Activated Carbon

Activated Carbon is a material of extremely high porosity presenting a large interior surface area in a range of 600 to 1.500 m2/g, which allows the adsorption of a great number of substances from gaseous or liquid phases.

Thus, Activated Carbon is suitable for (waste)water, air and gas cleaning, disinfection, desodoration, purification and many other tasks.

We supply the complete spectrum of powdered, granular and extruded activated carbon grades of our sister company, Donau Carbon GmbH, Frankfurt, Germany,
manufactured from raw materials like coal, lignite, coconut shell and wood by all the customary activation processes, like:

  • steam activation
  • zinc chloride activation
  • phosphoric acid activation.
The manufacturing and activation process and the basic raw materials used have a determining influence on the adsorptive capacity of activated carbon products in use.

Raw material may be charcoal, bituminous coal, wood, coconut shells, olive stones, fruit stones, peat etc..

Activation may be done with two different processes:

In the Gas Activation Process, previously carbonised material is subjected to the oxidising action of gas, such as steam, carbon dioxide, air or a mixture of these. Activation temperatures typically range from 700 to 1,000 °C.

In the Chemical Activation Process non-incinerated carbonaceous materials such as sawdust are initially mixed with dehydrating or oxidising chemicals like zinc chloride or phosphoric acid and heated up to between 400 and 800 °C under exclusion of oxygen.
The activation agent is then washed out and recovered.

The activation process itself is carried out in rotary kilns, multiple hearth, shaft or fluidised bed furnaces or in fluid bed reactors. The most common product forms of activated carbon include:
  • extruded (usually in the form of cylindrical pellets)
  • broken (granular or broken activated carbon)
  • powder (in specified particle sizes)
The selection of the most suitable type of activated carbon for a specific application depends on the physical and chemical properties of the substances to be adsorbed. Aside from this material data, other process-related factors also play a role in the adsorption process.

Detailed information on the various fields of application may be found on Donau Carbon Website, please use the links on the right.

Certainly you may also contact our Sales Manager for Activated Carbon.