Degradation of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate constituents under methanogenic conditions

✍ Scribed by J. Ejlertsson; B. H. Svensson

• Book ID: 104626198
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 483 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0923-9820
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00115296

✦ Synopsis

The degradation of bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and its intermediary hydrolysis products 2-ethylhexanol (2-EH) and mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) was investigated in a methanogenic phthalic acid ester-degrading enrichment culture at 37°C. 2-Ethylhexanoic acid (2-EHA), a plausible degradation product of 2-EH, was also studied. The culture readily degraded 2-EH via 2-EHA to methane which was formed in stoichiometric amounts assuming complete degradation of 2-EH to methane and carbon dioxide. MEHP was degraded to stoichiometric amounts of methane with phthalic acid as a transient intermediate. DEHP remained unaffected throughout the experimental period (330 days).

Abbreviations: 2-EH-2-ethylhexyl alcohol, 2-EHA-2-ethylhexanoic acid, BBP-butylbenzyl phthalate, Be-CoA -benzoyl Coenzyme A, CoA -Coenzyme A, DEHP -bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, MEHP -mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, MSW -municipal solid waste, PA -phthalic acid, PAE -phthalic acid ester, TMS -trimethylsilyl derivative