NOVEMBER, 1963 COOPER:
ANIONIC PHOSPHATE SUl~FACTANTS
.5o
~ n a
o a
20
, 5,0 , 13o , ~
Surfactant - ppm.
0oncentrstlon
l~IO. 5. C o m p a r i s o n of the surface tension of solutions.
Figure 5 compares the surface tension of solutions
of sodium didecyl phosphate with three surfactants
used in or reeommended for use in built detergents.
The surface tension of sodium dideeyl phosphate solu-
tions, up to a coneentration of 200 p p m is far below
that of either sodium dodecylbenzeue sulfonate or
sodium tallow sulfate and significantly lower than
that of the nonionie surfaetant, iso-octylphenyl poly-
ethoxyethanol, particularly at very low concentrations.
Performance of built detergents containing these
surfaetants is compared in Table II. The test methods
were the same as were used in comparing the alkyl
phosphates. Our data indicate that sodium didecyl
phosphate is about 20% more effective than sodium
The Nation's Water Pollution Problem- Detergent's Role in It
M. M. COHN, Consultant, New York, New York
HE petroleum industry, like others, has been im-
T portuned to conduct its industrial operations in
a manner that will prevent processing wastes from
polluting our water resources from the well, to the
refinery, to the petrochemical production phases of
industrial operation. It is the sanitary engineering
profession which has been pleading the cause for
steam pollution control. I hope in the course of my
presentation today to plead for your Society's active
interest in this worthwhile national endeavor.
Your industry has done as well as any in pollution
control. In fact, you have done more than m a n y other
basic industries to clean up pollution from your com-
plex operations. But, there are things which you
have done which should not have been done, in terms
of pollution, and things you have left undone which
your i n d u s t r y should have done, in the interests of
water pollution control.
I make this point, lest it be assumed that I am plac-
ing sole responsibility for the nation's pollution
problem on the doorstep of the oil chemists' profes-
sion. This I am not doing because other industries
have been equally remiss; in fact, we all have! I t is
my earnest plea, however, that we can do better than
we have done in preventing the despoliatien of the
nation's rivers, lakes and coastal waters and that,
together, we can clean up the pollution problem which
threatens the ultimate value and usefulness of the
nation's greatest asset--its water resources.
I have been tempted to retitle my address, " B e -
tween the Devil and the Deep Blue S e a , " because that
is the dilemma your industry faces in attacking your
part of the nation's water pollution control problem.
.
645
T A B L E II
te C o m p a r a t i v e P e r f o r m a n c e of C o m m e r c i a l S u r f a c t a n t s in
Surfactant
Cotton D e t e r g e n c y
Performance Surfactant
%required for
index maximum
_ _ performance
S o d i u m dideeyl p h o s p h a t e ............................. I 195 8%
S o d i u m tallow s u l f a t e .................................... / 155 10%
S o d u i m t a u r y l s u l f a t e .................................... 118 14%
S o d i u m dadeeyl
benzene s u l f o n a t e ....................................... 76 25 %
tallow sulfate, nearly twice as effective as sodium
lauryl sulfate and three times as effective as sodium
~ 2oo
dodecyl benzene sulfonate when used in a built
detergent.
Conclusions
A study of the sodium monoalkyl phosphates and
sodium dialkyl phosphates has shown that the dialkyl
esters, in general, possess markedly superior surfactant
and detergent properties compared to the monoalkyl
esters. This is true whether we are comparing equiVa-
lent tool wt mono- and diesters or when comparing
those made from the same alcohols.
The branched chain didecyl ester, in addition to
giving aqueous solutions of exceptionally low surface
tensions and possessing a v e r y low critical micelle
concentration, also performs exceptionally well in
built detergents. In fact, our data indicate that its
performance characteristics are considerably better
than commercial surfactants used today in these types
of products.
