Removal of bromate ion using powdered activated carbon

Bromate ion (BrO 3) removal from drinking water by powdered activated carbons (PAC S) in bath mode was evaluated under various operational conditions.Six kinds of PACs,including wood-based carbon,fruit-based carbon,coal-based carbon,and these three carbons thermally deoxidized in a nitrogen atmosphere,were selected to investigate their capacity on BrO 3 removal.With the highest zeta potential value and being richly mesoporous,coal-based carbon had a high and an excellent BrO 3 adsorption efficiency.The removal content of BrO 3 by per gram of coal-based carbon was 0.45 mg within 5 hr in 100 μg/L bromate solution.The surface characteristics of PACs and bromide formation revealed that both physical and chemical PACs properties simultaneously affected the adsorptionreduction process.Under acidic conditions,PAC S possessed high zeta value and adequate basic groups and exhibited neutral or positive charges,promoting BrO 3 adsorption-reduction on the carbon surface.Interestingly,the PAC S thermally deoxidized in N 2 atmosphere optimized their properties,e.g.increasing their zeta values and decreasing the oxygen content which accelerated the BrO 3 removal rate.The maximum adsorption capacity of fruit-based carbon was the highest among all tested carbons (99.6 mg/g),possibly due to its highest pore volume.Remarkably,the thermal regeneration of PACs in N 2 atmosphere could completely recover the adsorption capacity of PACs.The kinetic data obtained from carbons was analyzed using pseudo second-order and intraparticle diffusion models,with results showing that the intraparticle diffusion was the more applicable model to describe adsorption of BrO 3 onto PACs.