Adsorption of 1,1,2‐Trichloroethane from River Water

Abstract

This paper focuses on the competitive adsorption isotherms pertinent to an activated carbon adsorber treating contaminated drinking water. The water under consideration is a mixture of μg/L levels of 1,1,2‐trichloroethane (TCEA), used as a model toxic compound, and the natural organic matter (NOM) from river water. The presence of NOM greatly reduces the adsorption capacity of TCEA. The TCEA isotherms were greatly affected by the initial concentration of both solutes; the adsorption capacity of the NOM was only reduced by a maximum of 5–10% because of the TCEA. This is possibly the result of adsorption, which involves competition in only a fraction of adsorption sites. A new model, based on such an assumption, described the data fairly successfully; existing predictive models simulated the data poorly.