Abstract
In drinking water treatment, adsorption rate of 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) to powdered activated carbon
(PAC) during short-term contact can be reduced by natural organic matters (NOM). The objectives of this study are
to clarify the characteristics of NOM competing with 2-MIB adsorption on PAC under a short-term contact (30
min). Negative correlations between the PARAFAC scores of the fluorophores in competing compound samples and
2-MIB adsorption rate suggested that fulvic acid-like substances contributed significantly to reduce the 2-MIB
adsorption rate. From the results of the experiment by using standard substances as the competing compounds, it
was found that fulvic acid and tryptophan caused reduction of 2-MIB adsorption rate. Fulvic acid competed with
2-MIB removal in three different PACs.
