AWWA WQTC69465

Bench-scale experiments were carried out to investigate the treatability of 24 endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) by PAC+UF at 1 and 5 mg/L PAC. Experiments were conducted with natural organic matter- (NOM-)free water and with water containing Suwannee River NOM at 2 and 5 mg/L (as TOC). For removal by the ultrafiltration (UF) membrane alone, the presence of NOM caused an increase in removal for some compounds and a reduction in removal for others. PAC+UF provided a statistically significant (a = 0.05) improvement in removal compared to UF alone for some compounds, but this increase was a function of PAC and NOM concentration, and was compound-dependent. All compounds experienced a reduction in removal by PAC+UF in the presence of NOM when compared to removal by PAC+UF in NOM-free water, which indicates competitive adsorption by NOM. The minimum, median, and maximum removal by PAC+UF at 5 mg/L PAC and 5 mg/L TOC was 4%, 55%, and 100%, respectively, indicating that the removal of EDCs and PhACs by PAC+UF is variable and compound-dependent. Includes 18 references, figure.