
Limits for drinking water: not set
- Pungent smell
- Headache, skin irritation
- Respiratory tract irritation
Removing phenols from water
- Solution principle: adsorption
Phenols belong to the group of volatile organic compounds. The most basic of phenols is called phenol. Another example are chlorophenols.
Chlorphenols have a pungent odor and do not burn. At high temperatures, however, they decompose into CO, CO2 and HCl, which are substances that strongly irritate mucosa.
Phenols are mainly present in water due to industrial pollution. They often get into natural streams and waterways from plants processing brown coal or coal tar. Other sources are pharmaceutical industry, the petroleum industry and the production of plastics or steel.