CARBOCHEM is a privately held, U.S. Corporation based in Philadelphia. The business was established in 1981 to market industrial chemicals around the world with special emphasis on Activated Carbon.
Carbochem produces a full line of activated carbon with ANSI/NSF Standard 61 and ISO 9002 certification. The activated carbon products are based on bituminous coal, coconut shells and wood and are available in granular, powder and extruded forms.
Carbochem has developed proprietary grades of activated carbon for PSA applications, decolorizing, solvent recovery and the removal of taste & odor, Geosmin, MIB, MTBE and hydrocarbons.
Carbochem ® activated carbons are designed with a high surface area and wide range of pore size distribution from micropore to macropore. Major markets include water treatment, food & beverage, catalysts, air purification, pigments and pollution control.
Carbochem produces a full line of activated carbon (pellets, granular, & powder) based on coal, wood and coconut shells with special emphasis on water treatment, food & beverage, chemical processing and pollution control. CARBOCHEM® activated carbon has been certified for ASNI/NSF Standard 61 and ISO 9002 and satisfies the requirements of the Food Chemical Codex. Carbochem is committed to supplying high quality products with favorable pricing, guaranteeing customer satisfaction and providing technical support for system design.
The History of Activated Carbon
Activated Carbon was first known to treat water over 2000 years ago. However, it was first produced commercially at the beginning of the 20th century and was only available in powder form. Initially activated carbon was mainly used to decolorize sugar and then from 1930 for water treatment to remove taste and odor. Granular activated carbon was first developed as a consequence of WWI for gas masks and has been used subsequently for water treatment, solvent recovery and air purification. The unique structure of activated carbon produces a very large surface area: 1 lb of granular activated carbon typically provides a surface area of 125 acres (1 Kg =1,000,000 sq. m.). Activated carbon can be produced from a variety of carbonaceous raw material, the primary ones being bituminous coal, coconut shells, wood and lignite. The intrinsic properties of the activated carbon are dependent on the raw material source. The activated carbon surface is non-polar which results in an affinity for non-polar adsorbates such as organics. Adsorption is a surface phenomenom in which an adsorbate is held onto the surface of the activated carbon by Van der Waal`s forces and saturation is represented by an equilibrium point. These forces are physical in nature, which means that the process is reversible (using heat, pressure, etc.) Activated carbon is also capable of chemisorption, whereby a chemical reaction occurs at the carbon interface, changing the state of the adsorbate (dechlorination is an example of a chemisorption process).
