TiO2 and ZnO mediated photocatalytic degradation of E2 and EE2 estrogens.

In this work, the photocatalytic degradation of selected estrogens (E2 and EE2) was evaluated, using bench-scale and continuous treatment systems assisted by artificial UV-A and solar radiation. Processes based on the use of TiO2 permit an efficient degradation of E2 and EE2 estrogens, usually at reaction times lower than 15 min. Especially remarkable is the high degradation efficiency shown by sunlight-assisted processes, which are extremely favored by the high efficiency of compound parabolic collectors.