Household discharge of chemical products and its classification based on anaerobic biodegradability

Khuntia, HK and Janardhana, N and Chanakya, HN (2021) Household discharge of chemical products and its classification based on anaerobic biodegradability. In: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 193 (1).

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Abstract

Synthetic household chemical products (HCP) are used in various household activities. An average urban household was estimated to consume ~ 3 kg HCP per month while discarding 212�387 mg/L HCP in sewage comprising > 265 different chemical compounds. The high sorption properties of HCP and their antimicrobial resistance lead to their long-term persistence in the environment. The intrusion of HCPs and their breakdown products into food chain causes detrimental effects on health and ecology. HCPs comprise mostly of a mixture of xenobiotics, organic and inorganic compounds resulting in an impaired biodegradation. Yet, the biodegradability of HCPs is seldom assessed. Therefore, this research proposes a modified Gompertz model approach to analyze BMP data in order to classify commercially available HCPs into seven groups based on the observed levels of recalcitrance and is in turn coined �Anaerobic Biodegradability Index� (ABI, beginning from ABI-VI to ABI-0 wherein ABI-VI represents the highest degradability and ABI-0 the least). This approach emulates �Energy-Star� ratings of electrical appliances classified based on electrical efficiency. Results of such a classification indicated that HCPs containing � 10 anionic surfactants such as laundry detergents, handwash gel, dishwasher chemicals, and creosote surface cleaner, exhibit lowered anaerobic degradability and were therefore categorized between ABI-0 and ABI-II. Whereas the highly degradable HCP such as toothpaste, shower gel, and hair shampoo were categorized in ABI-V and ABI-VI categories. We perceive that the weightages and concentrations can be used in the future to define the capability of various wastewater treatment systems and their tolerance to various ABI classes. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG part of Springer Nature.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Publisher:	Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Additional Information:	The copyright of this article belongs to Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Keywords:	Anionic surfactants; Biochemistry; Biodegradation; Inorganic compounds; Sewage; Soaps (detergents); Wastewater treatment, Anaerobic biodegradability; Antimicrobial resistances; Electrical appliances; Electrical efficiency; Household activities; Household chemicals; Modified-Gompertz model; Wastewater treatment system, Biodegradability
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Sustainable Technologies (formerly ASTRA)
Date Deposited:	22 Feb 2021 11:29
Last Modified:	22 Feb 2021 11:29
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/67685

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