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Please be aware that this old REACH registration data factsheet is no longer maintained; it remains frozen as of 19th May 2023.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.

Diss Factsheets

Environmental fate & pathways

Endpoint summary

Administrative data

Description of key information

Hydrolysis

Potassium formate dissociates in water to the potassium ion and the formate ion.Both of these are considered stable in water. A carboxylic acid is generally the final product of hydrolysis reactions.

In accordance with column 2 of REACH Annex VII, the study does not need to be performed if the substance is readily biodegradable. Potassium formate is readily biodegradable (HRC, 1992).

 

Biodegradability

Potassium formate is readily biodegradable according to OECD criteria.

Potassium formate was determined to be readily biodegradable in an OECD 301D test (HRC, 1992; Report No. SLL237(a)/920737). The degradation reached 92% after 28 d. The 10 -d window was kept.

No reliable data are available for the biodegradability in soil as well as for simulation of biodegradability in water and sediment.

In accordance with column 2 of Annex IX, the studies do not need to be conducted if the substance is readily biodegradable. The substance is already tested to be readily biodegradable according to OECD criteria. Hence, no further testing on biodegradation is performed.

 

Bioaccumulation

Accumulation in organisms is not expected.

In accordance with column 2 of Annex IX, the study does not need to be conducted if the 1-octanol/water partition coefficient is <3.Due to the low logPow of below zero (OSPAR, 2002), accumulation in organisms is not expected.Thus, and for reasons of animal welfare, no study on bioaccumulation in fish is performed.

 

Adsorption/Desorption

Adsorption to solid soil phase is not expected.

In accordance with column 2 of REACH Annex VIII, the study does not need to be conducted since potassium formate is readily biodegradable (HRC, 1992) and has a low potential for adsorption due to high water solubility coupled with a very low octanol-water partition coefficient (log Kow <0, OSPAR, 2002).

Read across to formic acid reveals an adsorption rate for the formate ion ofKoc = 31 (log Koc = 1.49) (BASF SE, 2009).

 

Henry’s Law Constant

From the water surface, the substance will not evaporate into the atmosphere. The Henry's Law Constant (HLC) of the analogous compound formic acid was determined to be 0.019 Pa m³/mol at 25 °C (Khan & Brimblecomb, 1992).

 

Distribution

Over time, the substance will distribute into water (100%).

Additional information