Degradation Of Alachlor Research Articles

Anodic oxidation by electrical power pulses for alachlor degradation

ABSTRACT This article explores the benefits of electrochemical oxidation in pulsed mode, using potential, current, and power pulses. While potential and current pulse electrochemical technology has been previously studied for wastewater treatment, no study has included power pulses until now. The objective of this work is to highlight the advantages of power pulses by applying this pulse type to the electrochemical oxidation of a probe molecule, alachlor. For this aim, the influence of operating parameters and the comparison of the different pulse modes were investigated and compared to the results obtained with the electrochemical oxidation of alachlor in continuous mode. The study shows that the best results were obtained with the power pulse electrochemical oxidation with 100% alachlor degradation after 180 min and a mineralisation yield of 38.3% after 240 min. These results were better than those reported in the literature for treatments with continuous current input using platinum electrodes. This new technique could be an effective and efficient way to treat contaminated water and reduce the pressure on freshwater reserves.

Assessment of an hybrid process coupling ozonation and anodic oxidation in a monophasic configuration

This prospective study assessed a hybrid process that combines ozonation with anodic oxidation (AO/O3) with two boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrodes to treat a model aqueous solution containing 30 ppm of alachlor at pH 5 in a phosphate buffer. An innovative monophasic configuration, operated batch-wise, in which an ozone-stock solution was injected at t0 in the electrochemical reactor, was proposed in order to avoid introduction of ozone-enriched gas bubbles. The alachlor parent molecule was almost entirely degraded within around 150 min of reaction time by anodic oxidation alone, whatever the applied current intensity (200, 500 and 800 mA). The mineralization efficiency varied from 50 % at 200 mA to 80 % at 800 mA after 120 min. The results emphasized that the anodic oxidation was a diffusion-controlled process. Addition of ozone at a low ozone dose of 1.9–2.3 mol of ozone per mol of alachlor allowed to decrease the ozone half-life time 2.7 times with the hybrid process compared to ozonation alone. This faster ozone consumption was concomitant with an enhanced alachlor degradation rate, with a corresponding half-life time around two-times lower. However, owing to the low ozone dose applied and the short ozone lifetime in solution (around 25–30 min), similar mineralization efficiencies were noticed for both AO/O3 and AO processes. Thus, the application of pulse ozone-stock solution re-injections every 20 min to prolong the ozone exposure was assessed to overcome this limitation. However, the effect on the mineralization rate remained small, even if it allows to enhance even more the alachlor parent molecule degradation rate. The low influence of the hybrid process on the mineralization rate was attributed to the production of aliphatic fatty acids by-products that are poorly reactive with hydroxyl radicals, and whose the degradation by AO is the rate limiting step.

Enhanced degradation of herbicides in groundwater using sulfur-containing reductants and spinel zinc ferrite activated persulfate

A challenge to successfully implementing an injection-based remedial treatment in aquifers is to ensure that the oxidative reaction is efficient and lasts long enough to contact the contaminated plume. Our objective was to determine the efficacy of zinc ferrite nanocomposites (ZnFe2O4) and sulfur-containing reductants (SCR) (i.e., dithionite; DTN and bisulfite; BS) to co-activate persulfate (S2O82−; PS) and treat herbicide-contaminated water. We also evaluated the ecotoxicity of the treated water. While both SCRs delivered excellent PS activation in a 1:0.4 ratio (PS:SCR), the reaction was relatively short-lived. By including ZnFe2O4 in the PS/BS or PS/DTN activations, herbicide degradation rates dramatically increased by factors of 2.5 to 11.3. This was due to the SO4− and OH reactive radical species that formed. Radical scavenging experiments and ZnFe2O4 XPS spectra results revealed that SO4− was the dominant reactive species that originated from S(IV)/PS activation in solution and from the Fe(II)/PS activation that occurred on the ZnFe2O4 surface. Based on liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS), atrazine and alachlor degradation pathways are proposed that involve both dehydration and hydroxylation. In 1-D column experiments, five different treatment scenarios were run using 14C-labeled and unlabeled atrazine, and 3H2O to quantify changes in breakthrough curves. Our results confirmed that ZnFe2O4 successfully prolonged the PS oxidative treatment despite the SCR being completely dissociated. Toxicity testing showed treated 14C-atrazine was more biodegradable than the parent compound in soil microcosms. Post-treatment water (25 %, v/v) also had less impact on both Zea Mays L. and Vigna radiata L. seedling growth, but more impact on root anatomies, while ≤4 % of the treated water started to exert cytotoxicity (<80 % viability) on ELT3 cell lines. Overall, the findings confirm that ZnFe2O4/SCR/PS reaction is efficient and relatively longer lasting in treating herbicide-contaminated groundwater.

