International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2024) 21:5459–5468

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-023-05351-4

ORIGINAL PAPER

Remediation of organophosphate pesticide‑contaminated soil using

soil washing and advanced oxidation processes
E. Baştürk1 · Ş. Tulun2

Received: 14 October 2022 / Revised: 22 August 2023 / Accepted: 7 November 2023 / Published online: 11 December 2023
© The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Iranian Society of Environmentalists (IRSEN) and Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University 2023

Abstract
Large numbers of contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticides and chlorophenols pass through sedi-
ments and soil, causing a giant danger to human health and ecosystem. To remediate the soil contaminated with these pollut-
ants, various methods have been proposed including coupled soil washing with Fenton or Sono-Fenton process. In this study,
non-ionic surfactants [Tween 85 AND linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LASs)] were used for the removal of chlorpyrifos
(organophosphate pesticide). The optimal conditions for LAS surfactant were found to be a concentration of 2.5 g/L with
20/1.5 ratio (liquid/solid), 360 min operation time and 120 rpm washing speed in room temperature; while 1 g/L Tween 85
concentration was more effective at 20:1 ratio (liquid solid), 360 min operation time and 60 rpm washing speed in room
temperature, respectively. The results imply that combining both Tween 85 and LAS can be an effective way to remove
large amounts of contaminants from soils quickly without damaging them further or harming humans who might come into
contact with it afterward. The results of the experimental study on soil washing and Fenton/Sono-Fenton suggest that these
two processes combined can be an effective way to remediate soils contaminated with chlorpyrifos. This combination was
shown to provide superior results for both remediation and recovery of surfactants used in the cleaning process.

Keywords Fenton · Pesticides · Soil contamination · Sono-Fenton · Surfactant

Introduction Tons of pesticides are released into the biosphere both

intentionally and unintentionally. Variable concentrations
Soil quality is significant for the safety of produced foods, (ppt-ppm range) of pesticides were found in agricultural
community health and a sustainable environment (Li et al. soils, surfaces and groundwater (Vryzas 2018) that are
2020). The formation of various substances that can change belong to very large amount of tons of pesticides were
the quality and function of soil and damage its basic struc- used worldwide (Neuwirthová et al. 2019). Pesticides are
ture is defined as soil contamination (Sun et al. 2019), which designed to disrupt the nervous and muscular systems and
is one of the most common problems around the world normal functions of microorganisms (Rajagopalan et al.
(Ramón and Lull 2019). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons 2023; Rajak et al. 2023). Unfortunately, pesticides applied
(PAHs), petroleum and related products, pesticides, chloro- to target organisms can quickly accumulate in many organ-
phenols and heavy metals are among the primary soil pollut- isms, including humans (Zhen et al. 2018).
ants (Singh and Haritash 2019; Zeb et al. 2020). Organophosphates (OPs), a type of pesticide, were
determined as the most used insecticides in the last decade
(Aswathi et al. 2019). Chlorpyrifos, which is the most com-
Editorial responsibility: Samareh Mirkia. mon organophosphate insecticide, has been used in agricul-
ture (Alruhaimi 2023; Cheng et al. 2023).
* E. Baştürk
eminebasturk@hotmail.com Conventional treatment methods such as sorption (Liu
et al. 2018), biological treatment system (Streptomyces
1
Department of Environmental Protection Technologies, consortium) (Fuentes et al. 2017), phytoremediation (Pra-
Technical Sciences Vocational School, Aksaray University, bakaran et al. 2019), advanced chemical oxidation (Mala-
68100 Aksaray, Turkey
kootian et al. 2020) and photochemical oxidation (Bae
2
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty et al. 2023) and enzymatic conversion (Varga et al. 2019)
of Engineering, Aksaray University, 68100 Aksaray, Turkey

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5460 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2024) 21:5459–5468

