Abstract

• In this study, iron oxide particles were synthesized and used to remediate insecticide contaminated soil. The influence of experimental variables such as reaction time, and particle dosage of iron oxide particles on the soil remediation were studied. The green synthesis of iron oxide particles was prepared by reducing iron (III) chloride solution with tea leaves extract for remediation of the soil. The optimized quantity of iron oxide particles was found to be 0.01 mL/kg of soil contaminated with 0.002 g g-1 of cypermethrin insecticide. The physicochemical properties of the soil sample were determined. Iron oxide particles were prepared by green method and characterized by modern techniques such as XRD, FT IR, TG-DTA and FESEM analyses. The degradation of insecticides residue in contaminated soil was studied. The residual insecticide in soil samples extracted from the experimental plot was examined by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Insecticide residue did not increase but firstly increased than decreased. The soil urease activity in the treated and contaminated soil was also determined. The stabilization of urease activity in the soils studied was due to iron oxide particles and these had light influence on soil organic matter. These results suggest that only proper amount of iron oxide particles plays a dominating role to control the urease activity of the soils.