Best water treatment Process – Activated Carbon.

Activated carbon filtration media used in a water purification system best water treatment. You may have heard of activated carbon, but what is it and how is it used in water and wastewater treatment? Put simply, activated carbon is charcoal that has been treated to increase its adsorptive properties.

Centuries ago, the ancient Hindus and Egyptians used carbon for drinking water filtration. Historians have been hard pressed to put a date its first use, since it also was commonly used as a medical treatment and for oil purification.

Activated carbon was first generated on an industrial scale in the early 19th century for sugar production. It was then adopted for large-scale water treatment in England, and its use for drinking water treatment soon followed in the United States. Best water treatment remains the largest market for activated carbon.

Activated carbon is made from a number of materials, including lignite and bituminous coal, as well as charred wood or coconut shells. The activation of carbon occurs at high heat, usually in the presence of steam, carbon dioxide, or air. This creates a structure that is extremely porous, giving it a very large surface area of between 500 and 1,500 square meters per gram.

Filtration Theory for best water treatment

For thousands of years filtration has been used to reduce the level of dirt, rust, suspended matter and other impurities from water. This is achieved by passing the dirty input water (influent) through a filter media. As the water passes through the media, the impurities are held in the filter media material. Depending on the impurity impurities and the media, several different physical and chemical mechanisms are active in removing are responsible for the removal of impurities from the water. Some of the equipment used to employ these mechanisms has have changed dramatically over time.

The fundamental physical and chemical mechanisms that occur during filtration have become better understood over the years. These advances have allowed best water treatment specialists to optimize the removal of impurities from the water. Filtration systems remove particulate matter and, because of the large surface area of filter media, they also can be used to drive chemical reactions that result in the removal of several contaminants.

Use of Activated Carbon Filter for best water treatment– Tertiary Stage

Activated carbon filter process basically absorbs unwanted contaminants from waste-water. Activated carbon is initially treated with oxygen. This helps the charcoal open up millions of tiny pores. Activated carbon is highly effective when it comes to absorption of contaminants from water.

Filtration process includes activated carbon to remove the residual contaminants from sewage waste. Carbon absorbs micropollutants such as chlorine, methane, organic compounds, and even the taste and odor from water.

Activated carbon filter removes chlorine from waste-water. It has a large surface area which makes it highly effective to absorb contaminants from waste-water. Chlorine removal process fills the wide pores of the carbon. Hence, impurities are removed. Activated carbon needs replacement as its capacity to work reduces gradually. This process involves a low operating cost.

Adsorption Principles:

“Adsorption” is one of the most frequently used but least understood terms in discussions of filtration. Adsorption refers to the removal of an impurity from a liquid to the surface of a solid. A water-born, suspended particle adheres to a solid surface when adsorption occurs. Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions, or molecules from a gas, liquid, or solid to a surface. In the case of water filtration, the suspended solid particles present in liquid will adhere to the media solid surface.

Adsorption differs from occlusion in that occluded particles are removed from a process flow because they are, where occlusion is the result of particles being too large to pass through a physical restriction in the media. In most cases, adsorbed particles are affected by weak chemical interactions that allow them to adhere to the surface of a solid. Adsorbed particles become attached to the surface of a given media, becoming a film of weakly held part of the solid. The impurity molecules are held within the carbon’s internal pore structure by electrostatic attraction (Van der Waals forces) also known as Chemisorption.

In most applications activated carbon removes impurities from fluids, vapours or gas by adsorption., which is a surface phenomenon that results in the accumulation of molecules within the internal pores of an activated carbon. This occurs in pores slightly larger than the molecules that are being adsorbed, which is why it is very important to match the pore size of the activated carbon media with the molecules particles you are trying to adsorb. AES has a vast experience in selecting the right carbon media for your application.

Forms of Activated Carbon

There are several forms of commercially-available activated carbon for a range of uses:

Granular activated carbon is used for water and wastebest water treatment processes.

Powdered activated carbon is commonly used to treat specific trace synthetic chemicals, or in events such as chemical spills or algal blooms.

Extruded activated carbon is a material produced from powdered activated carbon in block form, also used for dechlorination and chemical removal.

Carbon filter may be used in reverse osmosis or ion exchange units to help protect the membrane or resin from chlorine damage.

Benefits of Using Activated Carbon Filter

Efficiency to absorb contaminants goes as high as 90%

This filtration process is easy to operate

Low maintenance

Effectively removes chlorine, organics, bad taste, and odor

Cost effective – reduced installation cost

Operating costs – limited to filter replacement

Reliable and efficient

Best to remove large organic molecules

Can be used in households as well as at waste-best water treatment plants

Materials used here are easily available

Activated carbon filter process removes pollutants from water using the absorption process. It is a relatively low-cost operation which is highly effective in removing unwanted contaminants from waste-water. The best part of the process is that it can be produced easily anywhere in the world with only one drawback – filter wears out fast and needs replacement on a regular basis.