Adsorption Behaviour of Selected Acid Herbicides on Activated Carbon: Equilibrium, Kinetic and Laboratory–Field Assessment
Authors & Affiliations
Article Dates
RECEIVED
March 04, 2026
REVISED
June 10, 2026
ACCEPTED
June 11, 2026
AVAILABLE ONLINE
June 15, 2026
Abstract
The present study evaluates the adsorption behaviour of selected acid herbicides (MCPA, Mecoprop-P, 2,4-D, and Triclopyr) on activated carbon under controlled laboratory conditions and assesses the relevance of this behaviour to aquatic environmentalprotection.Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of contact time, adsorbent dosage and initial herbicide concentration. Adsorption equilibrium data were analysed using Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherm models, while adsorption kinetics were evaluated using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. Freundlich modelling showed better agreement with the experimental data, suggesting heterogeneous surface interactions during adsorption. Langmuir modelling demonstrated high intrinsic adsorption capacities, reaching 116.82 mg g⁻¹ for MCPA. Kinetic analysis revealed that thepseudo-second-order model provided the best fit (R² up to 0.996), suggesting that it adequately describes the adsorption kinetics.Regression analysis indicated a statistically significant preliminary relationship (R² = 0.933, p ≤ 0.05) between intrinsic adsorption capacity and field removal efficiency. The findings highlight the practical relevance of laboratory-derived adsorption parameters for preliminary assessment of the performance of activatedcarbon in agricultural water treatment systems and contribute to ecological protection by supporting improved management of herbicide contamination in water resources.
Keywords
Activated carbon
Acid herbicides
Adsorption isotherms
Kinetic modelling
Agricultural runoff
Aquatic ecosystems
Herbicide removal
Classifications
Aquatic ecology
Environmental pollution
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Cite As
Salve, P. T. (2026). Adsorption behaviour of selected acid herbicides on activated carbon: equilibrium, kinetic and laboratory–Field assessment. Indian Journal of Ecology, 53(2), 386-397. https://doi.org/10.55362/IJECOL/2026/0066