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To Our Wives and Families Deborah Marrow and David and Eileen Suffet, Alison, and Jeffrey
McGuire and Suffet; Treatment of Water by Granular Activated Carbon Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1983.
Downloaded by 91.229.229.28 on December 2, 2016 | http://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: March 15, 1983 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1983-0202.pr001
PREFACE T H I S BOOK IS A MODEST EFFORT to update the exponentially expanding research output in the field of activated carbon adsorption for water treatment applications. The book presents major sections dealing with theoretical modeling, competitive adsorption, biological/adsorptive interactions, and case histories. Panel discussions at the ends of the sections place the technical information in perspective. This book is the culmination of an effort to compile the most up-todate compendium of activated carbon adsorption literature since the publication of Volumes 1 and 2 of "Activated Carbon Adsorption of Organics from the Aqueous Phase" (Ann Arbor Science Publishers, 1980). These first two volumes were produced using papers from a 1978 ACS symposium. Almost all the chapters in the current book were presented at an ACS symposium on activated carbon in 1981. As was the case with the previous ACS conference, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the American Water Works Association (AWWA) participated as joint sponsors of the program. With these sponsoring organizations, it was possible to attract an audience of both theoreticians and practitioners to the Atlanta symposium. The symposium was organized into half- and full-day sessions that followed the general organization of this book. Each half-day session was concluded by a panel discussion. A significant effort was made to capture the essence of the panel discussions for this book. We feel that these panel discussions are essential to the full understanding of the often complex activated carbon field. Scientists and engineers talked to one another and communicated their ideas and perspectives. An overview of the regulatory aspects of using activated carbon is presented in the first chapter. While the proposed treatment requirement for contaminated sources of supply has been withdrawn by the U.S. EPA, the agency is still interested in seeing that research work on activated carbon is continued. Also, two large water treatment application sites for activated carbon are under serious consideration at this writing— Denver, Colorado, for direct reuse of reclaimed wastewater and Cincinnati, Ohio, for treatment of Ohio River water. The first section of this book is devoted to presentations on theoretical approaches to understanding activated carbon adsorption. Three equilibrium adsorption models are presented, as are two discussions of the surface chemistry of carbon. xiii McGuire and Suffet; Treatment of Water by Granular Activated Carbon Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1983.
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Modeling and competitive adsorption aspects are covered in the second section. Besides presentations of recent advances in computer modeling, two chapters are devoted to discussions of the minicolumn adsorption method. The largest growth area in this book, as compared to the two previous volumes, is the third section: biological/adsorptive interactions. U.S. EPA-sponsored projects are represented by three chapters, and European experiences are discussed in two chapters. The fourth section presents case histories of pilot- and large-scale studies of granular activated carbon (GAC) in the U.S. and the Netherlands. Experiences with full-scale regeneration of GAC are discussed in two chapters. Each chapter was reviewed technically by the editors and by at least two outside expert referees anonymously selected by the ACS editorial staff to ensure the scientific rigor of a technical journal. The discussion sections were constructed from a transcribed record of the panel discussions at the symposium. The arrangement within the discussion sections varies from the chronology of the symposium panels because it was necessary to draw sections together that were similar in subject matter. We hope that the reader will enjoy the discussion sections, not only for their technical content but also for insight into the personal philosophies of the participants. For a large project such as this many people have provided significant input. We cannot thank everyone in print because of space limitations, but we know and appreciate how important their contributions were. The support of David B. Preston, Executive Director, AWWA, and Alan F. Hess, AWWA liaison, is gratefully acknowledged. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided financial support for this project (Grant No. R-808511-01-0), making it possible to tape the entire symposium and have court stenographers record the panel discussions. We are grateful for the guidance of Joseph A. Cotruvo, Chief of the Criteria and Standards Division, Office of Drinking Water, and Thomas P. Thornton, Project Officer. The American Chemical Society, Division of Environmental Chemistry, also providedfinancialassistance for travel funds and guest registrations for foreign scientists. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Leslie B. Laird, Division Chairman, and Roger A. Minear, Division Treasurer. Students from Georgia Institute of Technology provided the manpower during the symposium for operating the tape recorder and microphone system. Edward S. K. Chian of Georgia Tech is acknowledged for his help in organizing the students to help us. We are indebted to the many reviewers who spent the hours required to ensure that a high-quality document was produced. We are deeply xiv McGuire and Suffet; Treatment of Water by Granular Activated Carbon Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1983.
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indebted to the speakers and session chairmen for their contributions and efforts before, during, and after the symposium. We thank the discussion participants for their open and frank opinions; we feel that their contributions and the ideas exchanged will generate better understanding of the subject for the reader. The task of managing the review process, as well as all production phases of this book, was expertly handled by Janet S. Dodd of ACS Books. We enjoyed working with Ms. Dodd and the entire ACS staff, and we appreciate their patience and professionalism. At both institutions where we are associated, several people must be acknowledged for their fine editing, typing, and clerical skills. Marguerite R. Kimball, of The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, was responsible for the excellent editing of the discussion sections. Jane A. Krafka and Emma M . Mallory at Metropolitan and Heather Garrish, Linda Ritter, and Galina Poessl at Drexel University handled the typing chores with professional dedication. Dr. McGuire expresses his gratitude for the support of this work during his employment at Metropolitan. A. Eugene Bowers was most helpful during the period in which this book was produced. We both gratefully acknowledge the understanding, support, and encouragement of our wives, Deborah Marrow and Eileen Suffet. They remain a source of perspective as professionals in their own right, and without their concern and help this book would not have been possible. M I C H A E L J. MCGUIRE
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California La Verne, CA IRWIN H . (MEL) SUFFET
Drexel University Philadelphia, PA December 1982
xv McGuire and Suffet; Treatment of Water by Granular Activated Carbon Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1983.
