Types and Use of Activated Carbon

Activated carbon is a black porous solid carbon, which is produced by pulverizing, shaping or carbonizing and activating uniform coal particles. The main component of the adsorbent is carbon, which has strong adsorptive properties and is widely used as an industrial adsorbent. Activated carbon has many kinds, which are suitable for factories, families, automobiles and other fields. Here is a brief introduction to the types and uses of activated carbon.

Activated carbon products

Activated carbon can be divided into five categories according to its material

1. Coconut shell charcoal

Coconut shell activated carbon is made from high-quality coconut shell in Hainan and Southeast Asia. The raw material is screened, refined after carbonization by steam, and then processed by a series of processes such as impurity removal and activation screening. Coconut shell activated carbon is black granular, with developed pore structure, high adsorption capacity, high strength, chemical stability and durability. Widely used in metallurgical and chemical industry, petroleum and electric power, food and beverage, drinking water, purified water, industrial water deep purification and precious metal extraction, with decolorization, deodorization, adsorption and turbidity removal effect, and zeolite, molecular sieve with better effect, welcomed by users.

2. Carbon from Fruit Shell

Activated carbon from fruit shell is mainly made from fruit shell and sawdust by carbonization, activation and refinement. It has the characteristics of large specific surface area, high strength, uniform particle size, well-developed pore structure and strong adsorption performance. It can effectively adsorb free chlorine, phenol, sulfur, oil, colloid, pesticide residues and other organic contaminants in water and recover organic solvents. It is suitable for pharmaceutical, petrochemical, sugar making, beverage and liquor purification industries, decolorization, purification, purification and sewage treatment of organic solvents. Activated carbon from fruit shell is widely used in drinking water, industrial water and wastewater purification, industrial water purification.

3. Charcoal

Wood charcoal is made of high-quality wood as raw material, which is powdery in shape. It is refined by high-temperature carbonization, activation and various processes. It has the characteristics of large specific surface area, high activity, well-developed micropore, strong decolorization ability and large pore structure. It has large pore structure and can effectively adsorb various substances and impurities such as color in liquids.

4. Columnar Carbon

Using high quality wood chips and charcoal as raw materials, it is made by crushing, mixing, extrusion, forming, drying, carbonization and activation. The column activated carbon has lower ash content, less impurities and reasonable pore size distribution than the traditional coal column activated carbon, which can reach the maximum adsorption and desorption, thus greatly improving the service life of the product (average 2-3 years), which is 1.4 times as much as the ordinary coal carbon.

5. Coal Carbon

The product is refined with high quality anthracite as raw material. Its shape is columnar, granular, powder, honeycomb and spherical. It has high strength, fast adsorption speed, high adsorption capacity, large specific surface area, well-developed pore structure, and the pore size is between coconut shell activated carbon and wood activated carbon. Mainly used for high-end air purification, waste gas purification, high-purity water treatment, wastewater treatment, sewage treatment and so on.

ACTIVATED CARBON OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS

Activated carbon is classified according to its appearance and shape.

1. Powdered Activated Carbon

Generally, more than 90% of activated carbon passing through 80 target quasi-sieves or with particle size less than 0.175 mm is called powdered activated carbon or powdered activated carbon. Powdered carbon has the advantages of fast adsorption speed and sufficient adsorption capacity, but it needs special separation methods. With the progress of separation technology and the emergence of some application requirements, the particle size of powdered carbon tends to be finer and finer. In some cases, it has reached the micron or even nanometer level.

2. Granular activated carbon

Activated carbon with particle size greater than 0.175mm is usually called granular activated carbon. The amorphous granular activated carbon is generally made from granular raw materials by carbonization, activation, then crushing and sieving to the required size. It can also be processed by adding appropriate binder to powdered activated carbon.

3. Cylindrical Activated Carbon

Cylindrical activated carbon, also known as cylindrical carbon, is generally made from powdered raw materials and binders through mixing, extrusion, carbonization, activation and other processes. It can also be extruded with powdered activated carbon and binder. Columnar carbon can be divided into solid and hollow carbon. Hollow columnar carbon is one or more artificial holes in columnar carbon.

4. Spherical Activated Carbon

Spherical activated carbon, as its name implies, is a spherical activated carbon. Its preparation method is similar to that of columnar activated carbon, but it has a spherical process. It can also be made from liquid carbon containing raw materials by spray granulation, oxidation, carbonization and activation, and can also be processed by powdered activated carbon and binders. Spherical activated carbon can also be divided into solid and hollow spherical activated carbon.

5. Activated Carbon of Other Shapes

In addition to powdered activated carbon and granular activated carbon, there are other shapes, such as activated carbon fiber, activated carbon fiber blanket, activated carbon cloth, honeycomb activated carbon, activated carbon board and so on.