This study aimed at developing and validating a method for the simultaneous determination of triazines (ametryne, atrazine, prometryne and terbuthylazine), triazinones (metribuzin and hexazinone) and a triazole (flutriafol) in water by ultrasound vortex assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (USVADLLME) and GC-MS. The experimental conditions that provided the best results were: 5.00 mL of sample, 100 mL of extractor solvent (toluene), vortex agitation for 30 s and sonication for 1 min. at 240 W and 40 ºC. The USVADLLME provided recoveries ranging from 77.2% to 109%, with a repetitivity and intermediate precision varying from 1.4 to 9.0% and 2.9 to 15%, respectively. The method detection limits ranged between 0.10 and 2.71 µg L-1. The method was applied to different surface water samples and a matrix effect was not observed. Once validated, the proposed method was applied to ten water samples of an important agricultural region of Mato Grosso State/Brazil, but none of the studied analytes were detected. The USVADLLME is proposed as an efficient, fast, simple and non-expensive alternative technique for the simultaneous determination of multiclass pesticides in water.

The efficiency of XAD®-2 resin in sampling the pesticides α and β-endosulfan from air contaminated in the laboratory was evaluated. Sampling efficiency ranged from 87 to 108% for α-endosulfan and from 71 to 84% for β-endosulfan with relative standard deviation lower than 19%. The pesticides were not detected in the second section of the cartridge showing the good retention capacity of XAD®-2 for these analytes. Method quantification limits were 0.32 and 0.34 µg m-3 for α and β-endosulfan, respectively. These results suggest that the proposed method may be useful for evaluating occupational exposure to these compounds.

This work evaluated the use of the Hildebrand/Hansen solubility parameters for selection of solvents for extraction of the organochlorine pesticides pp' DDT, pp' DDE, Aldrin and a-Endossulfan from soil using columns packed with Al2O3. The mixtures hexane:dichloromethane (7:3; v/v), hexane:acetonitrile (1:1; v/v), hexane:acetone (1:1; v/v) and pure hexane were chosen as extracting solutions. In the addition and recovery tests, different extraction solutions provided high recoveries percentages (>75%) with coefficients of variation below 15%. The recoveries are in agreement with the Hildebrand/Hansen parameters, demonstrating its applicability in the selection of extracting solution and in the replacement of toxic solvents, as dichloromethane

Este trabalho descreve a utilização do processo Fenton para degradação de diesel em solo e destaca aspectos comuns em situações reais de contaminação que podem afetar a eficiência da remediação. Foi observado que a maior parte dos hidrocarbonetos presentes no diesel com menos de 14 carbonos foi perdida por volatilização antes da remediação. Em solo franco, cerca de 80% do diesel foi degradado enquanto que em solo franco-argiloso a degradação foi inferior a 20%. Adições múltiplas de H2O2 proporcionaram degradação de até 80% do diesel, enquanto que com adição única a degradação foi inferior a 14%. A adição de ferro solúvel foi essencial para obtenção de altas porcentagens de degradação. Não foi observado aumento significativo (t-test; P = 0.05) na degradação do diesel quando foram utilizadas dosagens de H2O2 entre 0,09 e 0,36 g g-1. Além disso, a alta dosagem de H2O2 (0,36 g g-1) degradou 87% da matéria orgânica originalmente presente no solo.

This work reports the use of Fenton process for diesel degradation and addresses common aspects of real situations that can affect the soil remediation efficiency. It was observed that most of diesel hydrocarbons containing less than 14 carbon atoms were lost by volatilization prior to the treatment. About 80% degradation was achieved in a loam soil, while less than 20% was observed in a clay loam soil. The multiple additions of H2O2 resulted in 80% diesel degradation, while only 14% of diesel was degraded after a reaction time of 80 h using a single addition. The addition of soluble iron was essential to achieve high degradation levels. No significant increase in diesel degradation (t-test; P = 0.05) was observed using H2O2 dosages between 0.09 and 0.36 g g-1. Furthermore, the highest H2O2 dosage applied (0.36 g g-1) degraded around 87% of the organic matter originally present in the soil.

Wastewater and soil treatment processes based on Fenton's reagent have gained great attention in recent years due to its high oxidation power. This review describes the fundaments of the Fenton and photo-Fenton processes and discusses the main aspects related to the degradation of organic contaminants in water such as the complexation of iron, the use of solar light as the source of irradiation and the most important reactor types used. An overview of the main applications of the process to a variety of industrial wastewater and soil remediations is presented.