Peach resin coated silica particles for imidacloprid removal as a greener approach to water remediation

Abstract

Pesticides are one of the major toxic pollutants that can be lethal even at trace levels. They generally enter into the water reservoirs through agricultural run-off and hence pose serious threat to flora and fauna of aquatic system. Development of green techniques for pesticide removal is of high importance due to the environmental advantages they offer. In the present work, a green adsorbent was developed for the removal of Imidacloprid from water samples collected from industrial waste. The adsorbent was synthesized by coating peach gum resin on silica particles and was found to effectively remove Imidacloprid from water. Fourier-transform infrared spectra confirmed the desired coating of the resin by indicating the presence of characteristic functional. The adsorption studies showed that the pesticide could be efficiently removed from water with a percentage recovery of about 65% at pH 8. These coated particles are eco-friendly, cost effective as well as facile to prepare through simple ultrasonication method. - 2018 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.