• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.49-62
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• 2023

Phthalates are animal carcinogens. Potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP), which has the least complicated structure among phthalates, is used for the analysis of total organic carbon and formaldehyde. However, its toxicity has not been confirmed. A 24-hour acute toxicity test was performed using Daphnia magna, a water flea used to evaluate aquatic toxicity owing to its high sensitivity. The lowest observed effect concentration of KHP was found to be 240 mg/L. The effects of phosphorus, nitrogen, and Cr(6+), which are able to be discharged along with KHP, were also confirmed using tests. At 240 mg/L KHP, toxicity increased as phosphorus, nitrogen, and Cr(6+) increased. In addition, tests were performed to confirm the half maximal effective concentration of KHP. Through 10 test repetitions, the average ecotoxicity value was found to be 0.3, the average half maximal effective concentration was 327.75 mg/L, and the coefficient of variation (%) was 3.16%; because the latter value is lower than 25%, which is what is generally suggested for the water pollution standard method, the reproducibility of the tests is sufficient to replace the existing standard reference toxicity test that uses potassium dichromate. In addition, the half maximum effective concentration of potassium hydrogen phthalate is approximately 218 times more than that of potassium dichromate; therefore, toxicity is relatively low. In conclusion, KHP is a feasible alternative to the highly toxic potassium dichromate for performing the standard reference toxicity test.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.129-135
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• 2018

The aim of this study is to assess the applicability of ferrate(VI) in the efficient treatment of aqueous waste contaminated with potassium hydrogen phthalate (KHP) which is known to be a potent endocrine disrupting chemicals. Simulated batch reactor operations were conducted at a wide range of pH (7.0 to 12.0) and molar ratios of KHP to ferrate(VI). Kinetic studies were performed in the degradation process and overall rate constant was found to be 83.40 L/mol/min at pH 8.0. The stoichiometry of ferrate(VI) and KHP was found to be 1:1. Further, lower pH values and higher KHP concentrations were favoured greatly the degradation of KHP by ferrate(VI). Total organic carbon analysis showed that partial mineralization of KHP was achieved. The presence of several background electrolytes were studied in the degradation of KHP by ferrate(VI).