Activated Carbon for Municipal Wastewater Treatment

The application of activated carbon in municipal sewage treatment is mainly reflected in the removal of organic pollutants, decolorization, odor removal, heavy metals and micro-pollutants (such as drug residues, endocrine disruptors, etc.). Its main functions include:

1. Removal of organic pollutants
Such as dissolved organic matter (DOM), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and biodegradable organic matter (such as persistent organic pollutants).

2. Decolorization and odor removal
Municipal sewage may contain chromatic pollutants (such as dyes, humic acid) and odor substances (such as hydrogen sulfide, ammonia nitrogen). Activated carbon can effectively adsorb these substances, improve water transparency, and improve the sensory indicators of water.

3. Removal of heavy metal ions
Some modified activated carbons have good adsorption capacity for heavy metal ions (such as lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium), and remove them from sewage through electrostatic attraction, complexation or precipitation.

4. Removal of trace pollutants
In modern sewage treatment, micropollutants such as drug residues, endocrine disruptors (EDCs), and personal care products (PPCPs) are difficult to completely remove through traditional biochemical treatment. Activated carbon can effectively adsorb these pollutants and reduce their impact on the environment.

5. Application of activated carbon
- Granular activated carbon (GAC): Usually used in fixed bed adsorption towers or filter tanks, it can be reused and is suitable for deep treatment.
- Powdered activated carbon (PAC): Directly added to the sewage treatment system (such as secondary sedimentation tanks, coagulation sedimentation tanks or biochemical tanks), discharged with sludge after adsorption, suitable for temporary or sudden pollution control.

6. Combination with other treatment technologies
-  Combination with biological treatment** (such as biological activated carbon filter, BAC): Enhance the degradation of organic pollutants and improve water quality stability.
- Combination with membrane technology (such as activated carbon-membrane bioreactor, AC-MBR): Reduce membrane pollution and improve effluent water quality.
- Combined with oxidation technology (such as ozone-activated carbon): improve pollutant removal efficiency.

7. Economic and environmental advantages
- High-efficiency adsorption, removal of difficult-to-degrade pollutants**
- Renewable, reducing operating costs**
- Reduce the use of chemical agents, reduce the risk of secondary pollution

The application of activated carbon in municipal sewage treatment makes the effluent water quality reach higher standards, while improving pollution and economic benefits.