Removal of estrogens from water using activated carbon obtained from olive stones Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • Micropollutants are natural or synthetic substances that are continuously released to aquatic environments that, even present at very low concentartions, such as µg/L or ng/L, can present adverse effects to the environment
  • Micropollutants are natural or synthetic substances that are continuously released to aquatic environments that, even present at very low concentrations, such as μg/L or ng/L, can present adverse effects to the environment [1]. Micropollutants include a huge range of compounds such as pharmaceuticals, hormones, cosmetics, disinfectants, pesticides, among others [2]. Estrogens are hormones that can be found naturally in fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals. The main therapeutic molecules of estrogens are 17ꞵ-Estradiol, Estriol and synthetic 17α-Ethinylestradiol normally used as contraceptives [3]. When present in water bodies, they can represent an environmental and health problem since traditional sewage and drinking water treatment plants are not able to remove or degrade this pharmaceutical compounds. This work will present some experimental studies for the removal of estrogens by adsorption using biomass-based materials, namely different types of activated carbon, obtained using olive stones as carbon source
  • The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021). J.L. Diaz De Tuesta acknowledges the financial support of “Comunidad de Madrid” (Spain) for the individual research grant 2020-T2/AMB-19836.

publication date

  • January 1, 2022