FS-TER-002

TECHNICAL SHEETS
FOR EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANTS
IN TEXTILE INDUSTRY

ACTIVATED CARBON ADSORPTION

SERIES: TERTIARY TREATMENTS

Title ACTIVATED CARBON ADSORPTION (FS-TER-002)

Last update August 2014
Last review
 ACTIVATED CARBON ADSORPTION FS-TER-002

ACTIVATED CARBON ADSORPTION

Date July 2015

Authors Pablo Ures Rodríguez

Alfredo Jácome Burgos
Joaquín Suárez López
Revised by

Last update Date Modified by: Update main topics

INDEX

1.- INTRODUCTION
2.- FUNDAMENTALS OF ADSORPTION ONTO ACTIVATED CARBON
2.1.- Factors influencing adsorption
2.2.- Kinetics of adsorption
2.3.- Transport mechanisms
2.4.- Adsorption equilibrium
3.- DESIGN AND OPERATION
3.1.- Description
3.2.- Operation
3.3.- Design variables
3.4.- Typical design values
4.- PARAMETERS AND CONTROL STRATEGIES
4.1.- Breakthrough curve
4.2.- Activated carbon regeneration and activation
5.- PERFORMANCE
6.- PARTICULAR TECHNICAL CONDITIONS
7.- SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF WASTEWATER OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY
8.- OPERATION TROUBLESHOOTING

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ANNEX 1 MILLS EXAMPLES WITH AC ADSORPTION ON ITS EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANTS PROCESS
ANNEX 2 GRAPHICAL DES CRIPTION OF UNIT PROCESSES
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1.- INTRODUCTION
Granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption is a process used as tertiary treatment of municipal and industrial
wastewater (physical-chemical treatment, followed by secondary treatment) or as a step in the physical-chemical
treatment (coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, GAC adsorption) instead of the secondary treatment. In case of
being applied as a tertiary treatment, GAC is fundamentally used for organic molecules adsorption incorporated to
effluent from the biological treatment. It normally requires a pretreatment, such as lime precipitation followed by
rapid filtration.

In industrial water treatment, the GAC adsorption can be used to meet pretreatment discharge standards to
municipal wastewater treatment plants or to meet discharge standards to environment.

This document is based on the text Activated Carbon for Water and Wastewater Treatment of Ferhan Çeçen and
Ozgür Aktas (2012), with contributions and specific documents for water treatment in the textile industry.

2.- FUNDAMENTALS OF ADSORPTION ONTO ACTIVATED CARBON

2.1.- Factors influencing adsorption

In summary, a number of factors influencing the adsorption process in AC can be listed:

- Surface area of adsorbent
- Physical and Chemical characteristics of the adsorbate: as molecular weight and solubility in the water
media.
- Adsorbate polarity: A polar solute is preferably adsorbed by a polar adsorbent, whereas a nonpolar solute
is more easily adsorbed by a nonpolar adsorbent. Activated carbon adsorbs nonpolar molecules better than
polar molecules.
- pH: Adsorption of most organic compounds is higher at neutral pH conditions (around pH 7).
- Temperature: Temperature influences on solvent affinities and compounds diffusion in water
- Porosity of the adsorbent: The total porosity is usually classified into three groups: micropores less than 2
nm, mesopores pores between 2 and 50 nm and macropores above 50 nm pores. Most of the total surface
area is found in the micropores and the contribution of the macropores to the total surface area is very low.
- Surface chemical characteristics: Adsorption capacities of thermally activated carbons have been found to
be relatively higher than those of chemically activated carbons, although it varies depending on the
adsorbate.

2.2.- Kinetics of adsorption

The rate of adsorption is usually limited by various mass transport mechanisms and depends both on the properties
of the adsorbent and the adsorbate. Figure 1 shows the main transport mechanisms of an adsorbate to a carbon
surface and the adsorption phenomena.

2.3.- Transport mechanisms

Bulk solution transport (advection): Adsorbates must first be transported from the bulk solution to the boundary
layer of water (liquid film) surrounding the activated carbon particle.

External diffusion: Transport of adsorbate from the bulk of solution across the stationary layer of water, called the
hydrodynamic boundary layer, liquid film or external film that surrounds the adsorbent particles. It occurs by
molecular diffusion.

Intraparticle (Internal) diffusion Intraparticle diffusion involves the transfer of adsorbate from the activated
carbon surface to sites within the particle. In modeling of the adsorption of pollutants from water or wastewater,
the surface diffusion is usually assumed to be the dominant intraparticle transport mechanism.

