Investigation of electrochemical advanced oxidation processes for 17b-estradiol hormone degradation

• Grant number: 18/23464-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2019
• End date: July 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Carlos Silva Costa Teixeira
• Grantee: Renan dos Reis Hernandes
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Nowadays, the presence of endocrine disruptors (ED) in waterbodies represents one of the most important environmental concerns. In Brazil, these pollutants are usually detected at concentrations higher than those reported worldwide, especially for the hormone 17B-estradiol. This is mainly associated with its resistance to conventional sewage treatment technologies, which makes necessary the development of novel technologies capable of solving such environmental problem. Given that, this project proposes the investigation of advanced electrochemical oxidation processes (electro-AOPs) in the degradation of 17b-estradiol, aiming to apply this technology for the treatment of hormone-contaminated effluents. For that, different electro-AOPs will be tested, such as electro-Fenton and electro-Fenton-like processes, in order to evaluate the most promising alternative for practical application. Also, the influence of different process variables, such as electrode type, potential difference, electrolyte concentration and water matrix will be investigated, aiming at finding the best operating conditions.