Systematic adsorption tests were carried out to determine the efficiency of organo-zeolite (OZ) for removal of atrazine, lindane and diazinone from water. The hydrophobic character of OZ-pesticide interactions was confirmed by measuring the amount of pesticides sorbed on zeolite samples modified with 25, 50, 75 and 150 mmol of stearyldimethylbenzylammoniumchloride (SDBAC)/kg of zeolite. The effects of adsorbent particle size, solid content in the suspension and the initial pesticide concentration in the solutions were also investigated. For effective adsorption of diazinone onto an OZ, it is necessary for the SDBAC/diazinon ratio to be higher than 25. The adsorption capacities, calculated by fitting the experimental data to the Langmuir-Freundlich equation, were 2.0 micromol/g (atrazine), 4.4 micromol/g (diazinone) and 3.4 micromol/g (lindan). At lower initial concentrations of pesticide solution, a linear dependence existed between the amount adsorbed and the equilibrium concentration of pesticide. Column experiments showed that at volumetric flow of 6 cm3/ min, the breakthrough points (at C/C0 = 0.1) were 560 bed volume (BV) for lindane and 620 for diazinone.
Adsorption Atrazine