or combinations of these methods (Sánchez et al. 2019) Table 1  Main parameters of the soil sample
are used to remove pesticide residues from soil (Chen et al. Parameter Unit Value
2019). Among these methods, the soil washing method is
the most commonly used due to its simplicity and high effi- pH – 6.3
ciency in the treatment of different pollutants in soil (Gu Bulk Density g/L 65
et al. 2022; Tran et al. 2022). The basic principle of this Organic Matter % 95
method is solution extraction, which is used to efficiently Moisture % 45
transfer pollutants that are present in the soil to a liquid Electrical Conductivity µs/cm 335
phase. The most used washing solution is surfactant solu- Nitrogen g/L 140
tions. Anionic surfactants are the most preferred surfactants Phosphorus g/L 160
due to their high extraction efficiency and low adsorption Potassium g/L 180
properties. One anticipated concept was that soil washing
was the used media, which often contains chemical addi-
sieve analysis. Some of the dried samples were reserved for
tives, may need specialized treatment which is generally
soil characterization studies, while the others were stored in
difficult to do and expensive. Moreover, this issue could be
airtight plastic boxes. The organic matter was determined
attributed to the solution formed after washing creates an
by the loss on ignition method with a pH of 6.3. The main
extremely dirty wastewater (Rajendran et al. 2022). Hence,
parameters were measured deal with methods such as: pH
it could be hypothesized that the usage hybrid treatment
(ASTM D4972), bulk density (ASTM D7263), moisture
processes are more logical to overcome this problem. The
(ASTM D2216), electrical conductivity (ISO 11265:1994),
combination of soil washing and advanced oxidation pro-
nitrogen and phosphorus (SM 4500-P J). The pH, electrical
cess such as Fenton and Sono-Fenton detemplation leads to
conductivity and other measurements were made by WTW
more hydroxylated surfaces, with possible advantages for
pH330i/SET with different probes.
adsorption and catalyst preparation strategies was beneficial
The characterization of the soil is given in Table 1.
for utilization a sustainable solution on behalf of the green
The experiments were briefly as follows: 100 ml of
technology. The hydroxyl radicals have shown considerable
20 mg/L chlorpyrifos solution was added to a 100 g sam-
selectivity in the elimination of different types of organic
ple of dry soil. The mixture was mixed and stirred for 3 h
pollutants. It can be hypothesized that the cost-effectiveness
to obtain homogeneous mixture. In order to examine the
of the whole soil washing process would be improved when
homogeneous distribution of the chlorpyrifos in the soil
the target pollutant (Chlorpyrifos, for example) is selectively
samples (three soil samples) were taken from different
removed by Fenton and Sono-Fenton processes.
points, and recovery studies were carried out using ace-
In the present study, the soil washing studies were car-
tonitrile and propionic solvents (20 mL solvent were used
ried out using linear alkylbenzene sulfonates (LASs) and
in experiments). The mixture was mixed and stirred for
Tween 85 (TW 85) surfactant for agricultural soil contami-
3 days to obtain homogeneous mixture and evaporation of
nated with chlorpyrifos. The effects of the liquid/solid ratio,
the solvent. The mixing and centrifuging studies were car-
surfactant concentration, operation time, temperature and
ried out by BIOSAN Multi RS-24 and Beckman Allegra
rotational speed parameters on the removal efficiency were
X12 Centrifuge. The liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) (the
investigated. Recovery of the washing solution obtained
extraction was made by BIOSAN Multi RS-24) method
at the optimal conditions was carried out using advanced
was selected and used for GC analysis (Shimadzu GC-2010
oxidation methods such as Fenton and Sono-Fenton. These
-GCMS-QP2010plus). An average of 77.78 ± 2.1% recovery
processes are perhaps one of the most effectual methods for
was obtained when the acetonitrile solution was used, while
the removal of refractory pollutants.
86.86 ± 2.4% recovery was achieved when the propionic
solution was used.
The chlorpyrifos (organic phosphate pesticide) was pur-
Materials and methods chased from Sigma-Aldrich. The chlorpyrifos and (isopro-
pyl/ultrapure water) mixture (30:70) was dissolved for 24 h
Sample preparation and analysis
using a magnetic stirrer followed by a 40 °C hot water bath.
The prepared solutions were injected into a gas chroma-
The agricultural soil used in the study was obtained from
tography (GC) using a micro syringe. The equation of the
20 cm below the surface where the 38°12′13.5″N and
chlorpyrifos solution was created using GC and was lin-
34°09′25.7″E points were specified. The soil samples were
ear (y = 0.0162x + 0.0088 R2 = 0.09996). Limit of detection
dried at 70 °C for 5 days after being passed through 50 mesh

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International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2024) 21:5459–5468 5461

Table 2  Operating conditions of

the GC device Carrier gas rate 1.0 mL/min
Carrier gas Ultrapure Helium
Sample volume 1 µL
Injector temperature 250 °C
Auxiliary heater Temperature 230 °C
Temperature program 60 °C for 2 min, programed from 60 to 180 °C at 20 °C
/min, and then increased at a rate of 10 °C /min
280 °C

