activated charcoal

Activated Carbon
Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, activated coal, or carbo activatus, is a form of carbon processed to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions.
Activated is sometimes substituted with active. Due to its high degree of microporosity, just one gram of activated carbon has a surface area in excess of 500 m2(5,400 sq ft), as determined by gas adsorption.
An activation level sufficient for useful application may be attained solely from high surface area; however, further chemical treatment often enhances adsorption properties. Activated carbon is usually derived from charcoal and, increasingly, high- porosity biochar. Industrial application One major industrial application involves use of activated carbon in the metal finishing field. It is very widely employed for purification of electroplating solutions. For example, it is a main purification technique for removing organic impurities from bright nickel plating solutions. A variety of organic chemicals are added to plating solutions for improving their deposit qualities and for enhancing properties like brightness, smoothness, ductility, etc. Due to passage of direct current and electrolytic reactions of anodic oxidation and cathodic reduction, organic additives generate unwanted breakdown products in solution. Their excessive build up can adversely affect the plating quality and physical properties of deposited metal. Activated carbon treatment removes such impurities and restores plating performance to the desired level. Activated carbon is used to treat poisonings and overdoses following oral ingestion. It is not effective for a number of poisonings including strong acids or alkali, cyanide, iron, lithium, arsenic, me thanol, ethanol or ethylene glycol.
Tablets or capsules of activated carbon are used in many countries as an over-the-counter drug to treat diarrhea, indigestion, and flatulence.


activated charcoal