IHSS&IWA26 / BRNO / CZECHIA / 23–28 August 2026 BOOK OF ABSTRACTS 86 Environment, Agriculture, and Forestry Tuesday, 25 August 2026 / Hall B+C SL38 Removal of NOM by Designed Composite Sorbents vs. GAC by Filtration Yael Mishael One of the complexities water technologies face, is treating low concentration of emerging micropollutants, such as pharmaceuticals, in the presence of higher concentrations of natural organic matter (NOM), a heterogeneous mixture of relatively larger soluble organic compounds. We develop polycation-clay composites based on the adsorption of poly-4-vinylpyridinuim to clay, as sorbents for simultaneous removal of micropollutants and NOM. Polycation configuration at the adsorbed state - as trains, loops and tails - was controlled by 1. solution ionic strength 2. polycation concentration 3. polycation charge density. Composite micro- and nano-structure was characterized by zeta potential, FTIR, X-ray diffraction and thermal gravimetric analyses. The removal of the micropollutants from tap water or from treated wastewater by composites in which the polycation adsorbs as loops and tails, was significantly higher than by the composites in which the polycation is dominantly as trains, even upon normalizing to the polymer loading. On the other hand, polymer configuration did not affect NOM removal. The removal by both composites was obviously higher from tap water but the reduction in micropollutant removal from treated wastewater was not dramatic. Furthermore, the degree of reduction in micropollutant removal was specifically low by the composite with a loops and tails configuration. These results supported our hypothesis that a loops and tails configuration is beneficial for the removal of the small micropollutants, within the size range of polycation loops and tails which do not compromise NOM removal. Finally, the simultaneous filtration of micropollutants and NOM by composite columns was more efficient than by columns of commercial granulated activated carbon.
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