Removal of Malathion on Carbon using Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (Fe3O4) in Aquatic Environments

The development of nanotechnology and the possible entry of nanoparticles into aquatic environments have raised environmental concerns. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) loaded on carbon to remove malathion in order to evaluate the toxicity potential of nanoparticles in aqueous environments. We examined the characteristics of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) using XRD refraction, Fourier irradiated spectroscopy (FTIR), the catalytic activity of iron nanoparticles for activation of persulfate, and malathion decomposition. Moreover, we assessed the influence of effective parameters on this process, such as pH, persulfate concentration, and the number of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4). The results showed that 82% of malathion was decomposed by the combined process of iron oxide nanoparticles loaded on carbon at pH=5 and 0.4 g of iron nanoparticles in 60 minutes. Additionally, according to the results obtained from the advanced oxidation processes, it was able to optimally remove malathion from the aquatic environment. This study revealed that nanoparticle stabilization technology on activated carbon could be used as an effective, efficient, and fast adsorbent to remove certain contaminants, such as malathion, from aqueous solutions. Although the combination of processes may complicate their analysis and mechanism, the study of this process could be a promising emergence of hybrid processes in water and wastewater treatment. In general, the results of this study relatively indicated that the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles, such as size, shape, surface, general morphology, and chemical composition, in different environmental conditions can significantly affect carbon in removing the malathion