Adsorption onto ACFC of mixture of pharmaceutical residues in water – experimental studies and modelling

ABSTRACT

The presence of pharmaceutical residues in water resources is a critical issue for the production of drinking water, even though trace concentrations are mostly encountered. The adsorption of eight micropollutants, in mixture, onto a microporous activated carbon fibre cloth was investigated. For each compound, the kinetics and isotherms of adsorption were studied in batch reactors with ultrapure water, groundwater and half-diluted groundwater. Experimental data were generated and compared to values calculated by the association of Ideal Adsorbed Solution Theory (IAST) model and the Homogeneous Surface Diffusion Model (HSDM). The impact of the nature and the content of Natural Organic Matter (NOM) was modelled considering an Equivalent Background Compound (EBC). The presence of NOM in the groundwater is largely detrimental for the adsorption of trace micropollutants.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Adsorption
• activated carbon fibre cloth
• natural organic matter
• pharmaceutical residues
• modelling

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratefully acknowledge the French National Research Agency (ANR-11-ECOT-0005) for funding a general programme of research on the micropollutant removal in drinking water.