Investigating the effect of carbon shape on virus adsorption

Batch adsorption isotherm and column breakthrough studies were conducted to compare two types of activated carbon with very different structural chara cteristics; granular Calgon F-400 and an activated carbon fiber composite ( ACFC). Carbons were evaluated for Virus adsorption capacity using a bacteri ophage, MS2. Two mesh fractions of each carbon type were used in batch adso rption studies to determine empirical isotherm coefficients from linear reg ression analysis. Freundlich isotherm models adequately described MS2 bacte riophage adsorption to both carbon types. Adsorption capacity was found to vary with carbon size for both types of carbon but for different reasons. A lthough adsorption isotherm capacities would have predicted the GAC carbon to provide better removals than the ACFC, carbon breakthrough column perfor mance for equal weights of material showed virus removal to be markedly mor e efficient on a gram-to-gram basis for ACFC than for GAG.