Degradation of micropollutants in secondary wastewater effluent using nonthermal plasma-based AOPs: The roles of free radicals and molecular oxidants

Emerging micropollutants (µPs) appearing in water bodies endanger aquatic animals, plants, microorganisms and humans. The nonthermal plasma-based advanced oxidation process is a promising technology for eliminating µPs in wastewater but still needs further development in view of full-scale industrial application. A novel cascade reactor design which consists of an ozonation chamber preceding a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma reactor with a falling water film on an activated carbon textile (Zorflex®) was used to remove a selection of µPs from secondary municipal wastewater effluent. Compare to previous plasma reactor, molecular oxidants degraded micropollutants again in an ozonation chamber in this study, and the utilization of different reactive oxygen species (ROS) was improved. A gas flow rate of 0.4 standard liter per minute (SLM), a water flow rate of 100 mL min−1, and a discharge power of 25 W are identified as the optimal plasma reactor parameters, and the µP degradation efficiency and electrical energy per order value (EE/O) are 84–98% and 2.4–5.3 kW/m³, respectively. The presence of ROS during plasma treatment was determined in view of the µPs removal mechanisms. The degradation of diuron (DIU), bisphenol A (BPA) and 2-n-octyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (OIT) was mainly performed in ozonation chamber, while the degradation of atrazine (ATZ), alachlor (ALA) and primidone (PRD) occurred in entire cascade system. The ROS not only degrade the µPs, but also remove nitrite (90.5%), nitrate (69.6%), ammonium (39.6%) and bulk organics (11.4%). This study provides insights and optimal settings for an energy-efficient removal of µPs from secondary effluent using both free radicals and molecular oxidants generated by the plasma in view of full-scale application.

Biodegradation of Alachlor by a Newly Isolated Bacterium: Degradation Pathway and Product Analysis

Alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl]acetamide] is a chloroacetanilide herbicide and has been widely used as a selective pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicide to control weeds and grass. Due to its wide usage, direct application on the ground, high solubility in water, and moderate persistence, alachlor and its metabolites have been detected in various environments. Therefore, there is an increasing concern about the environmental fate of alachlor and its metabolites. Microbial biodegradation is a main method of removal of alachlor in the natural environment. In this study, we isolated new alachlor degrading bacterium and proposed a novel alachlor-degrading pathway. The alachlor-degrading bacterial strain, GC-A6, was identified as Acinetobacter sp. using 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Acinetobacter sp. GC-A6 utilized alachlor as its sole carbon source and degraded 100 mg L−1 of alachlor within 48 h, which was the highest alachlor degradation efficiency. The degradation pathway of alachlor was studied using GC-MS analysis. Alachlor was initially degraded to 2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl) acetamide, which was further degraded to 2,6-diethylaniline and 7-ethylindoline, respectively. 2,6-Diethylaniline was transformed into N-(2,6-diethylphenyl) formamide. N-(2,6-diethylphenyl) formamide was a first-reported intermediate during the degrading pathway of alachlor by single isolate.

Removal of Chloroacetanilide Herbicides from Water Using Heterogeneous Photocatalysis with TiO2/UV-A

Chloroacetanilide herbicides are widely used in the agricultural sector throughout the world. Because of their poor biodegradability, high water solubility, and long persistence, chloroacetanilide herbicides have a high potential to contaminate water, and conventional water treatment processes do not ensure sufficient removal. Therefore, heterogeneous photocatalysis using TiO2/UV-A was investigated for the degradation of alachlor, acetochlor, and metolachlor from water. Two commercially available TiO2 (P25 and AV-01) were used as photocatalysts. Different experimental setups were also tested. In addition, the toxicity of single herbicides and mixtures of their photocatalytic degradation products to the freshwater alga Chlorella kessleri was investigated via a growth inhibition test. The maximum removal efficiency for alachlor, acetochlor, and metolachlor was 97.5%, 93.1%, and 98.2%, respectively. No significant differences in the removal efficiency of chloroacetanilide herbicides were observed for the photocatalysts used. Although the concentrations of all herbicides during photocatalysis decreased, the toxicity of the resulting mixtures of degradation products increased or remained the same, indicating the formation of toxic degradation products.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Alachlor over Titania-Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite: Intrinsic Kinetic Model and Reaction Pathways

