Removal of organochlorine pesticides from water using virgin and regenerated granular activated carbon

Publi c water sy stems u se gra nular activated carbo n in order to el i- minate pesticides. After saturation, the used activated carbon is regenerated and reused in order to reduce the costs of water production and minimize waste. In this st udy, the adsorptio n of 10 different c hlorinated pe sticides fro m water using colu mns packed with co mmercial virgin and regenerat ed granular act i- vated carbon was simulated in order to co mpare their adsorpti on capacities for different chlorinated pesticides. The breakthrough curves showed that chlorina- ted pe sticides fro m the group of hexac hlorocyclohexane (H CH) w ere p oorly adsorbed, followed by cyclodiens as averagely adsorbed and the derivatives of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (DDT) as strongly adsorbed. However, the adsorption capacity of regenerated granular act ivated carbon was considerably lower for tested pesticides compared to the virgin granular carbon. In addition, rinsing of the pesticides after the saturation point is a far more efficient process on regenerated carbon.