On one hand, you are being pressed to prevent pollu-
tion from y o u r various operations--which I term
" b a c k d o o r " pollution conditions. I refer to the dis-
charge of industrial by-products or waste materials
which are the result of internal operations of product
manufacture in your industry. This industrial wastes
problem is so much a p a r t of the overall threat to
our w a t e r resources that the oil industry must main-
tain vigilant control of everything that goes out its
" b a c k d o o r . " On the other hand, you are, indeed,
in the position of being between the deviI and the deep
blue sea, because in addition to being concerned about
your " b a c k d o o r " wastes, you are being urged to do
something about y o u r " f r o n t d o o r " products. I refer,
of course, to detergent products.
The "Front Door" P r o b l e m . . . and the
"Back Door" Problem
What makes the " f r o n t d o o r " problem more vexing
than your " b a c k d o o r " control problem is a two-fold
situation that can be equally frustrating to scientists
and industrialists:
1) You are dealing with lawmakers, not scientists,
and they are being whipped into a " f r e n z y over
f o a m " by well-meaning protectors of water qual-
i t y - p e o p l e who advocate laws which would be
the first prohibition imposed on the manufacture
and sale of a product with a " h e a d " since the
Volstead Act !
2) You make cleansing products to keep America
clean--only to find that they are accused of mak-
ing America d i r t y !
646 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN OIL CHEMISTS' SOCIETY
A m o n t h ago, I a d d r e s s e d t h e W i s c o n s i n M e d i c a l
S o c i e t y ' s S y m p o s i u m on " F o o d s - - F a d and Falla-
c i e s . " M y a s s i g n m e n t was to set the r e c o r d s s t r a i g h t
on the f a l l a c i e s of d e t e r g e n t f e a r s in a s t a t e w h e r e
l e g i s l a t i v e p r o h i b i t i o n was b e i n g c o n s i d e r e d f o r
d e t e r g e n t sale a n d p r o d u c t i o n , a n d in t h e home a r e a
of a C o n g r e s s m a n who is a n a r d e n t a d v o c a t e of a n t i -
ABS legislation.
I find m y r a t i o n a l e f o r t o d a y ' s d i s c u s s i o n in w h a t
I said in W i s c o n s i n b e c a u s e m y s y m p o s i u m p r e s e n t a -
tion p r o v e d m y " d e v i l a n d d e e p b l u e s e a " c h a r a c -
t e r i z a t i o n of y o u r " f r o n t d o o r " a n d " b a c k d o o r "
p r o b l e m s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e -Wisconsin p r e s e n t a t i o n
t r i e d to e x p l o d e two f a l l a c i e s :
a) T h a t d e t e r g e n t s in w a t e r a r e a h e a l t h m e n a c e - -
b y s h o w i n g t h a t we h a v e no p r o o f of such h a z a r d ;
b) T h a t the p r e s e n c e of d e t e r g e n t f o a m is p r o o f t h a t
it alone despoils o u r w a t e r r e s o u r c e s - - b y s h o w i n g
that "ABS never walks alone."
A B S n e v e r does w a l k alone, e x c e p t in t h e l i m i t e d
eases w h e r e d e t e r g e n t s f r o m i n d u s t r i e s a n d c e r t a i n
commercial operations are not admixed with other
o r g a n i c w a s t e s w h i c h m a y be of g r e a t e r i m p o r t a n c e
t h a n d e t e r g e n t s themselves.
The s i m p l e - - a n d o f t e n f o r g o t t e n - - p o i n t is: W h e r e
t h e r e is foam, t h e r e is sewage, because t h e y "go to-
g e t h e r , " like " l o v e a n d m a r r i a g e , " to s t e a l a p h r a s e
f r o m a p o p u l a r song[
ABS: Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate and America's
Befouling Sewage
T h a t is w h y I t o l d t h e W i s c o n s i n S y m p o s i u m t h a t
A B S m a y m e a n Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate b u t t h a t i t
also m e a n s America's Befouling Sewage. M y p l e a
was: B e f o r e we get too e x o r c i s e d over the f o r m e r , we
s h o u l d do s o m e t h i n g a b o u t t h e l a t t e r !
These a r e g e n e r a l i z a t i o n s t h a t y o u m i g h t like to
h e a r a f t e r b e i n g b e l a b o r e d b y the s a n i t a r y engi-
n e e r i n g p r o f e s s i o n a b o u t y o u r l a c k of b i o d e g r a d a b i l i t y .
