Estudos de adsorção do hormônio 17β-estradiol em biossorventes oriundos de casca de soja

Abstract

A large number of chemicals have been identified as endocrine disruptors, and humans can be exposed to them through occupational, dietary, and environmental sources (water, soil, and air). Endocrine disruptors are compounds that alter the normal functioning of the endocrine system in both humans and wildlife, even at low concentrations. Therefore, there is a need to develop new methods for the direct removal of these contaminants at their source. The objective of this study was to obtain and apply adsorbents derived from soybean husk (biosorbents) for the removal of 17β-estradiol in aqueous solution. The biosorbents were characterized using Optical Microscopy (OM) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and adsorption kinetics and equilibrium studies were conducted. Pseudo first-order and pseudo second-order models were used for kinetics, while Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were fitted for equilibrium. OM analysis provided information on the average diameter and morphology of the obtained samples. FTIR results confirmed the presence of functional groups, indicating modifications in the soybean husk structure. Regarding adsorption, carbonized soybean husk was able to remove 44.11% of 17β-estradiol, and the Freundlich model (R²adj = 0.976) was found to fit the equilibrium data, suggesting the possibility of multilayer adsorption. Soybean husk, as a system for removing pollutants from aqueous environments, shows promise as an adsorbent for the removal of 17β-estradiol. From a fundamental scientific perspective, further investigation of other parameters is necessary to gain a better understanding of the system and its mechanism of action. From an applied science perspective, the results suggest that the studied system has the potential to be applied in real-world scenarios, particularly in cases of water contamination by hormone-like pollutants, similar in structure to estradiol. Both perspectives indicate the viability of continuing this work.