Water Treatment

Flexible solutions with powdered (stir-in process) or granulated activated carbons (fixed bed process)

The development of specially optimized, highly active activated carbons for water treatment makes it possible to remove even the smallest quantities of pollutants from the water with a high degree of effectiveness and to guarantee perfect drinking water quality.

Activated carbon is used in wastewater treatment to meet even the most stringent discharge requirements. An increasingly emerging field of application for activated carbon is the elimination of so-called trace substances.
These are micropollutants that accumulate in the water cycle over the years and pose an ever-increasing problem. In many wastewater treatment plants, the so-called 4th purification stage is therefore introduced for the treatment of trace substances.

Donau Carbon offers activated carbons from the Hydraffin® series for a wide range of water treatment applications:

• Drinking water: Ensuring the highest purity and quality, free of TOC, chlorine, ozone, PFAS, etc.

• Wastewater: Removal of COD, AOX & trace substances.

• Landfill leachate: Removal of COD and AOX.

• Industrial wastewater: Elimination of various pollutants depending on the process (e.g. textile industry, oil refinery, steel industry).

• Boiler feed water & condensate: Removal of organic substances (TOC) from feed water or oil from recycled condensate.

• Swimming pool water: Removal of excess free chlorine, chloramine & disinfectant by-products (e.g. THM).

How do I fulfil specific requirements?

Increasing quality and environmental standards can be reliably maintained with activated carbon

Compliance with legal requirements has top priority: Donau Carbon‘s products offer a suitable solution for (almost) every task and challenge.

Drinking water
European Directive (EU) 2020/2184 on the quality of water intended for human consumption with focus on PFAS:

• Limit value of 0.1 μg/l as a cumulative limit value for a group of 20 PFAS relevant to drinking water from 12.01.2026.

• Limit value of 0.02 μg/l for the substances PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS and PFNA from 2028.

Wastewater
Effective removal of micropollutants and trace substances in the newly introduced 4th cleaning stage.

Landfill leachate
Typical COD values of 800 - 1000 mg/l.
Limit values according to European regulation:

• COD < 400 mg/l (indirect discharge)

• COD < 200 mg/l (direct discharge)

• AOX < 0.5 mg/l

Boiler feed water & condensate
Limit values for organic substances (TOC) from feed water or oil from recycled condensate in accordance with European regulation (EN 12953-10):

• Oil < 0.5 - 1.0 mg/l

• TOC < 0.1 - 2.5 mg/l

Quality Assurance

The activated carbons are evaluated and tested for the most important characteristics in water treatment in our in-house laboratories:

• Iodine number (mg/g)

• Apparent density (kg/m³)

• Pore size distribution (micro-, meso- & macropore content)

• Grain size (mm) or (mesh)

• Hardness (wt.%)

Certificates

Depending on the requirements, Donau Carbon offers a wide range of certificates:

• EN DIN 12915 Drinking water certificate for granular activated carbon

• EN DIN 12903 Drinking water certificate for powdered activated carbon

• Kosher & Halal

• GMO & Allergen Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 & No. 1829/2003

• Packaging - Declaration of suitability for food contact Regulation (EU) No. 1935/2004

• NSF/ANSI 61

In Donau Carbon, you have a trustworthy partner at your side who takes care of your activated carbon and filter systems, so you can concentrate on your core business. Our experience and our commitment to quality guarantee you first-class results.