B u t , n e i t h e r you, n o r a n y o n e else, have t h e r i g h t to
feel r i g h t e o u s a b o u t the o v e r a l l p r o b l e m of p o l l u t i o n
because y o u c o n t r i b u t e to it j u s t as s u r e l y as a l i t t l e
A B S m a k e s a lot of f o a m !
This b r i n g s me b a c k to m y specific s u b j e c t , " T h e
Nation's Water Pollution Problem--and Detergent's
Role in I t . " T h e p o l l u t i o n p r o b l e m is a c c e n t u a t e d b y
d e t e r g e n t f o a m w h i c h c a n n o t be " s w e p t u n d e r t h e
r u g , " or e l i m i n a t e d b y m e r e wishing. Or, to be even
m o r e exact, it c a n n o t be l i c k e d b y licking' f o a m [ I t
will t a k e m o r e to solve t h e n a t i o n a l p o l l u t i o n p r o b l e m
t h a n s o l v i n g the d e t e r g e n t p r o b l e m because, we m u s t
always remember, "ABS never walks alone."
W e c a n n o t p u t A m e r i c a ' s p o l l u t i o n p r o b l e m into
focus w i t h o u t p u t t i n g A m e r i c a into focus. " F o c u s "
m e a n s " f u t u r e , " b e c a u s e w h a t we a r e d o i n g to o u r
w a t e r r e s o u r c e s t o d a y w i l l d i c t a t e w h e t h e r we w i l l
have e n o u g h w a t e r f o r a d y n a m i c t o m o r r o w of u r b a n ,
i n d u s t r i a l , economic a n d social growth.
P r e d i c t i n g t h e f u t u r e , f r o m the p e r i o d of 1975 to
t h e y e a r 2000, is t o d a y ' s f a v o r i t e i n d o o r s p o r t . T h e
S e n a t e S e l e c t C o m m i t t e e on N a t i o n a l W a t e r Re-
sources, a s h o r t t i m e ago, p r e d i c t e d a p o t e n t i a l w a t e r
s h o r t a g e in 1980 a n d p l a c e d a $54-billion p r i c e t i c k e t
on w a t e r r e s o u r c e s ' d e v e l o p m e n t a n d w a t e r p o l l u t i o n
c o n t r o l b e t w e e n now a n d 1975. T h e H o u s e Science
a n d A s t r o n a u t i c s C o m m i t t e e went- a s t e p f u r t h e r , i n
p r e d i c t i n g t h a t 1970 m a y b e t h e y e a r of c r i t i c a l
w a t e r s h o r t a g e u n l e s s we l e a r n to d e s a l t t h e sea.
VOL. 40
T h e h e a d of R e s o u r c e s f o r the F u t u r e , a n o n p r o f i t
o r g a n i z a t i o n , h a s a d d e d some s t a r t l i n g p r e d i c t i o n s of
his own: T h a t a w a t e r c o n s u m p t i o n of 48 b i l l i o n
g a l l o n s a d a y w o u l d exist in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s b y the
y e a r 2000; t h a t a p o p u l a t i o n level of 330 m i l l i o n will
be r e a c h e d in this c o u n t r y b y t h e n ; t h a t a u t o p r o -
d u c t i o n w o u l d rise to 27 m i l l i o n p e r y e a r , as a g a i n s t
t o d a y ' s m o d e s t 7 m i l l i o n ears p e r y e a r ; t h a t h o u s i n g
s t a r t s in t h e y e a r 20'00 w o u l d reach 4,200,000 p e r
y e a r , as c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e 1.4-million t o d a y .
Y o u cau p i c k y o u r own p r e d i c t i o n s . P r e d i c t as y o u
will, t h e y all s p e l l : More p e o p l e . . . m o r e p r o d u c t i o n
9 . . more w a t e r . . . m o r e sewage . . . m o r e i n d u s -
t r i a l wastes . . . a n d m o r e of y o u r c l e a n s i n g m a t e r i a l s
t h a t will go d o w n the d r a i n !
