LAUSR

Abstract This work investigates the kinetics of degradation of pirimiphos-methyl residues in maize grains exposed to ozone gas and evaluates the effect of ozonation on grain quality. The assays employed maize grains treated with the insecticide, namely Actellic 500 CE ® (pirimiphos-methyl), which were exposed for different periods to ozone gas at a concentration of 0.86 mg L −1 , provided at a continuous flow rate of 1.0 L min −1 . The insecticide residues were extracted from the grains using solid-liquid extraction with low temperature partitioning. The extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection. Ozone effectively degraded more than 91% of the pirimiphos-methyl residues, with the degradation efficiency increasing in direct proportion to the duration of exposure to the gas. A first order kinetic model provided the best fit to the degradation data. The use of ozone gas did not alter the qualitative characteristics of the maize.