Removal Of 17β-estradiol Research Articles

Adsorption-catalysis synergy in the visible-light-driven removal of 17β-estradiol by (Au)TiO2 nanotubes-graphene composites

Visible light-mediated photodegradation offers a sustainable and environmentally friendly solution for removing emerging contaminants from water sources. Herein, we report on the synergy effect between adsorption and visible-light-driven photo-degradation of 17β-estradiol using (Au)TiO2 nanotubes-graphene composites. The graphene structures (graphene oxide - GO or thermally reduced graphene oxide - trGO) provide a platform for strong adsorption of 17β-estradiol molecules and facilitate the charge transfer between plasmonic Au nanoparticles and TiO2, leading to an improvement of the overall degradation process. To better understand the effect of Au nanoparticles and TiO2 separately, three different concentrations of Au (1 %, 2.5 %, and 5 %) were prepared and characterized. The estrogenic molecules preferred GO over trGO, suggesting that hydrogen bonds govern the interaction between GO and 17β-estradiol. Consequently, a higher photocatalytic efficiency of GO-containing composites was observed when removing estrogenic molecules. The role of adsorption proved crucial for capturing and retaining more contaminant molecules on the composite surface, thus increasing the odds of surface reactions with the photogenerated carriers. A total removal of 17β-estradiol has been obtained for Au (1 %, 2.5 %, and 5 %) TiO2 nanotubes-GO. The mechanism behind the adsorption and photo-degradation processes has been discussed.

Facile synthesis of PA photocatalytic membrane based on C-PANI@BiOBr heterostructures with enhanced photocatalytic removal of 17β-estradiol

The prevalence of 17β-estradiol (E2) in wastewater has attracted widespread attention due to the negative impacts on ecological environments and human health. Nowadays, photocatalysis has been emerged as an efficient technology for E2 containing wastewater treatment. However, traditional powder photocatalysts face challenges such as easy agglomeration, secondary pollution and difficult recovery, limiting their large-scale application. In this study, a photocatalytic PA/C-PANI@BiOBr membrane was fabricated by immobilizing polyaniline (PANI) layer and BiOBr nanosheets on polyamide (PA) membrane through in-situ chemical bath deposition. This process leveraged the strong hydrogen bond interaction between PANI and PA, with the fine PANI fibers providing nucleation sites for the in-situ growth of BiOBr nanosheets. By repeating the immersion process, we controlled variations in the coverage density and morphology of BiOBr on the membrane surface. The PA/C-PANI@BiOBr membrane exhibited outstanding light absorption and photocatalytic performance. Notably, the optimal PA/C-PANI@BiOBr-10 membrane achieved 100 % removal efficiency of 3 mg L−1 E2 within 40 min. In dynamic cyclic experiments, PA/C-PANI@BiOBr-10 membrane maintained stable permeability and high removal efficiency of pollutants. The photocatalytic mechanism underlying these results was elucidated through photoelectric testing and further photocatalytic experiments. Furthermore, the PA/C-PANI/BiOBr-10 membrane demonstrated remarkable durability over multiple consecutive cycles, with E2 removal efficiency remaining above 96.5 % after 5 cycles.

Removal of 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) by a sequencing batch reactor following UV/H2O2 process

Removal of 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) by a sequencing batch reactor following UV/H2O2 process

Coupling UV-radiation with immobilized bacteria for the removal of 17β-estradiol and 17 α-ethynylestradiol

The ubiquitous presence of estrogens in the wastewater has raised global concerns due to the hazardous effects on ecosystems and human health. In this study, we intend to develop a coupled microbial immobilization degradation and UV photolysis in the same reactor to remove estrogens. The porous structure of the immobilized microbial carrier can prevent cell wall rupture caused by direct exposure to UV light, leading to inactivation of microorganisms. UV oxidation and biodegradation occur simultaneously, and the biodegradable products of UV degradation are timely processed by microorganisms. Results showed that the coupling technology significantly (p < 0.05) outperformed UV or immobilized bacteria alone for the degradation of 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17 α-ethynylestradiol (EE2). The synergistic effect of coupling UV with immobilized bacteria increased the removal of E2 and EE2 by 50–51 % in batch mode and resulted in an improvement of 10 % for E2 in continuous mode. Even though the UV photodegradation plays a major role, the functional microorganisms remain critical for the effective degradation of E2 and EE2. Further optimization, including an 8-hour hydraulic retention time and a 1.67 mM glucose system as carbon source, improved continuous-flow estrogens removal, consistently reaching rates of 94.6–100 % in the immobilized bacteria coupled UV-radiation column reactor. Our results have shown the immobilized microbial technology can effectively provide protection for microorganisms to prevent microbial losses and can be successfully applied in photodegradation coupled biodegradation technology.