Adsorption. After the transport of the adsorbate to an available site, an adsorption bond is formed. In the case of
physical adsorption, the actual physical attachment of adsorbate onto adsorbent is regarded as taking place very
rapidly. Therefore, the slowest step among the preceding diffusion steps (advection, external diffusion or internal
diffusion), called the rate-limiting step, will control the overall rate at which the adsorbate is removed from solution.
However, if adsorption is accompanied by a chemical reaction that changes the nature of the molecule, the
chemical reaction may be slower than the diffusion step and may thereby control the rate of removal.
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Figure 1 External and intraparticle transport of an adsorbate in an activated carbon particle

2.4.- Adsorption equilibrium

Adsorption equilibrium is often studied through those called adsorption isotherms, which represent the main
source of information on the adsorption process.

Figure 2 Representation of the general types of adsorption isotherms of solutes in porous media (Martin,
1997).

The amount of adsorbed material per unit mass of adsorbent increases with increasing concentration, but not in
direct proportion. Generally, an isotherm is favorable if its form is convex, and unfavorable if concave. Any point of
an isotherm curve describes an amount of pollutant adsorbed per unit weight of active carbon, or alternatively, the
adsorption capacity at a particular concentration.

As practical issues, the isotherms can be used to select the correct type of active carbon, to estimate the lifetime of
the adsorbent and to study the remaining adsorption capacity of an adsorption unit under continuous operation.
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3.- DESIGN AND OPERATION

3.1.- Description

Continuous flow GAC systems are usually composed of carbon filters, virgin and spent carbon storage, carbon
transport systems and carbon regeneration systems. The carbon filter typically consists of a linear steel column orn
a rectangular steel or concrete tank in which carbon is deposited as "filter bed".

Figure 3 Typical activated-carbon contactor in a pressure vessel (Metcalf & Eddy, 2002)

3.2.- Operation

Types of GAC Adsorbers

A fixed-bed GAC column is used most commonly for contacting wastewater with GAC. Fixed-bed carbon adsorbers
may be operated under pressure or gravity flow. Wastewater is applied at the top of the carbon column, flows
downward through the carbon bed, and is withdrawn at the bottom of the column. As the wastewater flows
through the column, the contaminants are adsorbed. The carbon is held in place with a drain system at the bottom
of the contactor. Provisions for backwash and surface wash of the carbon bed are required to prevent buildup of
excessive head loss due to accumulation of solids and to prevent the bed surface from clogging.

The main reactor configurations for GAC adsorption systems are the fixed (packed), expanded, and fluidized
beds. A downflow adsorber with low fluid velocities essentially functions as a fixed-bed reactor. Fixed-bed
operation provides filtration as well as adsorption. The fixed-bed configuration is suitable in the case of low-
strength wastewaters containing little or no suspended solids.
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3.3.- Design variables

In sizing of GAC columns, the following factors are mainly taken into consideration: the empty-bed contact time
(EBCT), the hydraulic loading rate, the carbon depth, and the number of contactors. GAC filters may be designed as
up or downflow systems consisting of one or more vessels in series or in parallel. The main parameters
characterizing the GAC operation are as follows:

Empty-Bed Contact Time (EBCT)

The EBCT is calculated as the total volume of the carbon bed divided by the flow rate of water:

Where
Vb=volume of the GAC bed (L3)
Q=flow rate (L3/T)

EBCT can also be expressed as follows:

Where
LB=depth of GAC bed, (L)
A= cross-sectional area of bed, (L2)
Q/A=hydraulic loading rate (HLR), (L3/L2.T)

The EBCT represents the theoretical residence time in the filter in the absence of packing media. Therefore, it is
actually a fictive parameter whose meaningfulness has been discussed in water treatment.

Effective Contact Time: Since the GAC bed has a void fraction, the effective contact time (τ) of the fluid is as follows
in an adsorber:

Where
εB= void fraction in the carbon bed

Filter Velocities
In water and wastewater treatment the superficial velocity shows the velocity of liquid in an empty bed with a cross-
sectional area A and corresponds to the hydraulic loading rate (HLR). It is also termed the surface loading rate.

On the other hand, the interstitial velocity in an adsorber is a more meaningful parameter, and is defined as follows:

Filter Operation Time

The filter operation time (tF) is the time until the replacement of activated carbon with regenerated or new activated
carbon.
Throughput Volume
The throughput volume is the water volume which passes through the reactor during the filter operation time (tF).
∙
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Bed Volume
The bed volume (BV) shows the normalization of throughput volume to the carbon bed volume VB. As such, it allows
a comparison of removal efficiencies of different adsorbers.

