Removal of atrazine from aqueous solutions using activated carbon from novel hackberry seeds: kinetics and equilibrium studies

Abstract

Pesticides persist in the environment and are harmful to both human health and the ecosystem, while also contributing to the pollution of waterways. Therefore, it is essential to identify environmentally friendly methods for removing pesticides from aqueous environments. In this study, activated carbon was produced from hackberry (HB) seeds through a novel chemical activation method to serve as an alternative low-cost sorbent for removing atrazine from aqueous solutions. SEM, BET, FTIR, and the point zero charge were used to characterize the produced material. Experiments on the effects of pH, sorbent dosage, contact time, and initial atrazine concentration on adsorption efficiency were carried out in a batch adsorption system. The results best correlated with the Freundlich isotherm model (R2 = 0.996) with a maximum adsorption capacity of 107.29 mg/g. The experimental data best fit the pseudo first order kinetic model. A removal efficiency of 86% was achieved through the adsorption of atrazine on HBKOH. Thus, the proposed method may be used to produce activated carbon that can be used in place of traditional activated carbon to remove pesticides from aqueous solutions, while also providing outstanding regeneration and reusability.