17β-estradiol (E2) removal in anode-electrodialysis (anode-ED) during nutrient recovery from pig manure digestate

Nutrient recovery from anaerobic digestate through electrodialysis technology (ED) has been investigated and shown high promise, but the removal of 17β-estradiol (E2), which is a natural estrogen and widely found in manure digestate, is not clear. This study examined the mechanism of membrane adsorption and anodic oxidation of E2 during recovering nutrient from manure digestate, and further investigated the performance of Anode-ED in E2 removal. The results showed that the removal of E2 in conventional ED was primarily attributed to membrane adsorption, resulting in no detectable E2 in the product solution. The adsorption capacity of the anion exchange membrane for E2 was significantly higher compared to that of the cation exchange membrane. During Anode-ED operation, E2 was efficiently removed by electrochemical oxidation, in which the chlorination played a primary role. Moreover, the oxidation intermediates of E2 were further removed after 40 min. Even though the carbonate, volatile fatty acid (VFA), and humic acid in the real wastewater have a negative impact on E2 oxidation, the E2 was completely removed from digestate during nutrient recovery in the anode-ED. This study indicates that anode-ED is a promising technology for the removal of E2 during nutrient recovery from digestate.

Photocatalytic removal of 17β-estradiol from water using a novel bimetallic NiCu/Nb2O5 catalyst.

The development of effective photocatalytic materials is essential for removing emerging pollutants from aqueous media, such as the hormone 17β-estradiol (E2). In this study, a novel photocatalyst based on niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) functionalized with nickel (Ni) and copper (Cu) was synthesized for E2 removal. The NiCu/Nb2O5 photocatalyst was prepared using a facile wet impregnation method and characterized by various techniques. The incorporation of Ni and Cu into Nb2O5 reduced the band gap energy from 3.3 to 2.8eV, enabling efficient utilization of visible light. Moreover, NiCu/Nb2O5 exhibited the highest E2 removal efficiency (82%) under UV-A-assisted conditions at a concentration of 1.5 g L-1. The reaction kinetics were found to follow a second-order model with a rate constant of k = 0.0020 L g-1 min-1, and a plausible reaction mechanism was proposed. Through the study of radical elimination, it was proven that the radical oxidation reaction mechanism predominated in the reaction. The results of the toxicity assays, combined with the TOC parameter, demonstrated the efficacy of photocatalytic degradation in reducing E2. These findings demonstrate the great potential of the NiCu/Nb2O5 photocatalyst for removing persistent pollutants.

Removal of 17β-estradiol (E2) from Aqueous Solutions by Adsorption Using Oak Jaft and Tea Waste, Isotherm Investigation, and Adsorption Kinetics

The present study aims to investigate wastewater treatment of hormones by oak jaft and tea waste adsorbents. Various factors were used to evaluate the adsorption process, such as the initial pollutant concentration, adsorbent concentration, contact time, and pH. The results showed that both adsorbents, jaft, and tea waste, can adsorb 17β-estradiol. Maximum adsorption was 82.4% for jaft adsorbent and 81.5% for tea waste at 85 min, 7 g/L of adsorbent dose, and pH = 4.5, respectively. The adsorption equilibrium was performed using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Liu models, based on the results, Freundlich model with R2 values &gt;0.97 demonstrated better agreement with the adsorption experimental data. To obtain information on adsorption velocity, three models of pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and Elovich were used. The findings revealed that the pseudo-second-order model with R2 &gt; 0.98 is a better fit for the experimental data. Therefore, the jaft adsorbent and tea waste can be used as effective and economical adsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants in wastewater treatment plants.