Table 3  Different experimental

conditions Surfactant concentration (g/L) 0.5,1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0
Liquid/solid ratio 20/0.5, 20/1, 20/1.5, 20/ 2, 20/2.5 and 20/3
Operation time (min.) 15, 30, 60, 180, 360, 720, 1440, 2160, 2880 and 4320
Rotational speed (rpm) 60, 80,120 and 150
Temperature (K) 293, 298, 308 and 313

(LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values for Chlorpy- 100

rifos were 0.273 and 0.909 µg/L. The chlorpyrifos pesticide

Efficiency (%)
80
was analyzed in a Shimadzu QP2010 Plus GC–MS device Removal 60
equipped with a DB-5MS capillary column. The conditions 40
of the method for analysis are given in Table 2. 20
0
Soil washing test 0 5 10 15 20

Surfactant Concentration (g/L)

Preliminary studies of the Tween 85, Span 80 and LAS sur-
LAS Tween 85
factants were carried out in order to select the most suitable
surfactant for the soil washing studies (Bolan et al. 2023;
Fig. 1  Determination of the surfactant concentration for LAS and
Buckley et al. 2022; Nagtode et al. 2023). The three sur- Tween 85
factants were washed for 72 h under the same conditions,
and after being mixed for 10 min at 3750 rpm, the upper
liquid was filtered through 0.45 µm filters and then measured concentrations both with and without indirect ultrasound. In
using the GC–MS. As a result of the preliminary studies, all of the experiments, the working time was kept constant
the most suitable surfactants were determined as LAS and for 10 min and the operating temperature at 293 K. The
Tween 85. Batch experiments were carried out to investi- ultrasonic system used in this study was a power consump-
gate the effect of different parameters on increasing the con- tion of 100 W and was equipped with a heating power of
taminated soil with LAS and Tween 85. The experimental 75% (Kudos, LHC Heating). All of the chemicals purchased
studies were carried out in 50 mL glass bottles. In order to from Merck were used as received.
determine the optimal conditions for the washing process,
the different experimental conditions are shown at Table 3.
Results and discussion
Recovery of the washing solution with the advanced
oxidation process Effect of surfactant concentration

Recovery efforts were carried out for the solutions obtained Due to their low cost, hypotoxic properties and high solubil-
at the end of the soil washing process, which was carried out ity, surfactants are widely used in soil washing of organic
under the optimal conditions for both surfactants. Fenton impurities (Tao et al. 2020). Studies were carried out with
and Fenton + ultrasound advanced oxidation methods were previously determined surfactant concentrations at room
used. The experiments were carried out to optimize pesti- temperature, at a mixing speed of 120 rpm, a rate of 1/20
cide removal under different Fe (II), frequency and H ­ 2O 2

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5462 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2024) 21:5459–5468

Removal Efficiency (%) 100 100

Removal Efficiency (%)

80 80

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
20/0.5 20/1.0 20/1.5 20/2.0 20/2.5 20/3.0 15 30 60 180 360 720 1440 2160 2880 4320
Liquid/Soil ratio Time (min.)

LAS Tween 85 LAS Tween 85

Fig. 2  Determination of the liquid/solid ratio for a LAS and b Tween Fig. 3  Operation time for a LAS b Tween 85
85
ratios (1/1–100/1) have been reported in the literature (Gau-
(solid/liquid), for 4320 min. The optimal concentrations for tam et al. 2020). The effect of liquid/solid ratio on removal
LAS and Tween 85 are given in Fig. 1. efficiency at optimal surfactant concentrations is given in
The removal efficiency of 2.5 g/L LAS surfactant was Fig. 2 for both washing solutions.
found to be 83.73%, and this was the highest efficiency 88.22% removal efficiency was obtained in the washing
obtained among the other investigated concentrations. It effi- processes with 1.5 g of agricultural soil. The increase in the
ciently removed pesticide contamination in the soil of low amount of soil in the washing solution caused the removal
concentrations. Some researchers obtained similar results efficiency to decrease to 74.13%. The ratio of 20/1.5 (liquid/
in their study for the removal of the atrazine pesticide. High solid) was found to be optimal. Some researchers observed
surfactant concentrations caused a decrease in removal effi- similar results in the removal of heavy metals found in agri-
ciency (Dos Santos et al. 2015). cultural soils and mine soils contaminated by soil washing
Higher removal efficiencies were obtained at low Tween method (Wang et al. 2020).
85 concentrations. 91.71% removal efficiency was observed 91.71% and 86.60% removal efficiencies were obtained in
for the concentration of 1 g/L Tween 85. Increasing concen- 20/1–20/1.5 (liquid/solid) ratio for Tween 85. The increase
trations led to a gradual decrease in removal efficiency. It in the amount of agricultural soil has led to a decrease in
was determined that the removal efficiency decreases up to the efficiency of the washing process. As a result of this,
26.42% at the concentration of 20 g/L surfactant. washing process could not be carried out effectively and
When both surfactants were compared, it was determined chlorpyrifos was attached to the agricultural soil and could
that higher removal efficiencies were obtained at lower con- not pass into the surfactant. These results and findings also
centrations of Tween 85 surfactant. The main reasons for this matched those mentioned in some studies, the number of
are the higher molecular weight of Tween 85 and its abil- micelles generated in the surfactant solution with optimum
ity to form more bonds with chlorpyrifos. As mentioned in liquid/solid ratio that was lower than the effective critical
the review of literature, a study mentioned the using a large micelle concentration (CMC) required for target pollutant
amount of surfactant may causes a back-adsorption effect on removal from the soil media. The occurrence of a adequate
pollutant, resulting in unsuccessful removal efficiency (Ren amount of micelles in the surfactant would also solubilize
et al. 2023). The selection the surfactants and determining higher amounts of chlorpyrifos and increase removal effi-
the surfactant concentrations were critical issue to help the ciency (Mirzaee and Sartaj 2022).
providing an advantages for sustainable removal of target
pollutant (Silva et al. 2021). Effect of operation time

