Question

Water with a chloroform concentration of 0.8 mg/L is fed at a rate of 180 m3 /h to a GAC contactor that has an area of 3.75 m by 6 m and is 2 m deep. The objective of the GAC contactor is to reduce the chloroform concentration to below 0.005 mg/L. The Freundlich parameters for chloroform are K = 15 and 1/n = 0.47 when the concentrations are measured in mg/L in the aqueous phase and mg/g on the solid phase. The density of the carbon is 450 kg/m3 . Calculate the following:

(a) Empty bed contact time

(b) Superficial velocity of the water through the bed

(c) Maximum specific throughout (assuming all the carbon in the contractor reaches equilibrium).

(d) Time to breakthrough

Answer 1