Sugar fatty acid ester surfactants: Structure and ultimate aerobic biodegradability

Abstract

Ultimate aerobic biodegradabilities of an array of sugar ester surfactants were determined by International Standards Organisation method 7827, "Water Quality-Evaluation in an Aqueous Medium of the Aerobic Biodegradability of Organic Compounds, Method by Dissolved Organic Carbon" (1984). The surfactants were nonionic sugar esters with different-sized sugar head groups (formed from glucose, sucrose, or raffinose) and different lengths and numbers of alkyl chains [formed from lauric (C12) or palmitic (C16) acid]. Analogous anionic sugar ester surfactants, formed by attaching an α-sulfonyl group adjacent to the ester bond, and sugar esters with α-alkyl substituents were also studied. It was fou..