Effect of liquid/solid ratio One of the most important parameters to be optimized in

soil washing is the operation time. Washing time affects the
Liquid/solid ratio is another parameter that affects removal degree of adsorption and washing efficiency (Cheng et al.
efficiency. The rate to be determined varies according to 2020). It is necessary to examine the operation time with
the pollutant status and soil structure, but it is often applied extensive studies. For both washing solutions, removal effi-
without sufficient consideration. A wide range of liquid/solid ciencies from 15 to 4320 min are given in Fig. 3.

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International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2024) 21:5459–5468 5463

Removal Efficiency (%) 100 100

Removal Efficiency (%)

80 80

60 60

40 40

20 20

0 0
60 80 120 150 293 298 308 313
Rotational Speed (rpm) Temperature (K)

LAS Tween 85 LAS Tween 85

Fig. 4  Determination of rotational speed for LAS and Tween 85 Fig. 5  Determination of operation temperature for LAS and Tween 85

It was determined that removal efficiencies are around

70% in low operation times. It was determined that the The viscous nature of the Tween 85 washing solution
removal efficiency at the end of the 360 min of operation caused it to slide over the agricultural soil and form a mix-
time was 88.51%, which was the optimum. Although the fur- ture. For this reason, increasing the rotational speeds caused
ther increase of the operation time caused both an increase decreases on the removal efficiency. While the optimal rota-
and decrease in removal efficiency, at the end of 4320 min of tional speed was determined as 60 rpm, the removal effi-
operation, 88.22% removal efficiency was achieved. ciency was 95.44% (Fig. 4).
In the soil washing process where Tween 85 is used, the
optimal operation time has been determined as 360 min, Effect of operation temperature
which results in 92.78% removal efficiency. The higher
operation times on removal could not be effective. The effect of temperature on removal efficiency in soil wash-
It was observed that the percentage of chlorpyrifos ing operations performed at 4 different operating tempera-
removal in both surfactants increased rapidly for up to tures is given in Fig. 5.
60 min and then remained at more stable values. The 360- It was determined that the removal efficiency was 90.44%
min washing period in which steady state effect was present at the highest operating temperature level (313 K). This is
was chosen as the optimum. Some scientists reached the mainly due to the decrease in tensile force between surfaces
approximately same washing times in their studies inves- (Fanaei et al. 2020). When considered economically, the
tigating the removal of target pollutants using soil washing optimal operating temperature was found to be 298 K.
methods (Ma et al. 2023; Offiong et al. 2023). The operation A similar situation was observed for the Tween 85 sur-
time values may be controlled up to a limited value, a higher factant. The removal efficiency, which was 89.83% in the
values cannot be effective for removal and recovery (Silva Tween 85 soil washing process carried out at room tempera-
et al. 2021). ture, changed to 98.07% when the temperature was increased
to 313 K. When examined in terms of applicability and eco-
Effect of rotational speed nomic evaluation, the optimal operating temperature was
accepted as 298 K. These findings corroborate the ideas of
In the washing processes, it was ensured that the mixing some researchers (Ren et al. 2023).
speed creates turbulence in the solution by means of causing
random and changing speeds. Figure 4 shows the effect of Recovery of the washing solution by Fenton
mixing speed on removal efficiency.
Increasing mixing speeds generally leads to an increase The Fenton process or Fenton-type process is based on the
in removal efficiency, but when it goes above a certain reaction between iron ions and hydrogen peroxide to produce
level, a decrease in removal rates was observed. High mix- hydroxyl radicals at ambient temperature. Among advanced
ing speeds help to separate absorbed contaminants (Befkadu oxidation processes (AOP), the Fenton-type process is an
and Quanyuan 2018). Increasing the rotational speed to effective method for the removal of contaminants. The Fen-
120 rpm depending on the fluidity of the LAS washing solu- ton process has several advantages such as being safe and
tion caused it to be applied to the surface more effectively. environmentally-benign nature of reagents, having relatively

