The economy of many communities in southeastern Brazil is based on agroindustry, particularly the sugarcane industry. Recent studies have found increased use of herbicides in this type of agriculture, among which diuron and hexazinone are the most widely used. The water supply for some communities is derived entirely from the Guarany Aquifer (the world's largest transborder underground freshwater system), and some wells are located in recharge zones, which makes the groundwater more vulnerable to contamination. In this study, we monitored some of the wells located in the recharge area. We studied the removal of diuron and hexazinone from synthetic water prepared in the laboratory by preoxidation with chlorine and chlorine dioxide, as well as adsorption with granular activated carbon (GAC). The saturation time of GAC in tests with preoxidation with both oxidants was shorter than the saturation time in the test without preoxidation, possibly due to the formation of by - products that competed for the adsorption of the herbicides. The conclusion was that the use of activated carbon is important for removing the herbicides in question, as well as the by - products produced by these oxidants.
Diuron; Hexazinone; Granular activated carbon; Groundwater; Guarany Aquifer
