Benchmarking Micropollutant Removal by Activated Carbon and Porous β-Cyclodextrin Polymers under Environmentally Relevant Scenarios

The cost-effective and energy-efficient removal of organic micropollutants (MPs) from water and wastewater is challenging. The objective of this research was to evaluate the performance of porous β-cyclodextrin polymers (P-CDP) as adsorbents of MPs in aquatic matrixes. Adsorption kinetics and MP removal were measured in batch and flow-through experiments for a mixture of 83 MPs at environmentally relevant concentrations (1 μg L^-1) and across gradients of pH, ionic strength, and natural organic matter (NOM) concentrations. Performance was benchmarked against a coconut-shell activated carbon (CCAC). Data reveal pseudo-second-order rate constants for most MPs ranging between 1.5 and 40 g mg^-1 min^-1 for CCAC and 30 and 40000 g mg^-1 min^-1 for P-CDP. The extent of MP removal demonstrates slower but more uniform uptake on CCAC and faster but more selective uptake on P-CDP. Increasing ionic strength and the presence of NOM had a negative effect on the adsorption of MPs to CCAC but had almost no effect on adsorption of MPs to P-CDP. P-CDP performed particularly well for positively charged MPs and neutral or negatively charged MPs with McGowan volumes greater than 1.7 (cm³ mol^-1)/100. These data highlight advantages of P-CDP adsorbents relevant to MP removal during water and wastewater treatment.