Carbon Usage Rate

The breakthrough curve can be used to determine the activated carbon usage rate (CUR), which is defined as the
mass of activated carbon required per unit volume of water treated until breakthrough

3.4.- Typical design values

Ranges of the principal design and operation parameters for granular active carbon filters are included on Table 1

Table 1 Typical values for design and operation in GAC filters (Çeçen, 2012)
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4.- PARAMETERS AND CONTROL STRATEGIES

4.1.- Breakthrough curve

As the wastewater flows naturally through GAC adsorbent, contaminants are eliminated by adsorption. The
adsorption of contaminants takes place in zone A, called the mass transfer zone (MTZ) (Figure 5). While in operation,
the transfer zone moves in the direction of flow. In this zone moves downwards, generating the saturation zone
(Zone-Sat) which is saturated with pollutants and is in equilibrium with the influent concentration.
Inside an AC filter pollutant concentration changes along the adsorption column, the area of rapid change of length
is known as concentrations wave front. Inside an adsorber, the concentrations of contaminants change with respect
to both time and reactor length. The region of rapid change in concentration with the length z is termed the wave
front.

The plot of effluent concentration divided by influent concentration (S/S0) as a function of elapsed time, processed
volume, or bed volume generates the “breakthrough curve”. The point at which a predetermined concentration
(SB) appears is defined as the “Breakthrough point”. This point is rather arbitrary and is selected according to purity
requirements.

Figure 4 Breakthrough characteristics in a fixed-bed GAC adsorber (Çeçen, 2012).

4.2.- Activated carbon regeneration and activation

The carbon adsorption capacity gradually deteriorates with use. When the quality of the effluent reaches the
minimum level set in quality standards, the spent carbon should be regenerated, reactivated or removed.
Activated carbon is a high capital investment and operating cost to operate in both batch and continuous, mainly
due to system regeneration need. The regeneration of the spent adsorbent is the most difficult and expensive part
of the adsorption technology. It carries about 75% of the cost of operation and maintenance of a filtration unit in
fixed bed GAC.

 Regeneration represents carbon contaminant removal without destroying contaminants.

 Reactivation involves the destruction of contained matter and reactivation of coal, which normally occurs
at high temperatures.

If regeneration of spent carbon is not feasible or it is irreversibly contaminated by the adsorbed substance, used
carbon used will be removed.

The most used techniques for regeneration are thermal, chemical and electrochemical regeneration.
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5.- PERFORMANCE
Table 3 shows qualitative active carbon filtration performance values in comparison with a conventional activated
sludge treatment and improved integrated adsorption and biological treatment process. According to this
reference, the use of both biological treatment and GAC, whether combined or in different steps of the process
line, allow to improve wastewater effluents.
Table 2 Reduction in pollutant groups parameters obtained by adsorption,
biodegradation or both processes integrated.

6.- PARTICULAR TECHNICAL CONDITIONS

Installing two or more identically sized columns in series is common practice. When the effluent of the column 1
reaches the breakpoint, the water to be treated is fed directly to column 2, leaving column 1 off-line. Then the
saturated carbon is removed from the column 1, being exchanged for fresh coal. At this time, the output of column
2 is connected to the input column 1 renewed (Figure 6). When the column 2 reaches the breakpoint, it is again
extracted off-line to be renewed and so on. In this way always a second, relatively new bed is positioned to maintain
the level of pollutants in the effluent as low as possible (Cooney, 1999).
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Figure 5 Activated carbon dispositives. A) Downflow in series. B) Downflow in parallel. C) Moving bed. D)
Upflow expanded bed. (Metcalf, 2002)
The design must also provide:

• Pressure probes to the input and output in AC filtration

• Bypass possibility in case of good influent quality

7.- SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF WASTEWATER OF TEXTILE INDUSTRY

The specific characteristics of the Activated carbon adsorption process, turn it into a flexible process that can be
located in different places within the plant configuration (Figure 7) with different effluent quality targets. For
various applications in the textile industry it can be found as:
- Process water pre-treatment
- Tertiary treatment with discharge quality objectives
- Tertiary treatment prior to reuse.

Textile wastewaters are generally strongly colored with a high organic content. They are difficult to treat by
conventional biological treatment processes because of the presence of refractory dyes and complex ingredients.
The high color of these wastewaters results from a number of dyestuffs. The BOD5/COD ratio in these wastewaters
is generally too low (<0.2) to support biological treatment. In many cases, activated sludge can be effectively
combined with PAC to decolorize textile effluents since PAC serves as a deposit for dye molecules. For example, it
was shown that in the treatment of a wool-dyeing wastewater the decolorization yield reached 86% upon the
addition of PAC to a batch activated sludge reactor (Chen, 2000).

