Granular activated carbon (GAC) is commonly used for removing organic constituents and residual disinfectants in water supplies. This not only improves taste and minimizes health hazards; it protects other water treatment units such as reverse osmosis membranes and ion exchange resins from possible damage due to oxidation or organic fouling. Activated carbon is a favoured water treatment technique because of its multi-functional nature and the fact that it adds nothing detrimental to the treated water.
Most activated carbons are made from raw materials such as nutshells, wood, coal and petroleum.
Typical surface area for activated carbon is approximately 1,000 square meters per gram (m2/gm). However, different raw materials produce different types of activated carbon varying in hardness, density, pore and particle sizes, surface areas, extractables, ash and pH. These differences in properties make certain carbons preferable over others in different applications.
The two principal mechanisms by which activated carbon removes contaminants from water are adsorption and catalytic reduction. Organics are removed by adsorption and residual disinfectants are removed by catalytic reduction.
Performance of Activated Carbon depends on
1. Particle size:
Activated carbon is commonly available in 8 by 30 mesh (largest), 12 by 40 mesh (most common), and 20 by 50 mesh (finest). The finer mesh gives the best contact and better removal, but at the expense of higher pressure drop. A rule of thumb here is that the 8 by 30 mesh gives two to three times better removal than the 12 by 40, and 10 to 20 times better kinetic removal than the 8 by 30 mesh.
2. Flow rate:
Generally, the lower the flow rate, the more time the contaminant will have to diffuse into a pore and be adsorbed. Adsorption by activated carbon is almost always improved by a longer contact time. Again, in general terms, a carbon bed of 20 by 50 mesh can be run at twice the flow rate of a bed of 12 by 40 mesh, and a carbon bed of 12 by 40 mesh can be run at twice the flow rate of a bed of 8 by 30 mesh. Whenever considering higher flow rates with finer mesh carbons, watch for an increased pressure drop.
3. Temperature:
Higher water temperatures decrease the solution viscosity and can increase die diffusion rate, thereby increasing adsorption. Higher temperatures can also disrupt the adsorptive bond and slightly decrease adsorption. It depends on the organic compound being removed, but generally, lower temperatures seem to favour adsorption.
4. Contaminant concentration:
The higher the contaminant concentration, the greater the removal capacity of activated carbon. The contaminant molecule is more likely to diffuse into a pore and become adsorbed. As concentrations increase, however, so do effluent leakages. The upper limit for contaminants is a few hundred parts per million. Higher contaminant concentration may require more contact time with the activated carbon. Also, the removal of organics is enhanced by the presence of hardness in the water, so whenever possible, place activated carbon units upstream of the ion removal units. This is usually the case anyway since activated carbon is often used upstream of ion exchange or membranes to remove chlorine.
5. Molecular weight:
As the molecular weight increases, the activated carbon adsorbs more effectively because the molecules are lea soluble in water. However, the pore structure of the carbon must be large enough to allow the molecules to migrate within. A mixture of high and low molecular weight molecules should be designed for the removal of the more difficult species.
6. pH:
Most organics are less soluble and more readily adsorbed at a lower pH. As the pH increases, removal decreases. A rule of thumb is to increase the size of the carbon bed by twenty percent for every pH unit above neutral.