How Does Activated Carbon Work?

How Does Activated Carbon Work?

This article comes from the Explainer.com

Battling the Benzene

An explosion at a Chinese chemical plant two weeks ago spilled a 50-mile slick of benzene into the Songhua River, which provides drinking water for the city of Harbin. After the accident, the Chinese government made plans to ship 1,000 tons of activated carbon to the city’s water treatment facilities and to dump more carbon straight into the river. Russian authorities—who expect the pollution to reach the city of Khabarovsk within the next few weeks—are shipping 50 tons of activated carbon to local treatment plants. How can activated carbon clean up a spill?

Through adsorption. Carbon has a natural affinity for organic pollutants like benzene, which bind to its surface. If you “activate” carbon—by steaming it at 1,800 degrees, for example—it forms little pores and pockets that increase its surface area. (It’s said that a teaspoon of activated carbon has the area of a football field.) Pesticides, chloroform, and other contaminants slide into the holes of this honeycomb and hold fast.

Municipal water treatment plants generally use activated carbon in two ways. They either run water through carbon filters—a bit like the ones you might have on your faucet or in your Brita—or they pass it over a bed of carbon. Either way, no carbon remains in the water once it’s been thoroughly treated. (The carbon that the Chinese government dumped directly in the river was likely intended to pick up benzene from the surface of the slick; in a case like this, carbon is usually skimmed off the surface once it’s adsorbed as much as it can.) How much pollution gets sucked up by the carbon depends on a number of factors, including the temperature and acidity of the water, the type and amount of pollution, and the amount of time the water spends in contact with the carbon.

The kind of carbon you use also makes a difference. Some manufacturers produce as many as 150 types of activated carbon, which differ in characteristics like density and pore size. (It also comes in powdered, granulated, and pellet forms.) Which kind you use depends on what you’re using it for: A carbon with large holes would be best at picking up heavy organic chemicals, while smaller pores would catch the lighter pollutants. Different types of carbon can be activated in different ways or they can come from different source materials. Some are made from coal, wood, or sawdust, while others are made from peach pits, olive pits, or coconut shells. Manufacturers rate their products according to how much they can adsorb. The “molasses number,” for example, tells you how well they adsorb the dark color from a mixture of water and molasses.

The water treatment plants in China and Russia will need as much carbon as they can get to soak up all the benzene on the river. Activated carbon can only be used until its pores fill up—which is why you have to change the filter in your Brita from time to time. It could take 1,000 tons of carbon to adsorb the 100 tons of benzene that spilled two weeks ago.

Click here for more information about Sauveur Noir activated Charcoal.

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Why you Want to Read "Runaway Virgin"

"Runaway Virgin" is the exciting story of a young woman, Severina Ovicula, who lived 1,800 years ago, during the time of Imperial Rome. A priestess of Rome's state religion, she was one of the six Vestal Virgins. The Vestals were an order dedicated to the spiritual protection of Rome through its continual devotion to the goddess Vesta.

The Vestal Virgins were celebrities in Rome. However, what good is celebrity if you cannot find love and happiness. Not to mention intimacy which for the Vestals was taboo. Severina, feeling trapped and hopeless, felt something had to give, and it did.

The plot will leave you guessing from one chapter to the next as the pages to this story turn themselves. "Runaway Virgin" is a thrilling and entertaining story. If you know nothing about Roman culture, that will change between the covers of this well-researched book. Profound spiritual reflections are woven into the narrative adding an extra layer of interest to the story. This is a beautiful tale of love, devotion to duty, and family. You will be entertained.

JFK 50 Quotes One Meaning

A memorial to the mind of a great man.

by Lester Patterson

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Introduction

A collection of fifty of the most profound quotes attributed to President John F. Kennedy. The 35th U.S. president in his own words, and their meaning and impact on the world. From his inauguration to his last days in office.

Runaway Virgin

A Historic Novel
  by Lester Patterson

Available on amazon kindle click here to download

Introduction

"Runaway Virgin" is the story of a young woman, Severina Ovicula, who lived 1,800 years ago, during the time of Imperial Rome (210 AD). She was a priestess of the Temple of Vesta; one of the six Vestal Virgins. She was more a woman of today than of her own time. She was a celebrity in Rome by virtue of her title. But what is the use of celebrity if you can't find love. Not to mention intimacy which for her was forbidden. Something had to give, and it does. 

The plot will leave you guessing from one chapter to the next as the pages in this story turn themselves. You are likely to be finished in one or two sittings. This novella is written to entertain and thrill. The Romans were an interesting society. If you know nothing about Roman civilization that will change between the covers of this book. There are some profound spiritual messages woven into the narrative as well. Although they are delivered in a low-key way. A beautiful tale of love, devotion to duty, and family.