Effect of fly ash and bagasse charcoal on the mobility of atrazine in Indian sandy loam soil

Abstract

The study was undertaken to obtain an objective and realistic overview of atrazine residue reduction in sandy loam soil using two low-cost adsorbents. Fly ash and bagasse charcoal are waste products of thermal power plant and sugar mill, respectively, and are abundant, which have a disposal problem. A laboratory-based adsorption and leaching experiments were carried out to know the percentage reduction of atrazine by mixing these two abundant materials in soil at 1% level. In adsorption and leaching studies, atrazine 50% WP was used to know the reduction of atrazine concentration in fresh soil and soil with adsorbent. It was found that adsorbent mixed soil adsorbed atrazine greater than the fresh soil and the mobility of atrazine was reduced in adsorbent mixed soil as compared to fresh soil. It was concluded that the reduction of atrazine in adsorbent mixed soil was attributed due to the adsorption properties of these adsorbents as well as reducing the porosity of soil. Hence, these adsorbents were chosen to reduce the leachability of atrazine in low organic carbon soil, which has a great potential to groundwater contamination.