The presence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in wastewater effluent is a major concern to the scientific community. This research effort was aimed at investigating Fenton-like degradation of two EDCs 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). The results of the study showed that E2 and EE2 were effectively removed by the Fenton-like oxidation process. Removal efficiencies of 95% and 98% at ferric concentration of 1×10 −3 M (58.6 mgl −1 ) were achieved for E2 and EE2, respectively. The kinetics of Fenton-like degradation of E2 and EE2 were adequately described by the pseudo second order kinetic model. Values of 27.8 and 22.5 kJmol −1 were obtained for the activation energy for E2 and EE2, respectively, from the Arrhenius-type plot, showing that the process does not just involve radical reactions but also intermediate reaction steps involving radicalmolecule or ion-molecule reactions. The presence of high dissolved organics in wastewater significantly reduced the removal efficiencies. The reaction byproducts for E2 and EE2 were more stable to the oxidation process and more readily biodegradable. Fenton-like oxidations therefore offers a promising alternative for the removal of these EDCs in wastewater treatment applications at the tertiary treatment stage.

The proximate, micronutrient and amino acid profile of roasted and germinated breadnut seed flour were evaluated. Fresh mature fruits (1.5 kg) of breadnut were purchased from Relief market in Imo State, Nigeria. The breadnut seeds were divided into three portions for different unit operations, namely raw, roasted and germinated. Samples were analyzed for proximate, minerals and amino acids compositions. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Protein (13.80%) and fat (7.90%) content were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in germinated breadnut seeds; fibre (2.20%) and ash (7.20%) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in roasted breadnut seed while carbohydrate (75.85%) and moisture (11.05%) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in raw breadnut. Micronutrient composition shows that iron (74.35 mg/100g) was higher in roasted breadnut seed, phosphorous (12.95 mg/100g) and zinc (30.4 mg/100g) were higher in germinated breadnut seed flour while calcium (0.04%), magnesium (0.05%), vitamin A (0.27%) and vitamin C (0.85%) were higher in raw breadnut. All the essential amino acids except norleucine were present in the breadnut in varying quantities. Between roasting and germination, essential acids; valine < histidine < isoleucine < thronine < tryptophan were more in germinated breadnut seeds while leucine < lysine < phenylalanine < methionine were higher in roasted breadnut seed flour. The use of roasting and germination should be used in processing breadnut seeds. The use of breadnut seed flours as composite flour in food production may help to provide protein and micronutrient among the vulnerable groups.