O u r m a g i c a l a b i l i t y to s y n t h e s i z e p r o d u c t s c a n n o t
be u s e d to m a k e one d r o p of w a t e r in o u r p r e s e n t
c o m p l e x w o r l d w h i c h I h a v e d e s c r i b e d as p l a s t i c i z e d
... immunized . .. digitalized . . . nuclearized . . .
televised . . . d e e p - f r e e z e d . . . v i d e o d . . . v i t a m i n e d
. . . hormoned . . . filtered . . . dehydrated . . .
air-conditioned . . . ealoried . . . and detergented.
Formula for Pollution Control: "Stir What
You GotP'
Since we c a n n o t produce w a t e r , we m u s t preserve
it. W e m u s t " s t i r w h a t we g o t ! " The s t o r y is t o l d
of a m a n who o r d e r e d a c u p of coffee in a r e s t a u r a n t
d u r i n g the w a r w h e n s u g a r was s h o r t a n d i t was b e i n g
dispensed from behind the counter rather than freely
offered on the c o u n t e r . The w a i t r e s s asked: " S u g a r ? "
T h e m a n r e p l i e d : " Y e s . " T h e n the w a i t r e s s a d d e d
one s p o o n f u l of s u g a r to t h e m a n ' s cup. T h e m a n
p u s h e d b a c k the cup a n d s a i d : " [ take two spoon-
f u l s . " The w a i t r e s s t h e n d e l i v e r e d one of the g r e a t e s t
s e r m o n s of all t i m e : " M i s t e r , s t i r w h a t y o u got ! "
H o w do w e " s t i r w h a t we g o t ? " W e do so b y ad-
v o c a t i n g a d e q u a t e t r e a t m e n t of all sewage a n d in-
d u s t r i a l wastes to p r o t e c t w a t e r resources a g a i n s t
b e f o u l i n g a n d r u i n a t i o n . This w o u l d p r e v e n t us f r o m
practicing "brinkmanship" w i t h o u r rivers, lakes,
a n d coastal w a t e r s . "Brinkmanship" w o u l d be load-
i n g t h e m w i t h w a s t e s to t h e p o i n t of i n c i p i e n t des-
t r u c t i o n . To do so w o u l d n o t be a d e q u a t e p o l l u t i o n
control, b u t to t r y to " p o l i s h " all of our w a t e r s , re-
g a r d l e s s of t h e i r best social usages, w o u l d be e q u a l l y
wasteful.. T h e so-called B l a t n i k Bill, now b e f o r e Con-
gress, t a l k s h o p e f u l l y a b o u t " p o s i t i v e " a c t i o n in
preventing stream degradation rather than "nega-
t i v e " l o a d i n g of our w a t e r s w i t h p o l l u t i n g wastes.
I f this s o u n d s U t o p i a n , it is well to recognize t h a t
o u r whole c o n c e p t of w h a t we m e a n b y p o l l u t i o n is
now s u s p e c t b e c a u s e of n e w f a c t o r s of p o l l u t i o n i n a
c h a n g i n g w o r l d . I offer f o u r p o i n t s which a r e i n d i c a -
t i v e of this n e w concept of p o l l u t i o n a n d p o l l u t i o n
control:
1) W e k n o w we m u s t r e u s e o u r w a t e r s if we arc
to have e n o u g h to meet all of o u r p r e s e n t a n d
f u t u r e needs.
2) W e k n o w we m u s t p r o v i d e h i g h e r d e g r e e s of
sewage a n d wastes t r e a t m e n t to m a k e such r e u s e
possible 9
3) W e k n o w we m u s t w o r r y a b o u t " R a c h e l C a r s o n "
pollutants--and detergents.
4) W e k n o w we m a y h a v e to w o r r y a b o u t v i r u s in-
fections w h i c h sewage t r e a t m e n t a n d w a t e r p u r i -
fication processes m a y n o t c o r r e c t w i t h f u l l de-
gree of c e r t a i n t y .
