Production of Activated Carbon

Activated carbon is defined as a carbonaceous material with a large internal surface area and highly
developed porous structure resulting from the processing of raw materials under high temperature reactions.
It is composed of 87% to 97% carbon but also contains other elements depending on the processing method
used and raw material it is derived from. Activated carbon boasts an impressive pore structure that causes it
to have a very high surface area on which to capture and hold materials, and can be produced from a number
of carbon-rich organic materials, including coconut shell, peat, hard and soft wood, lignite coal,
bituminous coal, olive pits and various carbonaceous specialty materials.

The ability to adsorb components from a liquid or gas lends itself to thousands of applications across
a multitude of industries, so much so, in fact, that it would likely be easier to list applications in which activated
carbon is not used. The primary uses for activated carbon are :

Water Purification
Activated carbon can be used to pull contaminants from water, effluent or drinking, an invaluable tool
in helping to protect the Earth’s most precious resource. Water purification has a number of sub-applications,
including the treatment of municipal wastewater, in-home water filters, treatment of water from industrial
processing sites, groundwater remediation, and more.
Air Purification
Similarly, activated carbon can be used in the treatment of air. This includes applications in face
masks, in-home purification systems, odor reduction/removal, and the removal of harmful pollutants from flue
gases at industrial processing sites.
Metals Recovery
Activated carbon is a valuable tool in the recovery of precious metals such as gold and silver.
Food & Beverage
Activated carbon is widely used throughout the food and beverage industry to accomplish a number
of objectives. This includes decaffeination, removal of undesirable components such as odor, taste, or color,
and more.
Medicinal
Activated carbon can be used to treat a variety of ailments and poisonings.
Process 1: Production of Activated Carbons from Waste Tires

The disposal of tires represents a major environmental issue throughout the world, the same
properties that make them desirable as tires, most notably durability, also make their disposal and
reprocessing difficult, they are almost immune to biological degradation. The world transportation system is
dominated by cars, but there seems to be no effective way to recycle or respond to these tires.For many
years, most tire and solid waste professionals agree that a serious waste tire problem exists (Clark et al.,
1993).

As estimated, 200,000 tons of used tires is generated in the Philippines every year and to help
reduce mounting environmental problems and health risks due to improper disposal, used tires can only be
recapped up to three times before motorists discard them. Currently, there is no system in place to ensure
proper disposal of tires save for a few enterprising junk shop operators who turn them into rubber plant pots
for sale. Virtually all discarded tires find their way to the dump sites, especially in Payatas, where they
commonly become breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitoes.

The Department of Health noted that tire stockpiles increase public health risk of infestation with
mosquito-carrying-dengue. Mosquitoes primarily breed in stagnant water that collects inside the tires. Tire
stockpiles provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes, this in turn, causing serious disease and affecting
human health. Another major threat to public health and the environment is tire fires. Huge, thick clouds of
black smoke and oily residue from burning tires can cause air contamination and even severe breathing
discomfort to some. Due to the high cost of legal disposal for tires, illegal dumping may increase. Disposal of
tires is becoming more expensive, while this trend is likely to continue as landfill space becomes scarcer.
Tires take up landfill space. Whole tires are banned from many landfills or are charged higher tipping fees
than other waste materials; even if they are carefully buried to prevent them from rising, they are very bulky.
Shredded tires take up less space and shredding costs money, but it is the space that could be saved if the
tires were utilized as a raw material for products.
Process Description

The scrap tire pyrolysis and activation process design is based on 30 tonnes per day with 24 h per
operating workday, and the total number of working days per year is assumed to be 330. The process flow
diagram of the entire production process is shown in Figure 1.

