Active carbon separation

Vacuum Activated carbon Aluminum Activated carbon Separator Activated carbon Aluminum Activated carbon Separator... 

Shmidt, J. L., et al. (1997). Kinetics of adsorption with granular, powdered, and fibrous activated carbon. Separation Science TechnoL 32, 13, 2105-2114. 

Huang CC, Chen CH (2013) Dynamic adsorption model of H2S in a fixed bed of copper impregnated activated carbon. Separation Sci Technol 48 148-155... 

ACs are frequently used as adsorbent materials to remove siloxanes. The chemical backbone of siloxanes is very stable and chemical reaction of siloxane bonds (Si-O-Si) with the surface is unexpected. Therefore, siloxane removal mainly occurs through physical adsorption [58]. Other possible adsorbents are molecular sieves and polymeric pellets [2]. The temperature and humidity of the gas affect the efficiency of activated carbon separation hence before activated carbon filtration the gas should be dried, otherwise the filter quickly saturates with water [21]. 

Abbasi, W.A. Streat, M. (1994) Adsorption of uianiimi from aqueous solutions using activated carbon. Separation Science and Technology, 29,1217-1230. 

See Adsorption, LIQUID separation Aluminum compounds, aluminum oxide (alumina) Carbon, activated carbon Ion exchange Molecular sieves Silicon... 

The most common hydrophobic adsorbents are activated carbon and siUcahte. The latter is of particular interest since the affinity for water is very low indeed the heat of adsorption is even smaller than the latent heat of vaporization (3). It seems clear that the channel stmcture of siUcahte must inhibit the hydrogen bonding between occluded water molecules, thus enhancing the hydrophobic nature of the adsorbent. As a result, siUcahte has some potential as a selective adsorbent for the separation of alcohols and other organics from dilute aqueous solutions (4). 

Physical Properties. Physical properties of importance include particle size, density, volume fraction of intraparticle and extraparticle voids when packed into adsorbent beds, strength, attrition resistance, and dustiness. These properties can be varied intentionally to tailor adsorbents to specific apphcations (See Adsorption liquid separation Aluminum compounds, aluminum oxide (alumna) Carbon, activated carbon Ion exchange Molecular sieves and Silicon compounds, synthetic inorganic silicates). 

Traditional adsorbents such as sihca [7631 -86-9] Si02 activated alumina [1318-23-6] AI2O2 and activated carbon [7440-44-0], C, exhibit large surface areas and micropore volumes. The surface chemical properties of these adsorbents make them potentially useful for separations by molecular class. However, the micropore size distribution is fairly broad for these materials (45). This characteristic makes them unsuitable for use in separations in which steric hindrance can potentially be exploited (see Aluminum compounds, aluminum oxide (ALUMINA) Silicon compounds, synthetic inorganic silicates). 

In another process variant, only 88% of the nitrobenzene is reduced, and the reaction mixture then consists of two phases the precious metal catalyst (palladium on activated carbon) remains in the unreacted nitrobenzene phase. Therefore, phase separation is sufficient as work-up, and the nitrobenzene phase can be recycled direcdy to the next batch. The aqueous sulfuric acid phase contains 4-aminophenol and by-product aniline. After neutralization, the aniline is stripped, and the aminophenol is obtained by crystallization after the aqueous phase is purified with activated carbon (53). 

Chemical precipitation Chemical oxidation/re duction Air and/or steam stripping Activated carbon adsorption Resin adsorption Ion exchange Ultrafiltra-tion and/or reverse osmosis Flo atation / ph ase separation... 

Batch-stirred vessels are most often used in treating material with powdered activated carbon (72). The type of carbon, contact time, and amount of carbon vary with the desired degree of purification. The efficiency of activated carbon may be improved by applying continuous, countercurrent carbon—Hquid flow with multiple stages (Fig. 3). Carbon is separated from the Hquid at each stage by settling or filtration. Filter aids such as diatomaceous earth are sometimes used to improve filtration. 

Process Stream Separations. Differences in adsorptivity between gases provides a means for separating components in industrial process gas streams. Activated carbon in fixed beds has been used to separate aromatic compounds from lighter vapors in petroleum refining process streams (105) and to recover gasoline components from natural and manufactured gas (106,107). 

Cost. The catalytically active component(s) in many supported catalysts are expensive metals. By using a catalyst in which the active component is but a very small fraction of the weight of the total catalyst, lower costs can be achieved. As an example, hydrogenation of an aromatic nucleus requires the use of rhenium, rhodium, or mthenium. This can be accomplished with as fittie as 0.5 wt % of the metal finely dispersed on alumina or activated carbon. Furthermore, it is almost always easier to recover the metal from a spent supported catalyst bed than to attempt to separate a finely divided metal from a liquid product stream. If recovery is efficient, the actual cost of the catalyst is the time value of the cost of the metal less processing expenses, assuming a nondeclining market value for the metal. Precious metals used in catalytic processes are often leased. 

Nickel plating solutions may contain excess iron and unknown organic contaminants. Iron is removed by peroxide oxidation, precipitation at a pH of about 5, then filtered out. The more complex, less water-soluble organic contaminants along with some trace metals are removed with activated carbon treatments in separate treatment tanks. About 5 g/L of plating-grade activated carbon is mixed in the plating solution for at least 1—2 hours, usually at warmer temperatures. 

---