Removal of 2, 4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2, 4-D) From Aqueous Environments Using Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Background: 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4-d) is a widely used herbicide known to be moderately toxic. extensive use and poor biodegradability of 2, 4-d has resulted in its ubiquitous presence in the environment, and has led to contamination of surface and ground waters. objectives: at present study, single-walled carbon nanotubes (swcnts) were used for the sorption of 2, 4-d from aqueous solutions. materials and methods: the effect of various operating parameters such as initial concentration of 2, 4-d, contact time, adsorbent dosage, and ph were investigated. equilibrium isotherms were used to identify the possible mechanism of the adsorption process. results: maximum adsorption capacity of the swcnts was 979.6 mg/g at ph5, contact time 45 min, initial concentration of 5000 μg/l, and 23 ± 2 ◦c temperatures, when 97.96% of 2, 4-d herbicide were removed. the adsorption equilibriums were analyzed by langmuir and freundlich isotherm models. it was found that the data fitted to langmuir (r2 = 0.9987) better than freundlich (r2 = 0.9727) model. conclusions: according to achieved results, it was defined that swcnts is a quite effective adsorbent in removal of 2, 4-d from aqueous environments.