An intrinsic kinetic model based on a proposed reaction photomechanism explicitly dependent on the volumetric rate of photon absorption (VRPA) has been performed and analyzed for the photocatalytic degradation of alachlor in water. A titania-reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite (HBK TiO2–rGO) was used as the photocatalyst. The proposed degradation pathway was elucidated addressing H* – abstraction, HO* substitution, C–C scission, C–N bond scission, and dealkylation reactions. A suitable kinetic model has successfully been validated by fitting the obtained experimental data to reproduce the evolution of alachlor photodegradation at different HBK-rGO loadings. After simplification, the proposed kinetics were adjusted to a reasoned simplified model of 1–2 parameters, showing very good fitting between predicted and experimental values, as denoted by the resulting lower root-square-mean errors. Finally, the synthesized nanocomposite addressed very good stability and durability applied to the degradation of alachlor by photo-oxidation along six consecutive cycles of reuse.

Alachlor — ecotoxicity of ozonation by-products

Abstract This work focuses on the assessment of alachlor toxicity, its impact on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, non-target organisms, and humans, as well as with pesticide legislation in the European Union and Slovakia. In the experimental part, the pesticide alachlor was degraded by various ozone-based processes. Toxicity of the original substance and its degradation products was evaluated by ecotoxicity tests on white mustard and bulb onion. Respirometric measurements were performed to assess their effect on the microorganisms of activated sludge process. From the results it is possible to evaluate that the degradation of alachlor by ozonation at alkaline pH resulted in less toxic substances compared to the original pesticide.

Formation of nitrite and ammonium during the irradiation of nitrate-containing water by VUV/UV

Vacuum ultraviolet/ultraviolet (VUV/UV) has been regarded as an efficient chemical-free advanced oxidation process for degradation of micropollutants, but hazardous byproducts, e.g. nitrite, can be formed during the irradiation of nitrate-containing water by VUV/UV. This study investigated the kinetics of nitrite and ammonium formation by VUV/UV irradiation of nitrate. The results indicate that the formation of nitrite and ammonium followed pseudo zero-order reaction kinetics at an initial nitrate concentration of 10 mg L−1. Direct UV photolysis, VUV photolysis, and indirect VUV photolysis contributed to 24.6 %, 44.6 %, and 30.8 % of nitrite formation, and 0%, 65.0 % and 35.0 % of ammonium formation, respectively, in VUV/UV process. Initial nitrate concentration strongly affected not only the final concentrations of nitrite and ammonium but also the kinetics of their formation by VUV/UV. The presence of nitrate inhibited the degradation of alachlor, a typical herbicide, while alachlor had various influence on the formation of nitrite and ammonium depending on its initial concentration. Inorganic anions inhibited nitrate reduction by competing for VUV, while dissolved oxygen inhibited nitrate reduction by scavenging H and eaq−. The surface water had higher rate constants for the formation of nitrite and ammonium than those of the ground water because the former had lower content of inorganic ions but higher content of natural organic matter. When applying the VUV/UV process for water treatment, the formation of nitrite and ammonium should be taken seriously, especially at the presence of nitrate with high concentration.

Studies on the Chemistry of Alachlor and Disinfectant Agents (HOCl and ClO2)

Alachlor was incubated with hypochlorous acid for 24 hours. The herbicide and its transformation products were extracted by liquid-liquid extractions and analyzed by gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry. Six compounds were detected in the residue of the reaction between Alachlor and HOCl after 24 hr. of incubation at room temperature, whose spectral data indicated that they were derived from Alachlor via chlorination and hydrolysis reactions. Among the structural assignments, two products were confirmed by analysis of standards of which they were synthesized. The Alachlor was not detected in the reaction residue. In quantitative studies, at all of the concentrations of HOCl, the percentage remaining of the parent compound at pH 3.0 was significantly lower compared to the reaction at pH 7.0.the major product of Alachlor and ClO2 is N-(methoxycarbonyl)-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl) oxamic acid. The data showed that chlorination and cleavage of the N-methoxymethyl (MOM) group are significant features of the environmental degradation of Alachlor during water treatment with Cl2.

