title: Photocatalytic degradation of atrazine herbicide with Illuminated Fe+3-TiO2Nanoparticles.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atrazine is a herbicide that is widely used to control broadleaf and grassy weeds for growing many crops especially in maize production. It is a frequently detected herbicide in many groundwater resources. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using ultraviolet radiation UV and fortified nanoparticles of titanium dioxide (TiO2) doped with trivalent iron to remove atrazine from aqueous phase and determin the removal efficiency under the optimal conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of this study demonstrated that the maximum atrazine removal rate was at pH = 11 in the presence of Fe+ 3-TiO2catalyst =25 mg/L and the initial concentration of atrazine equal to 10 mg/L. As the reaction time increased, the removal rate of herbicide increased as well. Atrazine removal rate was enhanced by the effect of UV radiation on catalyst activation in Fe+3-TiO2/UV process. It was also revealed that pH has no significant effect on atrazine removal efficiency (p> 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the data obtained in this study, atrazine removal efficiency was increased by increasing pH, initial atrazine concentration, catalyst, and contact time. The results also showed Fe+3-TiO2/UV process was an appropriate method to reduce atrazine in contaminated water resources. In conclusion, Fe+3-TiO2/UV process may enhance the rate of atrazine reduction in highly polluted water resources (more than 99%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Narges
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shamsedini
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Health Sciences, Department of Environmental Health, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mansooreh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dehghani
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Simin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nasseri
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, School of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Baghapour
keywords: Atrazine; Degradation; Fe+3-TiO2 Nanoparticles; Herbicide; Photocatalytic