| Summary: | Optimization of Biodegradability and Toxicity Testing of Degradation Product from Linear Alkyl BenzeneSulfonate (LAS) Surfactant as Cleaning Detergent Agent. Linear Alkyl Benzene Sulfonate (LAS) is a surfactantused in laundry detergent as cleaning agent and toxic to aquatic organisms. Results shows, with the LAS concentrationused (20 ppm) in medium, adaptation time and Acinetobacter sp. growth has shown better biodegradation ability thanthree other bacteria used Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Bacillaria spp. Thus, Acinetobacter sp isused further for biodegradation process of LAS. Based on its biodegradation half-life using Acinetobacter sp, and withmixed culture (± 52.32% and ± 46.82% respectively) could be achieved in 4 (four) days, LAS could be categorized as abiodegradable compound. The toxicity assay is based on tetrazolium dye reduction with Rhizobium meliloti as indicatororganism. LAS is more toxic than its intermediate product from biodegradation, with IC50 = 34.35 ppm, and theintermediate product, Ac and Cm, has IC50 = 446.19 ppm and 111.28 ppm respectively. Identification of intermediateproducts using IR and LC-MS analysis shows that the degradation product contains chemicals compounds withfunctional group as follows: benzene, benzoic acid, hydroxyl, and aliphatic carbons with large molecule weight. Untilits half-time degradation time, LAS biodegradation process only occurs at the aliphatic carbon chain, and have not yetreached the stage of aromatic ring opening.
|
|---|
