Activated sludge biodegradation of 12 commerical phthalate esters

Abstract

The activated sludge biodegradability of 12 commercial phthalate esters was evaluated in two test systems: a semicontinuous activated sludge test and an acclimated 19-day die-away procedure. Both procedures demonstrated that phthalate esters are rapidly biodegraded under activated sludge conditions when loss of the parent phthalate ester (primary degradation) is measured.