The comprehensive evaluation model and optimization selection of activated carbon in the O3-BAC treatment process

Severe organic pollution in surface water worldwide has put forward higher requirements for new water treatment technologies. Due to the characteristics of large specific surface areas and strong adsorption of organic matters, granular activated carbon has been widely used in water treatment. Currently, little research has been carried out on comprehensive evaluation models for the adsorption and hardness of activated carbon, coursing in a lack of a scientific and comprehensive selection process. Twenty-one kinds of activated carbon (briquetted carbon, cylindrical carbon, cylindrical broken carbon, and broken carbon) produced by seven companies were selected in this study. A comprehensive evaluation model of activated carbon water purification performance was developed. This study not only contained static and dynamic adsorption tests but also included hardness characteristic analysis, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to determine the weight of each factor. The results indicated that briquetted carbon performed best in terms of comprehensive performance of activated carbon, to be followed by cylindrical carbon, cylindrical broken carbon, and broken carbon consecutively. Owing to the highest total pore volume (0.581 m3 g−1) and the highest content of oxygen-containing functional groups, the best performance of briquetted carbon was corroborated by the analysis of physicochemical properties, and the model was reasonable. The research provides a theoretical basis that has important implications for the optimization selection of activated carbon.