Chemically activated carbon on a fiberglass substrate for removal of trace atrazine from water

Abstract

Chemically activated fiber (CAF) for removal of trace atrazine from water was prepared by coating fiberglass assemblies with a phenolic resin along with a chemical activation agent of ZnCl₂, then stabilization and heat treatment in N₂ at 500 °C. The carbon on the CAF shows similar BET surface area and volumes of narrow micropores (<10 Å), higher volumes of wide micropores (10–20 Å) and narrow mesopores (20–50 Å), as compared with a commercially available GAC F-400. Adsorption isotherm data show that the CAF has a higher adsorption capacity for atrazine than the GAC, primarily because the CAF has an increased pore (10–50 Å) volume. The breakthrough tests show that the CAF filter is ten times more effective over the GAC filter in removing the atrazine to below the current USEPA standard of 3 ppb. The CAF filter also shows a better competitive adsorption of atrazine over the GAC filter in the presence of 50 times higher concentration of humic acid. Such a filter can be regenerated to 90% of its original activity by heating at 350 °C in air.