Over the years, the persistent occurrence of superfluous endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) (sub µg L−1) in water has led to serious health disorders in human and aquatic lives, as well as undermined the water quality. At present, there are no generally accepted regulatory discharge limits for the EDCs to avert their possible negative impacts. Moreover, the conventional treatment processes have reportedly failed to remove the persistent EDC pollutants, and this has led researchers to develop alternative treatment methods. Comprehensive information on the recent advances in the existing novel treatment processes and their peculiar limitations is still lacking. In this regard, the various treatment methods for the removal of EDCs are critically studied and reported in this entry.
1. Introduction
The detection of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) as contaminants in the environment has drawn the significant interest of researchers during the past few years, owing to their potential human and environmental threats
[1]. Several chemicals (some illicit and some still in circulation) have been considered as EDCs
[2]. The increasing accumulation of more EDC micro-contaminants in natural waters is mainly attributable to the advancement and rapid expansion of chemical technologies for organic production and processing
[3].
These contaminants can infiltrate directly into the aquatic environment via effluent outflow and indirectly as runoff, yet the main carrier of EDC contaminants to the freshwater bodies is via treated and raw urban effluent release into water bodies
[4][5]. Moreover, even most of the treated potable water resources may be polluted through deep-well injection of the effluent and surface water outflow
[6]. This shows that even treated water is not absolutely free from the EDC contaminants
[7][8]. The persistence of EDCs in water even at a trace concentration is notably dangerous to the health because of its ability to cause metabolic and reproductive disorders; therefore, the need for efficient management of EDCs contained in effluent before discharge is indispensable
[9][10].
The management of effluent discharges emanating from various sources, such as pharmaceutical compounds, pesticides, personal care products, and similar compounds, has received significant attention in many countries
[11][12]. This ensures considerable control, even though more stringent regulations are still required for better management
[13]. Various studies have indicated that EDCs are ubiquitous and can frequently be found in almost all water sources, namely surface waters, groundwater, municipal water, treated and untreated wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent, and finished drinking water, globally
[14][15]. Primarily, the most practiced management technique is a conventional treatment. In this vein, several reports have indicated that the conventional treatment approach is inefficient in the elimination of EDC contaminants from water
[8][16][17][18]. This is because several EDCs are non-biodegradable in nature or have poor biodegradability and strong chemical cohesion in the environment
[19]. For instance, about 41 and 40 EDC pollutants were found in the treated effluent and environmental waters at the downstream and upstream of wastewater treatment facilities (WWTF), respectively
[20]. Notably, among these, higher proportions of BPA (239.0 ng/L; 396.4 ng/L), diclofenac (467.7ng/L; 1461.5 ng/L), carbamazepine (157.1 ng/L; 279.5 ng/L), and ibuprofen (153.3 ng/L; 312.1 ng/L) were recorded in the effluent of both upstream and downstream of WWTF. Analogously, Mailler et al.
[21] reported that NP and BPA were detected in the treated effluents of wastewater treatment plants, ranging between 100 and 1000 ng/L, as well as higher proportions of artificial sweeteners, close to 1000–10,000 ng/L. Besides, effluent discharge from municipal wastewater was classified as the major source of EDCs in the rivers in China
[22]. Moreover, Lin
[7], in his study, established that some selected EDC contaminants such as DEET and TCEP are relatively resistant to the conventional treatment process. This trend was corroborated by Carmona et al.
[23], who established that PPCPs compounds ranging between 6.72 to 940 ng/L were discovered in an effluent discharge after the conventional wastewater treatment process.
2. Treatment Processes in Removing Endocrine Disrupting Compounds
The emergence of unregulated micro-contaminants, such as endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), created the need for effectual treatment technologies to remediate the concentration level
[24]. Recently, several approaches for the elimination of EDCs from wastewater, including potable water, have been reported. These include the conventional treatment method, adsorption process, biological treatment based on enzymatic degradation, photocatalysis degradation, ozonation and oxidation processes, use of membrane filtration technique, and hybrid systems
[25][26][27][28].
