Activated carbon is a traditional and modern man-made material, also known as carbon molecular sieve. Since its inception, the application fields of activated carbon and honeycomb activated carbon have been expanding day by day, and the number of applications has been increasing. Due to different raw material sources, manufacturing methods, appearance shapes and application occasions, there are many types of activated carbon, with approximately thousands of varieties.

Activated carbon classification method: classified by material, classified by shape, classified by use.

Activated carbon is classified by material

1. Coconut shell charcoal

Coconut shell activated carbon is made from high-quality coconut shells from Hainan, Southeast Asia and other places. The raw materials are screened, steam carbonized and refined, and then made through a series of processes such as impurity removal and activation screening. Coconut shell activated carbon is black granular, with developed pore structure, high adsorption capacity, high strength, stable chemical properties and durability.

2. Nutshell charcoal

Nutshell activated carbon is mainly made from fruit shells and sawdust through carbonization, activation and refining. It has the characteristics of large specific surface area, high strength, uniform particle size, developed pore structure, and strong adsorption performance. It can effectively absorb free chlorine, phenol, sulfur, oil, colloid, pesticide residues and other organic pollution in water, as well as the recovery of organic solvents. It is suitable for the pharmaceutical, petrochemical, sugar, beverage, and alcohol purification industries for decolorization, refining, purification, and sewage treatment of organic solvents. Nutshell activated carbon is widely used in the deep purification of drinking water, industrial water and wastewater, as well as in the purification of industrial water quality.

3. Wood charcoal

Wooden charcoal is made of high-quality wood as raw material and is in powder form. It is refined into woody activated carbon through high-temperature carbonization, activation and various processes. It has large specific surface area, high activity, developed micropores, strong decolorization ability, and large pore structure. Features: large pore structure, can effectively absorb colors and other large substances and impurities in liquids.

4. Pillar carbon

Pillar charcoal is made from high-quality sawdust, charcoal, etc. as raw materials, which are crushed, mixed, extruded, shaped, dried, carbonized, and activated. The produced columnar activated carbon has lower ash content, fewer impurities, reasonable pore size distribution, and good adsorption and desorption than traditional coal-based columnar carbon, thus greatly extending the service life of the product (average 2-3 years), and is superior to ordinary coal-based carbon. 1.4 times.

5. Coal-based charcoal

Coal-based charcoal is refined from high-quality anthracite as raw material. Its shapes are columnar, granular, powder, honeycomb, spherical, etc. It has the characteristics of high strength, fast adsorption speed, high adsorption capacity, large specific surface area, and developed pore structure. . Its pore size is between coconut shell activated carbon and wood activated carbon. Mainly used for air purification, exhaust gas purification, high-purity water treatment, wastewater treatment, sewage treatment, etc.

Activated carbon is classified by appearance and shape

1. Powdered activated carbon

Generally, activated carbon that passes more than 90% through an 80-mesh sieve or has a particle size less than 0.175mm is called powdered activated carbon or powdered carbon. Powdered carbon has the advantages of fast adsorption speed and full use of adsorption capacity when used, but it requires a proprietary separation method. With the advancement of separation technology and the emergence of certain application requirements, the particle size of powdered carbon tends to become increasingly refined, reaching micron or even nanometer levels in some cases.

2. Granular activated carbon

Activated carbon with a particle size greater than 0.175mm is usually called granular activated carbon. Amorphous granular activated carbon is generally made from granular raw materials that are carbonized, activated, and then crushed and screened to the required particle size. It can also be made from powdered activated carbon with appropriate binders added and processed appropriately.

3. Cylindrical activated carbon

Cylindrical activated carbon, also known as columnar carbon, is generally made from powdered raw materials and binders, kneaded, extruded, and then carbonized and activated. It can also be extruded with powdered activated carbon and binder. Pillar carbon can be divided into solid and hollow. Hollow columnar carbon is a columnar carbon with one or several regular pores artificially inside.

4. Spherical activated carbon

As the name suggests, spherical activated carbon is a spherical activated carbon. Its preparation method is similar to that of columnar carbon, but it has a balling process. It can also be made from liquid carbonaceous raw materials through spray granulation, oxidation, carbonization, and activation. It can also be made from powdered activated carbon and a binder to form balls. Spherical activated carbon also has solid and hollow spherical activated carbon.

5. Activated carbon in other shapes

In addition to the two major categories of powdered activated carbon and granular activated carbon, there are also other shapes, such as activated carbon fiber, activated carbon fiber blanket, activated carbon cloth, honeycomb activated carbon, activated carbon plate, etc.

Activated carbon is classified by use

1. Coal-based granular activated carbon for solvent recovery

Coal-based granular activated carbon for solvent recovery is made of high-quality coal as raw material and refined by physical activation method. It is black granular, has developed pores, reasonable distribution of three types of pores, and has strong adsorption capacity. It has strong adsorption capacity for most organic solvent vapors within a wide concentration range, and is widely used in the recovery of organic solvents such as benzene, xylene, ether, and tetrachloromethane.

2. Activated carbon for water purification

Activated carbon for water purification is refined from high-quality raw materials (coal, wood, fruit shells, etc.) using physical activation methods. It is black granular (or powdery) and has the advantages of strong adsorption capacity and fast filtration speed. It can effectively adsorb undesirable substances with small and large molecular structures in the liquid phase, and is widely used in the purification of drinking water and the deodorization, purification, and in-depth improvement of industrial wastewater, sewage, and river sewage water quality.

3. Activated carbon for air purification

Activated carbon for air purification is made from high-quality coal and refined through catalytic activation. It is a black columnar particle with strong adsorption capacity and easy desorption. It is widely used in solvent recovery by gas phase adsorption, indoor gas purification, industrial waste gas treatment, flue gas purification and toxic gas protection.

4. Coal-based granular activated carbon for desulfurization

Coal-based granular activated carbon for desulfurization uses high-quality coal as raw material and is refined by physical activation method. It is black granular, has large sulfur capacity, high desulfurization efficiency, good mechanical strength, low penetration resistance and easy regeneration. It is widely used in gas desulfurization in thermal power plants, petrochemical industries, coal gas, etc.

5. Fine desulfurization activated carbon

Fine desulfurization activated carbon uses high-quality columnar activated carbon as a carrier, loaded with special catalysts and catalytic promoters, dried, screened and packaged to become a high-precision gas phase normal temperature fine desulfurizer. It is mainly suitable for synthesizing ammonia, methanol, methane, food carbon dioxide, polypropylene, etc. Refined desulfurization in the production process can also be used for refining dechlorination and desulfurization of coal gas, hydrogen, ammonia and other gases.

6. Granular activated carbon for protection

Granular activated carbon for protection uses high-quality raw materials (coal quality, fruit shells), granular activated carbon refined by physical activation method as a carrier, and catalyst carrier carbon manufactured with process equipment and strictly controlled special process conditions. With reasonable pore size distribution and high wear resistance, it is widely used as catalyst carrier in industries such as synthesis, polyvinyl chloride synthesis, vinyl acetate synthesis, and effective protection against toxic gases such as ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and benzene series.