Agrochemical 2-chloro-2',6'-diethyl-N-methoxymethylacetanilide tranformative and sorptive demeanor in agriculturally significant pedospheric environs

ABSTRACT Environmental fate of herbicide, Alachlor was evaluated by closely imitating the natural pedosphere through multifarious experiments such as; adsorption, desorption, hydrolysis, photo-degradation and biodegradation. Ten heterogeneous and agriculturally significant soils were utilised for these experiments. Sorption experiments, performed through batch equilibrium method indicated Alachlor distribution ranging from 12 µg ml−1 to 75 µg ml−1. Soil physicochemical characteristics highly influenced the sorption process, indicating an overall weaker physisorption and an exothermic reaction reflected via negative values for Gibbs free energy. Degradation assays were performed for the determination of the impact of biotic and abiotic constraints on Alachlor dissipation. UV-visible spectrophotometry and GC-MS were utilised to analyse Alachlor treated soil samples following extraction at fixed intervals. First-order reaction kinetics were applied on Alachlor degradation. Lowest half-life in hydrolysis, photo-degradation and biodegradation was 2.2, 1.5 and 0.5 days, respectively, while the highest was 5.7, 2.5 and 1.7 days, respectively. Highest transformation percentages attained by hydrolysis, photo-degradation and biodegradation were 96.7%, 99.7% and 99.9%, respectively. Results depicted mediocre binding and less persistence of Alachlor to the soils whilst being exceedingly vulnerable to transformation paths.

Environmental contaminant 2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)acetamide remediation via Xanthomonas axonopodis and Aspergillus niger

Alachlor, a chloroacetanilide endocrine disruptor herbicide is precarious for humans as well as the environment. Though banned by the European Union and classified as moderately hazardous by WHO, yet it is nevertheless used in several countries posing austere human and environmental health issues. Alachlor attenuation was scrutinized through simulated biodegradation experiments using soil-isolated microbes. Bio-disintegrative assays of pure three fungal and one bacterial strain; Aspergillus flavus (AF), Penicillium chrysogenum (PC), Aspergillus niger (AN) and Xanthomonas axonopodis (XA), respectively were utilized. Initial Alachlor concentration (10 mg/L) was prepared with individual microbial suspension and monitored for 35 d. Alachlor bio-transformation was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively by gas chromatography mass spectroscopy. XA and AN displayed maximal potential to metabolise the herbicide while forming residues; 1-chloroacetyl, 2,3- dihydro-7 ethylindole, 7 ethylindole, 7-ethyl-3-methyl-2-methoxy-2,3-dihydroindole, N- (2,6-diethylphenyl)-methyleneamine and 7-Ethyl-N-methylindole. Alachlor degradation by AF, PC, AN and XA was found to be 17.1%, 5.5%, 72.6% and 82.1%, respectively, after 35 d. Microbes have displayed cometabolism as the main mechanism for Alachlor degradation. This research can influence imperative and significant environmental friendly bio-remedial strategies for xenobiotic eradication.

Electrochemical degradation of aqueous alachlor and atrazine: products identification, lipophilicity, and ecotoxicity

This work studied the electrochemical degradation of alachlor and atrazine (alone and mixed with each other) using a filter-press cell, a dimensionally stable anode (DSA Ti/Ru0.3Ti0.7O2), initial pH 3.0, and temperature at 25 °C. The best operational conditions for alachlor (0.33 mmol L-1) degradation were obtained by a 32 factorial design, in which the factors/levels were: NaCl concentration (0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 mol L-1) and current density (10, 30, and 50 mA cm-2). Thus, 93.1% alachlor removal and 71.2% mineralization were achieved using 0.15 mol L-1 NaCl and 30 mA cm-2. In addition, the initial degradation products (DPs) of alachlor and atrazine were identified by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Acute and chronic ecotoxicities for three trophic levels (fishes, daphnids and green algae) and lipophilicity (log D, pH 7.4) of the DPs were also estimated using the ECOSAR 1.11 and ChemAxon Calculator software, respectively. The present study showed that the electrochemical degradation is an efficient method for removing the herbicides alachlor and atrazine from water and that the DPs formed have lower pollution potential than their original compounds.

