Conclusions and recommendation
• This study successfully demonstrated the use of ROTOCARBON PAC derived from macadamia nuts for the treatment of drinking water.
• Similar operational conditions from the DWTP were used and the optimum dosage was observed to be 40,0 mg/L.
• Most CECs are not regulated globally or listed on the SANS 241, however SMX and ATZ are listed and the obtained results were within the SANS 241 limits.
• Although the following CECs: TMP; BTA; ATZ; CTZ; CAF; SMX; MET; BZE & VFX were remove from drinking water, there are no standards regulating them. Other CECs (EVZ; MTQ; TMD; CBZ & 1,7 DXN) are not listed and were detected in treated water. Therefore, further research is required to shed light on the effects of CECs in drinking water, and this could underpin their effective regulation.
• Cocaine, Codeine and Ecstasy were analysed but were not detected throughout the whole sampling period, this might be due the fact that they easily dissolve in water and get diluted.
• Future studies should focus on the assessments of temporal migration and attenuation of CECs in unit operations or processes of the DWTP. The PAC should
be employed as adsorption technique to remove the CECs.
• Finally, the employed PAC contains biological carbon that has undergone carbonisation and, therefore, by storing (e.g., landfilling) the spend PAC, opportunities for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) could be created and this merits further examination.
• The continual monitoring of CECs should be regulated in international and locally by regulatory bodies.