Abstract
The fly ash generated from local pulp and paper industries was transformed into activated carbon (AC) through physical activation process in a high temperature tube furnace in this study. Effects of two factors including activation temperature and activation time were investigated. Iodine number (IN), methylene blue value (MBV), and surface microstructure were all analyzed to assess the adsorption capacity of different carbon samples. The surface area of the carbon sample increased significantly from 486.44 m2/g to 847.26 m2/g before and after activation. The jar tests revealed that the use of 0.5 g (AC)/L (water) has the highest adsorption effectiveness. Meanwhile, the column filtration experiment indicated more than 60% of the organic matter can be removed by the carbon barrier within 2 hours filtration. The follow-up chlorination experiment illustrated that the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) could be considerably prevented after filtration. Above all, the cost-effective carbon filtration technology developed in this study can potentially be applied as a pre-treatment technology for intake source waters for local communities.
Highlights
Chlorine has been commonly used as a disinfectant and oxidant in the world’s drinking-water supply systems due to its characteristics and low cost
Chlorine can react with natural organic matter (NOM) in drinking-water supply systems to produce compounds known as disinfection by-products (DBPs)
Most moisture and ash content were reduced after the cleaning process, which indicates the effectiveness of using nitric acid solution as cleaning reagent
Summary
Chlorine has been commonly used as a disinfectant and oxidant in the world’s drinking-water supply systems due to its characteristics and low cost. Chlorine can react with natural organic matter (NOM) in drinking-water supply systems to produce compounds known as disinfection by-products (DBPs). NOM is derived from the decomposition of living organisms such as animals and plant residues [5] [6] It can contain humic acids, fulvic acids, carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, proteins, lipids, amino acids, and polysaccharides, depending on the characteristics of the water basins [2] [3] [5]. Since their identification in 1970s, DBPs have been actively investigated. Research shows that there is an association between long-term exposure to high DBP levels and the increased incidence of liver, kidney, bladder, and colon cancers as well as other health impacts [8]
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