Mechanistic insight into humic acid-enhanced sonophotocatalytic removal of 17β-estradiol: Formation and contribution of reactive intermediates

In this study, humic acid (HA) enhanced 17β-estradiol (17β-E2) degradation by Er3+-CdS/MoS2 (ECMS) was investigated under ultrasonic and light conditions. The degradation reaction rate of 17β-E2 was increased from (14.414 ± 0.315) × 10−3 min−1 to (122.677 ± 1.729) × 10−3 min−1 within 90 min sonophotocatalytic (SPC) reaction with the addition of HA. The results of quenching coupled with chemical probe experiments indicated that more reactive intermediates (RIs) including reactive oxygen species (ROSs) and triplet-excited states were generated in the HA-enhanced sonophotocatalytic system. The triplet-excited states of humic acid (3HA*), hydroxyl radical (•OH), and superoxide radical (•O2−) were the dominant RIs for 17β-E2 elimination. In addition, the energy- and electron-transfer process via coexisting HA also account for 12.86% and 29.24% contributions, respectively. The quantum yields of RIs in the SPC-ECMS-HA system followed the order of 3HA* > H2O2 >1O2 > •O2−> •OH. Moreover, the spectral and fluorescence characteristics of HA were further analyzed during the sonophotocatalytic reaction process. The study expanded new insights into the comprehension of the effects of omnipresent coexisting HA and RIs formation for the removal of 17β-E2 during the sonophotocatalytic process.

Preparation of Immobilised 17β-Estradiol-Imprinted Nanoparticles onto Bacterial Cellulose Nanofibres to Use for the Removal of 17β-Estradiol from Wastewater.

Estradiol, a phenolic steroid oestrogen, is one of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) found in natural and tap waters. The detection and removal of EDCs is attracting attention daily as they negatively affect animals' and humans' endocrine functions and physiological conditions. Therefore, developing a fast and practical method for the selective removal of EDCs from waters is essential. In this study, we prepared 17β-estradiol (E2)-imprinted HEMA-based nanoparticles onto bacterial cellulose nanofibres (E2-NP/BC-NFs) to use for the removal of E2 from wastewater. FT-IR and NMR confirmed the structure of the functional monomer. The composite system was characterised by BET, SEM, µCT, contact angle, and swelling tests. Additionally, the non-imprinted bacterial cellulose nanofibres (NIP/BC-NFs) were prepared to compare the results of E2-NP/BC-NFs. Adsorption of E2 from aqueous solutions was performed in batch mode and investigated via several parameters for optimisation conditions. The effect of pH studies was examined in the 4.0-8.0 range using acetate and phosphate buffers and a concentration of E2 of 0.5 mg/mL. The maximum E2 adsorption amount was 254 µg/g phosphate buffer at 45 °C. The experimental data show that the Langmuir is a relevant isotherm model for E2 adsorption. Additionally, the relevant kinetic model was the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. It was observed that the adsorption process reached equilibrium in less than 20 min. The E2 adsorption decreased with the increase in salt at varying salt concentrations. The selectivity studies were performed using cholesterol and stigmasterol as competing steroids. The results show that E2 is 46.0 times more selective than cholesterol and 21.0 times more selective than stigmasterol. According to the results, the relative selectivity coefficients for E2/cholesterol and E2/stigmasterol were 8.38 and 86.6 times greater for E2-NP/BC-NFs than for E2-NP/BC-NFs, respectively. The synthesised composite systems were repeated ten times to assess the reusability of E2-NP/BC-NFs.

Synthesis of composite imprinted polymer membranes for the selective removal of 17β-estradiol from water

Composite microfiltration polyethersulfone membranes incorporating molecularly imprinted particles (MIPs) were developed for efficient and selective adsorption of 17β-estradiol from water.

Enhanced photocatalytic efficiency via improved contact in a solar-driven membrane reactor for steroid hormone removal

The application of solar-driven photocatalytic membranes (PM) for steroid hormone elimination from surface water is encouraging. However, both the limited availability and utilization of oxidizing species (singlet oxygen) inside the PM and the limited diffusion of reactants may constrain the destruction of organic pollutants. To facilitate the contact between the liquid phase and PM surface, poly(vinylidene-fluoride) membranes with small pore size are used to confine and evenly distribute organic photocatalyst (porphyrin) molecules. The porphyrin-coated membranes with nanopores (20 nm, NM20) provide a greater surface area and four times faster degradation of 17β-estradiol than PMs based on microfiltration membranes (pore size in range 100 – 650 nm). Stacking multiple NM20 membranes on top of each other extends contact time and results in a concentration of 17β-estradiol in the permeate of 2 ng L–1, but the gain in 17β-estradiol removal is limited by light propagation. Alternatively, adjusting the flux (below 150 L m–2 h−1) of the membrane with pore size of 200 nm is effective in reducing the concentration of 17β-estradiol in the permeate from 100 ng L–1 to 1 ng L–1. These results ensure the compliance with the European Commission guidance value for 17β-estradiol. The degradation of more chemically stable testosterone (compared to 17β-estradiol and estrone) using NM20 membranes is improved relative to PM with larger pores (200 nm). This study confirms that improved contact, achieved by carefully choosing the membrane support, accelerates the photocatalytic degradation of micropollutants.

