ACTIVATED CARBON

WHAT IS ACTIVATED CARBON?

DEFINITION

Activated carbon is a carbonaceous material characterized by a well developed pore structure and a very large internal surface area.

These characteristics provide activated carbon with a very strong adsorptive property.

PORE STRUCTURE OF ACTIVATED CARBON

a   –  micropores

b , f  –  mesopores (spherical and cilindrical)

c , e , d,  – macropores (passing, internal, superficial)

RAW MATERIAL

Activated carbon is mainly produced from

 –  coal

 – coconut shell

 – wood

The yield of activated carbon is in the range between 15-35 % depending upon the raw material

Generally coal gives high yield (30-35%) while coconut shell gives a lower yield (15-20%)

The approximate carbon content for different raw materials is shown in table 1

CLASSIFICATION OF ACTIVATED CARBON

G R A N U L A R

* Mainly used for water treatment (potable, urban and industrial waste water)

* Different mesh size

* Different starting material ( coconut, mineral, vegetal )

E X T R U D E D ( PELLET )

* Mainly used for air treatment

* Different diameter 2 – 3 – 4 mm (most common)

* Generally mineral based

P O W D E R

* Water treatment (drınkıng and waste)

* Industrial process (wine industry, pharmaceutical, food industry)

* Air treatment (incinerators)

* Size generally under 325 mesh

* Different raw material (coal, coconut, vegetal)

CHARACTERIZATION OF  ADSORPTION CAPACITY

The adsorption capacity of activated carbon is determined mostly by two factors

INTERNAL SURFACE AREA

Its determined by mean of N₂ adsorption and represent the surface area of the activated carbon and it is expressed in m²/g

Internal surface area varies in the range 500-1800

PORE SIZE DISTRIBUTION

Micropore:        0-20 A°

Mesopore:        20-50A°

Macropore:       > 50 A°

Micropores and mesopores are supposed the be the most effective for the adsorption phenomenon and represent 80-90 % of the pore distribution.

Distribution of pores depends upon the starting material

Coconut shell a.c. have a predominance of micropore (roughly 90%)

Coal based a.c. have a wide pore distribution (micropore/mesopore distribution is 60/30%)

Wood – peat based a.c. have high proportion of macropore (40-50%)

PRODUCTS

• WATER TREATMENT

• AIR TREATMENT

• Industrial Process

APPLICATIONS

* Water treatment

* Gas – air treatment

* Personel protection

* Food industry

* Chemical industry

* Pharmaceutical industry

* Catalysts

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