Estrogen is widely present in the human body but also enters the natural environment through various channels. And the fact that your drinking water may contain trace amounts of synthetic estrogen is indeed worrying.
Experts have shown that estrogens in the environment, including chemicals leaked from drugs, plastics, pesticides, etc., may seriously impact humans and ecosystems. Therefore, how to effectively filter estrogens in water to ensure drinking water safety is an issue worthy of attention.
Therefore, this article aims to help you explore related issues such as how to filter estrogen from water. To reveal whether the water contains estrogen.
Does tap water have estrogen in it?
Whether tap water contains estrogen mainly involves many factors, such as water source pollution, sewage treatment process, and potential health effects. The following introduces the source of estrogen in tap water, test results, and possible risks from these three aspects.
Main sources of estrogen
- Drug residues
- Industrial wastewater discharge
- Agricultural pollution
- Human and animal excrement
How to detect estrogen in water
Although many sewage treatment systems can filter out most pollutants, some trace amounts of estrogen are still not eliminated. Therefore, researchers are very concerned about the detection of residual estrogen in tap water. Although the concentration of estrogen is very low, these low concentrations of compounds may have an impact on ecosystems and human health if exposed for a long time.
Some researchers have shown that trace amounts of estrogen residues have indeed been detected in tap water samples in some large cities. These substances mainly include natural estrogens such as estradiol, and synthetic hormones such as ethinyl estradiol (a common ingredient in contraceptives). However, most of the concentrations are very low, usually within the drinking water safety standard range, and are not enough to cause obvious harm to human health.
Potential risks
Although the estrogen content in tap water is very low, long-term low-concentration exposure may interfere with the human endocrine system, especially for sensitive groups such as pregnant women, children, and the elderly.
In addition, estrogen compounds in water can also affect the health of aquatic organisms, especially fish in the water circulation system. Such hormones may cause an imbalance in the male-female ratio of fish and affect their reproductive ability.
Can reverse osmosis and activated carbon filter estrogen from water?
Reverse Osmosis System
Reverse osmosis technology is a highly efficient water filtration method and the most effective water filtration method. It can remove most pollutants in water, including heavy metals, microorganisms, organic compounds, etc. So will reverse osmosis remove estrogen? The reverse osmosis system can effectively filter estrogen in water. The following is an introduction to the working principle and filtration effect of the reverse osmosis system.
How Reverse Osmosis Works
Reverse osmosis is a membrane separation technology that works on the principle of selective permeability of a semipermeable membrane. The pore size of a semipermeable membrane is extremely small, less than 0.0001 microns. It allows water molecules to pass freely, but blocks dissolved salts, bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants. By applying pressure, the water molecules of the solution move to the other side of the membrane, achieving solute removal.
Related: reverse osmosis water filter how it works
As a result, the reverse osmosis system has a very high removal rate for most organic and inorganic contaminants.
There are many types of reverse osmosis systems on the market, and ITEHIL has become one of the most popular water filtration systems due to its outstanding performance. It uses PP cotton + activated carbon and RO membrane for multiple filtrations, which can filter 99.99% of pollutants in the water. The ITEHIL reverse osmosis water filter is equipped with an efficient electric self-priming pump, which can filter out 500 ml of pure water per minute, which is very efficient and fast. It adopts a portable design, and you can use it to filter any water source at any time. For example, rainwater runoff, spring water, lakes, ponds, rivers, swimming pools, swamp water, soda water, coffee, etc.
Reverse Osmosis Effect on Estrogen Removal
Researchers have shown that reverse osmosis systems can effectively remove endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), including estrogen. Due to the relatively large size and structure of estrogen molecules, they cannot pass through the reverse osmosis membrane, so their removal rate is high. Common estrogen substances such as natural estrogens (such as estradiol) and synthetic estrogens (such as ethinyl estradiol) can usually achieve a removal rate of more than 90% in reverse osmosis filtration.
However, several factors can affect the effectiveness of reverse osmosis in removing estrogen, and you need to address these factors so that the filtration effect of reverse osmosis will be optimal.
