Activated Carbon

Activated carbon mainly consists of carbon in a concentration of mostly over 90 percent. The product is used in many ways such as powder, granules, or extruded pellets. For example, industry and commercial users use activated carbon primarily as an adsorbent to remove undesirable flavors, colors, pollutants or odors from liquids, vapors, and gases. It is also used in solvent recovery and gas separation (e.g., hydrogen recovery and nitrogen production).

Making use of the special properties of the feedstock, activated carbon can be produced in different ways: In gas activation, carbonized material is exposed to an oxidizing gas stream (e.g., water vapor, carbon dioxide, air or mixtures). The activation temperature is 700 – 1000 °C. After the water gas reaction, the carbon is partially burned. At the molecular level, this creates a porous, highly active carbon structure. In chemical activation, on the other hand, mostly uncarbonized, carbonaceous feedstock is used and mixed with a dehydrating chemical. After several process steps and steam heating, the desired inner structure of the activated carbon can also be produced there. Both processes enormously increase the inner surface area of activated carbon, allowing it to reach impressive dimensions: a cube of activated carbon with an edge length of 1.0 cm, for example, has an inner surface area that is 10,000 times larger. Or for comparison: 2.0 grams of activated carbon has an inner surface area roughly the size of a soccer field. As a result, the activated carbon product now develops excellent adsorption forces, whereby molecules from liquids as well as gases attach themselves highly effectively (adsorption).

CarboTech is one of the world’s leading suppliers of activated carbon. Located in the heart of Europe, our integrated production facilities make us a specialist that produces activated carbon as well as activated coke, coconut carbon and wood carbon. These products are also refined and packaged. Our distinctive feature in the production of activated carbon is the use of a fluidized bed process that is unique in the world. By means of a continuous and uniform heat supply and intensive mass transfer, a homogeneous pore distribution is achieved in the activated carbon, which further enhances its adsorption performance. This also increases the inner surface area of the activated carbons to 500 to 1500 m²/g. At the same time, activated carbon of the highest quality also ensures consistent quality in a wide range of complex and demanding cleaning processes. Our own laboratories can prove this to you.