Adsorption and Selectivity of Activated Carbon Fibers Application to Organics

Abstract

The adsorption of contaminants from polluted water was performed by Fibrous Activated Carbon (FAC) in batch and in continuous flow reactors. In batch reactors, the adsorption capacity and the adsorption velocity of micropollutants (phenol, atrazine) was higher for fibers than for Granular Activated Carbon (GAC). In continuous flow reactors, the breakthrough curves obtained from the micropollutants were quite steep, suggesting a smaller mass transfer resistance than with GAC. Integration of the breakthrough curves gave a high maximum adsorption capacity for both micropollutants. On the other hand, molecules with high molecular weight (MW), humic substances, were not adsorbed on FAC. The selectivity of FAC was studied in batch and in continuous flow reactors, with mixtures containing micropollutants (phenol) and humic substances. In both reactors, humic substances were not adsorbed on fibers, and the adsorption of phenol was not disturbed by the presence of humic substances.