Conventional Treatment Process
The conventional treatment process comprises three major phases, namely primary (or mechanical), secondary, and advanced phases for the remediation of EDC contaminants from water sources. The initial primary phase is configured to eliminate the suspended, gross, and floating solids from raw wastewater from its source. It also involves screening to confine solid objects and removal of suspended solids through sedimentation by gravity
[27]. The secondary treatment contains activated sludge, which employs an aeration tank or dispersed-growth reactor containing microorganisms (consuming the organic matter and converting it into carbon dioxide (CO
2), water, and energy to enhance reproduction and development), mixed liquor, and a suspension of wastewater. The constituents of the aeration tank are agitated vigorously by the aerator, which then supplies required oxygen to the biological suspension
[28]. The trickling filters in the secondary treatment phase serve as a support media where wastewater is applied intermittently or continuously over the media, such that, as the water flows, the microbes become linked to the media and build a fixed film. In this context, the organic matter in the wastewater dissolves into the film, where it is metabolized
[29]. The conventional treatment technique has remained the most extensively utilized treatment process for decades and is widely considered to be very efficient in handling reclaimed water by eliminating the mass of microbial contaminants and chemical compounds. Hence, the efficiency of the conventional treatment process has been investigated by researchers to assess its effectiveness in removing EDC contaminants from water.
Table 1 presents a summary of findings regarding the existing conventional treatment approaches.
Table 1. Treatment by conventional processes.
3. Contemporary Techniques for the Removal of EDCs from Various Water Sources
3.1. Catalytic Degradation of EDCs
The catalytic degradation process involves stimulating the rate of degradation of the EDCs
[33]. The enhancement of the degradation rate may be achieved via the presence of photo radiation or organic enzymes
[34]. Primarily, the catalyst offers a choice of reaction path with lesser excitation energy compared with the non-catalysed mechanism. Typically, the catalyst reacts to build a temporary intermediate in catalysed mechanisms, which subsequently rejuvenate the original catalyst in a virtuous circle
[35].
3.2. Photo-Catalytic Degradation of EDCs
Generally, the photocatalytic degradation of EDC contaminants requires the stimulation of photoreactions under a combined influence of light (solar irradiation or UV) and a catalyst
[19][36]. It involves multiple steps (such as diffusion and adsorption of EDCs, chemical reactions, desorption of intermediates, and removal of the product from the interface) to complete the process. The reaction products (intermediates) of these steps ultimately constitute the end products during the last stage. Usually, the desired end products of a completed photocatalytic degradation process are H
2O and CO
2. Detection of these reaction intermediates would offer additional insight into the mechanism involved in the degradation technique and would facilitate the degradation pathway. Thus, the efficacy of a successful and higher photocatalytic process is based on the generation of HO
• radicals
[19].
The performance and degradation rate of a photocatalytic process hinges on several working conditions that determine the elimination of EDCs in water. These include light intensity, wavelength, presence of organic and inorganic compounds, reaction temperature, catalyst loading, concentration and chemical structure of the contaminants, initial concentration of the substrate, solution pH, and dissolved oxygen
[19][37]. Few studies have explored photocatalytic and enzymatic degradation processes to eliminate EDCs from different water sources (
Table 2). Furthermore, the photocatalysis process has been considered as a promising technique for degrading EDCs, with no secondary contamination, moderate reaction medium, and better energy-saving
[38].
Table 2. Removals of some EDCs during photocatalytic and enzymatic degradation processes.
3.3. Enzymatic Degradation
Phytoremediation (enzymatic degradation) is another novel remediation and a promising technique for the elimination of EDCs and other similar chemical compounds in wastewater. Researchers have identified several micro-organisms as critical factors to proceed with the EDC phytoremediation process, and the most widely applied ones are fungal, bacterial, and algal strains, as well as mixed cultures
[45]. Enzymatic degradation also depends on the microorganism activities, although the degree of degradation has a strong correlation with several environmental factors, such as pH, nutrient, and temperature
[46]. Some of these bio-enzymes include oxidoreductases: laccases, tyrosinases, polyphenol oxidases, manganese peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, horseradish peroxidase, and bitter gourd peroxidase. Studies have collectively indicated that apart from the environmental factors, quite a few redox mediators, additives, and surfactants could better enhance the enzymatic oxidation process
[47].
Table 2 presents the recent findings on the use of enzymes and their treatment conditions for removing EDCs.
Macellaro et al.
[41] examined the degradation of five different EDCs using four distinct fungal laccases, subject to the availability of both synthetic and natural mediators. The results obtained from this study revealed that all laccases could oxidize different EDCs, with bisphenol A (BPA) exclusively oxidized under all conditions tested. In addition, mediators remarkably increase the performance of enzymatic treatment and enhance the degradation of substrates refractory to laccases oxidation. Two main possible limitations of this study were the tedious nature of the experiment procedure and challenges in adapting enzymes capable of eliminating the target compounds with an affinity constant of the same order of magnitude concerning the typical proportions of EDCs in the surroundings.
