WATER TREATMENT by

ACTIVATED CARBON
Prepared by : GROUP II
Doruk DEMİRCİOĞLU
Onur PEŞMAN
Ahmet YERSU
Submitted to : Levent BALLİCE

For the course : INORGANIC TECHNOLOGY

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

What the “Active
“ Carbon” is made up of?

• Petroleum coke
• Bone
• Lignite
• Wood products
• Coconut or peanut shells
• And every carbon source
Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006
What the “Active
“ Carbon” is used for?

• Cigarette Filter
• Stomach Healer
• Air Filter
• Aquarium Filter
• Tap Water Treatment
• And every adsorption operations
Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006
 What the “Active
“ Carbon” is anyway?
Activated carbon is a crude form of graphite. It differs from
graphite by having a random imperfect structure (like a sponge)
which is highly porous over a broad range of pore sizes from
visible cracks and crevices to molecular dimensions.
The graphite structure gives the carbon its very large surface
area which allows it to adsorb a wide range of compounds.
AC adsorption is combination of
chemical and physical absorption

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

 Deeper look at the “Active
“ Carbon”

Active carbon can have a surface of

greater than 1000m²/g.
This means 5g of activated carbon can
have the surface area of a football field

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

 How do we cast the “Active Carbon”?
Steam

1300 oC
(No air)

Casting method, raw material and conditions define the pore size, pore size
distribution, surface area, density and hardness of the AC. Characteristics of the
contaminant (concentration, tendency of chemical to leave the water, solubility
of the contaminant and contaminant attraction to the carbon surface) define AC

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

How do we regenerate the “AC”?
Chemical Reactivation

800 oC

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

 What “Active Carbon” Forms* are Used?
Granular Activated Carbon (GAC)
-irregular shaped particles with sizes ranging from 0.2 to 5 mm.
-used in both liquid and gas phase applications.

Powder Activated Carbon (PAC)

-pulverized carbon with a size predominantly less than 0.18mm.
-used in liquid phase applications and for flue gas treatment.

Pelleted Activated Carbon

-extruded and cylindrical shaped with diameters from 0.8 to 5 mm.
-used for gas phase applications because of their low pressure drop,
high mechanical strength and low dust content.

Activated Carbon Cloth

-Cloth shaped and textile type properties
-used for medical, industrial and military purposes

*These are the granules filling the adsorption device

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

 What is “Adsorption”?
Adsorption is the process in which matter is extracted from
one phase & concentrated at the surface of a second phase.
This is a surface phenomenon as opposed to absorption
where matter changes solution phase, e.g. gas transfer.
Adsorption is caused by London Dispersion Forces,
a type of Van der Waals Force which exists between
molecules. The force acts in a similar way to
gravitational forces between planets.

London Dispersion Forces are extremely short ranged and therefore sensitive to the
distance between the carbon surface and the adsorbate molecule. LDF are also
additive (meaning the adsorption force is sum of all interactions between all the
atoms). The short range and additive nature of these forces results in activated
carbon having strongest physical adsorption forces of any material known on earth.

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

“Adsorption” vs “Absorption” !

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

Factors Improve Adsoption Quality

High molecular weight

High number of functional groups. (double bonds, halogens)
High polarisability of the solute. (electron clouds)
Low pH of solute
Low adsorption temperature
Reducing the presence of other solutes.
Low mesh sizes
Low flowrate (high retention times)

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

Industrial “AC
“ ” Purification Systems

Shematics for industrial

waste water purification

Shematics for ground

water purification

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

Industrial “AC
“ ” Purification Systems

Shematics for process water treatment

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

Industrial “AC
“ ” Purification Systems

Shematics for municipal drinking water purification

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

 Indoor “AC
“ ” Purification Systems

Pour-Through Foucet-Mounted High Volume Point of Entry

POU (Point-of-Use) type POE (Point-of-Entry) type

Low cost Higher cost

Low flowrates (low retention time) Higher flowrates (higher retention time)

Suitable for healtier water resources Suitable for most of the water resources

Removes taste and odour Removes more taste and odour

Low Iodine Number High Iodine Number

Iodine Number Adsorption quality index

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

“AC” vs other treatment methods I
Energy Consumption

Electrodialysis
Reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis
Electrodialysis
Ion exchange
Activated carbon 0.65 kWh/m3
TDS-Total Diffused Solids
Ultrafiltration
Sea water (MoreSeawater
than 30000)
Microfiltration
1,400
1400 Total Diffused TDS
Solids

0 2 4 6 8 10
kWh/m3

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

“AC” vs other treatment methods II
Unit cost
CO2 emissions for a 20,000 m3/d plant (t/yr)
0 20000 40000 60000 80000

Multi-stage distillation
Vapour compression
Multiple effect distillation
Electrodialysis
Reverse osmosis
Reverse osmosis
Electrodialysis
Ion exchange
Activated carbon
Ultrafiltration Sea water
Microfiltration
1400 Total Diffused Solids

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

Drinking Water Standards achieved by “AC
“ ”

EPA National Drinking Water Standards

Water Quality Association

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006

Withdraws of “AC
“ ” Purification Systems

Suitable only to reduce the concentration of the following compounds;

Organic compounds (Pesticides, Benzene, VOC, hydrocarbons)
Chlorine
Lead
Mercury
Radon
Harmless taste, odour and color compounds (mostly organics)
Not suitable for hardness, microbial and many other contaminations
Accumulation of adsorbed organic compounds may create bacterias

AC systems are OK as long as there is no system that provide

purification of every variety of contaminant in a single device.
In addition, AC systems are relatively cheaper.

Ege University Department of Chemical Engineering, 2006