Submicron-sized activated carbon particles for the rapid removal of chlorinous and earthy-musty compounds

Submicron-sized powdered activated carbon (PAC) was produced from a commercially available normal PAC by a bead mill. The submicron PAC decomposed dichloramine and nitrogen trichloride, impairing aesthetic quality with chlorinous odor, at a much faster rate than did normal PAC. Moreover, decomposition rates were faster for dichloramine and nitrogen trichloride than for monochloramine and free chlorine. Selective removal of chlorinous odors among chlorine compounds in a short time was thereby possible. The earthy-musty compound geosmin was also much more rapidly removed by adsorption on submicron PAC than on normal PAC. The increased removal rate was partly due to the adsorption capacity increase owing to the particle size reduction of PAC to submicron range, which accounted for 40% of the improvement of geosmin removal at a PAC contact time of 10 min.