We all have heard this term “activated carbon”, nowadays most in TV commercials. What is exactly activated carbon? Let’s know some of the properties as well as specific to what really is activated carbon.
Activated carbon, which is also known as Activated charcoal, from its name we can make out that it is some form of carbon. This type of carbon contains low-volume pores which in return increase the surface area for chemical reactions. Further chemical processes on activated coal increase the adsorption process.
Activated carbons can also be defined as a group of adsorbents, which possess the capability for adsorbing organic as well as inorganic materials. It is due to its graphite structure which gives it the property to absorb a wide range of components. It is known to have the highest adsorbing properties of any material known to mankind. If we take for example 4g of activated carbon may have a surface area of a cricket field.
Since the beginning of the blog we are talking about the “adsorption” properties, what does adsorption really mean? No, this is definitely not absorption but it is adsorption that basically points out a property that states the fundamental process by which liquid or gas molecules are concentrated on a solid surface. In our case, it is activated charcoal.
Activated carbon applications are only limited to adsorption, but one thing to notice is that there are hundreds and thousands of applications of Activated Carbon Singapore.
Let’s have a short recap of how activated carbon is produced. There are 2 processes from which activated carbon can be made. One of them is steam activation at high temperature and the other one is chemical activation which is done using a strong dehydrating agent.
Due to this adsorption property, it has a lot of importance in various industries some of which are as follows:
- Industrial application
- Medical uses
- Analytical chemistry applications
- Environmental applications
- Agriculture uses
- Distilled alcoholic beverage purification
- Fuel storage
- Gas purification
- Chemical purification
- Mercury scrubbing
Activated carbon filters basically do the job of removing organic compounds from water, which in turn makes water suitable for manufacturing processes or even drinking. But it does not stop here eliminating organics from potable water, even if chemicals such as humic and fulvic acid are removed it does not guarantee to remove every possible contaminant. Even materials like lead cannot be removed from water using the activated charcoal filters process.
Activated carbon water filters are used for 2 types of water filtering purposes. One is for chlorine removal and the other is the removal of organic matter. Each one of them works in different ways possible. Dechlorination is performed using activated carbon in this process on water. The chlorine molecules are removed, resulting in dechlorinated water.
The second method is used for the removal of organic matter. Through the adsorption process as the water is passed through activated carbon air filters, organic particles as well as chemicals are trapped inside the activated carbon. There are some factors on which the adsorption process depends on such as the surface area of carbon molecules, the chemical composition as well as the concentration of water, pH, and temperature of the water, time the water is exposed to activated carbon water filters.
Let’s talk about Activated Carbon Air Filters (they are quite popular these days). It simply means it is a type of air filter used to remove gases. As far as the structure is concerned, it is a bed of activated carbon, which is present to remove volatile organic compounds which are present in most of the houses. They are also designed to remove odors from the air giving a fresh fragrance. Considering its drawbacks, it cannot remove tiny particles from the air such as dust, pollen, mold, and so on.
Activated carbon powder is nothing but another form of activated carbon. They are present in all forms one of them is the powder form. In fact, the government has approved activated charcoal only for emergency treatment of overdoses or poisonings, but it has a power toxin-clearing property due to which it is also used for other applications.
It can serve as a quick remedy for the following health problems:
- Kidney health
- Intestinal gas
- Water filtration
- Diarrhea
- Teeth whitening and oral health
- Skincare
- Skin infection
As of now, there have been no reported side effects of activated charcoal.
Activated Carbon Granules as the name suggests is a form of activated carbon, which is of relatively large size as compared to the powdered one. It provides the same application as that of the powdered. Granules provide the same properties as that of the powder activated carbon. Since activated carbon granules diffuse rapidly they are suitable for adsorption of gases and vapors. They are also used for water treatment, deodorization, and separation of components.