How to choose activated carbon for your application?

Carbon Shape and System Design

For general adsorption system designs including Carbon in Leach (CIL) and Carbon in Pulp (CIP) systems granular carbons, column system for finer sizes and pellet activated carbons (1mm to 4mm) are used in fixed or moving bed filters. For activated carbon powders most suitable applications include flotation systems and batch process where used carbon is removed by filtration after an appropriate contact time.granular activated carbon

Particle size and adsorption kinetics

Finer sizes accelerate diffusion rate of the adsorbates into the pores, hence improves kinetics, but wettability/filtration on powders, pressure drop or screening problems with granules, are limiting factors. Therefore particle size range and distribution selection is a compromise.

However, with cylindrical pellets the carbon has the advantage of better bed packing which eliminates some of the shortfall of granular carbon such as pressure drops and screening problems, but lesser hardness and greater cost compared to irregular carbons may be limiting factor.

Pore Sizes distribution and other parameters

In relation to the molecular size range of target adsorbates, the pore size distribution requirement changes. In gold extraction a carbon with a high micropore distribution would facilitate effective and efficient adsorption of gold-cyanide complexes. If you are targeting removal of large colored molecules and contaminant species, a carbon with greater distribution of meso and macro pores would be suitable.

The required adsorption capacity and purity of the activated carbon would depend on the end application. The hardness of the carbon needs also to be brought in early into the comparative studies. Such an approach has resulted in benefits to the consumer, increased service life, greater filter efficiencies, fewer regeneration cycles, economy on hardware costs through reduced filter sizes and variability of reactivation facilities.

Plant Trials

The selection steps must necessarily be followed by actual plant trials or pilot tests stimulating all of the parameters of the industrial process, before purchase decisions are made.

Other Influences on Carbon Properties

Apart from the physical properties of pores, surface oxygen groups and the nonpolar nature of the surface frequently influence the adsorptive kinetics and capacity of a carbon. In addition to boost the adsorption efficiency for selected applications certain surface modifications, surface engineering and impregnations are carried out.activated carbon price