Registration Dossier

Diss Factsheets

Environmental fate & pathways

Endpoint summary

Administrative data

Description of key information

Additional information

Fusel oil is highly soluble in water and has low adsorption potential (log Kow < 3). It is thus expected to mainly partition into the water phase. Despite the relatively high vapour pressure (57.26 hPa at 19.6 °C for ethanol, the most volatile constituent), evaporation from water into the atmosphere is either unlikely or is expected to be very slow, due to the low Henry’s law constants (0.50 - 1.68 Pa m3/mol).

Fusel oil is readily biodegradable, based on studies conducted with its main constituents (70 - 97% biodegradation after 28 days) and is thus expected to be rapidly removed from the aquatic environment via biodegradation. Abiotic hydrolysis is not expected to be relevant for this substance. If present in the atmosphere, Fusel oil is expected to be degraded by photochemical processes (DT50 1.87 to 4.49 days, AOPWIN v1.92).

Due to its physico-chemical properties (log Kow -0.35 - 1.35), bioaccumulation is not expected for Fusel oil.