Phenylmethylsiloxanes and trifluoropropylmethylsiloxanes in municipal sludges from wastewater treatment plants in China: Their distribution, degradation and risk assessment

Abstract

Based on wastewater and raw/digested sludge samples from 29 wastewater treatment plants in 25 Chinese cities, the nationwide profiles of cis- and trans- isomers of phenylmethylsiloxanes (P3 and P4) and trifluoropropylmethylsiloxanes (D3F and D4F) were investigated. Calculated with paired influents/sludges positive for these compounds, majority (93% at mean) of them were found accumulating in raw sludges [<LOQ-188 ng/g dw (dry weight), df (detection frequency) = 0–96.6%, n = 58] during wastewater treatment. Overall, trifluoropropylmethylsiloxanes were merely found in 6 cities, while phenylmethylsiloxanes were found in all cities distributed over seven geographic regions of China. Sludge emissions of phenylmethylsiloxanes in each region correlated with their reported consumption volume (R2 = 0.81, except for the Southwest China), per capita gross domestic products (R2 = 0.20), and annual average temperature (R2 = 0.63). Although not found in wastewater biological treatment processes, degradation of phenylmethylsiloxanes and trifluoropropylmethylsiloxanes was apparent (3.0–25.9%) during sludge-digestion processes. In digestion experiments, detection of silanediols and silanetriols indicated possible biodegradation pathway, i.e., hydrolysis of Si-O and Si-C bones, with half-lives ranging from 33.7–57.7 d The calculated hazard quotients of these compounds in soils undergoing one year sludge-fertilization were less than 0.01, but their ecological risks should be further studied in view of their potential accumulation in soils.