page_title: Benzalkonium chloride
section_title: Degradation
hierarchical_section_title: Benzalkonium chloride / Degradation
caption_attribution_description: English: Biodegradation pathways of BAC using the Fenton Process (H2O2/Fe2+)
context_page_description: Benzalkonium chloride, also known as alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride and by the trade name Zephiran, is a type of cationic surfactant. It is an organic salt classified as a quaternary ammonium compound. ADBACs have three main categories of use: as a biocide, a cationic surfactant, and a phase transfer agent. ADBACs are a mixture of alkylbenzyldimethylammonium chlorides, in which the alkyl group has various even-numbered alkyl chain lengths.
context_section_description: Benzalkonium chloride degradation follows consecutive debenzylation, dealkylation, and demethylation steps producing benzyl chloride, alkyl dimethyl amine, dimethyl amine, long chain alkane, and ammonia. The intermediates, major, and minor products can then be broken down into CO₂, H₂O, NH₃, and Cl–. The first step to the biodegradation of BAC is the fission or splitting of the alkyl chain from the quaternary nitrogen as shown in the diagram. This is done by abstracting the hydrogen from the alkyl chain by using a hydroxyl radical leading to a carbon centered radical. This results in benzyl dimethyl amine as the first intermediate and dodecanal as the major product. 
  From here, benzyl dimethyl amine can be oxidized to benzoic acid using the Fenton process. The trimethyl amine group in dimethylbenzylamine can be cleaved to form a benzyl that can be further oxidized to benzoic acid. Benzoic acid uses hydroxylation (adding a hydroxyl group) to form p-hydroxybenzoic acid. Benzyldimethylamine can then be converted into ammonia by performing demethylation twice, which removes both methyl groups, followed by debenzylation, removing the benzyl group using hydrogenation. The diagram represents suggested pathways of the biodegradation of BAC for both the hydrophobic and the hydrophilic regions of the surfactant. Since stearalkonium chloride is a type of BAC, the biodegradation process should happen in the same manner.
caption: Biodegradation pathways of BAC with Fenton process (H2O2/Fe2+)[37]
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