Applying Activated Carbon for A Better Environment

This article was co-authored by:

Alex Ebben
Process and Sales Engineer

Carrie Carlson
Technical Writer

Activated carbon is a powerful adsorbent, widely used across a host of industries to remove contaminants or undesirable components from liquids and gases.

It is especially valuable in pollution control and recovery efforts, with recent market reports predicting a healthy outlook, largely based around demand from environmental applications.

Activated Carbon in Environmental Applications

Produced from carbon-rich, organic materials such as coal, coconut shells, wood, and more, activated carbon’s superior performance as an adsorbent lends itself to a growing list of applications in environmental sustainability and recovery settings.

The use of this material is becoming increasingly popular, as environmental regulations continue to become more stringent.

Listed here are some of the key environmental applications in which activated carbon is employed.

Activated Carbon in Air Purification

Activated carbon is capable of adsorbing undesirable components from gases, which makes it incredibly valuable in air quality control and purification. While it is used in home and office environments to improve air quality, its most notable air purification role is in the treatment of flue gas.

Flue gas, or the exhaust gases exiting industrial process settings that utilize incinerators, smelters, and the like, contains harmful pollutants in the form of heavy metals, furans, and dioxins, which are not always removed through standard exhaust gas treatment methods. In order to effectively remove these harmful materials, additional methods are employed.

Mercury Removal by Activated Carbon Injection
Activated Carbon Injection, or ACI has been found to be an effective technology for removing these harmful components from exhaust gases. This is particularly evident in fossil-fueled power plants where activated carbon injection is used to remove mercury from exhaust gas. Powdered activated carbon (PAC) is injected into the flue gas duct, where it goes on to adsorb the mercury from the gas and is then collected as particulate matter.

Through activated carbon injection, companies are able to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) put in place by the EPA, which regulate the amount of mercury and other pollutants that can be released into the atmosphere by oil- and coal-fueled power plants.

In addition to flue gas treatment, activated carbon can also be used in large-scale odor neutralizing applications.

Activated Carbon in Water Purification

In addition to in-home water filters, activated carbon is widely used in large-scale water purification endeavors.

Municipal and Industrial Wastewater Treatment
Activated carbon is a critical tool in upholding water quality in both municipal and industrial settings.

In municipal settings, it is utilized in wastewater treatment facilities to remove a number of soluble organics as well as some inorganic compounds and heavy metals after initial treatment.

In industrial settings, activated carbon is employed to remove a host of undesirable materials from a variety of wastewater streams.

In both settings, activated carbon is the catalyst for preventing harmful organic or inorganic components from ending up in surface or drinking water.

Groundwater Remediation
In addition to municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, activated carbon is also widely used in groundwater remediation projects to remove volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) from contaminated groundwater, as well as in the treatment of leachate from landfills.

Both granular activated carbons (GACs) and powdered activated carbons (PACs) are used in the water purification sector.

Activated Carbon Regeneration (Reactivation)

One of the major advantages to using activated carbon is that it can be regenerated/reactivated, meaning the adsorbed components can be desorbed from the activated carbon, yielding fresh activated carbon that can be reused again.

While not all activated carbons are regenerated, those that are not only offer economic benefits, but are also considered more environmentally friendly than the production and use of virgin activated carbon. Regeneration is typically carried out in a rotary kiln.

Activated carbon is an invaluable tool in environmental sustainability and recovery applications. As the world continues to put a greater emphasis on sustainability, activated carbon is likely to play an increasing role. It is even showing promise in soil remediation applications, with some companies already producing carbon products tailored to this niche.

FEECO provides custom rotary kilns for the production and regeneration of activated carbon. For more information on our advanced thermal processing systems, contact us today!

About the Authors . . .


Alex Ebben is a Process Sales Engineer and thermal processing expert.

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Carrie Carlson is a technical writer and visual designer.

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