Zeolite synthesized from residual waste: a promising adsorbent for atrazine-contaminated waters

Abstract Water contamination by emerging contaminants is a major environmental concern. Pesticides are particularly worrisome due to their widespread agricultural use and frequent presence in aquatic environments. Zeolites produced from solid waste offer a sustainable and effective way to remove these pollutants. In this study, the performance of zeolites synthesized via a hydrothermal route was evaluated, using diatomaceous earth—waste from the beer industry’s filtration process—as the raw material. The synthesis was carried out with hydrothermal treatment times of 18 and 24 h. Additionally, the adsorption performance was assessed for samples modified with copper ions. Batch adsorption experiments for atrazine removal were conducted, followed by flow system tests (12–22 mL min −1 ), evaluating the influence of adsorbent mass and contact time. Monitoring of pesticide concentration was performed using high performance liquid chromatography with a diode array detector. Under optimized conditions, the best performance was achieved with the sample synthesized for 24 h and modified with copper, with an adsorption capacity of 0.68 mg g −1 after 30 min of contact time. This performance was superior to that of the other samples and higher than that of the raw diatomaceous earth, which showed a capacity of 0.19 mg g −1 . The results obtained demonstrate the potential of zeolites synthesized from waste as promising and sustainable materials for the removal of pesticides from contaminated water.