This work involves the study of the influence of textural and chemical adsorbent properties on natural organic matter (NOM) removal and the simultaneous adsorption of caffeine and NOM in pharmaceutical wastewater. The performance of a microporous activated carbon, Calgon F400, a synthesized mesoporous carbon from peach stones and a commercial sepiolite in the removal of NOM of a WWTP effluent, and the competitive adsorption of caffeine/NOM were evaluated. It was evidenced that the microporous structure of the adsorbents significantly conditioned the removal of NOM, finding that F400 activated carbon (microporous volume of 0.46 cm(3) g(-1)) led to a NOM removal of 45%. The presence of NOM in the aqueous medium led to worse adsorption parameters, including adsorption capacity at breakthrough time, mass transfer zone length and fractional bed utilization. Additionally, an overshooting in the Total Organic Carbon concentration (TOC/TOC0 = 1.05) was observed in the sepiolite adsorption fixed-bed experiment, due to the displacement of the background NOM. The tested adsorbents were efficient in the removal of caffeine from a pharmaceutical wastewater, finding a competitive effect between the target compound and the background NOM for the active sites.
Keywords: Adsorption; caffeine; competitive effect; fixed-bed column; natural organic matter.