Activated Carbon for Water Treatment

Water is an essential resource in various industries and daily life, but ensuring its purity and safety requires efficient treatment technologies. From municipal drinking water systems to industrial wastewater treatment, activated carbon plays a key role in removing pollutants and improving water quality.

This article will explore the applications of activated carbon in water treatment, focusing on its advantages, working principles, and how to choose the activated carbon product that best suits your needs. Whether it’s for municipal drinking water, industrial wastewater, or landfill leachate, activated carbon offers a versatile and reliable solution.

The Role of Activated Carbon in Water Treatment

Activated carbon plays an important role in the water treatment due to its excellent adsorption properties. Its porous structure and high surface area allow it to efficiently capture a wide range of pollutants in water, especially organic and toxic substances. Here are a few key roles of activated carbon in water treatment:

Removal of Organic Pollutants

Activated carbon effectively removes organic pollutants in water, including chemicals from agricultural, industrial, and urban discharges. These organic pollutants, if not removed, can cause serious harm to water quality and ecosystems.

Removal of Disinfection By-products

In water treatment, chlorine or ozone is often used for disinfection, but these disinfectants may react with organic matter in the water to produce harmful disinfection by-products (DBPs), such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and bromates. Activated carbon effectively removes these by-products, reducing their impact on water quality and ensuring the water’s safety.

Removal of Odors and Color

Odors and colors in water often come from natural organic matter (NOM) and some industrial effluents. These substances not only affect the sensory quality of water but may also contain harmful chemicals. Activated carbon adsorbs these substances, effectively removing odors and colors, making the water clearer and more pleasant.

Removal of Harmful Trace Contaminants

Industrial and agricultural activities contribute many trace contaminants, such as pharmaceutical residues, pesticides, heavy metals, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, into water sources. Activated carbon has an extremely high adsorption capacity and can remove these trace contaminants, even at very low concentrations, ensuring the safety of the water source.

Treatment of Emerging Contaminants like PFAS

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of water- and oil-resistant pollutants that are extremely difficult to degrade and are widely found in water environments. Activated carbon, especially granular activated carbon, has been proven to perform excellently in removing PFAS.

Activated carbon adsorbs these harmful substances through its porous structure, reducing the risks to human health and meeting increasingly strict water quality standards.

Improving the Physicochemical Properties of Water

Activated carbon can also improve the physicochemical properties of water, such as pH and dissolved oxygen content, thus enhancing water quality. This is especially important in the treatment of industrial wastewater and landfill leachate, where activated carbon can adsorb heavy metals and toxic chemicals, making the water cleaner and compliant with discharge standards.

Major Applications of Activated Carbon in Water Treatment

Activated carbon is widely used in water treatment due to its outstanding adsorption ability. It can address a variety of water quality issues, including the removal of harmful organic pollutants, reducing odors, and improving taste. Below are some common applications of activated carbon in water treatment:

Municipal Drinking Water

Municipal water treatment plants rely on activated carbon to treat surface and groundwater for drinking water production. Activated carbon efficiently removes harmful organic pollutants, improves water taste and odor, and reduces disinfection by-products (DBPs), ensuring safe drinking water.

Common pollutants removed by activated carbon include:

• Disinfection by-products (e.g., trihalomethanes (THMs), bromates)
• Natural organic matter (e.g., geosmin, 2-MIB)
• Persistent organic pollutants (e.g., PCBs, dioxins, pesticides)
• Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)
• Trace contaminants such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals

Industrial Wastewater

Activated carbon plays a critical role in industrial wastewater treatment, especially before effluent is discharged into the environment. It can remove hydrophobic and high-molecular-weight organic pollutants that are difficult to degrade biologically.

Applications include:

• Reducing chemical oxygen demand (COD)
• Removing adsorbable organic halides (AOX)
• Eliminating pharmaceutical residues, pesticides, and other trace contaminants
• Treating aromatic compounds (e.g., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene)

Landfill Leachate

Landfill leachate contains a variety of organic and inorganic pollutants that pose significant environmental risks. Activated carbon performs excellently in reducing these pollutants:

• Organic compounds (COD)
• PFAS (perfluoroalkyl substances)
• Color
• Toxic chemicals
• Other pollutants

Water Reuse

Water reuse is treated from domestic wastewater, industrial effluent, and other non-potable water sources to meet standards for reuse in irrigation, industrial cooling, or toilet flushing. Activated carbon plays an important role in water reuse treatment by removing residual contaminants and improving water quality.

