Activated carbon adsorption has been used for the removal of various synthetic organic compounds (SOCs) (e.g., organic solvents and pesticides) from drinking waters and wastewaters for a sustainable supply of high quality water. However, the presence of dissolved natural organic matter (DOM) in natural waters and macromolecular organic compounds in wastewaters (e.g., chemical or biological polymers) can significantly reduce the effectiveness of activated carbon adsorption towards target SOCs in practical applications. Research of our group and others has indicated that understanding the pore size region(s) for adsorption of SOC and DOM can be important for mitigating the competitive adsorption of DOM and SOC. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of activated carbon pore size distribution on the adsorption of two SOCs (TCE and atrazine) in the presence of a background DOM.
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