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5464 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2024) 21:5459–5468

100 100

Removal Efficiency %

Removal Efficiency %
90 90

80 80

70 70

60 60

50 50
10 25 50 100 200 500
Fe(II) dosage mg/L H2O2 dosage mg/L

b)
a) LAS Tween 85 LAS Tween 85

Fig. 6  Effect of a Fe (II) dosage b ­H2O2 dosage for LAS and Tween 85

100 100
Removal Efficiency %

Removal Efficiency %
90 90

80 80

70 70
60 60
50
50
10 25 50
100 200 500
Fe(II) dosage mg/L
H2O2 dosage mg/L
a) b)
LAS Tween 85
LAS Tween 85

Fig. 7  Effect of a Fe dosage b ­H2O2 dosage for LAS and Tween 85 (53 kHz)

simple operating principles, short reaction time and no mass also raises the cost of treatment, as it is the main expense.
transfer limitations (Malakootian et al. 2020). The dosage of ­H2O2 concentration has a significant effect because excess
the ferrous ion is one of the main operating parameters that ­H2O2 can destroy the newly formed hydroxyl radicals caus-
determines the treatment efficiency and operating costs of ing a reduction in the performance of the process.
the Fenton process, as ferrous ion produces OH• by catalyti- After determining the optimal conditions for both wash-
cally decomposing hydrogen peroxide (Özdemir et al. 2011). ing solutions, studies of recovering the washing solution
The increasing trend is due to the fact that higher ferrous water were carried out by Fenton advanced treatment
dosages can form more OH• through the Fenton reaction, method. In order to determine the Iron (II) concentration,
thus leading to a higher removal rate. Therefore, the result- 200 mg/L hydrogen peroxide (­ H2O2) was kept. In the recov-
ant reactive oxidants, such as hydroxyl radicals, eventually ery studies for Iron (II) concentrations, the effects caused by
promote the chemical oxidation process to degrade biologi- the solution resulting from the washing processes with LAS
cally and chemically recalcitrant pesticide compounds in soil are given in Fig. 6.
at circum-neutral pH (Reddy and Kim 2015). Hydrogen per- The highest removal efficiency was obtained in 25 mg/L
oxide plays a vital role in the Fenton oxidation process, as it Fe (II) concentration. ­H2O2 concentration determination
is the source of OH•. However, an excess amount of hydro- studies were made by keeping this value constant (Fig. 6).
gen peroxide not only reduces the treatment efficiency, but

13
International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2024) 21:5459–5468 5465

In the concentration of H ­ 2O2, it was determined that 100

increasing the ratio increases the removal efficiency. When 90
the removal efficiencies were examined, it was determined

Removal Efficiency %
80
that high concentrations were not feasible. The optimal H­ 2O2 70

