Efficiency of Raw and Modified Prosopis farcta as a Green Adsorbent for Imidacloprid Removal from Contaminated Water

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Qom

2 Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, University of Qom

10.22091/jaem.2026.14990.1037

Abstract

This study investigated the potential of raw and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-modified Prosopis farcta as a low-cost, environmentally friendly adsorbent for removing imidacloprid from contaminated water. The adsorbents were characterized using FT-IR, FE-SEM, EDS, and BET analyses to evaluate surface functional groups, morphology, elemental composition, and specific surface area. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to examine the effects of solution pH, initial imidacloprid concentration, and contact time. The optimal adsorption conditions were achieved at neutral pH, an initial imidacloprid concentration of 20 ppm, and a contact time of 150 min. Under these conditions, the modified adsorbent exhibited higher removal efficiency (64.37%) compared to the raw adsorbent (55.67%), demonstrating the positive effect of surface modification. Adsorption equilibrium data were best fitted by the Langmuir isotherm model (R² = 0.9934), indicating monolayer adsorption dominated by physical interactions.
Recyclability experiments confirmed that the modified adsorbent retained satisfactory performance over multiple adsorption–desorption cycles. In addition, application to real irrigation water samples verified the practical feasibility of the developed system. Overall, the results indicate that CTAB-modified Prosopis farcta is a promising, sustainable, and cost-effective adsorbent for imidacloprid removal from contaminated water, offering a viable alternative to conventional adsorbents for pesticide remediation.

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Advances in Energy and Materials Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 08 September 2025

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