Sewage sludge is frequently used as a soil fertilizer although it may conta
in elevated concentrations of priority pollutants including di-(2-ethylhexy
l)phthalate (DEHP). In the present study, the kinetics of microbial [C-14]D
EHP mineralization was studied in laboratory microcosms with sewage sludge
and agricultural soil. A biphasic model with two independent kinetic expres
sions was used to fit the mineralization data. The initial mineralization a
ctivity was described well by first-order kinetics (r(2) > 0.97), whereas m
ineralization in long-term incubations (>40 days) was described better by f
ractional power kinetics (r(2) > 0.95). The mineralization activity was muc
h lower in the late phase presumably due to a decline in the bioavailabilit
y of DEHP caused by diffusion-limited desorption. The initial DEHP minerali
zation rate in sludge-amended soil varied between 3.7 and 20.3 ng of DEHP (
g dw)(-1) d(-1) depending on incubation conditions. Aerobic DEHP mineraliza
tion was 4-5 times faster than anaerobic mineralization. DEHP mineralizatio
n in sludge-amended soil was much more temperature sensitive than was DEHP
mineralization in soil without sludge. Indigenous microorganisms in the sew
age sludge appeared to dominate DEHP degradation in sludge-amended soil. It
was estimated that >41% of the DEHP in sludge-amended soil will have escap
ed mineralization after 1 year. In the absence of oxygen, >68% of the DEHP
will not be mineralized within 1 year. Collectively, the data suggest that
a significant fraction of the DEHP in sludge-amended soils may escape miner
alization under in situ conditions.