NOVEMBER, 1963 COHN : WATER POLLUTION PROBLEM
The upshot is that there will be a trend toward
advanced degrees of wastes treatment, to get out and
to modify all p o l l u t a n t s - - t h e so-called " s t a n d a r d "
pollutants and the "exotic" contaminants which in-
clude detergents 9
We are no longer faced with the simple job of
considering sewage as having only three categories of
objectionable contaminants: Coarse debris which can
be removed by screening and grit facilities; finer
solids which can be removed b y settling and b y bio-
oxidation processes; and bacteria which can be finally
destroyed by adequate disinfection b y means of chlo-
rination. We must now characterize sewage in a dif-
ferent vein and look upon sewage t r e a t m e n t as a more
advanced challenge than it has been in the past. I
refer, of course, to our present interest in what is
being classified as "sewage t r e a t m e n t - - p l u s , " or
the use of additional processes or refinements to take
out or modify wastes constituents which are not re-
movable with a n y degree of certainty in present sew-
age t r e a t m e n t plants of either the p r i m a r y type or the
secondary type. Various " p l u s " processes have been
suggested, including special filtration, adsorption, ion
exchange, distillation, and even nuclear reaction 9
Four Billion Pounds D o w n the Drain!
This brings me to the point of translating A B S
f r o m Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate to A m e r i c a ' s Befoul-
ing Sewage. Detergents are in the pollution picture,
not as the sole villain of the piece, but as a p a r t of
the overall problem. I t must be so, because of the
following points which I present to clarify the role
of detergents in the nation's water pollution control
problem:
9 . . 4 billion pounds of detergents, which m a y con-
tain f r o m one-half to a billion pounds of surfaetants,
are used y e a r l y and go down the drain 9
. . . The old f o r m u l a for cleanliness--soap and
elbow g r e a s e ~ h a s been reformulated into a bald giant
who rolls up his synthetic sleeves and uses physical
chemistry instead of physique to produce the home
cleanliness the American people so desire9
9 . . The magic in the box and the bottle is used
by people who do not know about the carbon-hydro-
gen ring, and who could not care less, but who do
know that the new carbon-hydrogen ring leaves no
ring in the bath tub.
9 . . The detergents in the drain enter the sewer
system and become a portion of the sewage problem
of America 9 Parenthetically, let me describe a sewer,
as one wit defined it, as a long tube at one end of
which people are putting everything imaginable in,
and at the other end of which people are using every
imaginable means to get them out.
. . . A B S does not walk a l o n e - - i t is p a r t and
parcel of sewage but not the only villain of the
situation 9
9 . . We are not doing an adequate job of " t a k i n g
things o u t , " and detergents are only some 10 to 20%
of the organics contained in the average sewage treat-
ment plant effluent9
9 . . And, finally, we must do better t h a n we are
doing to lick p o l l u t i o n - - a n d A B S m a n u f a c t u r e r s
must do better if we are to lick pollution because it is
the p a r t we see which has attracted more attention
than the p a r t of pollution we do not see.
Admittedly, better sewage t r e a t m e n t will mean
better attack on the detergent problem by biodegrada-
tion in more advanced aeration processes 9 B u t in the
6'47
meantime hundreds of t r e a t m e n t plants depend on
p r i m a r y processes which provide little degradation
opportunities 9 We cannot wait for the era of higher
degree of sewage t r e a t m e n t to solve the " b a c k d o o r "
problem of y o u r industry 9 I t must be done b y the
p r o m p t and effective attack on the " f r o n t d o o r "
problem of the petroleum i n d u s t r y and the soap and
detergent industry 9
The Septic Tank Problem
The challenge is the greater because of the hundreds
of thousands of homes which use septic t a n k or cess-
pools for disposal of their wastes and take their
waters f r o m wells which have an " i n f a l l i b l e " source
in the unbroken chain which exists between water,
to sewage, to water on these home sites. The chal-
lenge is to ascertain how much dependence we can
place on the ability of soil and ground water to de-
grade detergents discharged into such sites.
