AWWA ACE92117

In-place chemical regeneration could considerably reduce many costs currently associated with granular activated carbon use. Regeneration would occur in the adsorption column, and thus handling and transport requirements would be minimized. Carbon losses due to thermal regeneration would be eliminated, and capital cost would be reduced as chemical storage facilities and feed pumps would replace traditional thermal regeneration facilities. This paper concludes that different types of GAC can exhibit a wide range of reaction rates with H202. The iron content and the surface area appear to be important characteristics relating to a carbon's ability to catalyze the decomposition of H202 to form hydroxyl radicals. Column test indicated that in-place chemical regeneration of GAC using H202 may be possible with certain types of GAC, however, additional research is needed to evaluate the feasibility of the process.