Activated Carbon
Activated Carbon Reactivation
One of the many advantages to activated carbon is its ability to be reactivated. While not all activated carbons are reactivated, those that are provide cost savings in that they do not require the purchase of fresh carbon for each use.
Regeneration is typically carried out in a rotary kiln and involves the desorption of the components that had previously been adsorbed by the activated carbon. Once desorbed, the once-saturated carbon is again considered active and ready to act as an adsorbent again.
Activated Carbon Applications
The ability to adsorb components from a liquid or gas lends itself to thousands of applications across a multitude of industries, so much so, in fact, that it would likely be easier to list applications in which activated carbon is not used. The primary uses for activated carbon are listed below. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list, but merely highlights.
Water Purification
Activated carbon can be used to pull contaminants from water, effluent or drinking, an invaluable tool in helping to protect the Earth’s most precious resource. Water purification has a number of sub-applications, including the treatment of municipal wastewater, in-home water filters, treatment of water from industrial processing sites, groundwater remediation, and more.
Air Purification
Similarly, activated carbon can be used in the treatment of air. This includes applications in face masks, in-home purification systems, odor reduction/removal, and the removal of harmful pollutants from flue gases at industrial processing sites.
Metals Recovery
Activated carbon is a valuable tool in the recovery of precious metals such as gold and silver.
Food & Beverage
Activated carbon is widely used throughout the food and beverage industry to accomplish a number of objectives. This includes decaffeination, removal of undesirable components such as odor, taste, or color, and more.
Medicinal
Activated carbon can be used to treat a variety of ailments and poisonings.
Conclusion
Activated carbon is an incredibly diverse material that lends itself to thousands of applications through its superior adsorbent capabilities.
Post time: May-15-2025