Ascorbic acid promoted magnetite Fenton degradation of alachlor: Mechanistic insights and kinetic modeling

In this study we constructed a heterogeneous Fenton system with ascorbic acid (AA), magnetite (Fe3O4) and H2O2 for the alachlor degradation, aiming to clarify the heterogeneous Fenton mechanism. The addition of AA could significantly accelerate the Fenton reaction by promoting the surface Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox cycle (iron cycle) of Fe3O4. A kinetic model was successfully developed to quantitatively describe the complicated reactions in the Fe3O4/AA/H2O2 system. We thus employed this model to identify the individual contributions of surface and homogeneous Fenton reactions to the overall alachlor degradation in the Fe3O4/AA/H2O2 system, and found the surface Fenton reaction was mainly responsible for the alachlor degradation with more than 62.6% of contribution. This work offers a new strategy to improve the heterogeneous Fenton activity via promoting surface Fenton reaction, and sheds light on the possibility to quantitatively describe and predict the heterogeneous Fenton processes with first principle kinetic models.

Alachlor dechlorination prior to an electro-Fenton process: Influence on the biodegradability of the treated solution

This study investigates alachlor herbicide removal by electro-Fenton (EF) process with and without a previous dechlorination step by electro-reduction (ER-EF). The objective is to evaluate the relevance of dechlorination before electro-Fenton according to the biodegradability evolution and the energy consumption. The influence of the applied current, the ferrous ions concentration and the air flow rate on the production of hydrogen peroxide and on the general behavior of alachlor removal by EF oxidation was studied and optimized EF conditions were chosen. Scavenger tests were performed to determine the contribution of hydroxyl radicals (OH), superoxide radicals (O2−) and sulfate radicals (SO4−) during alachlor degradation. Some intermediate products formed during degradation by EF of alachlor and of the electroreduced solution were identified and the evolution of small organic acids was examined. Possible pathways of alachlor degradation and of deschloroalachlor, the mean byproduct from ER, were proposed on the basis of the EF reaction. EF treatment significantly improved the biodegradability of electrolyzed solutions with BOD5/COD ratio increasing from 0 to 0.4 after 0.5 h oxidation and can be further enhanced by the application of ER prior to EF, leading to a maximum value for the BOD5/COD ratio of 0.7 that can be due to the absence of chloroacetic acid found during the EF treatment. The energy consumption of the different electrochemical processes was also evaluated.

Persulfate activation induced by ascorbic acid for efficient organic pollutants oxidation

In this study, we demonstrate that ascorbic acid (AA) exhibited extremely high activity on persulfate (PS) activation (AA/PS) to produce SO4− and OH for the degradation of various organic pollutants, including atrazine, pentachlorophenol, alachlor, tetracycline, and chloramphenicol. Taken atrazine as a model natural organic micropollutants, we surprisingly found that the degradation rate constant of atrazine during PS activation in presence of AA was about 29 times larger than that in the absence of AA. The underlying mechanism of persulfate activation induced by AA was then systematically investigated by electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis, theoretical density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and kinetic experiments. The combination of ESR and DFT results confirmed that the persulfate activation induced by ascorbic acid was attributed to the electron transfer from AA to PS. In this process, AA undergoes a two-step oxidation by PS to generate SO4− and dehydroascorbic acid with the formation of an intermediate ascorbate free radical. More interestingly, atrazine in the real aquifer sediment system could be totally oxidized in the presence of PS and AA. These findings offer a new economically feasible persulfate activation strategy for the in situ chemical oxidation of organic compounds in contaminated water and sediment systems.

