THE USE OF THYMOL AS A BIOCIDE IN RAINWATER SAMPLES

An essential requirement for any rainwater composition study based on sampling periods longer than that of individual events, is the selection of a biocide which prevents the biological degradation of rainwater organic acids, such as formic and acetic acid. In this report data are presented from a series of tests of biocidal activity of several compounds. Chloroform was confirmed as an effective rainwater biocide which quantitatively preserves formic acid from biological degradation in rainwater. Of the compounds tested, only bromoform and thymol (2-isopropyl-5-methyl phenol) were as effective as chloroform in preventing biological degradation of formic acid in rainwater. However, since bromoform produced an acid on standing, probably hydrobromic acid, it was unsuitable for use as a biocide. Therefore only thymol was found to be suitable as a biocide in rainwater collected in south-eastern Australia. As thymol is a solid, and hence non-volatile, it offers some advantage over the traditional use of chloroform.