From Guest Blogger Sarah Ross: The Role Activated Carbon Plays in Environmental Protection

Activated carbon, also known as activated charcoal, has been used for purification since antiquity. There are references to its use in both ancient Egypt and ancient India dating to at least 1500 BC. In more modern times, it was introduced to the European sugar refining industry in the early 19th century, and its use quickly spread to removing noxious tastes from water. Today, its unique ability to attract and trap chemicals gives activated carbon an important role in protecting the environment in a variety of ways.

What is activated carbon?

Activated carbon begins with organic material that has a high carbon content, such as coal or wood. The material is slowly heated in a high-temperature, low-oxygen environment that does not permit it to burn. Instead, the material dries out, releasing impurities as well as water. The resulting product is known as char.

Next, the char undergoes a variety of chemical and physical processes that vastly increase its surface area and create a network of submicroscopic pores. Carbon molecules naturally attract and bind with a wide array of chemical compounds, and the massive surface area (roughly six football fields in one pound of activated charcoal) provides plenty of sites for molecules to bind.

Depending on the application, activated charcoal can be used alone or impregnated with chemicals that enhance its ability to bind with targeted compounds. Impregnation can help to improve its effectiveness against an even wider variety of impurities and toxic substances.

Water purification

Activated carbon is used at multiple levels in the water treatment process. It is used to filter potable drinking water at both the home consumer and municipal levels, removing such contaminants as organics, pesticides and herbicides.

Carbon also plays an important role in treating the wastewater from industrial processing.
In this application, activated carbon removes dangerous organic and noxious odor-producing substances, returning the wastewater to a safe state before disposal or reuse. It is often part of a multi-treatment approach that ensures the protection of groundwater.

Air purification

Activated carbon is used to purify air in many important ways. One example of an industrial use is to cleanse biogases, which are byproducts of the natural decomposition process. They tend to collect around, landfills, cow pastures, and similar locales, and are filled with toxic VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and other by-products such as those released in the degradation of shampoo products in landfills.

In the home, activated carbon can combat the VOCs that are released from paint, cleaning products, refrigerants, and other household products, as well as irritants produced by cooking fumes. Activated carbon air filters are particularly useful for those suffering from allergies and asthma, as they can remove many of the common environmental triggers.

Activated carbon can even help to maintain air quality in clean rooms where sterility is extremely important. For example, museums sometimes use it to help preserve artifacts that could be damaged by pollutants.

Mercury scrubbing

Mercury is a common byproduct of medical waste and hazardous material incineration, as well as coal power plants. It is also found in many natural gas reserves. The vast quantities of released mercury pose one of today’s biggest environmental challenges, but activated carbon can help. It traps the mercury, removing it from the emitted gas streams for safe disposal.
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Are you interested in purchasing activated carbon for a specific application? Do you require expert guidance in choosing the right impregnation for your needs? Oxbow Activated Carbon is proud to provide a diverse line of activated carbon products, including both standard and custom impregnations, along with spent carbon disposal and reactivation, and numerous other specialized services. We pride ourselves on our individualized customer service, and we look forward to becoming your one-stop shop for all your activated carbon needs.