Improvement of thermal reactivation of activated carbon for the removal of 2-methylisoborneol

Rapid small-scale column tests (RSSCTs) were employed to evaluate the impact of the dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the water used to create steam on the reactivation of spent granular activated carbon (GAC) using three novel thermal reactivation procedures: steam-curing, steam-curing with ramped temperature, and steam pyrolysis reactivation. Evaluation of the physical properties of the reactivated carbon showed a change in mass and volume loss with a change in DO. Performance testing of the carbons for removal of the taste- and odor-causing compound 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) showed that MIB uptake generally increased as the DO concentration decreased. Decrease in MIB removal with an increase in surface acidity, a phenomenon found in the literature, may be responsible for the changes in adsorption performance, as the higher DO concentrations yielded carbons with higher total surface acidity. In addition, the steam-curing process, which was implemented at 375 °C (i.e. about 400 °C lower than typical reactivation temperatures) with a low DO concentration (i.e. 3–4 mg/L) had comparable performance to the virgin carbon counterpart, which could manifest cost-savings due to the low temperature associated with this protocol compared to conventional reactivation. Furthermore, since the mass loss associated with this steam-curing protocol was low, less virgin carbon make-up would be required also improving the economic viability of this reactivation protocol.