Pine nut shell-derived carbons for improved drinking water treatment technologies

Abstract

Water treatment improvement is mandatory to face current water quality challenges, being a focus of EU societal challenges. While the presence of micropollutants in natural waters, e.g. pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) that resist to conventional treatments, constitutes an increasingly addressed issue, activated carbon (AC) adsorption is considered one of the best available technologies to control them during conventional [1] and advanced [2] drinking water treatment. The main objective of this work was the development of high-performing PACs prepared by steam activation of pine nut shells, conducted within EMPOWER+ project (https://empower.rd.ciencias.ulisboa.pt/).