Although phthalates are among the most common pollutants found in the environment, there are little data about bioremediation of tropical soils contaminated with phthalates. For this reason, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the bioremediation of an industrially used soil contaminated with Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and isobutanol, in São Paulo State. The bioremediation was based on indigenous soil microorganisms and inoculum adapted in a slurry phase reactor. The reactor was monitored for 120 days and the moisture content adjusted. The results showed that biodegradation of phthalates followed first-order kinetics, and bioremediation occurred in a pH range of 7.4 to 8.4, at temperatures from 17 to 25 ºC and the phthalate removal efficiency was above 70 %. The final DEHP concentration was below 4.0 mg kg-1 dry soil, which is the threshold established by Brazilian law, for soil in residential areas.
tropical soil; biodegradation; plasticizers; di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate; isobutanol
