Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) represent a large group of recalcitrant anthropogenic compounds that pose a substantial risk to the wastewater sector with respect to treatment, reuse, and environmental discharge. Municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serve as one of the main vectors for PFASs contamination into the aquatic environment as they receive PFASs from residential, commercial, and industrial sources. The presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in wastewater influences the PFAS removal performance of commonly used GAC adsorbents. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of O3, BAF, and O3-BAF on PFAS removal efficiency during subsequent GAC treatment employing the rapid small-scale column testing (RSSCT) method during wastewater reuse. The influence of operating parameters such as specific O3 dose and BAF EBCT on changes in the molecular composition of DOM and its impact on PFAS removal in subsequent GAC treatment was also evaluated. This study served as an initial step towards developing guidelines for the effectiveness of GAC in presence of different pretreatments with respect to DOM characteristics as one of the performance-based indicators.

Evaluation of O3-BAF on the breakthrough of perfluoroalkyl acids during granular activated carbon treatment of municipal wastewater

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ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.