An Investigation on the concentration of norethisterone in Wastewater

Author

Konzo, Brighton

Title

An Investigation on the concentration of norethisterone in Wastewater

Abstract

The sudden increase in pollution to the natural environmenthas attracted global attention from researchers , governments,environmentalists and many other stakeholders.The death of aquatic animals,hormonal imbalances on fish ,reduced survivability of aquatic organisms among others triggered the research on the concentration of compounds in wastewater.Laboratory work carried out to determine the concentrations of norethisterone (norgestrel) used standards that were prepared from control contraceptive pills mixed with acetonitrile.This was done , so as to quantify it in the aquatic environment. UVabsorbance was between 200- 342 nm. The UV- spectrophotometer and electric shaker were the instruments used in the study. Grab sampling method was used ,where samples of wastewater were collected at one point in time .Three samples were collected from Mbare ( Matapi),Chitungwiza (Manyame river) and Bindura river. It was then quantified by using UV-Vis Spectrophotometer instrument. Values of 9.57mg/L ,14.8 and21.13 mg/L of norgestrel were observed in wastewater samples for Bindura river,Chitungwiza (Manyame river) and Mbare (Matapi) respectively.Also, linearity was observed on calibrationgraphs .Further reasearch studies should focus on upgrading of wastewater treatment plants to remove progesterone-like pollutants.The use of highly advanced instruments like NMR and LC-MS to obtain molecular structure of standard should be prioritised.

Date

September 2022

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Wastewater

Norethisterone

Concentration

Supervisor

Mr C Musekiwa