Whole passenger tires are sliced on both sidewalls and further shredded to a nominal size of less
than 5 mm with steel wires, which are separated magnetically after shredding. The tire crumbs are then
carbonized in the carbonization furnace at 773 K (500 C) under nitrogen to ensure the atmosphere inside the
pyrolyzer is inert and at near atmospheric pressure. There are two streams of products out of the furnace.
The gas stream, mainly volatile organics, from the furnace passes through a condenser, where the heavy
fraction of the gas product is condensed as pyrolytic oil that will be sold as an average-grade fuel oil. The
light fraction of the gas product (pyrolytic gas), which consists of carbon monoxide, methane and ethylene,
is mixed with the exhaust from the activation furnace and fed to the combustion chamber to remove those
combustible components in excess of air.
 The solid product, pyrolyzed char, is transferred to an activation furnace, where the pyrolyzed char
is heated up indirectly to 1123 K (850 C). Steam from the heat exchanger is fed to the activation furnace as
an activating agent at high temperature (1123 K) and pressure (40 atm). The activated carbon product is
rapidly cooled and ground to a specific range of sizes before being sold or extruded. A cyclone is designed
to remove particulates from the gas stream prior to combustion. The stream leaving the chamber is sent to a
DeNOx system for the removal of NOx. Due to its high temperature (1789 K or 1516 C), a heat exchanger is
used to recover the waste heat from the gas stream leaving the DeNOx system via converting process water
into hot steam (673 K or 400 C) for carbon activation. The scrubber and filter bag house are designed to
remove SOx as calcium sulfate as well as residual particulates generated from the entire production and gas
cleaning processes. Cleaned gas is finally discharged to air via the stack.
Process 2: Production of Activated Carbon from Sugar Cane Bagasse

Activated carbon product has versatile areas of application in both industries as well as in household.
Its production is basically through control pyrolysis at a varied temperature and impregnating reagent ratio.
Recent trend in the production focused on utilizing the remains of agro-produce, which originally are
considered as waste. Bagasse, a by-product from sugar cane processing, and traditionally used in firing the
steam boiler of the evaporation unit of sugar processing plant, as feed for livestock farms, and in some
instances are discarded on the field to decay. By composition bagasse account for over 65% of the remains
after sugar extraction.

In most developing countries where sugar canes are produced, they are usually eaten raw and the
remains are allowed to liter the street. In Philippines which accounts 3,603 thousand metric tons of bagasse
production as of 2016, bagasse waste finds its way into waste site. The bagasse like other cellulosic plant
eventually degraded by the action of microorganism.

Several works for developing high surface area activated carbon are going on. But the attractive part
of the technology is by obtaining cheap source of raw material that will in long run leads to reduction in the
overhead cost of production. Activated carbon (AC) as an absorbent has demonstrated to have wide area of
application either in the industries or domestic and especially in gas purification , detoxification of effluent
liquid or gas, and as catalyst support. Compare to other absorbent activated carbon has several advantages,
which includes its simplicity in operation and design of equipment, compatibility in removing large gamma of
pollutants , low cost of its production since the raw material are abundantly available at little or no cost.
Converting agro-waste such as bagasse to activated carbon has only one impending factor which is high
energy consumption.
Process Description

Clean and dry bagasse, with moisture content at or below 13 percent, is required for carbon
production. In cost calculations, it was assumed that specifications regarding cleaning and ensuring the
proper moisture content of the bagasse would be adhered to by the raw sugar factory before delivery of the
bagasse to the carbon manufacturing facility. Ten thousand kg/day of clean and dry bagasse is fed into an
11.2 kW carbon steel hammer mill and milled to a particle size of 30 to 40 mesh (0.60 to 0.425 mm). This
equipment should be able to process the desired daily amount in 8 hours, but specific product testing would
have to be done to confirm equipment compatibility with the process stream. Screens are an integral part of
the hammer mills, and separate screening equipment should not be necessary. The goal is to have 80 percent
by weight of the initial feed as 0.425- to 0.60-mm particles. The small particle size of the bagasse is necessary
for effective interaction between bagasse and binder. Material larger than 0.60 mm is redirected back to the
feed hopper and is passed again through the mill. Fines of less than 0.425 mm can be directed for disposal
or other use, such as to a boiler to provide the activation steam by burning the bagasse. The 0.425- to 0.60-
mm particles, with an 80 percent or 8,000 kg/day recovery, are directed to a pelletizer.