Bioaugmented removal of 17β-estradiol, nitrate and Mn(II) by polypyrrole@corn cob immobilized bioreactor: Performance optimization, mechanism, and microbial community response

The coexistence of nitrate and endocrine substances (EDCs) in groundwater is of global concern. Herein, an efficient and stable polypyrrole@corn cob (PPy@Corn cob) bioreactor immobilized with Zoogloea sp. was designed for the simultaneous removal of 17β-estradiol (E2), nitrate and Mn(II). After 225 days of continuous operation, the optimal operating parameters and enhanced removal mechanism were explored, also the long-term toxicity and microbial communities response mechanisms under E2 stress were comprehensively evaluated. The results showed that the removal efficiencies of E2, nitrate, and Mn(II) were 84.21, 82.96, and 47.91%, respectively, at the optimal operating conditions with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 h, pH of 6.5 and Mn(II) concentration of 20 mg L−1. Further increased of initial E2 (2 and 3 mg L−1) resulted in the inhibiting effect of denitrification and manganese oxidation, but excellent E2 removal efficiencies maintained, which were associated with the formation and continuous accumulation of biomanganese oxides (BMO). Characterization analysis of biological precipitation demonstrated that adsorption and redox conversion on the BMO surface played key roles in the removal of E2. In addition, different levels of E2 exposure are decisive factors in community evolution, and bioaugmented bacterial communities with Zoogloea as the core group can dynamically adapt to E2 stress. This study offers the possibility to better utilize microbial metabolism and to advance opportunities that depend on microbial physiology and material characterization applications.

Phenol and 17β-estradiol removal by Zoogloea sp. MFQ7 and in-situ generated biogenic manganese oxides: Performance, kinetics and mechanism

The pollution of multifarious pollutants such as heavy metal, organic compounds, and nitrate are a hot research topic at present. In this study, the functions of Zoogloea sp. MFQ7 and its biological precipitation formed during bacterial manganese oxidation on the removal of phenol and 17β-estradiol (E2) were investigated. Strain MFQ7, a manganese-oxidizing bacteria, can remove 98.34% of phenol under pH of 7.1, a temperature of 30 ℃ and Mn2+ concentration of 24.34 mg L−1, additionally, the optimum E2 removal by strain MFQ7 was 100.00% at pH of 7.1, temperature of 28 ℃ and Mn2+ concentration of 28.45 mg L−1 by using response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box-Behnken design (BBD) model. The maximum adsorption capacity of bio-precipitation for phenol and E2 was 201.15 mg g−1 and 65.90 mg g−1, respectively. Furthermore, adsorption kinetics and isotherms analysis, XPS, FTIR spectra, Mn(III) trapping experiments elucidated chemical adsorption and Mn(III) oxidation contribute to the removal of phenol and E2 by biogenic manganese oxides. These findings indicated that the adsorption and oxidation of manganese are expected to be one of the effective means to remove these typical organic pollutants containing phenol and E2.

Mechanistic Insight into Humic Acid-Enhanced Sonophotocatalytic Removal of 17β-Estradiol: Performance and Yield of Reactive Intermediates

Mechanistic Insight into Humic Acid-Enhanced Sonophotocatalytic Removal of 17β-Estradiol: Performance and Yield of Reactive Intermediates

Effective biodeterioration of a common endocrine disruptor 17β-estradiol using mixed microbial cultures isolated from waste water

