Tracking 14C-Labeled Organic Micropollutants to Differentiate between Adsorption and Degradation in GAC and Biofilm Processes.

ABSTRACT: Granular activated carbon (GAC) filters can be used to reduce emissions of organic micropollutants via municipal wastewater, but it is still uncertain to which extent biological degradation contributes to their removal in GAC filters. 14C-labeled organic micropollutants were therefore used to distinguish degradation from adsorption in a GAC-filter media with associated biofilm. The rates and extents of biological degradation and adsorption were investigated and compared with other biofilm systems, including a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) and a sand filter, by monitoring 14C activities in the liquid and gas phases. The microbial cleavage of ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac, and mecoprop was confirmed for all biofilms, based on the formation of 14CO2, whereas the degradation of 14C-label

SUBMITTER: Betsholtz A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8383275 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature