Study of imidaclopride removal from aqueous solution by adsorption onto granular activated carbon using an on-line spectrophotometric analysis system

The removal of imidaclopride as a pesticide by granular activated carbon (GAC) and its adsorption kinetics were studied at different pH values and temperatures. In all experiments, the amount of GAC and initial concentration of imidaclopride were 2 g and 25 ppm, respectively. The adsorption process was followed by an on-line spectrophotometric analysis system, which consisted of UV-spectrophotometer, a designed absorption cell, peristaltic pump and special glassy reactor. The effect of pH and temperature on adsorption was studied over 90 min adsorption periods. The obtained data were treated according to various kinetic models. The results showed that second order model was the most suitable one on the overall. The our results also showed that the adsorption rate constants for first order, second order and intraparticle diffusion models followed decreasing order: pH = 7 > 4 > 10 > 1, T = 25 > 35 > 45 > 55 °C.