Removal of natural organic matter (NOM) and its constituents from water by adsorption - A review

Abstract

Natural organic matter (NOM) is produced through metabolic reactions in water supply in drinking water sources and has been reported to cause several problems including objectionable taste and color of water, formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) and reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen in water. The removal of NOM and its constituents from water is a challenging issue worldwide. Many technologies have been examined for this purpose. The properties and amount of NOM, however, can significantly affect the process efficiency. In the present work, an overview of the recent research studies dealing with adsorption method for the removal of NOM and related compounds from water is presented. A wide variety of conventional and non-conventional adsorbents have been reviewed for their potential in NOM removal from water. As revealed from the literature reviewed, modified adsorbents, composite materials and few nanomaterials have shown promising results for NOM removal from water. The main findings obtained for the removal of NOM using different adsorbents have been discussed in this review.

Keywords: Adsorbents; Adsorption; Humic substances; Natural organic matter; Organic matter; Water treatment.