Taguchi Optimization for the Efficient Removal of Diazinon by GO-ZnO Nanoparticles

Abstract

Water pollution and pesticide residues in food chain have become a serious environmental challenge. The removal of pesticides in aqueous environments is essential. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of graphene oxide (GO) coated with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles adsorbent for the removal of diazinon. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, XRD, FESEM and EDX respectively. The performance of nanoparticles of GO-ZnO in different operational conditions (initial concentration of GO-ZnO, pH, irradation time, and temperature) on the degradation process of diazinon was investigated and optimized using Taguchi method. Taguchi method and experiments showed that under optimal conditions (initial GO-ZnO concentration of 15 mg L-1, pH=6.5, 40 min of irradation time, and temperature of 25 ˚C) 87.87% of diazinon was removal. In sum, the results approved the efficiency of ZnO-GO for the removal of diazinon in aqueous environments. ZnO-GO can be considered as a candidate for the removal of diazinon in water and rivers following future studies.