Activated carbon processes, initially designed for drinking water production, are tested for wastewater
application in order to characterize their efficiency to remove micropollutants from wastewater treatment
plants (WWTPs) discharges. In that purpose, a pilot was studied by the Paris sanitation service (SIAAP) and
the water environment and urban systems laboratory (LEESU). The in-situ study raised several additional
questions related to the structural and morphological properties of activated carbons, in order to select the
proper material, the influence of operational parameters such as the activated carbon dose and the contact
time, the role of organic matter concentration and composition, the presence of a residual concentration of
methanol or the impact of ferric chloride addition. Thus, various complementaryexperiments were carried
out at laboratory scale to improve the understanding of the micropollutants adsorption process on
activated carbon, in particular on powdered activated carbon (PAC).