Biosorption of 17α-ethinylestradiol by yeast biomass from ethanol industry in the presence of estrone.

Yeast biomass from ethanol industry (YB) was evaluated as a biosorbent to 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE) alone and along with estrone (EST). This material is rich in sorption sites and has a good cost-benefit ratio, since it is an industrial residue largely produced (around 30 g for each liter of ethanol). A 2-factorial design was carried out to evaluate the sorption capacity of YB for EE considering the variables pH, biosorbent dose (BD), and ionic strength (IS), at two hormone concentration (HC) levels.