2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) is a common taste and odor compound caused by off-flavor secondary metabolites, which represents one of the greatest challenges for drinking water utilities worldwide. A TiO₂-coated activated carbon (TiO₂/PAC) has been synthesized using the sol-gel method. A new TiO₂/PAC photocatalyst has been successfully employed in photodegradation of 2-MIB under UV light irradiation. In addition, the combined results of XRD, SEM-EDX, FTIR and UV-Vis suggested that the nano-TiO₂ had been successfully loaded on the surface of PAC. Experimental results of 2-MIB removal indicated that the adsorption capacities of PAC for 2-MIB were higher than that of TiO₂/PAC. However, in the natural organic matter (NOM) bearing water, the removal efficiency of 2-MIB by TiO₂/PAC and PAC were 97.8% and 65.4%, respectively, under UV light irradiation. Moreover, it was shown that the presence of NOMs had a distinct effect on the removal of MIB by TiO₂/PAC and PAC. In addition, a simplified equivalent background compound (SEBC) model could not only be used to describe the competitive adsorption of MIB and NOM, but also represent the photocatalytic process. In comparison to other related studies, there are a few novel composite photocatalysts that could efficiently and rapidly remove MIB by the combination of adsorption and photocatalysis.

To date, few studies have been carried out on the influence of the mixing effects of soils and remediation agents on the remediation effects of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) in contaminated soils. In this study, the mixing effects of soils and remediation agents and the degradation effects of B[a]P under different stirring conditions were investigated by combining stirring tests with discrete element method (DEM) simulation. The results from the stirring tests indicated that the mixing effects of two-stage (C_Drill) drill bits were better than first-stage one-line (A_Drill) and first-stage cruciform (B_Drill) drill bits. The mixing quality of C_Drill at the drilling/raising rates of 2, 2.5, 3, 4, and 7.5 cm/min were 42.13%, 43.20%, 43.98%, and 43.30%, respectively. In terms of the results from the B[a]P oxidation remediation tests, the contaminated soils mixed with C_Dril have better remediation effects for B[a]p than those mixed with A_Dril and B_Dril, since B[a]p in contaminated soils stirred and mixed using C_Drill could not be detected after oxidative degradation. The present study results have proved that the mixing effects of soils and remediation agents could significantly affect the remediation effects of contaminated soils with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).