AWWA ACE65255

Co-adsorption of trichloroethylene (TCE) and arsenic (As) from aqueous solutions was studied with three types of granular-activated carbon (GAC): untreated GAC; NaClO-treated GAC; and, NaClO/Fe-treated GAC. Batch experiments showed that the GAC treated with NaClO was less effective for the removal of TCE than the GAC treated with NaClO/Fe. Adsorption isotherms obtained from binary contaminant solutions were similar to those from single solute systems. However, the maximum adsorption of As(V) in the binary system was slightly less than with the single solute. With a constant TCE concentration of 0.03 mM, the maximum As(V) removal was 20% less than in the system without TCE. In the presence of arsenate, the removal efficiency of TCE was decreased by 15% for untreated GAC, but was approximately the same as those in the single solute system for NaClO-treated and NaClO/Fe-treated GAC. The results suggest that there were some common sites for both TCE and As(V) but others that are selective for either TCE or As(V). Includes 37 references, tables, figures.