Decontamination of waters polluted with simazine by sorption on mesoporous metal oxides

Two mesoporous metal oxides, Al(2)O(3) and Fe(2)O(3), were evaluated as regards their ability to remove simazine, a highly persistent herbicide of s-triazines, using a batch equilibrium method. The effect of several experimental parameters such as pH, contact time, initial concentration and sorbent dosage on the sorption of the herbicide was investigated. The maximum sorption of simazine on Al(2)O(3) and Fe(2)O(3) was observed at pH 6.5 and 3.5, respectively. The different sorption capacities of the two oxides were explained considering a set of factors affecting the sorption process such as the surface area and the porosity. The kinetics of sorption on both oxides was described using a pseudo second-order model. The sorption of simazine on Fe(2)O(3) was faster in comparison to that observed on Al(2)O(3). It was shown that aluminum oxide can be regenerated by incineration, and consequently can be considered for industrial treatment systems designed to mitigate the pesticide pollution in the aquatic environments.