Bagasse is mixed with sugarcane molasses binder in a 2:1 (bagasse: binder) ratio and compressed
at 34,500 kPa at the die plate to form approximately 5 x 10 mm pellets. Because pellet mills run at a capacity
of 46-182 kg/(kW-hr) (Green, 1984), a 33 kW pellet mill will be required to pelletize the daily feed of bagasse
and binder. Because of the high viscosity of sugarcane molasses at ambient temperature, a heated 4,000 L
storage tank will be used to supply the pelletizer. Depending on the physical distance between the pelletizer
and storage tank, insulated or heated transfer lines may be necessary. Once the pellets are formed, they are
delivered to a feed hopper and then the rotary kiln.

A dual kiln system with a chamber size of 1.5 m x 4.6 m for each kiln is described. In this process
design, a dual kiln system is used because of shipping considerations with larger kilns. A built-in-place kiln
may not need the dual kiln system and may save on equipment costs. The process stream is split to feed
each kiln. The bagasse/binder pellets are fed to the rotary kiln where pyrolysis occurs by holding the pellets
at 700 degrees C for one hour under an inert atmosphere comprised of off-gases generated by pyrolysis.
Considerable waste heat is available from this process, as well as off-gases generated during pyrolysis that
are capable of further combustion. Waste heat is used to maintain the pyrolysis temperature at 700 degrees
C and conserve natural gas used to generate this temperature initially. After pyrolysis, activation occurs by
heating the char to 850 degrees C for one hour in the presence of steam. These pyrolysis/ activation
conditions are expected to achieve a 20 percent yield based on a target surface area of 700 to 800 m2/g.

After activation, the carbon is conveyed to an indirect rotary cooler. With a process stream of 2,400
kg/day, a rotary cooler with a surface area of 3.5 m2 will be required to achieve a reduction in 18 temperature
from 850 degrees C to less than 100 degrees C in less than one hour.

The activated carbon is acid washed with 0.1 N HCl to remove any ash that has formed from pyrolysis
of the binder and to a lesser extent from pyrolysis of the bagasse. The process stream is then water washed
to remove the residual acid until the pH is 5-6. A dual wash tank system is used, with one tank filling while
the other is acid or water washing. Two 4,000 L glass-lined wash tanks are included. The tanks would require
90 minutes to fill and 90 minutes to wash the carbon in alternating tanks. It is assumed that 10 kg of 0.1 M
HCl are required for every kg of product. Neutralization of the acid wash and removal of suspended carbon
particles from the washing procedure would be handled by an effluent treatment system before the water is
transported to the municipal sewer system. A 4,000 L tank is provided for acid storage. The tank will be filled
six times per day as needed from a tanker truck parked outside the plant. The activated carbon is removed
from the wash tanks and dried for two hours at 60 degrees C in a rotary dryer.
A 1.1-m x 7.2-m rotary dryer will be required. To avoid the possibility of rust, a stainless steel dryer
will be used. The next step is for the activated carbon to be sieved to a 0.425- to 2.00-mm particle size. After
drying, the activated carbon is sieved to retain the 0.425- to 2.00-mm particles. A 0.76-m x 0.53-m sifter is
required. A carbon loss of 5 percent is anticipated. The fines can be separated and bagged separately as
powdered carbon. The finished product can then be taken for bagging and storage.
Process Flow Diagram

Figure 2. Process Flow Diagram for the Production of Activated Carbon from Sugarcane Bagasse
Process 3: Activated Carbon from Broiler Litter

The Philippines has a massive poultry industry that is dominated by broilers and the native
Philippine chickens. Some of the biggest factors favoring the Filipino poultry industry are its massive
population, fast rising incomes and a love for chicken.

