ABSTRACT
Commercially available activated carbons vary considerably in their surface structure and chemistry, and therefore in adsorption capacities for contaminants in drinking water, both at short contact times and at equilibrium. It is universally understood that both surface chemistry and pore volume distributions will play a role in adsorption onto activated carbon; however, the relative importance of these two factors is not immediately apparent, and will vary from adsorbate to adsorbate and similarly between adsorbents. Adsorption data, and therefore the relative importance of physical and chemical properties of the adsorbent, can be easily misinterpreted if the pore volume distributions are not of the highest quality and accuracy.
