The effects of dissolved organic matter, reactor configuration, and granular activated carbon (GAC) particle size on equilibrium adsorption of trichloroethylene (TCE) were examined under simultaneous loading and early preloading conditions. Differences in isotherm capacities obtained using batch-reactor and column-reactor estimation methods were observed when natural background organic matter and TCE were adsorbed simultaneously onto nonpreloaded GAC. Differences in isotherms derived from the two methods were diminished, however, when the carbon was first preloaded with the background organic matter in a river water in the absence of TCE. Significant increases in isotherm slope were observed with increasing preloading time for GAC of two different particle sizes. Isotherms determined using powdered activated carbon sieved from crushed preloaded GAC has essentially parallel slopes, however, with capacities greater than the parent preloaded GAC over the concentration range of interest. The observed effects were analyzed in the context of a proposed dualistic model for interpretation of interactions among background organic matter, target solutes, and microporous adsorbents. Includes 46 references, tables, figures.