Activated Carbon is any product with high carbon content with millions of pores making its surface area bigger than a football field — in just a single gram of carbon. It is made by the physical activation of steam or the chemical activation of dehydrating agents like phosphoric acid or KOH.
Wood, Coal, Coconut shells, Bagasse, Tea Bags, Pine Needles, Pine Cones, Corn Cobs — waste of all these or no residual value can all be converted to activated carbon or activated charcoal. While today’s carbon industry primarily makes this product from raw materials with higher carbon content for better quality and yield, if we are to truly fight the war and prevent our planet Earth from degrading we need to finally manufacture from the tons of waste that is generated. Producing activated carbon creates air and water emissions but the final product can absorb much more contaminants that pollute our environment.
The specialized surface and pore structure via Van der Waals forces attach these contaminants and purify the environment around it. Air, Water, Mercury removal, War gases, Oil — this carbon is a wonder product.
As mentioned earlier we need to change the base from Wood, Coconut, and Coal to waste carbon-containing materials. Beyond that, the method of activation and washing needs to improve to reduce emissions.
The activated carbon industry is growing precisely because the world’s environmental challenges are growing. As regulations tighten, industries across sectors — from water treatment to pharmaceuticals to mining — are turning to activated carbon as a proven, scalable solution for purification and contamination control.