Effect of particle size and background natural organics on the adsorption efficiency of PAC

Issam N. Najm*, Vernon L. Snoeyink, Makram T. Suidan, Chung H. Lee, Yves Richard

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

102 Scopus citations

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine the efficiency of adsorption of powdered activated carbon (PAC) for a typical synthetic organic chemical, to evaluate the importance of particle size and background organics, and to develop a procedure to predict the performance of PAC. Results showed that performance can be significantly improved by using smaller-size PAC but that the rate of adsorption and PAC capacity are markedly reduced when naturally occurring humid substances are present in the groundwater. Accurate predictions of the removal of trace organics by PAC in a continuous stirred tank reactor were made by running equilibrium and closed-batch kinetic tests, determining equilibrium and kinetic constants, and using an equation to determine the removal efficiency of the PAC for any contact time.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)65-72
Number of pages8
JournalJournal / American Water Works Association
Volume82
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1990

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Water Science and Technology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effect of particle size and background natural organics on the adsorption efficiency of PAC'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this