| dc.description.abstract | Malathion is an organophosphorus pesticide widely employed in controlling pests in agriculture,
household, stored grains, greenhouse, forestry and public health. Malathion usually adsorbs on
soilsand through surface runoff or leaching, it fmds its way into rivers and lakes whose waters
the local population rely on for their domestic use. The current water treatment methods are not
efficient in getting rid of malathion and its degradation products. Zeolites which are crystalline
aluminosilicates with tetrahedral framework structure enclosing cavities can be effective
alternatives for mopping malathion from water due to their abilities to abstract and enhance
degradation of water pollutants. Although zeolites have" been reported to degrade malathion
faster, the kinetics of such zeolitic action has not been documented. The objective of this study
was to determine the degradation kinetics of malathion in fresh water and to compare the
effectiveness of Faujasite X and Y in removal of malathion. Experiments were set up in a
laboratory at 27°C and repeated three times. Water samples were collected from Asembo bay
(0010'S, 34°25'E) and different concentrations (10 and 20 ppm) of malathion spiked in the water
samples. After 1, 2, 4, 6 hours and thereafter increasing the previous time upto 768 hours, 40 mL
was sampled from each concentration, extracted using dichloromethane and cleaned on a florisil
column then analyzed using GC-NPD to determine the concentrations and GC-MS for
confirmation ofthe degradation products. Quantification was based on peak area responses using
the internal standard method and concentrations corrected for recovery. The solid Faujasites
were characterized using IR to establish ifthere was adsorption in the zeolite matrix and XRD to
determine any changes in the position of the Na+. The data was linearly regressed to obtain the
relationship between time and malathion concentration. Malathion degradation in fresh water
followed a pseudo first order kinetics with a rate constant of -0.144 ± 0.010 hr-I. The calculated | en_US |
