulation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) has been detected in wildlife, soil, and water. Further, 8:2 fluorotelomer alcohol (8:2 FTOH) is used for the industrial synthesis of other fluorotelomer compounds, surfactants, and polymeric materials; however, it was recently found to be a potential source of PFOA contamination in the environment. 1H,1H,2H,2H,8H,8H-perfluorododecanol (degradable telomer fluoroalcohol (DTFA)), which is a newly developed fluorotelomer, contains the -CH2- group in the fluorinated carbon backbone, making it potentially degradable through biological reactions. In this study, we investigated the biodegradation of DTFA in a mixed bacterial culture obtained from activated sludge. Optimized quantitative liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the predicted metabolites generated in the culture revealed accumulations of the transformation products from DTFA to 2H,2H,8H,8H-PFDoA and 2H,8H,8H-2-PFUDoA via multiple processes. Furthermore, the production of short fluorinated compounds, perfluorobutanoic acid, perfluoropentanoic acid, and perfluoropentanedioic acid, which are believed to have lower accumulation potential and toxicity toward organisms than PFOA, was determined.