Phthalate acid esters (PAEs) are plasticizers widely used to increase the plasticity of materials, which we use very often in the daily life. Some of these esters are harmful to health because of various biological effects mimic the environmental hormones. We collected wastewater from the sewer at a sewage treatment plant. This study has developed appropriate conditions for the pretreatment of sample and analytical method, including the assessment of discharge and effective method to remove phthalate esters from sewer. Because of matrix complexity of the wastewater, we developed in the pretreatment a suitable pH range. Using the best extraction condition, we carried out qualitative and quantitative determinations using the HPLC-fluorescence detector. The results showed that the best pH values were from 5 to 7 units in wastewater samples. Long-chain esters could be hydrolyzed in sample with high alkaline or high acid. The study method that we established was able to simultaneously determine six phthalate esters in sewage. It took about 30 minutes to carry out the sample analysis. This study has identified many ester chemicals in wastewater, especially DBP and DEHP. At is likely that the phthalate esters discharged into the sewer may pollute river water.