The New York T e m p o r a r y State Commission on
W a t e r Resources P l a n n i n g is studying this problem
on Long Island in a novel team effort with local
scientists, state departments, the U.S. Public H e a l t h
Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Soap
and Detergent Association 9 We find nothing incon-
gruous in this p a r t n e r s h i p between a legislative in-
vestigative agency and the i n d u s t r y involved in this
problem. I n our opinion this p a r t n e r s h i p is in true
keeping with the American way of i n d u s t r y and
progress !
I t is interesting to point out that in the studies in
Long Island the scientists involved have been utilizing
three types of detergents f o r m u l a t e d by the Soap and
Detergent Association. I t is their task to ascertain
whether these products degrade effectively in various
types of soil conditions, various conditions of ground
w a t e r flow, and under various circumstances of loca-
tion of the source of pollution and the source of water
s u p p l y drawn f r o m the same home p r o p e r t y site.
Behind this New York State Commission approach
to the A B S problem lies our conviction that we must
find an answer for the detergent p r o b l e m - - a n d that
we will find it if a true spirit of team p l a y exists.
The detergent problem, in our opinion, is not the
only pollution problem which New Y o r k State faces.
However, it is one of the problems and it m u s t be
solved if we are to avoid f u r t h e r i n j u r y to the val-
uable water resources upon which the State's growth
and f u t u r e progress depend.
This Commission of W a t e r Resources P l a n n i n g is
equally interested in all other pollution problems, in-
eluding the task of shaking the complacency o f cities
and industries which persist in discharging untreated
or inadequately treated wastes into the watercourses
of the E m p i r e State. I t recognizes that we must fight
the unseen pollution as well as the pollution which we
can see, and that the unseen is, in m a n y instances,
more serious than the foam which becomes so a p p a r e n t
to the public. I t is i m p o r t a n t to alert the public to
the fact foam does not walk alone; that it is merely
indicative of the presence of pollutional wastes con-
taining other dangerous contaminating substances.
This is the adult way to look at the A B S problem,
not through the astigmatism of the foam we can see,
but through the clarity of recognizing that the unseen
sewage which the foam covers m a y be more i m p o r t a n t
t h a n the foam itself!
We Owe A B S a Vote of T h a n k s - - b u t D o n ' t Expect It
I n a sense, we owe A B S a vote of thanks. I t has
made people pollution conscious. But, do not expect
648 THE JOURNAL OF TIlE AMERICAN OIL CttEMISTS' SOCIETY
a n y applause f r o m those who object to foam in their
water s u p p l y ! R a t h e r than applause, you are being
challenged to lick your problem because yo,e w a l k
w i t h s e w a g e , just as s e w a g e w a l k s w i t h y o u r i , ~ d u s t r y .
You have the misfortune in your " b e t w e e n the
devil and the deep blue s e a " situation of reminding
a cleanliness-loving people that we are caught in the
web of our own w e a v i n g - - t h a t the foam we produce
is symbolic of the wastes we produee, and that to
admit it is to admit that we are guilty of fouling
our own nest!
I t is common for industrialized Ameriea to wave
its banners and plead for free enterprise. Your indus-
try, I am sure, pleads for the right to operate its
practices in the best way it can do so, without inter-
ference in the normal operations of your business
procedures. You must practice what you preach. I f
you plead for free enterprise, you should demonstrate
your enterprise by producing formulations of deter-
gent products which can elinfinate your p a r t of the
n a t i o n ' s pollution problem.
I plead t o d a y for a f u r t h e r role for the American
Oil Chemists' Society. I n addition to cleaning up
y o u r " f r o n t d o o r " problem, and in addition to carry-
ing out the internal industrial operations of your pro-
fession in a w a y that will eliminate the " b a c k d o o r "
industrial wastes pollution problem, I urge you to
The Chemistry of Surfactant Biodegradation
R. D. SWISHER, Monsanto Chemical Co., Research Dept., Inorganic Chemicals Div., St. Louis, Missouri
ItE PRIMARY incentives prompting" s t u d y of the
T biodegradation of s u r f a e t a n t s arise f r o m the
waste detergent situation, a situation which has by
now been covered so thoroughly in the technical
literature and the public press as to require no
f u r t h e r elaboration here. A comprehensive review
has recently been published by the Detergent Sub-
committee of the Ohio River Valley W a t e r Sanita-
tion Commission (1). I t provides a v e r y useful entry
to the literature on all aspects of the problem.
