The biodegradability and nontoxicity of carboxymethyl cellulose (DS 0.7) and intermediates

Abstract Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) with a degree of substitution of 0.7 is a water‐soluble polymer. In some cases, CMC ends up in wastewater treatment plants and, ultimately, in the environment. Carboxymethyl cellulose degrades completely at low rates in the environment as demonstrated in a prolonged closed bottle test and in a semicontinuous activated sludge test. The continuous‐flow activated sludge (CAS) test simulates sewage treatment plants. In the CAS test the CMC added to raw sewage prior to entering the bioreactor was partly biodegraded by microorganisms. The effluent from the reactor containing intermediates was then used in standard aquatic toxicity tests. No toxicity was shown in the effluent, which indicates that the intermediates formed by biodegradation are not toxic. Carboxymethyl cellulose intermediates produced by a pure culture of a CMC‐degrading bacterium were also shown not to be toxic, because no effects were observed at the highest concentrations tested: 0.5 g/L for Selenastrum capricornutum (algae), 1.0 g/L for Daphnia magna (water flea), and 1.0 g/L for Brachydanio rerio (zebra fish). In addition, the nontoxicity of CMC to these aquatic organisms was established with no‐effect concentrations of > 0.5 g/L.