Granular‐Activated‐Carbon Beds for Odor Removal

In the United States, granular activated carbon beds have been used in water treatment for removal of odor‐producing substances far less than powdered activated carbon. One reason for this limited use has been the much lower price of powdered carbon. In some situations, however, the use of granular activated carbon beds has both theoretical and practical advantages over the use of powdered carbon in slurry. The article discusses various treatment methods in the U.S. and in Europe. The remarkable improvement in carbon economy by pretreatment with ozone at Dusseldorf prompted the undertaking of some experiments on treated Ohio River water to see whether comparable results could be realized. In addition, several methods of monitoring the performance of carbon columns were used to see whether any performance data correlated well with odor removal.