A review of the current status of removal of endocrine disruptive estrogens from wastewater using lignocellulosic biomass-derived adsorbents

The prevalence of endocrine disruptive estrogens in water systems raises significant environmental and public health concerns. This review provides an overview on the effectiveness of lignocellulosic biomass-derived adsorbents, focused on the potential of cellulose derivatives, for the removal of these microcontaminants from wastewater. The adsorption performance of lignocellulosic biomass-derived adsorbents varies, some have demonstrated notable adsorption capacities (0.8–133 mg/g) and removal efficiencies exceeding 90 %, positioning them as promising, sustainable alternatives to conventional materials such as activated carbon. The review highlights their physicochemical properties, renewability, cost-effectiveness, and environmental sustainability. It further discusses the occurrence, sources, and impacts of estrogens, while critically examining the performance, challenges, and future prospects of biomass-derived adsorbents. This work serves as a seminal resource for advancing scalable, eco-friendly strategies for estrogen removal in wastewater treatment.