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Environmental fate & pathways

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The Koc of maleic anhydride (Koc = 42) suggests that adsorption of the substance to soil and suspended particles is insignificant. Maleic anhydride rapidly hydrolyses in presence of water, forming maleic acid. According to the log Koc of maleic acid (log Koc = 1.63) adsorption to soil particles is unlikely.

Due to the physico-chemical properties of maleic anhydride and its hydrolysis product maleic acid it is assumed to mainly distribute into water (Trent University, 1999 & 2004, cited in OECD SIDS 2004). Neither maleic anhydride nor its hydrolysis product maleic acid are expected to evaporate into the atmosphere from water surfaces.

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