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

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 N-2 at 500 degrees C. The carbon on the CAF shows similar BET surface area and volumes of narrow micropores (<10 angstrom), higher volumes of wide micropores ( 10 - 20 angstrom) and narrow mesopores ( 20 - 50 angstrom), 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 angstrom) 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 degrees C in air.