6:2 Fluorotelomer alcohol biotransformation in an aerobic river sediment system

► A novel aerobic sediment system was developed to study FTOH biodegradation in river sediment. ► 5:3 Acid is a predominant product during 6:2 FTOH aerobic biotransformation in river sediment. ► PFPeA, PFHxA, and PFBA also are formed during 6:2 FTOH biotransformation in river sediment. ► 5:3 Acid was sediment-bound and can only be recovered by post-treatment with NaOH and ENVI-Carb™. ► The 5:3 acid can be further degraded to 4:3 acid in river sediment via one-carbon removal pathways. The 6:2 FTOH [F(CF2)6CH2CH2OH] is a major raw material being used to replace 8:2 FTOH [F(CF2)8CH2CH2OH] to make FTOH-based products for industrial and consumer applications. A novel aerobic sediment experimental system containing 20g wet sediment and 30mL aqueous solution was developed to study 6:2 FTOH biotransformation in river sediment. 6:2 FTOH was dosed into the sediment to follow its biotransformation and to analyze transformation products over 100d. The primary 6:2 FTOH biotransformation in the aerobic sediment system was rapid (T1/2