Adsorption of steroid micropollutants on polymer-based spherical activated carbon (PBSAC)

Abstract Removal and interaction mechanisms of four different steroid micropollutants, estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), progesterone (P) and testosterone (T) were determined for different types of polymer-based spherical activated carbon (PBSAC). Higher than 90% removal and significantly faster kinetics compared to conventional granular activated carbon (GAC) were observed, while performance was comparable with powdered activated carbon (PAC). No influence of pH in the range 2–12 was determined, while the presence of humic acid (HA) reduced both the removal and the kinetic by up to 20%. PBSAC was characterized in terms of morphology and material properties. The low oxygen content was identified as the main cause for the high performance observed. This was attributed to the enhancement of the hydrophobic effect between PBSAC and hormones and the reduced interactions between PBSAC and water. The ratio of micropollutant size (∼0.8 nm) and average pore size (1–2 nm) proved ideal for both micropollutant adsorption and HA exclusion. The homogenous size, spherical shape and surface smoothness of PBSAC did not influence adsorption negatively and make PBSAC a very promising sorbent for a vast range of applications, in particular for the removal of micropollutants in water treatment applications.