title: Occurrence and removal of estrogens in Brazilian wastewater treatment plants.
abstract: This paper evaluated the occurrence and removal efficiency of four estrogenic hormones in five biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), located in the State of Ceará, Brazil. The five WWTPs comprised: two systems consisted of one facultative pond followed by two maturation ponds, one facultative pond, one activated sludge (AS) system followed by a chlorination step, and one upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor followed by a chlorination step. Estrogen occurrence showed a wide variation among the analyzed influent and effluent samples. Estrone (E1) showed the highest occurrence in the influent (76%), whereas both 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) presented a 52% occurrence, and the compound 17β-estradiol 17-acetate (E2-17A), a 32% one. The occurrence in the effluent samples was 48% for E1, 28% for E2, 12% for E2-17A, and 40% for EE2. The highest concentrations of E1 and EE2 hormones in the influent were 3050 and 3180 ng L(-1), respectively, whereas E2 and E2-17A had maximum concentrations of 776 and 2300 ng L(-1), respectively. The lowest efficiencies for the removal of estrogenic hormones were found in WWTP consisted of waste stabilization ponds, ranging from 54 to 79.9%. The high-rate systems (AS and UASB), which have chlorination as post-treatment, presented removal efficiencies of approximately 95%.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Ceará, Rua do Contorno, S/N Campus do Pici, Bl. 713, CEP: 60455-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Germana P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Pessoa
authors.affiliation: Department Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, State University of Paraíba, Rua Juvêncio Arruda, S/N, Campus Universitário, Bodocongó, CEP: 58109-790, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Neyliane C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: de Souza
authors.affiliation: Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Ceará, Rua do Contorno, S/N Campus do Pici, Bl. 713, CEP: 60455-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carla B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Ceará, Rua do Contorno, S/N Campus do Pici, Bl. 713, CEP: 60455-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Joana A C
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Ceará, Rua do Contorno, S/N Campus do Pici, Bl. 713, CEP: 60455-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo Igor M
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Firmino
authors.affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry and Physical Chemistry, Federal University of Ceará, Rua do Contorno, S/N Campus do Pici, Bl. 940, CEP: 60451-970, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ronaldo F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.affiliation: Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Ceará, Rua do Contorno, S/N Campus do Pici, Bl. 713, CEP: 60455-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. Electronic address: andre23@ufc.br.
authors.forename: André B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: dos Santos
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000032:analysis; D004958:Estradiol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D004967:Estrogens / Q000032:analysis*; D004970:Estrone / Q000032:analysis; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol / Q000032:analysis; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D004958:Estradiol; D004967:Estrogens; D004970:Estrone; D004997:Ethinyl Estradiol; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C072350:estradiol 17-acetate
keywords: Endocrine disrupting chemical; Hormone; Occurrence; Removal; Wastewater treatment plant