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Remediation of phthalate acid esters from contaminated environment—Insights on the bioremedial approaches and future perspectives
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Researchers reviewed bioremediation approaches for removing phthalate plasticizers from contaminated environments, finding that microbial degradation — especially by bacteria and fungi capable of metabolizing these lipophilic compounds — offers a promising and cost-effective alternative to physicochemical treatment methods.
Phthalates are well-known emerging pollutants that are toxic to the environment and human health. Phthalates are lipophilic chemicals used as plasticizers in many of the items for improving their material properties. These compounds are not chemically bound and are released to the surroundings directly. Phthalate acid esters (PAEs) are endocrine disruptors and can interfere with hormones, which can cause issues with development and reproduction, thus there is a huge concern over their existence in various ecological surroundings. The purpose of this review is to explore the occurrence, fate, and concentration of phthalates in various environmental matrices. This article also covers the phthalate degradation process, mechanism, and outcomes. Besides the conventional treatment technology, the paper also aims at the recent advancements in various physical, chemical, and biological approaches developed for phthalate degradation. In this paper, a special focus has been given on the diverse microbial entities and their bioremedial mechanisms executes the PAEs removal. Critically, the analyses method for determining intermediate products generated during phthalate biotransformation have been discussed. Concluisvely, the challenges, limitations, knowledge gaps and future opportunities of bioremediation and their significant role in ecology have also been highlighted.
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A bacterial strain Pseudarthrobacter defluvii E5 isolated from agricultural soil efficiently degraded multiple phthalate ester plasticizers including DEHP and DBP through a characterized enzymatic pathway, with key genes identified that could be targets for engineering enhanced bioremediation strains for phthalate-contaminated soils.
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Phthalate ester concentrations were measured in wastewater and sludge at treatment plants using biological treatment, waste stabilization ponds, and constructed wetlands, with results showing that phthalates were incompletely removed and that constructed wetlands performed comparably to conventional treatment for some compounds. The study highlights phthalates as persistent endocrine-disrupting contaminants that escape routine wastewater treatment processes.
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Researchers reviewed how microorganisms break down phthalate plasticizers through distinct aerobic and anaerobic biochemical pathways, highlighting a newly identified enzyme family (UbiD) central to anaerobic degradation.
Biological Degradation of Phthalates: From Bioremediation to Plastic Waste Valorization
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Researchers reviewed microbial degradation pathways for all three phthalate isomers and their plastic derivatives, covering known enzymes and catabolic routes and highlighting recent advances in enzyme engineering, bioremediation, and microbial cell factories aimed at enabling circular biological recycling of phthalate-based plastics.
Composting and green technologies for remediation of phthalate (PAE)-contaminated soil: Current status and future perspectives
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Phthalates are chemicals in plastics that can leach into soil and have been linked to hormone disruption in humans, so cleaning them up matters. This review pulls together existing research showing that composting, using microbes to naturally break down contaminants, can remove 25-100% of phthalates from contaminated soil, and works even better when combined with other eco-friendly techniques like biochar filters or specially chosen plants. While promising, scientists still need to figure out which microbes work best and whether these methods are practical and affordable at a larger scale.
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