3.4. Removal of EDCs by Membranes
Membrane technology is the most extensively applied physicochemical separation technology for the removal of salt and microbes from water
[48][49][50]. Membrane processes have been productively utilized in difficulties relating to unavailability of fresh and clean water and could remove EDCs and natural organic matter (NOM) from both wastewater reuse and drinking water
[51][52]. This could be achieved due to its unique characteristics, including energy efficiency, compactness, high throughput, and cost-effectiveness
[53].
Essentially, pressure-operated membrane processes are described and classified into four major classes, mostly based on the pore size and operating pressure exerted: microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis
[54][55].
Moreover, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyethersulfone (PES), cellulose acetate (CA), and polysulfone (PSF) are the most frequently applied polymer materials in membrane purification for water treatment
[56]. Among these, PVDF is the most favored and broadly employed polymeric membrane and has drawn growing interest in recent years from manufacturers and researchers. This is because PVDF polymer has exhibited unique and promising characteristics that make it an effectual and superior candidate to reject EDC contaminants from water. These include exceptional aging resistance, outstanding mechanical strength and thermal stability, and good chemical resistance, which are central for the practical application of membrane technology
[57]. In addition, PVDF shows acceptable processability for fabricating flat sheet, hollow fibre (HF), and tubular membranes, and it is dissolvable in numerous conventional solvents, such as N, N-dimethyl acetamide (DMAC), dimethylformamide (DMF), and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP)
[58]. The chemical and physical characteristics of the material could strongly affect membrane performance
[48], since the ideal membrane is one that can yield a high flux with zero fouling or clogging and that is chemically stable and resistant, physically durable, nonbiodegradable, and low cost.
Table 3 presents a summary of some research findings on the application of membrane treatment technique in eliminating EDCs pollutants.
Table 3. Removal of EDCs by Membranes.
3.5. Removal of EDCs by Ozonation and Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs)
Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are generally applied for the elimination of persistent and recalcitrant EDC constituents from municipal and industrial wastewater. In this context, AOP techniques can become very favourable methods for purifying wastewater comprising hardly biodegradable or non-biodegradable organic compounds with excessive poisonousness
[3]. The AOPs can be successfully applied in wastewater purification to destroy the persistent EDC contaminants, the oxidation procedure being controlled by the very strong oxidative potential of the HO
• radicals produced into the reaction medium by various mechanisms
[73]. AOPs are extensively identified as techniques that employ strong radical oxidants (such as
·OH, SO
4–) to fast-track or accelerate the removal of several organic pollutants from different water matrices
[74]. Notably,
•OH is one of the most exceedingly non-selective and reactive radical species existing in AOPs, with a standard reduction potential of 2.8 V vs. standard hydrogen electrode (SHE)
[75]. These processes involve the generation of strongly reactive oxidizing hydroxyl radicals (HO
−) species, such that the generation of
•OH could be enhanced in the presence of H
2O
2, ultraviolet, and Fenton reagent
[76]. AOPs can be employed to oxidize contaminants partly or completely, typically via several oxidants. Photocatalytic and photo-chemical advanced oxidation processes including UV/TiO
2, UV/H
2O
2, UV/H
2O
2/O
3, UV/H
2O
2/Fe
2+(Fe
3+), UV/O
3, and UV/H
2O
2/TiO
2 can be utilized for oxidative degradation of EDC contaminants. A complete mineralization of the EDC contaminants is not essential, as it is more valuable to convert them into biodegradable aliphatic carboxylic acids succeeded by a biological process
[77]. The preferential utilization of H
2O
2 (oxidative agent) and HO radicals producer is evidenced by the fact that the hydrogen peroxide is simple to store, transport, and utilize, with an efficient and safe procedure
[73].
Ozonation and AOPs are powerful redox techniques which exhibit remarkable advantages over the conventional treatment process, particularly small footprint, higher degradation rates, and non-selective removal of non-biodegradable persistent refractory compounds that could not be treated by the conventional treatment process
[10].
