Rostvall, Ande
- Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Research article2018Peer reviewedOpen access
Rostvall, Ande; Zhang, Wen; Durig, Wiebke; Renman, Gunno; Wiberg, Karin; Ahrens, Lutz; Gago-Ferrero, Pablo
This study evaluated the performance of five different sorbents (granular activated carbon (GAC), GAC + Polonite((R)) (GAC + P), Xylit, lignite and sand) for a set of 83 micropollutants (MPs) (pharmaceuticals, perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), personal care products, artificial sweeteners, parabens, pesticide, stimulants), together representing a wide range of physicochemical properties. Treatment with GAC and GAC + P provided the highest removal efficiencies, with average values above 97%. Removal rates were generally lower for Xylit (on average 74%) and lignite (on average 68%), although they proved to be highly efficient for a few individual MPs. The average removal efficiency for sand was only 47%. It was observed that the MPs behaved differently depending on their physicochemical properties. The physicochemical properties of PFASs (i.e. molecular weight, topological molecular surface area, log octanol water partition coefficient (K-ow) and distribution coefficient between octanol and water (log D)) were positively correlated to observed removal efficiency for the sorbents Xylit, lignite and sand (p <0.05), indicating a strong influence of perfluorocarbon chain length and associated hydrophobic characteristics. In contrast, for the other MPs the ratio between apolar and polar surface area (SA/SP) was positively correlated with the removal efficiency, indicating that hydrophobic adsorption may be a key feature of their sorption mechanisms. GAC showed to be the most promising filter medium to improve the removal of MPs in on-site sewage treatment facilities. However, more studies are needed to evaluate the removal of MPs in field trials. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Water Research
2018, Volume: 137, pages: 97-106 Publisher: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
SDG3 Good health and well-being
SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
Water Treatment
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.03.008
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/95363