Data on removal kinetics of pharmaceutical compounds, artificial sweeteners, and perfluoroalkyl substances from water using a passive treatment system containing zero-valent iron and biochar

The data presented in this paper relate to the research paper “Removal of pharmaceutical compounds, artificial sweeteners, and perfluoroalkyl substances from water using a passive treatment system containing zero-valent iron and biochar” [1]. Four columns packed with different ratios of reactive media, including silica sand (SS), zero-valent iron (ZVI), and biochar (BC), were evaluated for simultaneous removal of 14 emerging contaminants from water. The target emerging contaminants included eight pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, caffeine, sulfamethoxazole, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, ibuprofen, gemfibrozil, and naproxen), four artificial sweeteners (acesulfame-K, sucralose, saccharin, and cyclamate), and two perfluoroalkyl substances (perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid). The samples for target contaminant analysis were collected from the influent, effluent, and profile (along the flow direction) ports of each column. The removal data (concentration vs. residence time) for each target contaminant were fitted to the first-order (exponential decay equation) or zero-order (linear equation) model using SigmaPlot. The removal rate, removal rate constant (kobs), mass normalized rate constant (kM), surface area normalized rate constant (kSA, specific reaction rate constant), and half-life (t0.5) of target contaminants in Columns ZVI, BC, and (ZVI + BC) were calculated and summarized in this dataset. Keywords: Removal kinetics, Pharmaceutical compounds, Artificial sweeteners, Perfluoroalkyl substances, Passive treatment system, Zero-valent iron, Biochar