FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Activated carbon is a processed natural material that is high in carbon content. For example, coal, wood or coconut are perfect raw materials for this. The resulting product has a high porosity and can adsorb molecules of pollutants and trap them, thus purifying air, gases and liquids.
Activated carbon works by a process of adsorption. This is an attraction of a molecule to the carbon’s vast internal surface by weak forces, known as London forces. The molecule is held in place and cannot be removed, unless the process conditions change, for example heating or pressure. This can be useful as an activated carbon can be used to concentrate material on its surface, that can be later stripped and recovered. The use of activated carbon for gold recovery is one common example of this.
In some cases, the activated carbon is chemically treated to remove pollutants and in this case the resulting reacted compound is generally not recovered.
Activated carbon surface is also not completely inert, and a variety of catalytic processes can be achieved using and taking advantage of the extended internal surface area available.
If it is not already apparent, activated carbon purifies our world. It makes water drinkable; the air breathable and food stuffs edible. It ensures we have the best healthcare, and that we can enjoy the freedoms, and technological advances of the modern world.
With Jacobi, we can all create a Pure World, just as we have been doing since 1916.
How an activated carbon is used depends very much on the application duty, and its form. For example, powdered activated carbon (PAC) is used to treat drinking water, by simply adding the required amount directly to the water and then separating the resulting coagulation matter (as well as other solids) before sending the treated water to the network. The contact with the organics present results in adsorption of them and the purification of the water.
Granular carbons (or extruded pellets) are used in fixed filter beds, with the air, gas or liquid passing through it with a determined residence (or contact) time. During this contact the unwanted organics are removed and the treated effluent is purified.
Activated carbon is commercially manufactured from coal, wood, fruit stones (mainly coconut but also walnut, peach) and derivatives of other processes (gas raffinates). Of these coal, wood and coconut are the most widely available.
The product is manufactured by a thermal process, but in the case of raw materials such as wood, a promoter (such as an acid) is also used to develop the required porosity.
Downstream processes crush, screen, wash and/or grind the multitude of products to the client’s requirements.
There are hundreds of different applications for activated carbon ranging from odour control of cat litter to the preparation of the most modern pharmaceuticals.
Around the home, activated carbon may be present in domestic appliances; will most likely have treated the municipal water supply, purified the soft drinks in the refrigerator, and been used in the production of chemicals, in turn used to manufacture electronics, furniture and construction materials.
And more; our waste is burned to generate electricity, the gases from which are purified by activated carbon. Odour control again at sewage processing facilities, uses activated carbon, and the reclamation of precious metals from mining spoils is big business.
ABOUT ACTIVATED CARBONS
Activated Carbons have many different uses from filtration to purification and beyond. Here we take a look at some of those applications across the many markets our carbon products are used in and explain how they work, follow the feed for regular updates on all things Carbon.
Jacobi Carbons is partner of a group of expert companies, headed by ‘Air 2 Public GmbH‘ (air2public.com) located in Ortenberg, who have developed an innovative technology for efficient removal of NOx from street air. Jacobi Carbons supplies for that purpose special activated carbon materials that are proven in their efficiency after years of use and…
Activated carbon proves to be up to the challenge of the removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PAH’s) in edible oils. Activated Carbon is widely used in the purification of edible oils from a variety of raw materials, including palm, olive, coconut and rape seed sources. One reason for the use of activated carbon is principally…
Solutions using activated carbon for systems susceptible to corrosion Activated carbon can be used in corrosion prevention to help protect systems and piping from corrosive chemical species. Often these chemicals are small, inorganic in nature and as such can be problematic for physical adsorption by activated carbon. This is done by using impregnated grades to…
ISO22000 awarded to Jacobi Carbons Lanka We are proud to announce that our manufacturing operation in Sri Lanka has been formally accredited with the ISO22000 standard for Food Safety Management. The team in Jacobi Carbons Lanka (JCL) has been working diligently in all areas of processing to ensure that good hygiene, contamination risk and product…
Not quite summer in Paris, but our team in Vierzon continue to work during the traditional summer recess to ensure that customers receive the treatment solutions they need; when they need them. The treatment objective This summer we have been contracted by a major partner in the ground remediation market to supply a number of…
The issue of cyanotoxins in drinking water, while not new, has increased in visibility and importance over the last few years. Jacobi offers a variety of products in our AquaSorb™ family of carbons to help water utilities deal with this challenge. Formed by a combination of weather conditions, agricultural runoff, and other factors, harmful algal…
