Adsorption of Atrazine and Simazine from Aqueous Solutions onto Poly(ε‐Caprolactone)

The biodegradable synthetic polymer poly(ε‐caprolactone) was investigated as a substrate for denitrification. This substrate may also act as an adsorbent for two pesticides, i. e., atrazine and simazine, from water. The equilibrium was studied at 25, 35 and 45°C. The results were correlated using the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models. The total capacities of the adsorbent were defined from experimental data for atrazine (10.98 mg g–1) and simazine (27.54 mg g–1). The effect of temperature on the model constants and the thermodynamics of adsorption were investigated. The evaluation of the development of adsorption was achieved by assuming a pseudo‐second order chemical reaction.