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Degradation of phthalate esters (PAEs) in soil and the effects of PAEs on soil microcosm activity
Author(s) -
Xie HuiJun,
Shi YiJing,
Zhang Jian,
Cui Yin,
Teng ShaoXiang,
Wang ShuGuang,
Zhao Ran
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.2406
Subject(s) - microcosm , environmental chemistry , phthalate , chemistry , soil carbon , microorganism , soil water , contamination , degradation (telecommunications) , organic chemistry , bacteria , environmental science , ecology , biology , soil science , telecommunications , genetics , computer science
BACKGROUND: Phthalate esters (PAEs), a class of refractory and toxic organic compounds, are becoming one of the most widespread contaminants in the environment. Degradation of PAEs in soil has been investigated, but limited to one or a few kinds of PAEs. Microorganisms could be regarded as a sensitive bio‐indicator for soil contaminants. Therefore, four commonly used PAEs were chosen to investigate their degradation patterns and potential impacts on soil microbial activity with a series of bioassays. RESULT: PAEs in sterile soils changed slightly, while degradation of PAEs in non‐sterile soil followed a single first‐order kinetic. Higher concentrations of PAEs led to lower β‐glucosidase activity and higher protease activity, with smooth changes of phosphatase and urease activities. PAEs decreased average well color development (AWCD), while Shannon index ( H ) showed a tendency to increase after a decrease. Carbon utilization profile was affected significantly by PAEs, especially at 10 mg kg −1 soil. CONCLUSION: Degradation of PAEs was driven mainly by microbial mediated processes. PAEs affected carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles variously, and had temporal effects on metabolic diversity, owing to the adaptation of microbes. Carbon substrates utilization changed from easily degradable sugars and carboxylic acids to recalcitrant compounds during the simulation. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry