Selective adsorption and bioavailability relevance of the cyclic organics in anaerobic pretreated coal pyrolysis wastewater by lignite activated coke.

Abstract This study originally investigated the selective adsorption of cyclic organics in APCPW by LAC, corresponding to the change of the bioavailability. As a product from low rank coal, LAC showed more oxygen (O)-containing groups and mesoporous structure than PAC. Adsorption mechanisms were analyzed by equilibrium isotherms and kinetics models combined with physicochemical properties of adsorbent and adsorbates. The results indicated that selectivity of LAC was dominated by chemical interaction and its mesoporous, and was enhanced by hydrophobicity of adsorbates. In addition, PAC and LAC were applied for the treatment of APCPW. Compared with PAC, LAC adsorption exhibited superior removal efficiency of Tph, TOC and TN at 85.90%, 91.15% and 51.64%, respectively. Furthermore, preferential adsorption of biotoxic and bioresistant cyclic organics by LAC was further proved by GC–MS analysis, resulting in increased bioavailability of APCPW. Specifically, LAC exerted sustained detoxication capacity until 86.50% reduction of TU by D. magna evaluation, and lowered toxicity rank (TU = 4.51, classIII) to T. pyriformis than that after PAC adsorption (TU > 10, ClassIV). Meanwhile, biodegradability was also improved by 9.17% after LAC adsorption. Lastly, LAC would exhibit great economic benefits as an alternative for PAC in subsequent process after anaerobic pretreatment. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • This is the first investigation of LAC on the treatment of CPW. • LAC exhibited much more O-containing groups and mesoporous structure than PAC. • The selective adsorption of LAC was based on chemical interactions and mesoporous. • LAC improved the bioavailability of APCPW by adsorbing hazardous cyclic organics. • Visible economic benefits of LAC in existing treatment facility were proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]