Identifying the critical activated carbon properties affecting the adsorption of effluent organic matter from bio-treated coking wastewater

Activated carbon is widely used to remove effluent organicmatter (EfOM) from bio-treated coking wastewater. However, the critical carbon properties affecting adsorption performance are still unclear. Nine commercial powdered activated carbons (PACs) with different pore structures, surface functional groups, and surface charges were used to adsorb EfOM from bio-treated coking wastewater, which was fractionated according to their molecular weight (MW) and hydrophobicity. Good correlations were observed between the adsorption of biopolymers (MW > 20,000 Da, 7 %) andmacropore volume (>50 nm), as well as between the adsorption of humics (MW = 1000 similar to Da, 36%) and mesopore volume (2-50 nm), suggesting that the adsorption sites of EfOM depended on their molecular size. Higher isoelectric points and fewer acidic groups promoted the adsorption of the most negatively charged hydrophobic acids (HPOA, 39.5 %). According to variation partitioning analysis (VPA), mesopore-macropore greatly contributed to the adsorption capacities of EfOM (71.3 %), whereas the sum of phenolic hydroxyl and carboxyl (26.3 %) and isoelectric point (12.2 %) affected the normalized adsorption capacities of EfOM. In conclusion, PAC with a higher mesopore volume, fewer acidic groups, and a higher isoelectric point was desirable for removing EfOM frombio-treated coking wastewater. This study provides guidance for the selection of PAC for the removal of EfOM from bio-treated coking wastewater.

Automated summary

This study investigated the role of activated carbon properties in the adsorption of effluent organic matter (EfOM) from bio-treated coking wastewater. Commercial powdered activated carbons (PACs) with different pore structures, surface functional groups, and surface charges were used. The results showed that the adsorption of EfOM depended on its molecular size, with biopolymers being adsorbed by macropores and humics being adsorbed by mesopores. PACs with higher mesopore volume, fewer acidic groups, and higher isoelectric point were found to be more effective in removing EfOM.