Poly and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are present in many industrial and household products and increasingly are being found in living tissue and throughout the environment. Fluorotelomer alcohols comprise an important sub-class of PFCs, and their biotransformation products have been confirmed to include low levels of perfluorooctanoic acid, a widely distributed environmental contaminant. Fluorotelomer alcohols serve as raw industrial intermediates in the production of commercial fluorotelomer surfactants and polymers, which are widely used as stain-resistant and protective coatings in many consumer products and in various industrial applications. Studies are lacking on how PFC-containing commercial products degrade. This project will study how microbially-mediated hydrolysis varies across six different model fluorotelomers. The experimental work will include solubility and sorption studies and experiments on rates of aerobic and anaerobic transformation. Statistical analysis will be performed to correlate solubility with structural characteristics of the model compounds. Microbial community analysis will be used to identify microbial populations involved in biotransformation. Biotransformation pathways will be analyzed based on disappearance of parent compounds and appearance of metabolites. Abiotic sorption and hydrolysis also will be examined.
