Retention of carbaryl by polyether type polyurethane foam: a critical study

Abstract

This paper reports the retention of carbaryl by polyether type polyurethane foam in a dynamic mode. Several parameters that can influence the extraction of carbaryl from water samples were investigated such as concentration of carbaryl, mass of sorbent in the column, sample pH, saline concentration, solvent washing and sample flow rate. Results show that it is possible to achieve quantitative extractions when the sample flow rate is maintained up to 2.4 mL min−1, a mass of foam of 300 mg and a sample volume of 30 mL in 0.5 NaCl are employed. They also indicate that there is an ether-like solvent extraction mechanism controlling the sorption of the substance by the foam. Some recovery tests were performed in spiked water samples and recoveries between 93 and 102% were obtained.