Types and uses of activated carbon
Activated carbon is a black porous solid carbon produced by crushing, shaping, or carbonization and activation of coal using uniform coal particles. The main component is carbon, which has strong adsorption performance and is a widely used industrial adsorbent. There are many types of activated carbon, which are suitable for various fields such as factories, households, and automobiles. Below, we will introduce the types and uses of activated carbon.
Activated carbon is divided into five categories by material
coconut shell charcoal
Coconut shell activated carbon is made from high-quality coconut shells from Hainan, Southeast Asia and other regions. The raw materials are screened, steam carbonized, refined, and then processed through a series of processes such as impurity removal, activation screening, etc. Coconut shell activated carbon is a black granular material with developed pore structure, high adsorption capacity, high strength, stable chemical properties, and durability. Widely used in metallurgy and chemical industry, petroleum and electricity, food and beverage, drinking water, purified water, industrial water deep purification, and the extraction of precious metals, it has the effects of decolorization, deodorization, adsorption and turbidity removal, and is more effective when combined with zeolite and molecular sieve, which is highly welcomed by users.
Fruit shell activated carbon
Fruit shell activated carbon is mainly made from fruit shells and wood chips, which are carbonized, activated, and refined. It has the characteristics of large specific surface area, high strength, uniform particle size, well-developed pore structure, and strong adsorption performance. And it can effectively adsorb free chlorine, phenols, sulfur, oil, gum, pesticide residues and other organic pollutants in water, as well as the recovery of organic solvents. Suitable for pharmaceutical, petrochemical, sugar, beverage, and alcohol purification industries, it is used for decolorization, refining, purification, and wastewater treatment of organic solvents. Fruit shell activated carbon is widely used in the deep purification of drinking water, industrial water and wastewater, as well as industrial water quality purification.
Wood activated carbon
Wooden charcoal is made from high-quality wood as raw material, with a powder like appearance. It is refined through high-temperature carbonization, activation, and various processes to form wooden activated carbon. It has the characteristics of large specific surface area, high activity, developed micropores, strong decolorization ability, and large pore structure. The pore structure is large and can effectively absorb various substances and impurities such as colors in liquids.
Columnar charcoal
Made from high-quality wood chips, charcoal, and other raw materials through crushing, mixing, extrusion, shaping, drying, carbonization, and activation. The produced columnar activated carbon has lower ash content, fewer impurities, and a reasonable pore size distribution compared to traditional coal based columnar carbon, achieving maximum adsorption and desorption, thereby greatly improving the product’s service life (average 2-3 years), which is 1.4 times that of ordinary coal based carbon.
Coal charcoal
This product is refined from high-quality anthracite coal as raw material, with shapes such as column, particle, powder, honeycomb, spherical, etc. It has high strength, fast adsorption speed, high adsorption capacity, large specific surface area, developed pore structure, and pore size between coconut shell activated carbon and wooden activated carbon. Mainly used for high-end air purification, exhaust gas purification, high-purity water treatment, wastewater treatment, sewage treatment, etc.
Activated carbon is classified according to its appearance and shape
powdered activated carbon
Generally, activated carbon with a particle size of less than 0.175mm or over 90% passing through an 80 target sieve is referred to as powdered activated carbon or powdered carbon. Powdered carbon has advantages such as fast adsorption speed and sufficient adsorption capacity when used, but requires proprietary separation methods. With the advancement of separation technology and the emergence of certain application requirements, the particle size of powdered carbon tends to be increasingly refined, and in some cases, it has reached the micrometer or even nanometer level.
granular activated carbon
Activated carbon with a particle size greater than 0.175mm is usually referred to as granular activated carbon. Unshaped granular activated carbon is generally made by carbonizing and activating granular raw materials, then crushing and screening them to the required particle size. It can also be made by adding appropriate binders to powdered activated carbon and processing it appropriately.
Cylindrical activated carbon
Cylindrical activated carbon, also known as columnar carbon, is generally made from powdered raw materials and binders, which are mixed, extruded, and then carbonized, activated, and other processes. It can also be extruded using powdered activated carbon and binder. Columnar carbon can be divided into solid and hollow, and hollow columnar carbon is a type of carbon that contains one or several artificial, regular pores.
spherical activated carbon
Spherical activated carbon, as the name suggests, is a spherical activated carbon. Its preparation method is similar to that of columnar carbon, but there is a process of spheroidization. It can also be made from liquid carbon containing raw materials through spray granulation, oxidation, carbonization and activation, and can also be made from powdered activated carbon and binder into balls. Spherical activated carbon can also be divided into solid and hollow spherical activated carbon.
Other shapes of activated carbon
In addition to the two categories of powdered activated carbon and granular activated carbon, there are also other shapes, such as activated carbon fibers, activated carbon fiber blankets, activated carbon cloth, honeycomb activated carbon, activated carbon boards, and so on.