PHYSICAL FACTORS CONTROLLING THE ADSORPTION OF POLYAROMATIC SYNTHETIC ORGANIC COMPOUNDS BY CARBONACEOUS ADSORBENTS

摘要

For a sustainable supply of high quality water, it is critical to understand the fate, transport and removal of synthetic organic compounds (SOCs) in contaminated water and waste streams. Many aromatic pollutants have been shown to be carcinogenic, mutagenic or teratogenic. The fate, transport and removal of aromatic SOCs in the environment largely depend on their adsorption by natural organic matter and natural (e.g., soot) or engineered (e.g., activated carbons) carbonaceous sorbents. The adsorption of SOCs by carbonaceous sorbents is controlled by both physical factors and chemical interactions. A large amount of research has been performed during the past several decades to examine the chemical interactions; however, limited information is available on the effect of physical factors (i.e., the molecular size and configuration of adsorbates, the pore geometry and the pore-size distribution of adsorbents). The main objective of this research was to perform a systematic investigation to explore the physical factors controlling the interactions between aromatic SOCs with different molecular configurations and the carbonaceous adsorbents.