DOI: 10.36347/sjavs.2017.v04i11.011

Pages: 504-512

Bonechar has been extensively used as an adsorbent. However, using animal bonechar for pesticide removal from water is a method that, to our knowledge, has not yet been reported. This research aimed to evaluate cow bonechar added to contaminated drinking water for removal of five pesticides, hexazinone, diuron, ametryn, sulfometuron-methyl, and azoxystrobin. Drinking water samples were collected from a source that is frequently used for human consumption. Each of the five herbicides was added to the water samples at a concentration of 5 mg mL-1. Cow bonechar treatments to the contaminated water samples (10 mL) consisted in four rates, 0, 0.01, 0.1, and 1 g. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the remaining amount of each pesticide in the water samples, at 1 and 7 d after bonechar treatment. Overall, pesticide removal in the contaminated drinking water samples was in the following decreasing order: azoxystrobin > diuron > ametryn > sulfometuron-methyl > hexazinone. At 7 d after bonechar treatment, no pesticide desorbed this carbonaceous material, remaining strongly retained. For all pesticides, removal close to 100% was achieved with the highest bonechar dose (1 g) added to the water samples. Cow bonechar presents great pesticide removal potential to be used in drinking water contaminated with the pesticides hexazinone, diuron, ametryn, sulfometuron-methyl, and azoxystrobin. Depending on each geographical region, water samples are contaminated with different pesticides. Cow bonechar might be tested more specifically for each region, and could potentially represent a low cost method to be used in water treatment plants or in domestic filters.