In addition, BAC filters can be used for dye removal. Simulated aqueous discharge from a carpet printing plant
comprising a mixture of acid dyes was treated for color removal in an aerobic batch BAC reactor dominated by the
bacteria Pseudomonas putida. This BAC system outperformed the combined application of conventional GAC
adsorption and biological treatment. Enhanced color removal was achieved in the BAC system due to the high
utilization of biodegradable anthraquinone dyes. The main factor underlying the enhanced utilization was the
accumulation of dye at the carbon surface. For non-biodegradable azo dyes, biosorption was an important removal
mechanism. In any case, in BAC systems biosorption was higher than the one in conventional immobilized systems.
An upflow biological aerated filter packed with two different layers consisting of GAC and ceramsite (artificial
foundry sand) was employed for tertiary treatment of a secondary textile effluent (Lin, 2008). The reactor performed
well under steady-state conditions. The average COD, NH4+-N, and total nitrogen (TN) in the effluent were, 31, 2 and
8 mg/L respectively, satisfying the standards for domestic reuse in China. At a constant dissolved oxygen (DO)
concentration, the increase in hydraulic loading rate (HLR) from 0.13 to 0.78 m3/m2/h decreased COD NH4+-N, and
TN removal efficiencies from 52% to 38%, 90% to 68%, and 45% to 33%, respectively. When the DO concentration
was raised from 2.4 to 6.1 mg/L, the efficiency of COD and NH4+-N removal increased from 39% to 53% and 64% to
88%, respectively.
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1: Alto Lura WWTP managed by CIDA Srl in Como area (Italy) treating 22.000 m3/d in a mixture consisting in 17% domestic WW,
32% stormwater, 51% homogenized textile finishing factories effluent (cellulosic, wool, silk and synthetic fibers). 2: Levi’s Strauss
WWTP, Wervik (Belgium).

Figure 6 Compilation of possible technological, commercial and experimental processes for the treatment and
reuse of textile effluents with GAC (modified from Vandevivere, 1998).

Anaerobic processes combined with activated carbon were also considered from the treatment of textile effluents.
For example, the wastewater of a carpet dyeing factory with COD and BOD5 concentrations up to 9000 and 1500
mg/L, respectively, was anaerobically treated in a GAC-UASB (upflow anaerobic sludge blanket) reactor with about
80% efficiency (Kuai, 1998).

Activated carbon use in the supply chain

In the review work to the effluent treatment plants of INDITEX’s supply chain, it is observed that factories use
activated carbon filters as a tertiary treatment prior to discharge into the natural environment. In all cases rapid
sand filtration precedes GAC filters (Annex I).

8.- OPERATION TROUBLESHOOTING

Filters clogging
The suspended solids present in municipal and industrial wastewaters and the potential for biological growth can
lead to problems if fixed beds are used. Passing wastewater upwards at velocities sufficient to expand the bed is
a way of minimizing the problems of fouling, plugging and increasing pressure drop in municipal and industrial
wastewater treatment. For this purpose, expanded moving, or fluidized bed systems may be used. In an expanded
bed system, water or wastewater introduced at the bottom expands the bed when it flows upward.

In the moving bed system, spent carbon is continuously replaced so that no head loss builds up. Another option in
water and wastewater treatment is to use fluidized bed reactors (FBRs), in which the upflowing liquid suspends the
fine solid particles, which remain in the reactor. Fluidized beds minimize clogging and unintentional filtration. The
carbon can be continuously removed from the reactor while fresh carbon can be added to the top at the same rate.
In contrast to fixed-bed operation, this process will eliminate the need to shut down the contactor after exhaustion
occurs.
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Problems related to activated carbon replacement

 Regeneration, revitalization and replacement of activated carbon costs are the main expense in O&M of
AC filters.
 5-10% of the carbon to be replaced is due to losses in the transport processes of activated carbon.
 The adsorption capacity of regenerated carbon is slightly lower than that of virgin carbon.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Çeçen, F. y Aktas, Ö (2012). Activated Carbon for Water and Wastewater Treatment. Germany: Wiley-VCH.

Chen, M., Wang, J., and Wang, Y. (2000) The combination of carbon adsorption with activated sludge for the
decolorization of wool-dyeing wastewater. J. Environ. Sci. Health, A35 (10), 1789-1795.

