Influence of pore structure on biologically activated carbon performance and biofilm microbial characteristics

doi:10.1007/s11783-021-1419-1

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2021, Vol. 15

Issue (6) : 131 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-021-1419-1

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Influence of pore structure on biologically activated carbon performance and biofilm microbial characteristics

Yuqing Xu¹, Zedong Lu¹, Wenjun Sun^1,²(

), Xiaohui Zhang³

¹. School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
². Research Institute for Environmental Innovation (Suzhou) Tsinghua, Suzhou 215163, China
³. Institute of Carbon Materials Science, Shanxi Datong University, Datong 037009, China

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Abstract

• Pore structure affects biologically activated carbon performance.

• Pore structure determines organic matter (OM) removal mechanism.

• Microbial community structure is related to pore structure and OM removal.

Optimizing the characteristics of granular activated carbon (GAC) can improve the performance of biologically activated carbon (BAC) filters, and iodine value has always been the principal index for GAC selection. However, in this study, among three types of GAC treating the same humic acid-contaminated water, one had an iodine value 35% lower than the other two, but the dissolved organic carbon removal efficiency of its BAC was less than 5% away from the others. Iodine value was found to influence the removal of different organic fractions instead of the total removal efficiency. Based on the removal and biological characteristics, two possible mechanisms of organic matter removal during steady-state were suggested. For GAC with poor micropore volume and iodine value, high molecular weight substances (3500–9000 Da) were removed mainly through degradation by microorganisms, and the biodegraded organics (soluble microbial by-products,<3500 Da) were released because of the low adsorption capacity of activated carbon. For GAC with higher micropore volume and iodine value, organics with low molecular weight (<3500 Da) were more easily removed, first being adsorbed by micropores and then biodegraded by the biofilm. The biomass was determined by the pore volume with pore diameters greater than 100 μm, but did not correspond to the removal efficiency. Nevertheless, the microbial community structure was coordinate with both the pore structure and the organic removal characteristics. The findings provide a theoretical basis for selecting GAC for the BAC process based on its pore structure.

Keywords Granular activated carbon Biologically activated carbon filter Bacterial community structure Pore structure

Corresponding Author(s): Wenjun Sun

Issue Date: 13 April 2021

Cite this article:

Yuqing Xu,Zedong Lu,Wenjun Sun, et al. Influence of pore structure on biologically activated carbon performance and biofilm microbial characteristics[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2021, 15(6): 131.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-021-1419-1
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2021/V15/I6/131

Fig.1 Scheme of a BAC column.

Fig.2 Pore volume distribution of the three types of GAC.

Fig.3 Dissolved organic carbon removal with time.

Tab.1 Organic fraction removal by BAC filtration using HPSEC-UV

Tab.2 Fluorescence intensity reduction of each region after BAC treatment (%)

Fig.4 HPC corresponding to the super-macropore volume.

Fig.5 Community structure of the BAC biofilm samples: T is top, C is central and B is bottom; (a) Barplot of three outlet sections, (b) Community heatmap of three outlet sections, (c) and (d) Barplot and heatmap of 1# BAC samples from different heights on the column, (e) and (f) Barplot and heatmap of 3# BAC samples from different heights on the column.

Fig.6 Schematic diagram of the two organic removal mechanisms.

Fig.7 Evolutionary tree of two Vogesella strains: (a) Strain 1; (b) Strain 2.

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