1.

Granular Activated Carbon

In designing the size of GAC (granular activated Carbon) columns, the following
factors are taken into consideration:
 Empty-bed contact time (EBCT),
 Hydraulic loading rate,
 Carbon depth,
 Number of contactors.

1.1 GAC Properties

Accessibility to the adsorption sites within the GAC pore structure and surface area
available is key. This is a function of
1) The degree of activation of the carbon base for providing the pathways. The degree of
activation is measured by its carbon tetrachloride number (CTC). A value of 50 or more is
considered good for water treatment.
2) The relative surface area of the carbon measured by Iodine Number (Io N) which for
potable water treatment should be in the range of 900-1050. An important consideration in
selecting a GAC product is its Abrasion Number. (AN)

This is a relative measure of the media’s ability to withstand abrasion (or size reduction)
when physically tumbled (such as during backwashing). Shell carbons have the highest
abrasion resistance at about 90 AN. Coal bases are average at about 70 AN. Ratings below
70 may not hold up well to vigorous backwashing. The mesh size of a particular GAC
may not affect its ultimate adsorptive performance but it does. An 8x30 mesh carbon is
approximately 2mm in diameter. 12x40 measures about 1 mm and a 20x50 mesh are about
use shallower beds. The rate of reaction of a 12x40 mesh is twice that of an 8x30 mesh of
the same product and a 20x50 mesh is twice as fast as the 12x40. Deep beds (6-10 ft deep)
might choose the 8x30 product. Cartridges would use a 20x50 and most general purpose
applications should consider the 12x40 mesh. Water is an excellent solvent for small
amounts of just about everything including organic solvents. The forces by which water
holds an organic in solution are quite strong. In order for GAC to pull an organic from
solution, the forces of attraction must be stronger than the forces of solubilization.
1.2 Flow Considerations

Flow Considerations Empty Bed Contact Time (EBCT), represents the hydraulic flow rate
through a GAC bed and is usually reported in “minutes”. Simply put, it is the volume of
media (in gallons, m3, ft3) divided by the flow volume (in gallons, m3, ft3) per unit of
time (minutes, hours). A one cubic ft GAC filter is 7.5 gallons of GAC. A flow of water
through that filter at 2.5 gpm has an EBCT of (7.5/2.5) = 3 minutes. A GAC filter must
have sufficient EBCT to do the job plus enough safety margin to cover variations in the
quality of the water being treated. The second concept in retention time is that of “Half
Lengths”. This tells us that if it takes x number of seconds (or minutes) to reduce a
particular contaminant by 50%, it will take x number of seconds to reduce the residual
level of contaminant by an additional 50% (of the remaining). So if one half-length
removes 50%, two half lengths will remove 75% and three will remove 87.5%. About
seven half lengths are required to remove 99% and ten to reach 99.9%. In addition to the
contact time, there are hydraulic flow considerations for GAC. Filters can be neither too
large nor too small. Large filters are prone to channeling when run too slowly. Small
filters have a superficial (surface) flow of 4-10 gpm/ft2 (minimum to maximum) with
temporary peaks not exceeding 12-15 gpm/ft2 . Volumetric flows can be 1-10 gpm/ft3
(minimum to maximum). Note, the EBCT range for that volumetric flow is 7.5 minutes
down to about 45 seconds.

1.3 De-chlorination

De-chlorination a second very important property of GAC is its ability to catalytically

reduce chlorine from an oxidizer (NaOCl) to a salt (NaCl) by taking away the reactive
oxygen. This is a very fast reaction requiring an EBCT of only 30-40 seconds. A 10-inch
cartridge with a flow of 0.5 gpm is about 25 seconds EBCT and can remove 95% of
incoming chlorine for 2500 gallons. A cubic foot of the same GAC flowing at 5 gpm
(EBCT = 1.5 minutes) can do the same job for 1,000,000 gallons. A cubic foot of GAC can
make about 40 cartridges (with an implied capacity of 40x2500 = 100,000 gallons). The
difference is in the longer EBCT allows the GAC to work better for a longer time because
the longer EBCT allows more of the GAC to take part in the process. More communities
are switching from chlorine to chloramine (usually NH2Cl, the mono-chloramine) as a
means of reducing the tendency for chlorine to form THMs when used as the primary
disinfectant. The deactivation of chloramine can be accomplished with GAC but the filter
has to be sized about four times the size of a regular GAC filter used for chlorine. To
increase the EBCT, filter units can be strung in series. Catalytic carbon, which has an
oxidizing capability is more effective for chloramine reduction with EBCTs of about 5
minutes. The chlorine capacity of new activated carbon is 1 pound of chlorine per pound of
carbon at a flow rate of 3 to 5 gpm/cu.ft. and a bed depth of 3 feet.