Twelve bacteria were isolated from wastewater for the degradation of 17β-estradiol (strain K1, K2, K3, K4, L5, L6, L7, L8, M9, M10, M11 and M12) by enrichment method. Initial screening revealed maximum degradation (78 ± 1.1%, and 86 ± 4.2%) of 17β-estradiol by strains L7, and M10, respectively. The production of manganese peroxidase by bacteria gets involved in the degradation of various contaminants. Almost all strains isolated from the enriched medium produced manganese peroxidase. Based on initial screening on 17β-estradiol degradation and manganese peroxidase production, two bacteria (Flavobacterium longum L7 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa M10) were selected to analyze 17β-estradiol degradation in co-culture system. The co-cultured strains could rapidly remove 17β-estradiol (91.3%) from the culture medium at 10 mg/L 17β-estradiol initial concentration. Moreover, degradation of 17β-estradiol was only 82% and 75% when the strains L7 and M10 were treated individually. Initial 17β-estradiol concentration was 10 mg/L and 0.3% inoculum were optimum and achieved >90% degradation. Alkaline pH was optimum (pH 7.5) and reached 98.4 ± 7.5% degradation in co-culture. Glucose and trehalose improved the growth and degradation of 17β-estradiol. The organic nitrogen sources such as, yeast extract and peptone improved the removal of 17β-estradiol. The selected bacterial strains were resistant against penicillin, erythromycin, oxytetracycline and tetracycline. The present findings demonstrated the application of F. longum L7 and P. aeruginosa M10 co-culture for the removal of steroid hormones in the wastewater.

Kinetic modeling of the photocatalytic degradation of 17-β estradiol using polythiophene modified Al-doped ZnO: Influence of operating parameters, interfering ions, and estimation of the degradation pathways

The kinetic modeling of the photocatalytic degradation of the endocrine-disrupting compound, 17-β estradiol, using 0.47% polythiophene modified 3.14% Al-doped ZnO has been investigated in this study. The degradation kinetics were investigated by varying the different operational parameters, such as pH, dose, light intensity, and initial concentration. The degradation rate constants were estimated using a non-linear pseudo-first-order kinetic model. At optimum conditions, around 99% removal of 17-β estradiol could be achieved at a degradation rate of 0.943 h−1. The intrinsic kinetic model adopted based on the fundamental equations of photocatalysis, and the empirical kinetic model could efficiently predict the removal efficiency. The performance of the photocatalyst under solar light and the influence of competitive ions commonly present in the water matrix were investigated. Sensitivity analysis revealed that light intensity, photocatalyst dose, HCO3- concentration, and pH influenced the 17-β estradiol removal the most. The identification of active radicals was investigated by the radical scavenging study. Characterization of the photocatalyst before and after photocatalysis was carried out to identify any changes in the physicochemical properties that might have occurred during the process. The intermediates formed during photocatalysis were identified to understand the degradation mechanism and predict the degradation pathway.

Removal of 17β-estradiol from aqueous systems with hydrophobic microspheres

Abstract Sub-microparticles have many applications in different fields today. In this study, it is aimed to develop hydrophobic microparticles as an alternative to existing methods and to determine the 17β-estradiol adsorption performance of this adsorbent to purify the 17β-estradiol hormone which is found as an endocrine disruptor in environmental waters with high capacity and low cost. In this study, l-phenylalanine containing Poly(HEMA-MAPA) microparticles were synthesized by microemulsion polymerization and used as adsorbent. Microparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) methods. The size of the Poly(HEMA-MAPA) microparticles used was measured as 120–200 nm. Specific surface area and elemental analysis studies were also conducted. While the surface area of the particles was found to be a very high value of 1890 m2/g, the amount of incorporation of MAPA into the polymeric structure was calculated as 0.43 mmol/g. Adsorption studies were carried out in the batch system under different ambient conditions (17β-estradiol concentration, temperature, ionic intensity). The adsorption capacity of Poly(HEMA-MAPA) microparticles was calculated to be 98.4 mg/g. Isotherm models for adsorption interaction were investigated deeply, and it was determined that the adsorption mechanism is suitable for Langmuir isotherm.

Activation of persulfate by nanoscale zero-valent iron loaded porous graphitized biochar for the removal of 17β-estradiol: Synthesis, performance and mechanism