Activated carbon functions include:

• Removing dissolved organic matter (DOM) and trace pollutants
• Reducing color and odor
• Removing heavy metals and adsorbable organic halides (AOX)

Aquarium Filtration

Water quality in aquariums directly affects the health of fish and other aquatic organisms. Activated carbon is widely used in aquarium filtration systems to maintain a clean water environment.

Main functions of activated carbon in aquariums include:

• Removing residual chlorine and heavy metals, protecting fish from toxicity
• Adsorbing organic pollutants and fish metabolic waste to keep the water clear
• Eliminating odors and improving the smell of the aquarium
• Adsorbing remaining drugs or chemicals in the water

Swimming Pool Treatment

Swimming pool water needs regular treatment to remain clean and safe. Activated carbon has significant advantages in removing residual oxidants and improving water quality.

Functions in swimming pool treatment include:

• Removing excess chlorine and ozone to prevent skin and eye irritation
• Adsorbing trihalomethanes (THMs) and chloramines generated by chlorination reactions
• Eliminating odors and maintaining fresh water quality
• Reducing low-molecular-weight organic compounds produced during oxidation

Ultra-Pure Water Production

Ultra-pure water is widely used in industries with high standards, such as semiconductor, photovoltaic, power, and pharmaceuticals. Activated carbon plays a key role in ultra-pure water production.

Our activated carbon can be used for:

• Removing dissolved organic matter (DOM) and residual oxidants (e.g., chlorine and ozone)
• Adsorbing trace contaminants to ensure high purity water
• Providing better pretreatment for subsequent reverse osmosis and ion exchange processes

How to Choose the Right Activated Carbon Product

Selecting the right activated carbon product is crucial to ensure effective water treatment. Different types of activated carbon have unique properties and applications, so a comprehensive evaluation based on water quality issues, target pollutants, and specific application needs is essential. Below are the commonly used activated carbons in water treatment:

Granular Activated Carbon

Granular activated carbon is widely used in large-scale water treatment, such as municipal drinking water purification. It has a larger particle size and higher surface area, effectively removing various organic pollutants, including odor-causing compounds, pesticides, and industrial contaminants. It is typically used in packed bed filtration systems and can be regenerated for reuse.

Applications:

• Municipal drinking water treatment
• Industrial wastewater treatment
• Reclaimed water treatment
• Landfill leachate treatment

Powdered Activated Carbon

Powdered activated carbon has a smaller particle size and adsorbs quickly, making it ideal for rapid removal of trace synthetic chemicals such as pesticides, pharmaceutical residues, and algal toxins in water. It is often used in emergency or temporary treatment scenarios.

Applications:

• Emergency treatment for municipal drinking water
• Removal of chemical pollutants in industrial accidents
• Algal bloom management in reservoirs or lakes

Extruded Activated Carbon

Extruded activated carbon is designed for high-flow systems and is ideal for applications with limited space where high strength and mechanical durability are required. Its cylindrical shape ensures low-pressure drop and higher adsorption capacity, making it suitable for larger-scale, long-term water treatment applications.

Applications:

• High-flow industrial water filtration systems
• Large-scale wastewater treatment and reuse projects

Impregnated Activated Carbon

Impregnated activated carbon is treated with special chemicals (e.g., silver, iodine, potassium, zinc) to enhance its chemical adsorption or catalytic properties. It has bactericidal, and deodorizing functions and can remove specific gases or toxic substances.

Applications:

• Industrial wastewater
• Drinking water purification
• Landfill leachate treatment
• Specialized chemical wastewater treatment

Conclusion

Activated carbon plays a vital role in modern water treatment, offering an efficient and cost-effective solution. Its outstanding performance in removing odors, harmful chemicals like PFAS, and other contaminants makes it an ideal choice for municipal water treatment and industrial wastewater treatment.

At Qizhong Chemical, we offer a comprehensive range of activated carbon products suitable for various water treatment applications. We can also customize solutions based on your specific needs.

If you are looking for a reliable activated carbon supplier for water treatment, feel free to visit our product page or contact us for a customized quote.