Increasing cannabinoid use with the incipient favorable public discourse raises concerns about their environmental release and potential impacts. Concentration of common cannabinoids and their metabolites (e.g., THC and THC-COOH) are already detected in source waters and engineered water systems across the globe with a rising trajectory. This study examines the adsorption of THC and THC-COOH onto activated carbons in surface water-relevant concentrations and investigates the effect of carbon’s physicochemical properties. At higher equilibrium concentration (i.e., C_e > 300 µg/L), adsorption of cannabinoids correlates with the sorbent-specific surface area. On the contrary, at lower concentrations (i.e., C_e = 0.1–100 µg/L), cannabinoid adsorption was predominantly controlled by pore size of the carbon. More specifically, when the surface area was not limited (i.e., dilution conditions), cannabinoid molecules appeared to have preferably attached within the mesopores. The adsorption mechanism deciphered in the study will facilitate in selection of commercial activated carbon to remove cannabinoids in drinking water treatment systems. This work will also provide a baseline for further research on removal of other cannabinoids (e.g., CBD), other structurally relevant drugs, their metabolites, and reaction byproduct from engineered treatment systems.

越来越多的大麻素使用以及初期的有利公众话语引起人们对其大麻素释放和潜在影响的关注。在全球范围内，随着轨线的上升，常见的大麻素及其代谢产物（例如THC和THC-COOH）的浓度已经在源水和工程水系统中被检测到。这项研究研究了在表面水相关浓度下活性炭对THC和THC-COOH的吸附，并研究了碳的物理化学性质的影响。在较高的平衡浓度下（即C _e  > 300 µg / L），大麻素的吸附与吸附剂的比表面积相关。相反，在较低的浓度下（即C _e = 0.1-100 µg / L），大麻素的吸附主要由碳的孔径控制。更具体地，当表面积不受限制（即，稀释条件）时，大麻素分子似乎优选已附着在中孔内。研究中破译的吸附机制将有助于选择商用活性炭，以去除饮用水处理系统中的大麻素。这项工作还将为进一步研究从工程处理系统中去除其他大麻素（例如CBD），其他与结构相关的药物，它们的代谢产物和反应副产物提供基础。