Organochlorine pesticides removal from wastewater by pine bark adsorption after activated sludge treatment.

Pesticides have been responsible for strong environmental impacts, mainly due to their persistence in the environment. Removal technologies are usually combined, because degradation of organic matter is needed prior to a tertiary treatment to guarantee pesticides elimination to levels below legal limits (normally 0.1 microg L(-1)). Pine bark was studied as an alternative to activated carbon, for organochlorine pesticides removal. A combination of technologies based on biodegradation with activated sludge followed by pine bark adsorption treatment was used for lindane (LIN) and heptachlor (HEP) removal from contaminated waters. Pesticides were quantified throughout the process by GC-ECD preceded by solid-phase microextraction (SPME). An experimental set-up was maintained for 4 months, by feeding a standard solution with pesticides concentration of 1 microg L(-1) each and known organic matter (Chemical Oxygen Demand, COD, -563 mg O2 L(-1)) on a daily basis. COD suffered a reduction of about 81% in the biological step and no increase was detected in the subsequent adsorption treatment. Overall removal efficiency was 76.6% and above 77.7% for LIN and HEP, respectively.