Activated Carbon

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REDA Group

Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

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A unique type of carbon called activated carbon (AC) is frequently used in industry to remove impurities from fluids, air, and water. In order to have tiny, low-volume holes that enhance the surface area and make it appropriate for adsorption, it is processed to be surface-active. With such a high level of microporosity, 1 gram of activated carbon now has a surface area greater than 2500 m2.
Different natural and waste products, as well as a variety of carbonaceous source materials like coconut shells, wood, olive pits, anthracite, and others, are used to make activated carbon (AC). However, by physical alteration, thermal degradation, and chemical reactions, any organic substance with a high carbon content can be used to make activated carbons (AC).

Applications of Activated Carbon

Numerous industries employ activated carbon for a variety of purposes, including but not limited to the following typical principal uses:

Air purification
Water purification
Solvents recovery
Gold purification
Metal extraction
Medical uses
Wastewater treatments
Food processing
Agricultural uses
Fuel storage

Let's instead talk about the primary uses of activated carbon (AC) in the filtration and treatment of water.

Water Purification Using Activated Carbon

One of the most popular products in the water treatment sector is activated carbon, which has a huge surface area and a highly porous structure that makes it an effective adsorbent for a variety of pollutants.

Although there are many uses for activated carbon in the treatment of water, municipal and industrial water treatment facilities rely heavily on it. Consequently, the primary applications for activated carbon in water filtration are listed below:

Groundwater remediation
Potable water purification
Wastewater treatment
Process water purification

The brief descriptions of each application are provided below.

Groundwater Cleanup

In applications for treating landfill water and remediating contaminated groundwater, activated carbon filters out pollutants. Typically, the final polishing phase of the treatment process uses activated carbon to remove the following:

Dispersed organic substances

chemicals that are not biodegradable or degrade poorly

Granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration is a dependable and economical purification solution for waste streams that commonly contain complex combinations of chemical compounds, provided wastewater is appropriately handled upstream. Thermally reactivated, or new, GAC is typically used to replace used GAC after it has served its purpose.

Potable Water Purification

Water utilities provide clean, safe water to potable water networks. Activated carbons play an important role in helping water authorities to provide potable water that is clean, safe to drink, and free of unpleasant tastes, colors, and odors to all people living in that serviced area.

Activated carbons are used to remove natural and synthetic organic pollutants and suspended solids from surface and groundwater sources, in addition to the potentially harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and residual oxidizing agents (ex. chlorine) formed during the potable water treatment processes.

Water Purification for Drinking

Potable water networks get clean, secure water from water utilities. Water authorities rely heavily on activated carbons to supply everyone living in that supplied region with potable water that is clean, safe to drink, and devoid of offensive tastes, colors, and odors.

In addition to the potentially harmful disinfection byproducts (DBPs) and residual oxidizing agents (ex. chlorine) formed during the potable water treatment processes, activated carbons are used to remove natural and synthetic organic pollutants, suspended solids, and pollutants from surface and groundwater sources.

Both powdered activated carbon (PAC) and granular activated carbon (GAC) can be used to treat potable water, which must adhere to strict purity standards, such as those set forth by the EN 12915 (EU) requirements for leachable metals, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and cyanide, as well as by the United States Food Chemicals Codex. However, there are precise drinking water regulations that must be met by each authority in various nations.

Treatment of Wastewater

Following physical and biological pre-treatment procedures to remove solids and biological oxygen demand (BOD), activated carbon is used as a polishing step in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) to remove dissolved organic and non-biodegradable chemicals. Granular activated carbon (GAC) is utilized in moving beds, fixed filter beds, and standalone adsorbers, whereas powdered activated carbon (PAC) is often added to coagulation/flocculation tanks or used in conjunction with active sludge processes.

Municipal wastewater treatment: Residential and commercial wastewaters frequently contain concentrated organic pollutants that can be easily degraded in a conventional municipal wastewater treatment facility. By eliminating pathogens, oxygen-demanding molecules, and inorganic and synthetic organic pollutants, activated carbon can assist municipal wastewater treatment plants in meeting strict regulatory-driven effluent water quality criteria.

Industrial wastewater treatment: Wastewater from industry may contain man-made substances that are frequently difficult to degrade and call for specialized procedures.

When the wastewater stream is too diluted to maintain a biological system of helpful microbes that break down organic wastes, or to adsorb non-biodegradable substances, activated carbon is utilized. These industrial effluent streams can include a variety of organics, colorants, phenolic compounds, and chlorinated organics and can be found in the chemical, refinery, textile, and general manufacturing industries. The application of GAC and PAC-based methods depends on the wastewater composition and treatment objectives.

Water Purification in Process

Our granular activated carbon (GAC) is used in numerous sectors and process applications, including beverage manufacturing, energy, life sciences, and microelectronics, to filter water in order to meet strict industrial process requirements.

These sectors rely on tap water from the municipality, which frequently has organic pollutants. These contaminants, among other things, can have a detrimental effect on an industrial plant's productivity and assets, the security of the water used to treat hemodialysis patients, the purity of the water needed to produce pharmaceuticals, microelectronics, and photovoltaics, as well as the flavor of bottled water.

Activated carbon is acknowledged as the most dependable and best technology now available for these crucial applications to remove organic and chemical pollutants in order to meet process water purity standards for a variety of applications, including:

Drinks, bottled water, and breweries

Remaining chlorine, chloramines, hydrogen sulfide, and hydrogen peroxide from municipal water treatment plants are polished, oxidized, and reduced.

Power plants and refineries

High-quality and reliable condensate, guaranteed low silica leaching levels to remove heat transfer resistance in boilers, effective mineral oil removal from condensate, and maximum condensate return to boiler feed water are all characteristics associated with this product.

Pharmaceutical uses for ultrapure water include the elimination of organics, chlorine, and chloramine to assist safeguard downstream reverse osmosis (RO) membranes and supply water that is free of contamination for drug research, production, and discovery.

Microelectronics: To improve yields and reduce life cycle costs in the semiconductor, flat panel display, and photovoltaics industries, this technology removes particulates, ionic contaminants, inorganics, and total organic carbon (TOC) levels to less than parts per billion (ppb) levels.

Hemodialysis: A crucial step in supplying ultrapure water for use in hemodialysis treatment for patients with impaired kidney function is the removal of organic pollutants, chlorine, and chloramine from water.

Aquatic and maritime industries

Adsorption of hormone, medication, and poly-aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) residues from fish farms in freshwater and saltwater habitats.

water in a swimming pool

Adsorption of chlorine-nitrogen compounds, disinfection byproducts, and chloramines, which can irritate swimmers' eyes, noses, and breathing, aids in meeting regulatory criteria for potentially dangerous contaminants.