Contents and Characteristics of Phthalic Acid Esters in Municipal Sewage Sludge in Jiangsu Province

Concentrations of 6 kinds of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in sewage sludge from 20 typical municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Jiangsu province were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) . The results shows that the sewage sludge samples contain phthalic acid ester compounds, which total content of phthalic acid esters ( PAEs) range from 15.126 to 71.107 ug/g (dry sludge). The content of diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) is the highest, which amounts more than 80% of total phthalic acid esters (PAE); the content of dimethyl phthalate (DMP) is low ,which is less than 1.0 ug/g;Diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) are detected in each sludge sample, but which content display greater difference; Dioctyl phthalate (DOP) in most cities is not detected.