From July to September 2018, the total chicken production was registered at 428.77 thousand
metric tons. This went up by 4.31 percent compared to the previous year’s same period data. Of the total
chicken produced, broiler chicken contributed 79.38 percent.

Most regions recorded increase in chicken production during the 3rd quarter of 2018. CAR, Central
Luzon and Zamboanga Peninsula recorded otherwise. Despite the decrease in production, Central Luzon
remained the top producing region, contributing 33.84 percent share to total chicken production. More than
half or 61.19 percent of the total chicken produced were from Central Luzon, CALABARZON and Northern
Mindanao.

Associated with excessive land application of broiler manures, is both a public health concern and
an environmental threat. The public concern stems generally from odor releases and annoyance to nearby
communities, and the latter derives mainly from the potential contamination of air, ground and surface
water sources via run-off (mainly phosphorus build-up). Consequently, there is an urgent need to identify
new uses for broiler manure and poultry manure in general, especially those uses that result in products of
considerable added value. One such opportunity would be to manufacture high valueactivated carbons
from poultry manure.

This value-added approach transforms animal waste into a high-porosity, high surface-area
material that can potentially be used in environmental remediation applications.
Process Description

Broiler litter (20 t d1) is fed into a grinder mill (capacity 833 kg h1) and milled to a particle size less
than 1mm. The milled material is then conveyed to a pellet mill (capacity 833 kg h1) to produce 4.76mm
cylindrical pellets. Milled broiler litter with moisture content below 25% is required for efficient pellet production
and therefore for pelletized carbon production. Because this moisture content value is within the expected
normal range of moisture found for broiler litter removed from broiler houses, it was not necessary to
incorporate a dryer into the system. Within the facility, air movement needs to be controlled to reduce odor
and particle emissions. Air management can be achieved by creating a negative pressure within the building.
The system did not incorporate long-term storage equipment because the facility is to receive daily the
amount it needs for processing. Pellets are fed onto a rotary kiln where pyrolysis and physical activation (via
steam) occur.

Pyrolysis is performed at 700 1C under an inert atmosphere for 1 h. After pyrolysis, the produced
char goes through an activation step, in order to develop porosity. Activation occurs by heating the chars to
800 1C for 45min in the presence of steam. When studying various activation strategies, Lima and Marshall
found this set of activation conditions to be ideal for copper ion adsorption. Copper ion adsorption efficiency
for broiler litter activated under those conditions was 1.2mmol Cu2+ g1 of carbon. Activated carbons are
cooled to less than 100 1C before further processing takes place. The above pyrolysis/activation conditions
result in an estimated final yield of 21.6% activated carbon on a dry weight basis. Costs were developed
assuming a daily input of 20 t of broiler litter, which results in a daily production rate of 4.32 t of activated
carbon. Based on these specifications a rotary kiln (retort) system was sized comprised of three stage
processes: (i) pyrolysis, (ii) activation coupled with (iii) cooling section. Pyrolysis and activation are carried
out in two separate rotary kilns, connected in series to achieve a continuous system. As broiler litter travels
through the first kiln, it is charred under inert conditions, and conveyed onto the next rotary kiln where
activation takes place. Activation is done by the introduction of steam into the retort at a pre-determined fixed
rate. Considerable amounts of heat can potentially be lost in the pyrolysis/activation process as well as off-
gases generated during pyrolysis. These synthetic gases can be captured to realize savings in energy.
Additional savings can be achieved if equipment can be designed for heat recovery as well as off-gas
recycling (for pyrolysis) and/or combustion. A net heating value for pyrolytic gases was reported between
11.1 and 18.5 MJ Nm3 , lower than for natural gas (37,100 kJ m3 ) [6]. To ensure near complete mixing of
the granular pellets which will result in adequate heat transfer, the cross-sectional area of the rotary cylinder
occupied by material was chosen as 10% of the cylinder’s length.

Process Flow Diagram

Figure 3. Process flow diagram for the production of activated carbon from broiler litters.