Registration Dossier
Registration Dossier
Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.
The new ECHA CHEM database has been released by ECHA, and it now contains all REACH registration data. There are more details on the transition of ECHA's published data to ECHA CHEM here.
Use of this information is subject to copyright laws and may require the permission of the owner of the information, as described in the ECHA Legal Notice.
EC number: 231-820-9 | CAS number: 7757-82-6
Biodegradation in water: screening tests
Administrative data
Link to relevant study record(s)
Description of key information
Production: production of sodium sulfate is 4.6 million tonnes/year (1999), of which approximately 50% a by product of the chemical industry
and the remainder is extracted from natural deposits. Due to Sodium sulphate occurring naturally it can be considered to form part of the sulfur cycle. It is readily utilized by bacteria fungi and many aerobic and anaerobic prokaryotic species. For this reason no specific biodegradation tests are
required. A summary of the potential pathways involved in the cycle of sodium sulphate are shown below. Reference (OECD SIDS 2005) (The sulphur Cycle Microbiology Prescott Harley and Klein 1996) (College of Biological sciences 1993)
Key value for chemical safety assessment
Additional information
Microbes play pivotal roles in the Sulfur cycle. In the case of sulfate:
Sulfate provides microorganisms with the possibility of carrying out sulfate reduction to derive their energy. Sulfate is used as an electron acceptor to form sulfide (H2S) this is a process known as dissimilatory reduction and this occurs anaerobically. Alternatively reduction of sulphate for use in amino acid syntheses for example can also occur and is known as assmilatory reduction forming organic sulfur. Other microorganisms reduce the elemental sulpher further still. Sulphite is also a critical intermediate that can be reduced to sulfide as well as oxidized back to sulphate completing the cycle.
Some Species commonly associated with these steps are:
Aerobic sulfur oxidation - occurs in Thiobacillus Beggiatoa and Thiothrix sp
Anaerobic sulfur oxidation - occurs in Chlorobium and Chromatum and Desulfovibria sp
Sulfur reduction - occurs in Alteromonas,Clostridium sp
Summary written using data obtained from (The sulphur Cycle Microbiology Prescott Harley and Klein 1996)
A schematic representation of the sulfur cycle can be found on (http://www.lenntech.com/sulfur-cycle.htm).
Information on Registered Substances comes from registration dossiers which have been assigned a registration number. The assignment of a registration number does however not guarantee that the information in the dossier is correct or that the dossier is compliant with Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (the REACH Regulation). This information has not been reviewed or verified by the Agency or any other authority. The content is subject to change without prior notice.
Reproduction or further distribution of this information may be subject to copyright protection. Use of the information without obtaining the permission from the owner(s) of the respective information might violate the rights of the owner.
