Atrazine: From Detection to Remediation - A Minireview

Abstract

Atrazine is a triazine herbicide widely used for the control of weeds. Physico-chemical characteristics of atrazine such as long half-life, low vapor pressure, low pKa, and high mobility have led to its persistence in the environment. Thus, atrazine may accumulate and exceed acceptable levels in terrestrial ecosystems, groundwater, and surface water bodies. Several studies related to atrazine determination have been performed as the first step to monitor its presence in the environment. In addition, various treatment strategies have been developed for the efficient removal of atrazine from wastewater. This review summarizes the primary methods for atrazine determination, focusing upon selective and sensitive methods that achieve low detection limits (ng/L). In addition, several treatment strategies that recorded removal efficiencies from 7.0 to 99.70% for atrazine are discussed.