The adsorption of imidacloprid onto activated carbon obtained by carbonization of pine cones

Abstract

Pine cones of European Black pine are utilized as a precursor for obtaining powdered activated carbon. The concentrated phosphoric acid was used as an activating agent. A detailed study of the imidacloprid adsorption onto the obtained material was conducted. In this paper, the adsorption kinetics, the conditions of establishing equilibrium, the impact of the adsorbent mass, and pH of solutions was analyzed. It was concluded that in a short period 90 % of pesticide is removed from model solutions under the applied conditions, while the removal degree is even higher for lower initial concentrations and higher adsorbent masses. It was also elucidated that this pesticide is equally well adsorbed in both acid and basic solutions.

Šišarka crnog evropskog bora je korišćena kao prekursor za dobijanje praškastog aktivnog uglja. Kao aktivirajuće sredstvo u pripremi je upotrebljena koncentrovana fosforna kiselina. Izvršena je detaljna studija adsorpcije pesticida imidakloprida na sintetizovanom materijalu. U radu je izvršeno ispitivanje kinetike adsorpcije, uslova uspostavljanja ravnoteže procesa, uticaja mase adsorbensa, kao i pH rastvora. Utvrđeno je da se za relativno kratko vreme vrši uklanjanje oko 90 % pesticida iz modalnog rastvora pri ispitivanim uslovima, dok je stepen uklanjanja još veći za niže polazne koncentracije i više mase adsorbensa. Ispitivanjem uticaja pH rastvora utvrđeno je da se pesticid podjednako dobro adsorbuje u kiseloj i u baznoj sredini.