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NOVEL, ACTIVATED CARBON-BASED MATERIAL FOR IN-SITU REMEDIATION OF CONTAMINATED SEDIMENTS
Abel, S. and J. Akkanen. Environmental Science & Technology [Published online 28 Feb 2019 prior to print]

The high buoyancy of activated carbon (AC) particles makes their application difficult in the field. A novel sorbent material was developed, consisting of powdered AC (PAC) embedded into a stable, granular clay matrix, significantly reducing buoyancy. These AC-clay granules (ACC-G) were tested for remediation potential (PCB bioaccumulation reduction) and adverse effects on the benthic invertebrates Chironomus riparius and Lumbriculus variegatus. The novel ACC-G material was compared to GAC of the same particle size, the clay matrix, and PAC. The findings show that ACC-G has a significantly higher remediation potential than GAC, allowing for reductions in PCB bioaccumulation of up to 89%. Adverse bioaccumulation effects could not be totally eliminated with ACC-G, but they were less severe than with PAC, likely due to the increased particle size. This article is Open Access at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.est.8b06471.



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