Advanced Oxidation of Estrone in Water and Wastewater

Natural estrogen, estrone (E1) is one of the most potent endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC). It is of primary concern due to its widespread presence in the aqueous environment and also due to its adverse impact both on aquatic life and potential risk to human health. Conventional waste water treatment plants are not designed to remove it, and most of it remains adsorbed on the activated sludge, while part of it is being discharged with secondary effluent, requiring tertiary treatment for water reuse and disposal. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are seen as promising technologies for removal of estrogens from environment. In this work, a comprehensive research was conducted to determine the relative performance of various advanced oxidation processes such as O3, H2O2, UV, and combinations of UV/ O3, UV/H2O2 for the removal of E1 from pure water and secondary effluent. In addition to the E1 removal, performance of the AOPs was characterized using removal of total organic carbon (TOC) and estrogenicity in the effluent.