Emission of Bisphenol A and Four New Analogs from Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plants in the Production Processes of Polypropylene and Polyethylene Terephthalate in South America
Joaquín Hernández‐Fernández, H. Cano, Esneyder Puello-Polo
Abstract
The study of the presence of bisphenol analogs in the environment has been very relevant in recent years because their toxic potential has been discovered, and since they are not regulated like bisphenol A, their use and presence in industry has been excessive. This study identifies and quantifies for the first time the presence of bisphenol A and four uncommon bisphenol analogs in waste from polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) production processes that may originate from the degradation of some compounds used during resin synthesis in Colombia to determine the effectiveness of removal of these components. The data obtained show that the treatments used in these waters are insufficient to eliminate 40% of the bisphenols present in them, and when evaluating the profiles of compounds, it is clear that the compound with the highest removal during the PP process was D-BPA-1, while the compound with the highest removal during the PET process was D-BPA-4, indicating that identification and elimination systems for bisphenols are rudimentary.