ABSTRACT
Activated carbons are excellent and versatile adsorbents. Their important applications relate to their use in the adsorptive removal of color, odor, taste, and other undesirable organic and inorganic impurities from drinking waters; in the treatment of urban ground and industrial waste water; solvent recovery; air purification in inhabited spaces such as restaurants, food processing, and chemical industries; for the removal of color from various types of sugar syrups, oils, and fats; in the purification of many chemical, food, and pharmaceutical products; in respirators for work under hostile environments; and in a variety of other gas-phase applications. They are increasingly being used in the field of hydrometallurgy for the recovery of gold, silver, and other inorganics, and as catalytic and catalyst supports. Their use in medicine and health applications to combat certain types of bacterial ailment and for the removal of certain toxins is well known. These applications of activated carbon are of interest to most economic sectors and concern areas as diverse as the food, pharmaceutical, chemical, petroleum, mining, nuclear, automobile, and vacuum industries. Nearly 80% of the total activated carbon is consumed for liquid-phase applications, where both the granulated and powdered forms of active carbon are used. For
gas-phase
applications, granulated carbon is usually the choice. However, with the commercial production of fibrous activated carbons in the form of fibers and fabric, these materials may be in preference, especially for water treatment processes, because they produce low hydrodynamic resistance to flow and can easily be molded into any shape in the adsorption equipment.
