AWWA WQTC62488

Six types of point-of-use (POU) carbon filters were evaluated in a laboratory study. The results indicated that all six POU carbon filters resulted in a 41 to 98% reduction in trihalomethanes (THMs) and a 41% to 89% reduction in haloacetic acids (HAAs). Four filters (Brita, Culligan, eSpring, and PUR) had removal efficiencies over 90% for THMs. Three filters (Brita, eSpring, and PUR) had removal efficiencies at 80% or higher for HAAs. For all POU carbon filters, removal efficiencies for THMs were higher than those for HAAs and removal efficiencies for trichloroacetic acid were higher than those for dichloroacetic acid. This trend is parallel to the isotherm adsorption data for THMs and HAAs. This indicates that physical adsorption is the main mechanism for disinfection byproduct (DBP) removal using these POU carbon filters. Includes 2 references, tables, figure.