Photocatalytic degradation of alachlor by TiO2 nanoparticles from aqueous solutions under UV radiation

This study aimed to synthesise TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) in pure rutile structure at moderate temperature without calcination and use them as the catalyst for alachlor removal under UV-C radiation. The crystal structure, composition, and particle size of the synthesised TiO2 NPs were analysed using an X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The XRD spectra revealed the production of pure rutile TiO2. The individual and interactive effects of initial alachlor concentration (15–75 mg/L), TiO2 concentration (25–125 mg/L), pH (3–11), temperature (20–40 °C) and reaction time (15–75 min) on alachlor removal were investigated using the central composite design model based on the response surface methodology for experimental design, modelling and process optimization. The analysis of variance and multiple linear regression showed a good fit of the experimental data to the second-order polynomial model, with a coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.8176 and a model F-value of 19.55975, implying that the model was significant. The results showed that decrease in pH and the initial alachlor concentration and increase in TiO2 concentration resulted in an increase in alachlor removal rate. The maximum rate of alachlor removal (98.44%) at optimum conditions occurred at pH = 5, alachlor = 30 mg/L, TiO2=100 mg, temperature = 35 °C and reaction time = 60 min.

Comparative Degradation of Alachlor Using Photocatalysis and Photo-Fenton

A comparative study about the degradation of alachlor in aqueous solutions under different photocatalytic systems, including TiO2, TiO2/H2O2, and TiO2/Na2S2O8 heterogeneous photocatalysis, Fe2+/H2O2, Fe3+/H2O2, and UV radiation, was carried out. In this way, times for alachlor total removal and mineralization followed the order photo-Fenton < photocatalysis with persulfate < photo-Fenton-like < photocatalysis with hydrogen peroxide < photocatalysis with TiO2. Ferric chloride was used as ferric ion source under Fenton-like reactions. Oxidation with Fe2+/H2O2 was faster than treatment with Fe3+/H2O2, but under UV irradiation, degradation rates were similar, indicating that FeCl3 could be a good source of ferric ions for alachlor degradation. Reduction of the sample toxicity was much faster in the photo-Fenton process than in TiO2 process (50% mortality reduction in 180 min compared to around 400 min—Daphnia Pullex assays). In addition, evaluation of the nitrogen and chloride contained in the treated samples confirmed a 100% conversion of the N and Cl content in the pollutant molecule. Finally, some of the degradation by-products for pollutant removal using TiO2 photocatalysis were identified.

Optimization of Alachlor Photocatalytic Degradation with Nano-TiO2 in Water under Solar Illumination: Reaction Pathway and Mineralization

In the present study, the photocatalytic degradation of alachlor was investigated using TiO2 under sunlight irradiation. The effects of some operational parameters, such as photocatalyst concentration, temperature, pH, sunlight intensity and irradiation time, were optimized. The kinetics of photodegradation was found to follow a pseudo-first-order kinetic law, and the rate constant at optimal condition is 0.245 min−1. The activation energy (Ea) is 6.4 kJ/mol. The alachlor mineralization can be completed under sunlight irradiation after 10 h. The formations of chloride, nitrate and ammonium ions are observed during the photocatalytic degradation. The eight photoproducts were identified by the GC–MS technique. The photodegradation reaction pathways are proposed based on the evidence of the detected photoproducts and the calculated frontier electron densities of the alachlor structure. The photocatalytic degradation treatment for the alachlor wastewater under solar irradiation is simple, convenient and low cost.

Effect of solvent viscosity on the properties of nanoscale zero valent iron: Insights into alachlor degradation

The present study investigates the effect of a viscous and a non-viscous solvent mixture on the shape of the nanoparticles synthesized in it and applies them for the degradation of an herbicide alachlor. Here, we have used glycerol- water mixed solvent to synthesize zero valent iron nanoparticles under aerobic condition and tested its reductive ability. The microstructural analysis reveals the presence of single flower-like pattern formed from petal-like structures, clustered at the center, while the XRD analysis points out to the presence of single phase particles, having negligible oxide impurities. This refers to the excellent sheathing ability of the viscous solvent during the growth of the nanoparticles. Different experimental conditions and parameters were involved to check the efficiency of the nanoparticles towards alachlor degradation. Within 2 h, almost 90% of alachlor was degraded when the reaction was carried out by ultrasonic agitation under anaerobic condition. The pH variational studies suggested an optimum value of pH 5, at which the highest removal was achieved. Results also emphasized that anaerobic conditions during the reaction lead to higher removal efficacy. Hence, the results predict that nanoscale zero valent synthesized in glycerol medium is a prospective applicant to pesticide remediation.