Ultrafiltration/Nanofiltration Based Technique for the Removal of Endocrine Disruptors From Surface Water

Endocrine disruptors compounds (EDCs) are natural or synthetic chemical substances  that interfere in the endocrine system of humans and other animals, affecting their health, growth and reproduction. The EDCs can be integrated in surface waters through diverse mechanisms, like direct discharge of industrial and domestic wastes, the discharge of effluents from biological treatment plants and drains of agriculture into rivers and soils.

Their concentration in water at the order of magnitude of ng/L poses difficultities at the analytical level and at the large scale removal.

This work addresses the assessment of the influence of the  surface water natural organic matter (NOM) on the concentration of EDCs , namely 4-Nonylphenol (NP) , for  further removal by Ultrafiltration (UF).

The UF permeation experiments were conducted with a commercial membrane from Alfa Laval – ETNA10PP. The permeation experiments were carried out in a DSS Lab-unit M20 with a membrane surface area of 0,036 m².

Ultrafiltration experiments for NOM concentration were carried out in concentration mode at different recovery rates. 

The quantification of EDCs in the UF streams – feed, concentrate and permeate – was performed through Solid-Phase Extraction (EPS)/High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC).