A new method to determine the anaerobic degradability of surfactants: the AnBUSDiC test

Background Surfactants are chemicals with a high production volume and a wide dispersive use, i.e. surfactants have a high environmental impact. Most commercial surfactants are aerobically biodegradable. Only a small fraction of the surfactants is not aerobically broken down during the usual hydraulic retention times of modern WWTPs. This fraction, due to the predominantly hydrophobic nature of surfactants, adheres to the sludge. The sludge is usually collected and further treated under anaerobic conditions in digester tanks. Therefore, the knowledge about anaerobic biodegradability under digester tank conditions is important to gain an understanding about the environmental fate of surfactants.