Activated Carbon: The Numbers

hi

first of no flaming in thread !! you will respond in a adult fashion.

well here goes, there are certain things you need too find about your active carbon, below is what they are and what they do.

Iodine content of the activated carbon will be an indication of how porous it is. The higher the iodine number is, the more porous the active carbon will be.

Molasses number indicates the carbons ability to absorb larger chemical molecules.

Ash is a product that results from activating the carbon containing materials. An overabundance of ash will cause the activated carbon to be ineffective.

so the higher the iodine number the more surface area you have, the molasses indicates the ability too bind large molecules, and too much ash in the mix causes the carbon too not work so well.

most companys dont give this info out on the box ( cheap rubbish carbon). those that do show this info have nothing too hide and give you a good indication on the quality of your product. a cheap carbon may only last a few weeks, where an expensive carbon with good numbers in the above will last longer and filter better.
good quality activated carbon may have been acid washed, this removes some of the ash bettering the quality of the carbon. it has been known too soak activated carbon in R/O water too remove ash and bring the content down too.

Tamzi

Thanks, I subconsciously wanted to know what those numbers meant but never thought to research for myself..

Now I needa find the little slip that gave the specifications of my carbon..

glad i could help with what the numbers mean on your carbon boxes/packs.

the more expensive carbon will have a higher iodine reading and a lower ash reading.

you will also find the more expensive carbon will be roundish type pellets allowing for better airflow and filtration. when doing my fish tanks i always used too wash my carbon with reverse osmosis (R/O) water too remove the fine dust and most of the ash content. made my fliters last that little longer. putting your carbon in a sieve and gentley removing the fine dust will help too, this stops the dust clogging up filters. a good filter will be full of carbon clumps and hardly no dust.

not sure if this is myth. but washing your carbon in normal tap water aint good, it kinda makes carbon work less and clogs it up by removing the contaminates in the house tap water ?

Carbon can also be cleaned and re-used. After rinsing you can reactivate the carbon by cooking it in the oven to remove the organics in the carbon. To do this you need to bring the carbon temp up to 400F and let it sit at that temp for a minimum of one hour. When you are first bringing up the oven to temp place a Pyrex or metal bowl of water in the oven, and let it steam the carbon for 15 min. This will help permeate the carbon with heat and cook any organics, the last 45 min will dry the carbon, so its ready for use.

Silky Shagsalot said:

Carbon can also be cleaned and re-used. After rinsing you can reactivate the carbon by cooking it in the oven to remove the organics in the carbon. To do this you need to bring the carbon temp up to 400F and let it sit at that temp for a minimum of one hour. When you are first bringing up the oven to temp place a Pyrex or metal bowl of water in the oven, and let it steam the carbon for 15 min. This will help permeate the carbon with heat and cook any organics, the last 45 min will dry the carbon, so its ready for use.

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that is so good too know, would you recomend a maximum on how many times you could burn of the organics. or just the once then restock/fill filter ?

Tamzi

Tamzi said:

that is so good too know, would you recomend a maximum on how many times you could burn of the organics. or just the once then restock/fill filter ?Tamzi

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hummm, that is a good question. i would guess you could do it until it didn't take care of odors any longer. it'd be a good (long term) thread to start. you could really provide some valuable information to us all. it would even be a better study if several people did it. the problem is, good filters can last for years. unless you're really (ahem) putting it under a load, lol.

Id recommend people havin extra (virgin) carbon on hand just in case; carbon adsorbs compounds, meaning it chemically reacts with them. Heat shouldnt reverse the reaction. What it could do - burn the compounds to ash - ash that can be rinsed away, exposing new sites that were clogged.

Trial and error, like everything else


Also, as safety precaution, if youre working with large amounts of activated carbon - carbon, when mixed with water, bonds with oxygen, removing it from the air. Ive heard of people (in a related industry) passing out from this effect.

my7k said:

Also, as safety precaution, if youre working with large amounts of activated carbon - carbon, when mixed with water, bonds with oxygen, removing it from the air. Ive heard of people (in a related industry) passing out from this effect.

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shouldn't ever have a problem with this, but I've heard of burning wet carbon causes black lung disease.


after rinsing carbon, how long should it take to dry out completely again? it might take a few days of air blowing through it until it starts to work again.

a good few days too dry out complete. basicly spread it out as much as possible too get better air flow. have too remember its pourus so will take a little longer too dry.

Tamzi