Pesticide removal from waste spray-tank water by organoclay adsorption after field application to vineyards

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 18; no. 8; pp. 1374 - 1383
• Main Authors: Suciu, Nicoleta A., Ferrari, Tommaso, Ferrari, Federico, Trevisan, Marco, Capri, Ettore
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01-09-2011; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adsorbents; Adsorption; Agricultural pollution; Aluminum Silicates - chemistry; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria, Aerobic - metabolism; Biodegradation; Biodegradation, Environmental; Clay; Decontamination; Depuration; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Efficiency; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Equilibrium; Fungicides; Fungicides, Industrial - chemistry; Fungicides, Industrial - metabolism; Imidazoles - chemistry; Imidazoles - metabolism; Laboratories; Microbial degradation; Penconazole; Pesticide Residues - chemistry; Pesticide Residues - metabolism; Pesticides; Pollutant removal; Research Article; Soil Pollutants - chemistry; Soil Pollutants - metabolism; Studies; Sulfonamides - chemistry; Sulfonamides - metabolism; Triazoles - chemistry; Triazoles - metabolism; Vineyards; Vitis; Waste disposal; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; Water Purification - methods; Wineries & vineyards; Italy; Modified clays; Pesticide; Depuration; Point source contamination; Waste water
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-011-0494-4

Purpose
The main objective of this work was to develop and test a pilot scheme for decontaminating pesticide-containing water derived from pesticide mixtures used to protect vineyards, in which the scheme comprises adsorption by an organoclay and includes a system where an enhanced or rapid microbial degradation of the adsorbed residues can occur.
Methods
In laboratory experiments, the Freundlich adsorption coefficients of formulations of two fungicides, penconazole and cyazofamid, onto the organoclay Cloisite 20 A were measured in order to predict the efficiency of this organoclay in removing these fungicides from the waste spray-tank water. Subsequently, the adsorption tests were repeated in the pilot system in order to test the practical operation of the depuration scheme.
Results
The adsorption tests with the pilot system show 96% removal of both fungicides over a few hours, similar to the efficiency of removal predicted from the laboratory adsorption tests. The formulation type may influence the efficiency of clay recovered after adsorption. Regarding the waste disposal, for instance, the organoclay composted after the treatment, cyazofamid showed significant dissipation after 90 days, whereas the dissipation of penconazole was negligible.
Conclusion
The depuration scheme developed showed to be efficient for decontaminating pesticide-containing water derived from vineyards, but additional treatments for the adsorbed residues still appear to be necessary for persistent pesticides. However, future decontamination research should be attempted for water contaminated with pesticides containing antifoaming agents in their formulations, in which case the present pilot system could not be applied.