GAC System Design Parameters

  Chlorine Chloramine Organics
Flow Rate 1-3 0.5 1-2
(gpm/ft.²)
Minimum Bed 2-3 6 3-5
Depth (ft.)
Bed Life Almost Indefinite 2-6 Weeks 1 - 6 Months

Typical Properties of Granular Activated Carbon

  Bituminous Sub-bituminous Lignite Nut Shell

Iodine Number 1,000-1,100 800-900 600 1,000
Molasses Number 235 230 300 0
Abrasion Number 80-90 75 60 97
Bulk Density as packed 26-28 25-26 23 29-30
LB/CF
Volume Activity 26,000 25,000 13,800 0

 Iodine and molasses numbers measure pore size distribution.  Iodine number is a

relative measure of pores at sizes of 10 to 2 Angstroms. It is reported in milligrams
of elemental iodine adsorbed per gram of GAC and determines the area available on
the GAC to adsorb low molecular weight organics.
 Molasses number measures the degree a GAC removes color from a stock solution.
It measures pores greater than 28 Angstroms. These are the pores responsible for
removing larger molecular weight organics such as tannins.
  Abrasion numbers represent the relative degree of particle size reduction after
tumbling with a harder material. No reduction is rated 100, complete pulverization is
zero.

Technical Specification of Granular Activated Carbon

Granular Activated Carbon filter calculation

Flow Filtration (EBCT) Filter GAC volume GAC weight

(LPH) velocity Contact time diameter required required (kg)
(m/s) (minutes) (mm) (liters)
30 2 2 138 1 1
60 2 2 195 2 1
100 2 2 252 3 2

This calculation is done for

1. Density of Granular Activated Carbon varies between 300-500 kg/m3, in this calculation
500 kg/m3 is taken.
2. Most organics are less soluble and adsorbed at lower pH. Increase the size of the carbon
bed by 20% for every pH unit above neutral (7.0)
3. Minimum filtration bed depth - 1 meter
4. Chlorine removal recommended Empty Bed Contact Time (EBCT) approx. 2-5 minutes
 The site from where the calculation has been estimated is: https://pureaqua.com/carbon-
filter-sizing/

2. Factors that affect the performance of activated carbon are: 

 
2.1 Molecular weight:
As the molecular weight increases, the activated carbon adsorbs more effectively because
the molecules are lea soluble in water. However, the pore structure of the carbon must be
large enough to allow the molecules to migrate within. A mixture of high and low
molecular weight molecules should be designed for the removal of the more difficult
species.
 
2.2 pH:
Most organics are less soluble and more readily adsorbed at a lower pH. As the pH
increases, removal decreases. A rule of thumb is to increase the size of the carbon bed by
twenty percent for every pH unit above neutral (7.0).
 
2.3 Contaminant concentration:
The higher the contaminant concentration, the greater the removal capacity of activated
carbon. The contaminant molecule is more likely to diffuse into a pore and become
adsorbed. As concentrations increase, however, so do effluent leakages. The upper limit
for contaminants is a few hundred parts per million. Higher contaminant concentration
may require more contact time with the activated carbon. Also, the removal of organics is
enhanced by the presence of hardness in the water, so whenever possible, place activated
carbon units upstream of the ion removal units. This is usually the case anyway since
activated carbon is often used upstream of ion exchange or membranes to remove
chlorine.

2.4 Particle size:

Activated carbon is commonly available in 8 by 30 mesh (largest), 12 by 40 mesh (most
common), and 20 by 50 mesh (finest). The finer mesh gives the best contact and better
removal, but at the expense of higher pressure drop. A rule of thumb here is that the 8 by
 30 mesh gives two to three times better removal than the 12 by 40, and 10 to 20 times
better kinetic removal than the 8 by 30 mesh.
2.4 Flow rate:
Generally, the lower the flow rate, the more time the contaminant will have to diffuse
into a pore and be adsorbed. Adsorption by activated carbon is almost always improved
by a longer contact time. Again, in general terms, a carbon bed of 20 by 50 mesh can be
run at twice the flow rate of a bed of 12 by 40 mesh, and a carbon bed of 12 by 40 mesh
can be run at twice the flow rate of a bed of 8 by 30 mesh.  Whenever considering higher
flow rates with finer mesh carbons, watch for an increased pressure drop!

2.6 Temperature:
Higher water temperatures decrease the solution viscosity and can increase die diffusion
rate, thereby increasing adsorption. Higher temperatures can also disrupt the adsorptive
bond and slightly decrease adsorption. It depends on the organic compound being
removed, but generally, lower temperatures seem to favor adsorption.