Assessment of organic chlorinated compound removal from aqueous matrices by adsorption on activated carbon

Adsorption on activated carbon is currently the most frequently used technology to remove organic chlorinated pollutants from wastewaters. The present study examines the ability of five commercially available types of activated carbon to remove organic chlorinated compounds from the effluent of a chemical plant. The various types were tested on the basis of Freundlich adsorption isotherms for 14 pure organic chlorinated compounds, of molecular weight ranging from that of dichloromethane (MW=84.93 g mol−1) to hexachlorobenzene (MW=284.78 g mol−1). The best was selected and used in a laboratory fixed-bed column to assess its removal efficiency with respect to the tested organic chlorinated compounds. Removal efficiency was always higher than 90%. These results provide information necessary to optimize scale-up from the pilot plant to the real one.