Quality of Activated Carbon
Besides the quality of the raw material itself, also the activating procedure is important for the final quality of the activated carbon. This procedure is done in special ovens or reactors. The function of the activating procedure is to enlarge the absorptive characteristics, which improves the cleaning capacity.
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- The gas activation. The fundament for this type of activation is material that is already charred. This material is activated by a 700-1000 °C hot gas stream of e.g. water vapor, that means in addition to the already existing little carbon pores, significantly bigger ones get exposed. This procedure is the most common one, because it usually generates carbon with the most pores.
- The chemical activation. Initially in this procedure, usually not charred raw materials are mixed with certain chemicals. This mixture is then heated up to 400-800 °C and afterwards the activating agents (chemicals) are leached out. The final product is mostly a coarse activated carbon, which can be used for example to blech liquids.
Even if the procedures are different, the final results – although of different quality - are the same: a porous, highly active carbon network with a lot of pores. The more pores exist the more toxic substances can be absorbed. Thereby the size of the pores can be individually adjusted to the particular field of application, by changing the attributes of the procedure.
Activated carbon is mostly available as in powder form, granular carbon, pellets, as well as fiber mats and cloth. Powder carbon is mainly used for contaminated water. It gets mixed with the water and then filtered and depolluted. Granular carbon are unevenly formed grains with a size between 0,2 and 5 mm. This type, also known as granulate is mostly used in absorption containers, where the liquid or gas that has to be cleaned, runs through. Granular carbon is also preferably used for water purification.
Pellets (carbon mold blocks) are made of powdered carbon that is mixed with an adhesive. Thereby cylindrical, to a string pressed pellets are formed, which have a caliber of 0,8 to 5 mm. Pellets are mainly used to purify gas. Fiber mats and activated carbon cloth are a special form of activated carbon, which are offered, for example, as a woven fabric. It is used for example in extractor hoods or for protective gears.
- The gas activation. The fundament for this type of activation is material that is already charred. This material is activated by a 700-1000 °C hot gas stream of e.g. water vapor, that means in addition to the already existing little carbon pores, significantly bigger ones get exposed. This procedure is the most common one, because it usually generates carbon with the most pores.
- The chemical activation. Initially in this procedure, usually not charred raw materials are mixed with certain chemicals. This mixture is then heated up to 400-800 °C and afterwards the activating agents (chemicals) are leached out. The final product is mostly a coarse activated carbon, which can be used for example to blech liquids.
Even if the procedures are different, the final results – although of different quality - are the same: a porous, highly active carbon network with a lot of pores. The more pores exist the more toxic substances can be absorbed. Thereby the size of the pores can be individually adjusted to the particular field of application, by changing the attributes of the procedure.
Activated carbon is mostly available as in powder form, granular carbon, pellets, as well as fiber mats and cloth. Powder carbon is mainly used for contaminated water. It gets mixed with the water and then filtered and depolluted. Granular carbon are unevenly formed grains with a size between 0,2 and 5 mm. This type, also known as granulate is mostly used in absorption containers, where the liquid or gas that has to be cleaned, runs through. Granular carbon is also preferably used for water purification.
Pellets (carbon mold blocks) are made of powdered carbon that is mixed with an adhesive. Thereby cylindrical, to a string pressed pellets are formed, which have a caliber of 0,8 to 5 mm. Pellets are mainly used to purify gas. Fiber mats and activated carbon cloth are a special form of activated carbon, which are offered, for example, as a woven fabric. It is used for example in extractor hoods or for protective gears.