title: Comprehensive review of several surfactants in marine environments: Fate and ecotoxicity.
abstract: Surfactants are a commercially important group of chemicals widely used on a global scale. Despite high removal efficiencies during wastewater treatment, their high consumption volumes mean that a certain fraction will always enter aquatic ecosystems, with marine environments being the ultimate sites of deposition. Consequently, surfactants have been detected within marine waters and sediments. However, aquatic environmental studies have mostly focused on the freshwater environment, and marine studies are considerably underrepresented by comparison. The present review aims to provide a summary of current marine environmental fate (monitoring, biodegradation, and bioconcentration) and effects data of 5 key surfactant groups: linear alkylbenzene sulfonates, alcohol ethoxysulfates, alkyl sulfates, alcohol ethoxylates, and ditallow dimethyl ammonium chloride. Monitoring data are currently limited, especially for alcohol ethoxysulfates and alkyl sulfates. Biodegradation was shown to be considerably slower under marine conditions, whereas ecotoxicity studies suggest that marine species are approximately equally as sensitive to these surfactants as freshwater species. Marine bioconcentration studies are almost nonexistent. Current gaps within the literature are presented, thereby highlighting research areas where additional marine studies should focus.
authors.affiliation: Shell Health, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Mathew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: Shell Health, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eadsforth
authors.affiliation: Procter & Gamble, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Diederik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schowanek
authors.affiliation: Procter & Gamble, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Delfosse
authors.affiliation: Ecospan, Torquay, Devon, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Riddle
authors.affiliation: AstraZeneca, Macclesfield, Cheshire, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Budgen
mesh_terms: D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids / Q000633:toxicity; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000187:drug effects; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000633:toxicity; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D017738:Alkanesulfonic Acids; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C030641:alkylbenzyl sulfonic acid; C072783:ditallow dimethylammonium
keywords: Bioconcentration; Biodegradation; Ecotoxicology; Environmental fate; Marine toxicity test