Removal of hydrophilic pollutants from water with organic adsorption polymers: Part I. Adsorption behaviour of selected model compounds

The adsorbability of 2-aminonaphthalene-1-sulfonate, diuron, 1-naphthol and natural organic matter (NOM) onto an organic polymer resin and onto activated carbon was investigated. Isotherms with the substances alone and in the presence of dissolved NOM were measured. There was a good adsorbability of diuron and 1-naphthol on both sorbents. At low initial concentrations of the compounds the activated carbon showed higher adsorptivity, whereas for high initial concentrations the polymer resin showed an equal or better adsorption behaviour. 2-Aminonaphthalene-1-sulfonate and the NOM showed favorable adsorption behaviour to activated carbon but was only poorly adsorbed on the polymer resin. In the presence of NOM, the adsorbability of the single compounds decreased significantly on activated carbon. Nearly no influence was found for the adsorption of the pollutants on the resin. For the polymer resin, additionally, the breakthrough behaviour of the substances was investigated. The results obtained in the batch experiments for the single substances were confirmed. However, in the presence of NOM the breakthrough occurred at shorter times for all three substances. Regeneration of the resin with isopropanol proved to be a good cleaning method. A recovery of 92–96% of the substances was reached.