What Is Activated Carbon?
Activated carbon (also called activated charcoal, activated coal or active carbon) is a very useful adsorbent. Due to their high surface area, pore structure (micro, meso and macro), and high degree of surface reactivity, activated carbon can be used to purify, dechlorinate, deodorize and decolorize both liquid and vapor applications. Moreover, activated carbons are economical adsorbents for many industries such as water purification, food grade products, cosmetology, automotive applications, industrial gas purification, petroleum and precious metal recovery mainly for gold. The base materials for activated carbons are coconut shell, coal or wood.
Application of Activated Carbon
Different types of activated carbon are suited for various specialized applications.
- Granulated activated carbon
- Pelletized activated carbon
- Powdered activated carbon
- Impregnated activated carbon
- Catalytic activated carbon
Each grade and size of activated carbon is application specific. Selecting the correct activated carbon product and mesh size depends on the application and contaminants you plan to remove.
Typical applications are:
- Removal of volatile organic compounds such as Benzene, TCE, and PCE.
- Hydrogen Sulfide (HS) and removal of waste gases
- Impregnated activated carbon used as a bacteria inhibitor in drinking water filters
- Removal of taste and odor causing compounds such as MIB and geosmin
- Recovery of gold
- Removal of chlorine and chloramine
Designing a proper activated carbon filtration system with enough contact time, pressure drop, and vessel size is important. Also, activated carbon’s physical and chemical characteristics play an important role in removing contaminants effectively. Therefore, material testing is essential and ASTM test methods such as butane activity, surface area, density, and water content (moisture) can be carried out to find the best suitable material for your application.
Activated carbon is considered the world’s most powerful absorbent. It is eco-friendly, due to its ability to regenerate
Types of Activated Carbon
Coconut shell-based activated carbon
The very large internal surface areas characterized by microporosity along with high hardness and low dust make these coconut shell carbons particularly attractive for water and critical air applications as well as point-of-use water filters and respirators
- Very high surface area characterized by a large proportion of micropores
- High hardness with low dust generation
- Excellent purity, with most products exhibiting no more than 3-5% ash content.
- Renewable and green raw material.
Coal-based activated carbon
Demand is typically high for this relatively low cost filter media for both gas and liquid applications. Coal based activated carbon has a high surface area characterized by both mesopores and micropores.
- Consistent density
- Hard materials with minimal dust generation.
- Economical
Wood based activated carbon
It produces different performance characteristics in industrial applications typically catered to with coal or coconut products.
Wood based activated carbon has a high surface area characterized by both mesopores and micropores and has excellent decolorizing properties owing to its signature porosimetry
- Relatively low density
- Renewable source of raw material
Impregnated Activated Carbon
Surface impregnation chemically modifies activated carbon through a fine distribution of chemicals and metal particles on the internal surfaces of its pores. This greatly enhances the carbon’s adsorptive capacity through a synergism between the chemicals and the carbon. And provides a cost-effective way to remove impurities from gas streams which would otherwise not be possible.
Water treatment
Because of its antimicrobial/antiseptic properties, silver-impregnated carbon is an effective adsorbent for purification in earth-bound domestic and other water systems.
Catalytic based activated carbon
Catalytic carbon is a class of activated carbon used to remove chloramines and hydrogen sulfide from drinking water.
It has all the adsorptive characteristics of conventional activated carbons, as well as the ability to promote chemical reactions.
Because catalytic carbons have no impregnates, you won’t have to worry about reduced organic odor capacity or the higher bed fire potential of the impregnated carbons.
Pelletized Activated Carbon
Our Pelletized Activated Carbon is produced from coal, wood, and coconut shell by high-temperature steam activation and manufactured with suitable binders under stringent quality control. The pelletized carbon has a low ash content, large surface area, high mechanical strength, extended pore volume, and chemical stability. These characteristics make it ideal for many vapor phase applications. The cylindrical uniformity of its shape makes it particularly useful in applications where there is a likelihood of a low-pressure drop over granular activated carbon.
Granular Activated Carbon (GAC)
Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) is made from high quality raw material, such as coal, wood, and coconut shell. The adsorptive capacity of granular activated carbon makes it ideal for removing a variety of contaminants from water, air, liquids, and gases to improve taste, odor, and color.
Typical GAC applications are municipal and environmental water treatment, waste gas treatment, mercury removal in industrial gasses, food and beverage, metal recovery, and even medicinal use.
Filter Vessels
Vapor phase adsorption vessels are utilized for the removal of unwanted compounds like hydrogen sulfide (H2S), siloxanes and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Our extensive range of vapor phase units can also be employed in the filtering of biogas, natural gas, remediation of contaminated soil vapor and removal of mercury from waste gasses. Standard specification includes: