Contributions of Abiotic and Biotic Processes to the Aerobic Removal of Phenolic Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in a Simulated Estuarine Aquatic Environment

The contributions of abiotic and biotic processes in an estuarine aquatic environment to the removal of four phenolic endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) were evaluated through simulated batch reactors containing water-only or water-sediment collected from an estuary in South China. More than 90% of the free forms of all four spiked EDCs were removed from these reactors at the end of 28 days under aerobic conditions, with the half-life of 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE₂) longer than those of propylparaben (PP), nonylphenol (NP) and 17β-estradiol (E₂). The interaction with dissolved oxygen contributed to NP removal and was enhanced by aeration. The PP and E₂ removal was positively influenced by adsorption on suspended particles initially, whereas abiotic transformation by estuarine-dissolved matter contributed to their complete removal. Biotic processes, including degradation by active aquatic microorganisms, had significant effects on the removal of EE₂. Sedimentary inorganic and organic matter posed a positive effect only when EE₂ biodegradation was inhibited. Estrone (E₁), the oxidizing product of E₂, was detected, proving that E₂ was removed by the naturally occurring oxidizers in the estuarine water matrixes. These results revealed that the estuarine aquatic environment was effective in removing free EDCs, and the contributions of abiotic and biotic processes to their removal were compound specific.