Effect of Influent Groundwater Quality on Adsorption of Low Concentrations of 1,2 Dichloroethane by Granular Activated Carbon
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 12
Abstract
The overall goal of this research was to understand and quantify the impact of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quantity and character on the granular (GAC) adsorption of the carcinogenic volatile organic compound (cVOC) 1,2 dichloroethane (1,2 DCA). Three different groundwaters and one surface water were spiked with low concentrations of cVOCs () and treated with GAC using bench-scale flow-through adsorbers with empty bed contact times (EBCTs) of 7.5 and 15 min. Little difference—less than 10%—was found in breakthrough behavior as a function of EBCT. Relative to results in clean water, DOM reduced GAC capacity for 1,2 DCA by almost 50%. Unlike other efforts with low- and influent target compound concentrations, this effort did not find normalized target compound breakthrough to be independent of influent concentration. The lack of an EBCT effect and dependence on influent 1,2 DCA concentration were attributed to the DOM’s weak adsorbing character and its low concentrations. Regressions to predict column breakthrough were created that combined a fluorescent indicator, a total organic carbon (TOC) mass term, and a target compound mass term from 19 column runs with values greater than 0.83.
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Acknowledgments
This research was partially funded by the U.S. Air Force. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. The authors thank Dr. Jonathan Pressman of the National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, OH for consultation and cVOC sample analysis. The authors also thank Dr. Julie Korak of the Bureau of Reclamation’s Technical Service Center in Denver, CO who provided fluorescence analysis and expertise. Additionally, the authors thank Mr. Jonathan Akins and Mr. Bryan Lee, who provided the water that enabled this research effort to be undertaken.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 12 • December 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 9, 2015
Accepted: Apr 8, 2016
Published online: Jun 20, 2016
Discussion open until: Nov 20, 2016
Published in print: Dec 1, 2016
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