Wide concern has been raised over the presence of micropollutants, such as pesticides,
endocrine disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products in drinking
water. Granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption can be an effective process for
removing a wide array of dissolved micropollutants. However, the role of desorption on
the overall adsorption process is not well understood and may effect the overall
performance. Desorption occurs in filter-adsorbers where backwashing redistributes
GAC particles in the adsorber bed. Desorption also occurs after a pulse of pollutant has
passed causing the reversal of the concentration gradient. This study found that the
backwashing effect was much less pronounced than previous research suggested and that
desorption of pollutants after a pulse had passed was much slower than predicted by the
models. A portion of this behavior may be attributed to a thermodynamic favorability of
adsorption, it is also hypothesized that hindered back-diffusion caused by the presence of
irreversibly adsorbed natural organic matter contributes to the hysteresis. Includes 3 references, tables, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 650 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 8 |
| Published : | 11/01/2008 |