In this work, the porosity, graphitization and iron doping of biochar were realized simultaneously by the pyrolysis of biomass and potassium ferrate (K2FeO4), then the iron-doped graphitized biochar was reduced to synthesize nanoscale zero-valent iron loaded porous graphitized biochar (nZVI/PGBC). 17β-estradiol (E2) is an environmental endocrine disruptor that can cause great harm to the environment in small doses. Experiments illustrated that nZVI/PGBC (100 mg/L) could completely remove E2 (3 mg/L) within 45 min by activating sodium persulfate (PS, 400 mg/L). The E2 removal efficiency of nZVI/PGBC was obviously superior to that of pristine biochar (BC), iron-doped graphitized biochar (Fe/GBC), nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) and porous graphitized biochar (PGBC). The removal efficiency could be affected by reaction conditions, including reaction temperature, acidity, dosage of catalyst and oxidant and water matrix. Quenching experiments and electron spin resonance (ESR) demonstrated that SO4-· and HO were both responsible for E2 degradation. This study indicated that Fe0 and Fe2+ were the main catalytic active substances, while the catalytic ability of PGBC was not obvious. The reaction mechanism was proposed, that is, PS was activated by electrons provided by the redox reaction between Fe2+ and Fe3+, and PGBC acted as the carrier of nZVI, the adsorbent of E2 and the mediator of electron-transfer. This study demonstrates that nZVI/PGBC can be used as an effective activator for PS to remove organic pollutants in water.

Removal of 17β-Estradiol (E2) from Aqueous Solutions Using Potassium Permanganate Combined with Ultraviolet (KMnO4/UV)

17β-Estradiol (E2) has a significant health risk to humans, even at the ng/L level, and is discharged to the aqueous environment through wastewater. Advanced oxidation processes were proposed as an efficient process for the removal of E2. In this study, a combination of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) and KMnO4 was applied for the removal of E2. Results have shown that the removal efficiency of E2 in pH 4 (acidic condition) was 93.80 ± 0.42%. But, removal efficiency in neutral (7) and alkaline (10) conditions was 78.3 ± 2.12% and 84 ± 0.71%, respectively. The effect of Fe+2, Ca+2, Mg+2, Mn+2, and Fe+3 ions (1 mg/L) was investigated in optimized pH (4). Mn+2, Fe+2, and Ca+2 ions enhanced the removal efficiency to 94.8 ± 0.84%, 95.55 ± 0.07%, and 94.7 ± 0.14%, respectively p &gt; 0.05 , while Mg+2 and Fe+3 ions decreased the removal efficiency significantly to 76.15 ± 1% and 83.91 ± 0.3% p &lt; 0.05 . The efficiency of E2 removal in the presence of 5 mg/L of PAC reduced significantly to 85 ± 4.24% p &lt; 0.05 . Also, humic substances like humic acid, fulvic acid, and a combination of them could enhance the efficiency to 99.87 ± 0.01%, 99.9 ± 0.06%, and 99.93 ± 0.014%, respectively p &gt; 0.05 . The result indicates that the rate of oxidation of E2 is related to the second exponent of the initial concentration of E2 for optimum pH and the presence of all ions. But, in the presence of humic substances, the first-order kinetic reaction was best applicable in describing oxidation of E2. Removal of chemical oxygen demand for E2 after 120 minutes’ of contact time at optimum pH (86 ± 4.2%) demonstrated mineralization of these compounds at acceptable levels. Results presented that the UV-C/KMnO4 process is efficient for the removal of hormones from the aqueous solution.

Enhanced photocatalytic degradation of 17β-estradiol by polythiophene modified Al-doped ZnO: Optimization of synthesis parameters using multivariate optimization techniques

Zinc oxide-based photocatalysts are widely being recognized as efficient materials to degrade emerging organic contaminants, including pharmaceutically active compounds. Previously, various modifications by doping of various metals and non-metals have been incorporated to enhance the performance of zinc oxide. In this work, a novel hybrid photocatalyst was prepared by fabricating zinc oxide with aluminum and polythiophene. Optimization of the synthesis parameters were conducted by targeting the photocatalytic degradation of 17β-estradiol under ultraviolet-A irradiation. The prepared catalysts were thoroughly characterized to understand the effect of incorporation of aluminum and polythiophene on the physicochemical properties of the photocatalyst along with its degradation efficiency and kinetics. The experimental data set was generated using a central composite design, which was further modeled and optimized using various multivariate optimization techniques. The influence of individual parameters and their interactive effect on the photocatalyst’s performance were analyzed using the outputs of the developed models. Among the employed models, the artificial neural network was found to be the best and was used to generate the optimum conditions (0.47 wt. % polythiophene, 3.14 mol% aluminum and calcination temperature of 174.1 °C) for photocatalyst preparation at which a high 17β-estradiol removal efficiency of about 96 % was achieved.