concentration was determined as 100 mg/L. In the Fenton 60

study with 25 mg/L Fe (II) and 100 mg/L H ­ 2O2 made for 50
40
the recovery of the washing solution with LAS, the removal
30
efficiency was obtained as 70.54%. The studies were carried
20
out under the same advanced oxidation conditions for wash- 10
ing solutions made with Tween 85. Iron (II) concentration 0
studies are given in Fig. 6. LAS Tween 85
In the case of adding Fe (II) at concentrations of 10 mg/L,
25 mg/L, 50 mg/L, removal efficiencies were 84.96%, Fig. 8  Effect of ultrasound frequency for LAS and Tween 85 (opti-
89.81%, 91.32%, respectively. 25 mg/L was chosen as the mum conditions)
optimal Fe (II) concentration. Figure 7 shows the studies for
the determination of the ­H2O2 concentration. obtained according to Fe (II) concentrations as a result of
After adding 100 mg/L H ­ 2O2 to the washing solution, the ultrasonic processes are given in Fig. 7.
recovery efficiency was determined as 96.60%. For the wash- When 25 mg/L Fe (II) was added to the LAS washing
ing solution formed as a result of soil washing process with solution and advanced ultrasound treatment method with
Tween 85, it was determined that the recovery with Fenton 53 kHz was applied for 10 min at room temperature, a
is higher than the one with LAS. The amounts of radical recovery efficiency was obtained as 83.75%. In advanced
producers reagents such as Fe and H ­ 2O2 dosages were criti- ultrasound treatment, the optimal Fe (II) concentration, with
cal. Additionally, a high concentration of surfactant at the Fenton, was determined as 25 mg/L. The results of the study
advanced oxidation section is undesired so it can make the done for the determination of the concentration and recovery
process insufficient owing to the removal efficacy. There are efficiency for ­H2O2 are given in Fig. 7.
several possible explanations for such a result. One of them, In studies for Tween 85 washing solutions performed with
surfactant micelles can be a layer toward radical oxidation 53 kHz ultrasound, recovery percentages obtained for Fe (II)
of target pollutant and the other explanation was, the com- and ­H2O2 concentrations are given in Fig. 7.
petition between the surfactant and contaminants (Checa- Although the removal efficiency increases with increasing
Fernández et al. 2023; Garcia-Cervilla et al. 2022). iron concentrations, due to the problem of precipitation of
excess iron doses, the optimal dose was chosen as 25 mg/L.
Recovery of the washing solution by Sono‑Fenton However, the case with hydrogen peroxide is not the same.
When given an excessive dose of hydrogen peroxide, it
The removal efficiency is significant with increasing acous- reacts with itself and disintegrates. Therefore, the removal
tic power. The greatest overall removal of the pollutant efficiency was low at high doses (Fig. 7).
was observed at 53 kHz. An almost 1.2-fold increase was The effect of 35 kHz ultrasound treatment on the recov-
observed in removal efficiency at 53 kHz, in comparison to ery efficiency was determined by using the optimal Fe (II)
35 kHz. The increasing frequency of the ultrasonic equip- and ­H2O2 concentrations for 53 kHz advanced ultrasound
ment reduced the pollutant degradation (Eren 2012). treatment. The results of the advanced ultrasound treatment
As hydrogen peroxide and iron doses increase, Fe +2 ions method with 35 kHz, which was applied by adding 25 mg/L
were reduced in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and OH• Fe (II) and 100 mg/L ­H2O2 to both LAS and Tween 85 wash-
radicals were formed, thus optimal conditions are deter- ing solutions and where the internal temperature of the tank
mined as seen in Fig. 7. was 25 °C and the operation time was 10 min. As a result of
After the predetermined concentrations of Fe (II) and the advanced ultrasound treatment with low frequency (35
­H2O2 were added to the LAS washing solution, an advanced kHZ) performed after the Fenton process, it was determined
ultrasound oxidation method was applied at a frequency of that the recovery was 67.64% in the LAS washing solution
53 kHz. In the ultrasound method, the internal tempera- and 87.76% in the Tween 85 washing solution (Fig. 8). It
ture of the tank was determined as 25 °C and the operation was observed that low ultrasonic frequencies decreased the
time as 10 min, during the reaction. Recovery percentages recovery efficiency for both washing solutions.

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5466 International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology (2024) 21:5459–5468

As mentioned in the review of the literature, The incline Author contributions All authors contributed to the study conception
in the removal efficiency with the oxidant dosage (Fe (II) and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were per-
formed by EB and ŞT. The first draft of the manuscript was written by
and ­H2O2 dosage, etc.) was mainly depends on the rise in EB and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript.
the number of produced radicals with the high amount of All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
oxidant dosage, which assisted the removal of target pollut-
ant. Even though, the removal efficiency went on to increase Funding No funding was received for conducting this study.
when the oxidant dosage was increased up to limited level,
Declarations
the target removal efficiency stayed stable. This situation
may be attributed to the generation of excess iron amount Conflict of interest The authors report no conflicts of interest. The au-
that leads to quench radicals (Sun et al. 2023) and this thors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.
hypothesis are also matched with our experimental results.

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in contaminated soil: a critical review of research progress and Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds
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Zhen M, Song B, Liu X, Chandankere R, Tang J (2018) Biochar-medi- author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted
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soils. Chin J Chem Eng 26(12):2592–2600

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