A green approach to remove acetamiprid insecticide using pistachio shell-based modified activated carbon; economical groundwater treatment

This study deals with an economical and green approach for the successful removal of acetamiprid (ATP) from groundwater samples using pistachio shell-based modified activated carbon (MAC). The prepared MAC has an apparent surface area (SBET) of 1158.7 m2 g−1, total pore (Vtotal) of 0.982 cm3 g−1, and micropore (Vmicro) volumes of 0.841 cm3 g−1, and pore diameter (Pdia) of 11.18 nm. The maximum removal efficiency of 98.6% was obtained at the optimal condition of the ATP concentration of 10 mg L−1, solution pH of 6.5, the contact time of 23 min, and adsorbent dosage of 300 mg L−1. It was in good accordance with the predicted removal efficiency of 99.3% by the developed model. According to the analysis of variance (ANOVA), the high F-value of 797.5 and the very low P-value of