Phthalates removal from wastewater by different methods - a review

Phthalate esters are commonly used as plasticizers to improve the durability and workability of polymeric materials, locating and identifying them in various contexts has become a major challenge. Because of their ubiquitous use in plastic packaging and personal care items, as well as their tendency to leach out of these materials, phthalates have been detected in a variety of aquatic situations, including surface water, groundwater, drinking water, and wastewater. Phthalate esters have been shown to affect reproductive health and physical growth by disrupting the endocrine system. As a result, developing energy-efficient and effective technologies to eliminate these harmful substances from the atmosphere has become more important and urgent. This paper examines the existing techniques for treating phthalates and degradation mechanisms, as well as knowledge gaps and future research directions. These technologies include adsorption, electrochemical, photocatalysis, membrane filtration and microbial degradation. Adsorption and photo catalysis are the most widely used techniques for phthalate removal, according to the literature survey papers.