The Removal of Selected Pharmaceuticals from Water by Adsorption with Granular Activated Carbons

Abstract

The article deals with the removal of 20 selected drugs from drinking water by sorption on granulated activated carbon. Two different sorption materials were used, and the efficiency of removing these micropollutants was compared. Experiments were performed in laboratory conditions with two different values of pH of water (7.8 and 6.5, respectively), at laboratory temperatures and with an identical amount of added sorbent (Filtrasorb 400, WG12). Standard additions were made to drinking water, and the final concentration of 0.44–0.55 µg/L of pharmaceuticals was utilized in the experiments. Samples were taken after 30, 60, 120 and 240 min of contact of sorbent with water. The LC-MS method was used to analyze the selected pharmaceuticals, which was performed at the ALS laboratory in Prague, Czech Republic. The adsorption efficiency of the removal of the given pharmaceuticals from water, as well as the adsorption capacity of the granulated activated carbon for the given pharmaceuticals, depends on amount of time that the water and material were in contact. The adsorption efficiency for two different types of granulated activated carbon ranges from 13 to 90%. Water pH also influences the sorption abilities of granulated activated carbon.