- Membrane quality and life: You need to replace or clean the membrane regularly to ensure that the reverse osmosis system is removed efficiently.
- Water pressure: The reverse osmosis system relies on high pressure to push water through the semi-permeable membrane. Insufficient pressure may affect removal efficiency.
- Pre-filtration: Reverse osmosis systems are usually equipped with a multi-stage filtration system, including a pre-activated carbon filter to remove larger particles and organic matter. These pre-treatment stages also help improve the final removal of estrogen.
Activated carbon filtration
Activated carbon water filters use their huge surface area and adsorption capacity to effectively capture organic molecules in water, including some estrogens. Therefore, activated carbon water filters can filter out some estrogens, but their filtering effect is far inferior to that of reverse osmosis systems.
Activated carbon's ability to adsorb estrogen
The adsorption effect of activated carbon water filters on estrogen depends on the type of carbon, pore size, and the speed of the filtered water flow. Powdered activated carbon (PAC) and granular activated carbon (GAC) are common forms of activated carbon. Usually, PAC has a better adsorption effect due to its smaller particles and larger adsorption area.
According to relevant research, the removal rate of activated carbon for estrogen can reach 50%-70%, but it cannot completely filter out all hormones.
Limitations of using activated carbon
Although activated carbon has a certain adsorption capacity for estrogen, not all estrogen molecules can be captured.
In addition, with long-term use, the adsorption sites on the surface of activated carbon will gradually be occupied. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the water filter cartridge regularly. Activated carbon is also unable to remove other inorganic pollutants, such as heavy metals and certain volatile organic compounds. Therefore, it may need to be used in combination with reverse osmosis technology.
Are there any water filters that remove hormones?
Estrogen-removing water filters require the use of advanced water treatment technologies such as activated carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet disinfection. These filters can effectively remove harmful substances from water, including estrogen hormones and other contaminants.
- Reverse Osmosis Water Filter: Reverse osmosis technology uses a semipermeable membrane to separate dissolved solids and contaminants in water, which can effectively remove estrogen and other small contaminants.
- Activated Carbon Filter: Activated carbon can adsorb organic compounds in water, including certain estrogens. It removes impurities through physical and chemical adsorption.
- Nanofiltration Filter: An option between reverse osmosis and activated carbon, nanofiltration filters can effectively remove most organic contaminants while retaining minerals in the water.
- Ultraviolet Disinfection: Expose water to ultraviolet light, which can kill bacteria and viruses, and also break down some chemicals.
Using these filters can improve the quality of drinking water and reduce potential health risks. When choosing a filter, consider factors such as filtration performance, maintenance requirements, and cost.
Summarize
Although water treatment systems can ensure safe water quality in most cases, they cannot effectively remove all environmental hormone contaminants. Therefore, to ensure the purity of drinking water, it is critical to use advanced water filtration technology.
Estrogen in drinking water may have an impact on health, so you can reduce this risk through the most effective water filtration method (reverse osmosis filtration). Of course, you can also use activated carbon or other water filtration systems as long as they can effectively filter out estrogen in the water.
FAQ
Does bottled water contain estrogen?
According to the NLM website, bottled water may contain estrogen. The main reason for this is that the water may be contaminated at the source, during processing, or after bottling. Therefore, investing in an RO water filtration system is much cheaper in the long run than buying bottled water from the store, and estrogen is not present in RO water.
Can boiling water remove estrogen?
Boiling water is only slightly effective in removing estrogen. Boiling water can kill bacteria and some viruses. However, filtered water can only remove a limited amount of estrogen. So you need to filter it through a filtration technology like reverse osmosis or activated carbon.
How do you remove estrogen from wastewater?
You can use reverse osmosis or activated carbon water filters to remove estrogen from wastewater, but wastewater may affect the life of the filter element. In addition, you can also use chemical coagulants such as iron salts and aluminum salts to remove estrogen from wastewater.
Can you test for estrogen in water?
If you have concerns about water quality and want to test for estrogen in your water, you can send a water sample to a professional laboratory for testing, or you can contact your local water company for testing.
