Degradation of estradiol and ethinylestradiol with an GREEN CATALYST® oxidant activator and hydrogen peroxide

Endocrine disruptors have been found in our surface waters as a result of incomplete wastewater treatment and contamination from animal rearing facilities. Two identified contaminants with estrogenic activity are 17β-estradiol (E2, the most potent natural estrogenic hormone) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2, the synthetic estrogen found in most birth control pills). A peroxide-activating GREEN CATALYST was evaluated for its capacity to degrade these compounds. While EE2 is resistant to most biological degradation processes, the GREEN CATALYST plus hydrogen peroxide (pH 10) resulted in degradation of ≥ 95% within 5 minutes at room temperature (by HPLC analysis). Similar degradation was observed with E2 when the GREEN CATALYST :E2 ratio was 1:250, while degradation kinetics were measurable using ratios of 1:1,000. The reaction closely followed first-order decay kinetics. Using LC MS-MS, neither estrogenic metabolite estrone nor estradiol was detected post-reaction. These results indicate a potential use for GREEN CATALYST in remediation of municipal and agricultural wastewater containing estrogenic compounds.