Activated carbon is a carbonaceous adsorbent with very high adsorption capacity and can be used to treat various types of wastewater. The following are the steps for activated carbon to treat wastewater:
1.Pretreatment.
Prior to activated carbon treatment, the effluent needs to be pre-treated. The purpose of pretreatment is to remove large particles of suspended solids and impurities to protect the activated carbon from clogging or contamination. Pretreatment usually includes steps such as filtration, sedimentation, degreasing, etc.
2.Adsorption.
Activated carbon adsorption is the core step in the treatment of wastewater. In the adsorption process, activated carbon uses its porosity and high specific surface area characteristics to adsorb pollutants such as organic matter, heavy metal ions, and color in sewage on its surface. The adsorption process can be carried out under static or dynamic conditions, static adsorption is usually to mix sewage with activated carbon for a certain period of time, and dynamic adsorption is to make sewage flow through the activated carbon bed.
3.Regeneration.
When activated carbon adsorption reaches saturation, it needs to be regenerated. The purpose of regeneration is to desorb and remove contaminants adsorbed on the surface of activated carbon to restore their adsorption capacity. Commonly used regeneration methods include heating regeneration, chemical regeneration and biological regeneration.
4.Final Processing.
The regenerated activated carbon can be reused to treat wastewater. The purpose of final treatment is to ensure that the effluent quality meets discharge standards or reuse requirements. The final treatment usually includes steps such as disinfection, desalting, deodorization, etc.
It should be noted that the efficiency of activated carbon in treating wastewater is affected by a variety of factors, such as the nature of the sewage, the type and particle size of activated carbon, and the treatment conditions. Therefore, in practical application, it is necessary to optimize and control the process of activated carbon wastewater treatment according to the specific situation.