Adsorption of Organic Pollutants in Stormwater: Evaluation of Four Potential Sorbents

Paper in proceeding, 2014

Adsorption filters is one of the most promising techniques for removal of dissolved, colloidal and particulate pollutants from stormwater. The aim of this study was to compare the capacity of four filter materials – zeolite, cellulose, polypropylene/polyethylene (PP/PE) fibres and pine bark – to adsorb organic pollutants frequently detected in stormwater. In batch tests, synthetic stormwater spiked with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylphenols and phthalates was contacted with media for up to 24 h. The compounds were then liquid-liquid extracted and analyzed using GC-MS. Zeolite and cellulose showed very low sorption capacity for the organic contaminants, whereas >70% of the initial concentration of all tested compounds was removed using PP/PE fibres, and >80% with pine bark. The highest adsorption capacity was found for PAHs (up to 44 µg/g) using PP/PE fibres and bark. For all tested compounds, maximum adsorption was approached within 30 min using these materials. Future research using natural stormwater should investigate the effect of colloidal transport of pollutants through PP/PE fibres and pine bark and the materials’ capacities to adsorb other pollutants, including metals.