###### Abstract  
Steroid hormones are micropollutants that contaminate water worldwide and have significant impacts on human health and the environment, even at very low concentrations. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of technologies for the removal of endocrine-disrupting compounds with a focus on oestrogens (estrone E1, 17\(\beta\)-oestradiol E2, estriol E3), the synthetic oestrogen (17\(\alpha\)-ethinylestradiol EE2 and bisphenol A BPA), and pharmaceuticals found in wastewater. Hormonal and pharmaceutical contaminants are mostly persistent organic compounds that cannot be easily removed using conventional wastewater treatment processes. For this reason, researchers have tried to develop more efficient tertiary wastewater treatment technologies to reduce microppollutant concentrations in wastewater. This review covers the following processes: Advanced oxidation, nanofiltration, ultrasound, electro-Fenton processes, electrolysis, adsorption, ozonation, photolysis, photocatalysis, ultrafiltration, and electrocoagulation. Attention was paid to the effectiveness of the processes in terms of eliminating hormones and pharmaceuticals from wastewater, as well as on economic and environmental aspects. The combination of different processes can be a promising treatment scheme for retaining and degrading hormonal and pharmaceutical compounds from wastewater. With hybrid technologies, the advantages of the methods are combined to maximise the removal of pollutants. However, optimal methods of wastewater treatment depend on the quality and quantity of the wastewater, as well as the residual hormonal and pharmaceutical compounds and their hazardous effects. oestrogens; pharmaceuticals; elimination of micropollutants from wastewater; electrolysis; adsorption; advanced oxidation; nanofiltration +
Footnote †: journal: Applied sciences  
[PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON]. Endocrine disruptors (EDCs) are of particular concern because they interfere with endocrine regulation, potentially causing cancer and other health problems in humans and animals. EDCs cover a broad group of compounds, including pesticides, natural and synthetic oestrogens, and pharmaceutical compounds. Of these, oestrogens such as E1, E2 and EE2, E3, and BPA are characterised by powerful endocrine-disrupting effects that pose potential risks to human health [3; 5; 6]. Oestrogens are potent hormones that play a key role in the human and animal reproductive system. E2 and EE2 are partially absorbed by organisms, and most are excreted intact or partially degraded in urine and faeces. Therefore, synthetic hormone therapies and natural secretions from humans and animals increase oestrogen hormone (E2 and EE2) concentrations in water bodies in levels ranging from ng/L to ug/L [7; 8; 9; 10]. However, even at trace concentrations, these compounds can disrupt the endocrine function of aquatic organisms, leading to the feminisation of male fish, altered sex ratios, and reproductive impairment. Furthermore, the half-life of EE2 in drinking water is 108 days [11; 12]. Oestrogens and other organic contaminants are partially removed by biological processes and during adsorption on solids [6]. The most commonly used adsorbent for the removal of steroid hormones is activated carbon [13]. Consequently, hormones have been detected in water bodies, in part due to the inefficiency of municipal wastewater treatment plants [14; 15]. During the past 20 years, numerous studies have been performed to increase the efficiency of oestrogen removal from treated wastewater, with reported removal amounts ranging from 0 to 100% [16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21]. Various methods have been proposed to remove oestrogens from water, including membrane filtration, adsorption, biological treatment, and advanced oxidation processes that include photocatalysis and ozonation. Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, in particular, can effectively remove oestrogens but are expensive processes [7].