Cl. Warta et al., THE EFFECT OF MOLECULAR-OXYGEN ON THE ACTIVATED CARBON ADSORPTION OF NATURAL ORGANIC-MATTER IN OHIO RIVER WATER, Water research, 29(2), 1995, pp. 551-562
Recently published data show that the adsorptive capacity of granular
activated carbon for phenols increases significantly in the presence o
f molecular oxygen (Vidic, Suidan, Traegner and Nakhla, 1990). In this
study, the effect of molecular oxygen on the adsorptive capacity of a
ctivated carbon for the natural organic matter present in Ohio River w
ater was investigated. This source of natural organic matter was selec
ted because it is a natural surface water and represents Cincinnati's
main drinking water supply. Isotherm studies using pulverized activate
d carbon were conducted during the first week of each month of the yea
r 1992. Adsorption isotherms were conducted on water from two stages o
f treatment (raw water directly pumped from the Ohio River and settled
water from the California Drinking Water Treatment Plant, Cincinnati,
Ohio). Investigations were conducted in the presence and absence of m
olecular oxygen. An appreciable increase in the adsorptive capacity of
activated carbon for natural organic matter was noticed when molecula
r oxygen was present in the test environment. The adsorption isotherms
were further described by fractionating the unknown matrix into a non
adsorbable fraction and four fictive components of different adsorbab
ilities.