ADSORPTION OF PESTICIDES FROM WASTEWATER ONTO NANOCOMPOSITE ADSORBENT

In this work the adsorption kinetic and isotherm of Abamectin pesticides (ABM) in aqueous solution containing layered double hydroxide (LDH) based nanocomposites synthesized via aco-precipitation method with incorporation of bentonite were studied in batch mode experiments. The prepared bentonite-supported CuAl-LDH (B-CuAl) was characterized using Fourier transform-IR (FTIR), X-Ray Diffract meter (XRD) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optimal pH, adsorbent dosage, particle size and initial concentration were 8, 4g/l, 250µm and 50mg/l respectively at 60 min contact time. A Langmuir isotherm model better fit of the B-CuAl Abamectin adsorption data than a Freundlich isotherm model, suggesting a mono-layered adsorption phenomenon. The adsorption kinetic followed pseudo second-order model (R2=0.9898), while the adsorption mechanism was controlled by external mass transfer as well as intra-particle diffusion. This study demonstrated that B-CuAl(LDH) could be apromising adsorbent for removal of pesticides from wastewater.