Effect of granular activated carbon pore-size distribution on biological activated carbon filter performance

Proper granular activated carbon (GAC) selection could improve the performance of biological activated carbon (BAC) filters through a combination of adsorption and biodegradation, while the GACs used in BAC filters are now mainly selected according to adsorption function, ignoring biodegradation. In...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water research (Oxford) 2020-06, Vol.177, p.115768-115768, Article 115768
Main Authors: Lu, Zedong, Sun, Wenjun, Li, Chen, Cao, Wenfeng, Jing, Zibo, Li, Simiao, Ao, Xiuwei, Chen, Chao, Liu, Shuming
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Bacterial community structure
Biological activated carbon filter
Charcoal
Disinfection
Drinking Water
Filtration
Granular activated carbon
Micro-level macropore
Pore size
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Water Purification
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Summary:Proper granular activated carbon (GAC) selection could improve the performance of biological activated carbon (BAC) filters through a combination of adsorption and biodegradation, while the GACs used in BAC filters are now mainly selected according to adsorption function, ignoring biodegradation. In this study, sand filter effluent obtained from a drinking water treatment plant was fed into continuous-flow bench-scale BAC columns operated in parallel over 245 days to examine the effects of GAC pore-size distribution on BAC filter performance, in terms of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and disinfection byproduct (DBP) precursors. A metagenomic analysis indicated that bacterial community structure played an important role in BAC filter performance. A significant correlation was found between metabolism-related proteins and the volume of micro-level macropores based on metaproteomic analysis. It is suggested that the adsorption saturation was dynamic and that adsorption played a role in the performance of the BAC filters throughout the 245-day operating period. Renewed adsorption capacity, or bioregeneration, was driven by bacterial metabolic activity. Such activity largely depended on the organic matter adsorbed by the GAC, in which micro-level macropores, especially those with diameters of 0.2–10 μm, played an important but previously unrecognized role. The results suggest that more attention should be paid to well-developed pores and pore-size distribution in the production and selection of GAC used for full-scale drinking water biofilters. [Display omitted] •Studied effect of pore-size distribution characteristics on BAC filter performance.•Investigated BAC filter bacterial activity using metagenomics and metaproteomics.•Indicators affecting BAC filter performance: micropores and micro-level macropores.•Role of micro-level macropores in BAC filter was typically neglected.
ISSN:0043-1354
1879-2448
DOI:10.1016/j.watres.2020.115768