Are Oxygen Demands Relevant for Today's Environmental Assessment of Detergents?
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G. Boeije
Abstract
Though oxygen demands are critical measurements for waste water treatment plant operation and water quality management, they are of little relevance to assess or rank the environmental quality of detergents. It is argued that: (1) No accurate measurements of the oxygen demand of bleach detergents can be made, because these products release oxygen during the measurement. (2) When waste water is adequately treated, under normal operating conditions the oxygen demand (organic loading) of the raw sewage has no influence on river quality. (3) Oxygen demand values are narrowly focused on environmental exposure, while they do not take into account the potential for ecotoxicological effects. (4) Short-term biological oxygen demand measurements are useful for the monitoring of ‘average sewage', but they are unreliable to assess the biodegradability of more specific substances or products. Instead of oxygen demands, more holistic evaluations based on risk assessment or on life cycle analysis are scientifically preferred.
Kurzfassung
Obwohl Messungen des Sauerstoffbedarfs für Abwasserreinigungsanlagen und des Wasserqualitätsmanagement von entscheidender Wichtigkeit sind, haben sie für die Berurteilung und Einordnung der Umweltverträglichkeit von Waschmitteln nur geringe Bedeutung. Man ist der Auffassung, dass (1) keine exakten Messungen des Sauerstoffsbedarfs von Vollwaschmitteln durchgeführt werden können, da diese Produkte während der Messung Sauerstoff freisetzen. (2) Wenn das Abwasser unter normalen Betriebsbedingungen entsprechend behandelt wird, hat der Sauerstoffbedarf (organische Fracht) des Rohabwassers keinen Einfluß auf die Gewässerqualität. (3) Die Werte des Sauerstoffbedarfs lassen sich nur sehr schwer auf die Umweltbelastung übertragen, da das Potential der ökotoxikologischen Auswirkungen nicht in die Berechnung mit eingeht. (4) Kurzfristige Messungen des biologischen Sauerstoffbedarfs sind anwendbar bei der Überwachung von ‘Durchschnittsabwässern’, aber unzuverlässig bei der Beurteilung der biologischen Abbaubarkeit von weiteren spezifischen Substanzen und Produkten. Anstelle des Sauerstoffbedarfs sollten aus wissenschaftlicher Sicht gesehen, mehr ganzheitlich ausgerichtete Evaluierungen, die auf Risikobeurteilung oder auf Analyse von Lebenszyklen basieren, bevorzugt werden.
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© 2004, Carl Hanser Publisher, Munich
Articles in the same Issue
- Contents/Inhalt
- Contents
- Abstracts
- Abstracts
- Application
- Nonionic Tenside Ligands and its Application in Biphasic Catalysis
- Detergent Ingredient
- Synthesis of δ Layered Sodium Disilicate with High Framework Stability
- Novel Surfactants
- Cleavable Ortho Ester Type Surfactants
- GDCH Special Group Meeting
- Development and Analytic of Odor Absorber
- Enzymatic Production of Care Specialties Based on Fatty Acid Esters
- Are Oxygen Demands Relevant for Today's Environmental Assessment of Detergents?
- 30th Anniversary of the Expert Group Detergent Chemistry: From an Isolated Problem Solving to Sustainable Responsibility
Articles in the same Issue
- Contents/Inhalt
- Contents
- Abstracts
- Abstracts
- Application
- Nonionic Tenside Ligands and its Application in Biphasic Catalysis
- Detergent Ingredient
- Synthesis of δ Layered Sodium Disilicate with High Framework Stability
- Novel Surfactants
- Cleavable Ortho Ester Type Surfactants
- GDCH Special Group Meeting
- Development and Analytic of Odor Absorber
- Enzymatic Production of Care Specialties Based on Fatty Acid Esters
- Are Oxygen Demands Relevant for Today's Environmental Assessment of Detergents?
- 30th Anniversary of the Expert Group Detergent Chemistry: From an Isolated Problem Solving to Sustainable Responsibility
