Advanced Cloud Point Extraction for Pesticide Removal and Surfactant Regeneration

ABSTRACT Because pesticides are toxic and persistent in natural systems, their contamination of aquatic areas poses a serious threat to ecosystems and human health. This study uses Polyethylene Glycol Tert‐Octylphenyl Ether, to investigate the effectiveness of cloud point extraction (CPE) for the removal of the herbicide atrazine from aqueous solutions. Building partial phase diagrams for water–surfactant binary systems is the first step in the study. The impact of factors like cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, sodium chloride, and atrazine concentration on the cloud point temperature (Tc) is methodically assessed. Four primary responses are used to examine experimental results: extraction efficiency (E%), coacervate volume fraction (Φ𝑐), residual solute and surfactant concentrations in the dilute phase (X s.w and X t.w , respectively). Response surface methodology (RSM) is used to model the results and visualize them on three‐dimensional plots after data smoothing techniques are used to improve parameter estimates. The extraction efficiency was above 93%, the optimum was achieved with 1.5% w/v solvent and the maximum atrazine removal reached 98.2% at 35°C and 0.1 M NaCl addition. In fact, adding salt greatly improves extraction performance. The study also provides a viable method for pH‐adjusted surfactant regeneration, which permits the surfactant to be reused in successive extractions.