Gebrekidan, A., Nicolai, H., Vincken, L., Teferi, M., Asmelash, T., Dejenie, T., Zerabruk, S., Gebrehiwet, K., Bauer, H., Deckers, J., Luis, P., De Meester, L. and Van der Bruggen, B. (2013) Filtration over Cactus Pear Leaves Material Efficiently Removes Pesticides from Water: A Cheap and Natural Method for Small-Scale Water Purification in Semi-Arid Regions. CLEAN—Soil, Air, Water, 41, 335-343.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/clen.201200042

has been cited by the following article:

• TITLE: Acacia etbaica as a Potential Low-Cost Adsorbent for Removal of Organochlorine Pesticides from Water

  AUTHORS: Abraha Gebrekidan, Mekonen Teferi, Tsehaye Asmelash, Kindeya Gebrehiwet, Amanual Hadera, Kassa Amare, Jozef Deckers, Bart Van Der Bruggen

  KEYWORDS: Acacia etbaica, Activated Carbon, Organochlorine Pesticides, Adsorption, Water Purification

  JOURNAL NAME: Journal of Water Resource and Protection, Vol.7 No.3, February 27, 2015

  ABSTRACT: The presence of pesticides in the environment is of great concern due to their persistent nature and chronic adverse effect on human health and the environment. Water bodies are subject to pollution by organochlorine pesticides, especially in developing countries, where water pollution is a key sustainability challenge. Hence, activated carbon is considered a universal adsorbent for the removal of organochlorine pollutants from water. Activated carbon from Acatia etbaica was prepared using traditional kilns with low investment costs. Pesticides such as aldrin, dieldrin and DDT were selected for adsorption because of their common usage in agricultural and malaria control activities and may occur in high concentrations in surface waters that are used as drinking water sources. The effect of the adsorbent dose and initial concentration were investigated. To describe the equilibrium isotherms the experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The Freundlich model gave the best correlation with the experimental data. Activated carbon prepared from Acacia etbaica was found to be an effective and low-cost alternative for the removal of organochlorine pesticides from aqueous solutions. The preparation method allows the use of this material by local communities for effective remediation of pollution by pesticides.