Besides, these processes allow decontaminating effects which are crucial for water reusability applications due to direct human contact, such as household reclamation applications
[78]. Ozone can degrade organic pollutants directly and indirectly through the generation of a reactive oxidizing agent (
•OH). The aim of AOPs as a pre-treatment process, either singularly or with supplementary processes, is to enhance the qualities of the conventionally treated effluent and to achieve deactivation of pathogens not treatable by conventional approach
[10]. However, several EDC pollutants are susceptible to both ozone and AOPs (particularly carbamazepine and naproxen), while some are simply dependent on
•OH (namely meprobamate and atrazine)
[79].
Notably, the most frequently applied AOPs to eliminate EDCs from various water matrices comprise of ozonation (catalytic), heterogenous photocatalysis using UV light source, Fenton and photo-Fenton processes, electrochemical oxidation, or a combination of any of the processes
[80].
Different catalysts have been identified for catalytic processes subject to the reaction procedure, involving metal oxides (Zn, Mn, Ti, Bi, Cu, and Co, etc.), noble metals (such as Pd, Ir, Pt, Rh, and Ru), or metal-free carbonaceous material (viz., activated carbons, graphite, carbon fibres and foams, carbon nanotubes, and carbon xerogels)
[12]. However, the most widely utilized catalyst in ozonation and other advanced oxidation processes is titanium dioxide (TiO
2)
[10]. Amongst the various photocatalysts, TiO
2 has been demonstrated to be a promising and favourable semiconductor photocatalyst in advanced oxidation processes and heterogeneous photocatalysis due to its low cost, availability, stability, non-toxicity, unique photocatalytic efficacy, and its potential applications in water and wastewater management
[81]. Comparatively, degradation of EDCs via a solar photocatalytic approach has not been sufficiently explored, despite it being a promising technique with unique characteristics such as zero secondary contamination, benign reaction condition, facile procedure, and low energy demand
[82][83][84][85][86].
Table 4 presents a summary of the recent advances in AOPs applications for remediating EDCs.
Table 4. Removals of EDCs during ozonation and advanced oxidation processes.
3.6. Removal of Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds via Adsorption Process
Adsorption is one of the most effective methods for treating wastewater, and it essentially depends on the availability of active sites on the sorbent, surface chemistry, and also the chemical (sorbate pKa, basicity or acidity of the sorbent, etc.) and physical properties (such as the sorbate molecular size, sorbent pore density, contact area, etc.), and the specific interactions between adsorbent–adsorbate
[50][94]. However, the adsorbent and adsorbate may have distinct properties based on their constituents, and this is the key determinant of the type of adsorption
[95][96]. Generally, the adsorption process may be considered as physisorption and chemisorption
[50][97]. The processes may occur in different interfaces such as solid–liquid and/or solid–gas in the presence of interactive forces between the surfaces
[98][99]. The physical interaction between the adsorbed compounds and the solid surface due to weak van der Waals force of attraction results in the reversible process called physisorption. The fundamental interaction of permanent and temporary electric dipoles generates the van der Waal forces. Principally, the adsorbate is at a distance from the interacting active plane surface but entrapped due to the binding energy, and this allows multiple layers or a single layer of adsorption
[97].
As a result of the weak binding energy, a lower temperature is required for the desorption process. The activation energy usually ranges between 20 and 40 kJ, which implies that the tendency of the active sorbent in an aqueous medium to dissolve is high
[100]. This could subvert the overall adsorption capacity, though the mechanism correlates with the treatment factors, particularly pH, dosage, particle size, temperature, contact time, and agitation speed
[97]. Moreover, most adsorbents have an excellent potential for regenerating adsorption capacity and the release of quality and safe effluent suitable for discharge
[101].
Figure 1a,b depict a schematic physisorption and chemisorption mechanism, respectively. In the chemisorption mechanism, the chemical bonding results in the breakage and formation of a new bond between the active plane surface of the sorbent and adsorbate
[97]. This signifies that higher adsorption energy and temperature is required, which is usually in the range between 200 and 400 kJ/mol
[100]. Distinctly, single layer adsorbate occurs in chemisorption, and the mechanism is influenced by the aforementioned treatment factors
[102].
Adsorption technique for the removal of EDCs from various water sources using AC has received extensive efforts, which have yielded considerable progress in the last two decades
[103][104][105]. For example, Temmink et al.
[78] and Kovalova et al.
[106] in their separate studies reported excellent EDCs removal using PAC, ranging between 84% and 99% under different operating adsorption conditions. The summary of findings regarding the removal of EDCs via adsorption is presented in
Table 5.
Table 5. Removals of some EDCs during the adsorption process.