O. Cooney, David (1999) Adsorption design for wastewater treatment. Boca Ratón, Florida: CRC Press

Metcalf and Eddy, Inc. (2003) Wastewater Engineering: Treatment and Reuse. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. 4th Ed.

Hendricks, d. (2006) Water Treatment Unit Processes: Phrysical and Chemical. USA: CRC Press

Vandevivere, P. C., Bianchi, R and Verstraete, W. (1998) Treatment and Reuse of Wastewater from the textile Wet-
Processing Industry: Review of Emerging Technologies. J. Chem. Technol. Biotechnol. 1998, 72, 289-302

Walker, G.M. and Weatherley, L.R. (1999) Biological activated carbon treatment of industrial wastewater in stirred
tank reactors. Chem En. J., 75

Liu, F., Zhao, C., Zhao, D., and Liu, G. (2008) Tertiary treatment of textile wastewater with combined media biological
aerated filter (CMBAF) at different hydraulic loadings and dissolved oxygen concentrations. J. Hazardous Mater.,
160, 161-167.
Kuai, L., De Vreeze, I., Vandevivere, P., and Verstraete, W. (1998) GAC ammended UASB reactor for the stable
treatment of toxic textile wastewater. Environ. Technol, 19, 1111-1117.

Martin, M. y Marzal, P. (1997) Modelación de la calidad del agua. Universidad Politécnica de Valencia.
 ACTIVATED CARBON ADSORPTION FS-TER-002 Page 14 of 18
 

ANNEX 1
MILLS EXAMPLES WITH AC ADSORPTION ON ITS
EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANTS PROCESS
BEXIMCO CONTINUOUS DYEING UNIT Code BAN01

WATER CONSUMPTION: 1640 m3/day

ETP CAPACITY: 150 m3/h

STAGES OF THE
Chemicals added Additional notes
EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANT

Equalization tank

Ferrous sulphate
Dissolved Air Flotation Clarifier Lime
Polyelectrolite

Biological reaction tank Sulphuric acid

Sedimentation tanks

High rate filtration (multilayer)

Granular Activated Carbon Filter

Discharge to river

REEDISHA KNITTEX LIMITED Code BAN05

EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANT 2

ETP CAPACITY: 40 m3/h

STAGES OF THE Chemicals added Additional notes

EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANT

Equalization tank

Ferrous sulphate
Chemical coagulation Lime powder

Flocculation Polyelectrolyte

Sedimentation tanks Tube settler

Biological reaction tank Hydrochloric acid 2 Uds.

Sedimentation tanks Tube settler

High rate filtration (single layer)

Granular Activated Carbon Filter

Discharge to river
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UNIQUE WASHING Code BAN20

WATER CONSUMPTION: 27.000 m3/year (approx.. 90 m3/day)

MAXIMUM WATER CONSUMPTION: 173 m3/day
ETP CAPACITY: 34 m3/h

STAGES OF THE
Chemicals added Additional notes
EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANT

Screening

Equalization tank

Demulsifier

pH regulation Acid / Base

Chemical coagulation Ferrous sulphate, PAC,

Flocculation Polymer

Primary sedimentation tank

Activated sludge process Nutrients

Secondary sedimentation tank

Decoloring agent Chlorine

Sand filter

Activated Carbon Filter

Discharge pipe
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SASHA DENIM LTD. Code BAN22

WATER CONSUMPTION: 471600 m3/year (approx.. 1580 m3/day) – 45% public supply, 55% groundwater.
ETP CAPACITY: 30 m3/h (24h/day)

Only 260.000 m3/year go to discharge. Human consumption, heat production and cooling water go directly to
discharge (no WWTP downstream). Insufficient ETP capacity even to give treatment to 55% of water (process water).

STAGES OF THE Chemicals added Additional notes

EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANT

Screening?? It is not indicated

Equalization tank Includes aeration system

Chemical coagulation PAC 2 lines

Decoloring agent adition Decoloring agent 2 lines

Flocculation Polymer 2 lines.

2 lines. It seems all 3 chemicals are

Reaction tank added in the same step

Clarifier

Treated water tank with

Includes aeration
pH regulation

Carbon filter

Sand filter

Post-aeration

Discharge pipe
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ANNEX 2
GRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF UNIT PROCESSES

Figure 1. GAC adsorption for taste and odor removal in water purification system (ETAP-Lugo).

Figure 2. Industrial GAC filtration system

http://www.aesasa.com.mx/
.
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Figure 3 High rate anthracite filtration followed by AC adsoprtion

http://www.proton-colombia.com/.

Figure 4. AC adsorption system in Chennai (India)

http://www.indiamart.com/.