Biodegradation of surfactants in wastewaters, in
t r e a t m e n t plants, and in the ultimate receiving"
bodies is p r i m a r i l y the result of bacterial action, just
as is the ease with the other organie components of
the waste. The bioehemical metabolic reactions in-
volved a p p e a r to be much the same whether s u r f a c t a n t
or not, although there are certain charaetcristic fea-
tures exhibited in s u r f a e t a n t biodegradation which
arise f r o m the characteristic structure of s u r f a e t a n t s
t h e m s e l v e s - - s t r o n g l y hydrophilic and strongly hydro-
phobic groups joined together in the same molecule.
Accordingly, as a p r e l i m i n a r y to the discussion of
s u r f a e t a n t biodegradation, the more common test
methods and the more likely metabolic pathways will
be reviewed.
To serve as a convenient point of reference, F i g u r e
1 shows a typieal biodegradation experiment apply-
ing the river water technique devised by H a m m c r t o n
(2). H e r e a seven-milligram sample of s u r f a e t a n t
was dissolved in a liter of river water and the solu-
tion was anaylzcd every few days by the methylene
blue method. Three different surfaetants are shown,
one which was readily attacked by the microorganisms
present in the river water, one which was quite re-
VOL. 40
play a third i m p o r t a n t role in the problem of solving
the n a t i o n ' s pollution problem.
It would be true justice if your Society would re-
solve to do even more. Since your foam has aroused
all of the f r e n z y on the p a r t of people who think
e m o t i o n takes the place of m o t i o n . . , who are attack-
ing the foam problem with more h e a t than l i g h t . . .
you can do something about the pollution which walks
with ABS. You could render a great national service
by becoming a p a r t of the great drive for licking the
nation's pollution problem.
The s a n i t a r y engineering profession which I repre-
sent challenges your profession to help correct the
conditions which caused the congregation to plead
for forgiveness for the things we have done which we
should not have done and the things we have not done
which we should have done.
W h a t is detergent's role in the nation's pollution
problem? The story is told of a traveller who first
s a w the ocean f r o m the rail of his steamer. He
marveled over the vast expanse of water until a
ship's officer said: "Yes, but that is only the top of
i t ! " The detergent problem is only the " t o p " of
the n a t i o n ' s w a t e r pollution problem, but it is the
p a r t the public can see. i t is our task to clean up
the " t o p , " and, in so doing, to make certain that we
lick the other wastes which " w a l k with A B S . "
With y o u r help, we can do both.
sistant, and one of intermediate character, the present
day commereial product.
Test Methods
Basically, biodegradation is measured by exposing
the test compound to microorganisms and analyzing
the system at intervals to determine such things as
the disappearance of the test compound, the forma-
tion of degradation products or the uptake of oxy-
gen. As will be evident, m a n y combinations of micro-
biological environments with analytical methods have
been used depending on the exact objectives of the
work.
1. Microorganisms
The microorganisms chosen m a y be a p u r e strain
or a mixture. Mixtures are ordinarily used, derived
f r o m such sources as river water (2), activated sludge
(3), sewage (4), soil (5), or air (6). The general
microbiological makeup of mixed cultures f r o m these
sources seems to be fairly constant, deriving from
the eharaeteristie speeies of common soil bacteria (4),
and they should give a fairly realistic basis for
extrapolation of performance f r o m the laboratory
to the field.
P u r e cultures, on the other hand, should be of
value in the detailed s t u d y of specific metabolic
reactions, but are less suited for general screening
of surfaetants for biodegradability. I t often happens
that a specific strain of microorganism is unable to
c a r r y out some specific reaction in a metabolic se-
quence which a related strain can do quite readily.
In a mixed culture, the species present can make up
for each others' deficiencies. There is another reason