Activated carbon is an adsorption medium and its use is

considered an advanced technique for meeting many water

quality demands. Treatment with activated carbon is not new and
has in fact been used for thousands of years to improve the
quality of drinking water.

It has been used in various forms (powdered and granular)
around the globe in a multi-objective manner, removing
heterogeneous compounds that produce color and are precursors
to contaminants upon disinfection, trace organic and inorganic
contaminants, and taste-and-odor compounds.

Activated carbon also has the flexibility to be operated in both
adsorption and biological modes. In the latter, it provides a large
surface area for organisms to populate and biologically degrade
contaminants.


Each particle/granule of carbon provides a large surface
area/pore structure, allowing contaminants the maximum
possible exposure to the active sites within the filter media. One
pound (450 g) of activated carbon contains a surface area of
approximately 100 acres (40 Hectares).

Activated carbon works via a process called adsorption, whereby
pollutant molecules in the fluid to be treated are trapped inside
the pore structure of the carbon substrate. Carbon filtering is
commonly used for water purification, in air purifiers and
industrial gas processing.

Carbon filters have been used for several hundred years and are
considered one of the oldest means of water purification.
Historians have shown evidence that carbon filtration may have
been used in ancient Egyptian cultures for medical purposes and
as a purifying agent .

the first recorded use of a carbon filter to purify potable water
on a large scale occurred in 19th century England.

Currently, carbon filters are used in individual homes as point-of-
use water filters ,groundwater remediation ,landfill leachate,
industrial wastewater and, occasionally, in municipal water
treatment facilities. They are also used as pre-treatment devices
for reverse osmosis systems and as specialized filters designed to
remove chlorine-resistant cysts, such as Giardia and
cryptosporidium .


Carbon filters are most effective at removing chlorine, sediment,
volatile organic compounds (VOCs), taste and odor from water.
They are not effective at removing minerals, salts, and dissolved
inorganic compounds.

Typical particle sizes that can be removed by carbon filters range
from 0.5 to 50m. The particle size will be used as part of the
filter description. The efficacy of a carbon filter is also based
upon the flow rate regulation. When the water is allowed to flow
through the filter at a slower rate, the contaminants are exposed
to the filter media for a longer amount of time.


Surface area Particle
Porosity (m2/g) density(kg/m3) GAC PAC GAC PAC
0.50.8 5001,200 600850 300650 200750 0.63.0 0.010.03
Apparent dry density Average particle diameter
(kg/m3) (mm)
Activated carbon is used in water treatment plants in several
ways. Activated carbon may be applied as
1. powdered activated carbon (PAC), which is held in suspension
through the treatment process until the removal point.
2. granular activated carbon (GAC), which is placed in a fixed-bed
reactor. GAC can be applied as a post filter contactor, a filter
adsorber.

GAC accumulates attached biomass, and after long periods,
biotreatment is the primary treatment mechanism instead of
adsorption. This mode of operation is often called biologically
enhanced activated carbon (BAC). Finally, GAC can also be
applied in the vapor phase to remove volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) following air stripping.
Factors effecting the rate of removal :

1. The amount of AC in a filter is one of the most important
characteristics affecting the amount and rate of pollutant
removal. More carbon in a cartridge means more capacity for
chemical removal, resulting in longer cartridge lifetime. This
means fewer cartridge changes and less chance of drinking
contaminated water.

2. Particle size will also affect the rate of removal; smaller AC
particles generally show higher adsorption rates.

3. interaction with other chemicals, mixing, and contact time.

Home AC treatment systems are quite simple. The AC is normally
packaged in filter cartridges that are inserted into the purification
device. Water needing treatment passes through the cartridge,
contacting the AC on its way to the faucet.
Rust, scale, sand or other sediments can clog any AC
filter. A solution to this problem is to place foam or
cotton filters (often called sediment or fiber filters)
between the cartridge and incoming water. When
sediment filters become clogged, they need to be
replaced or they will cause water pressure to drop.




Physical and chemical characteristics of water affect AC filter
performance.

The acidity and temperature can be important. Greater acidity
and lower water temperatures tend to improve the performance
of AC filters.
An AC filter must be deep enough so that the pollutants
will adsorb to the AC in the time it takes the water to
move through the filter. The appropriate filter depth
depends on the flow rate of water through the filter.
The slower the flow rate, the better the removal. The
poor performance of some devices is probably due to
improper filter depth.
AC filters have a limited lifetime. Eventually, the surface
of the AC will be saturated with adsorbed pollutants
and no further purification will occur. This is called
breakthrough --- the pollutants have broken through
the filter to emerge in the treated water. When this
occurs, it is possible that the contaminant
concentrations in the treated water will be even
higher than those in the untreated water. At this time,
the cartridge needs to be replaced. Knowing when
breakthrough will occur and thus when to replace the
cartridge is a major problem with AC treatment
1. http://www.msue.msu.edu.
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/
3. Activated Carbon Solutions for Improving
Water Quality, Zaid K. Chowdhury,
R. Scott Summers, Garret P. Westerhoff,Brian
J. Leto, Kirk O. Nowack, Christopher J.
Corwin.