9/9/2015

ProducingActivatedCarbon

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ProducingActivatedCarbon

Activatedcarbon
isaprocessed,porousversionofcarbonthathasmany
differentuses,especiallyadsorptionandchemicalreactionneedsforwaterand
gaspurification.Becauseactivatedcarbonparticlesaresoporous,theyhave
veryexpansivesurfaceareastuckedintotheholesandtunnelsallovertheir
surface.Theseareascanbefilledwithothermaterialsforotherpurposesas
well.Forinstance,inwaterpurification,silverismixedintothecarbonporesin
ordertofiltercontaminantslikemercuryandorganicarsenicfromwaterfor
domesticdrinkingpurposes.Becausecarbonisproducedfromcharcoalthrougharelativelyinexpensiveand
simpleseriesofactivationprocesses,itcanbehadingreatquantitiesformanyapplications.
Theproductionprocessofactivated,oractive,carbonexistsintwoforms.Acarbonaceoussource,whichcan
existascoal,peat,oranyorganiccarbonaceousmaterialiscarbonized,whichmeansthepurecarbonis
extractedbyaheatingmethodknownaspyrolysis.Oncethematerialiscarbonized,itneedstobeoxidized,or
treatedwithoxygen,eitherbyexposuretoCO2orsteam,orbyanacidbasechemicaltreatment.
Carbonization
Carbonizationistheprocessoftakingacarbonrichpieceofmaterialandconvertingittopurecarbonthrough
heating.Thisheatingprocess,calledpyrolysis,comesfromanancienttechniqueformakingcharcoal.Very
densecarbonaceousmaterialisusedinthebeginning,becausetheendresultneedstobeextraporousfor
activatedcarbonpurposes.Carbonrichmaterialisplacedinasmall(relativetotheamountofmaterial)
furnaceandcookedatextremetemperaturestopping2000degreesCelsius.Whatremainsisusually2030
percentofthebeginningweight,andconsistsofmostlycarbonandasmallpercentageofinorganicash.Thisis
verysimilartocoking,amethodofproducingcokefromcharcoal,atypeofcarbonbasedfuel.
Oncetheporousformofcarbonisproduced,itneedstoundergooxidizationsoitcanbeadsorbent.Thiscan
occurinoneoftwoways:gasorchemicaltreatment.
GasTreatment
Theactivizingofcarboncanbedonedirectlythroughheatinginachamberwhilegasispumpedin.This
exposesittooxygenforoxidizationpurposes.Whenoxidized,theactivecarbonissusceptibletoadsorption,
theprocessofsurfacebondingforchemicalstheverythingthatmakesactivatedcarbonsogoodforfiltering
wasteandtoxicchemicalsoutofliquidsandgases.Forphysicalgastreatment,thecarbonizationpyrolysis
processmusttakeplaceinaninertenvironmentat600900degreesCelsius.Then,anoxygenatedgasis
pumpedintotheenvironmentandheatedbetween900and1200degreesCelsius,causingtheoxygentobond
tothecarbonssurface.
ChemicalTreatment
Inchemicaltreatment,theprocessisslightlydifferentfromthegasactivizationofcarbon.Forone,
carbonizationandchemicalactivationoccursimultaneously.Abathofacid,baseorotherchemicalsis
preparedandthematerialsubmerged.Thebathisthenheatedtotemperaturesof450900degreesCelsius,
muchlessthantheheatneededforgasactivation.Thecarbonaceousmaterialiscarbonizedandthen
activated,allatamuchquickerpacethangasactivization.However,someheatingprocessescausetrace
elementsfromthebathtoadsorbtothecarbon,whichcanresultinimpureorineffectiveactivecarbon.
PostTreatmentActivatedCarbon
Followingoxidization,activatedcarboncanbeprocessedformanydifferentkindsofuses,withseveral
classifiablydifferentproperties.Forinstance,granularactivatedcarbon(GAC)isasandlikeproductwith
biggergrainsthanpowderedactivatedcarbon(PAC),andeachareusedfordifferentapplications.Other
varietiesincludeimpregnatedcarbon
polymercoatedcarbons.

,whichincludesdifferentelementssuchassilverandiodine,and

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