First of all, please allow me to introduce you to the classification of activated carbon. According to the form, there are powder, granule, column, etc.
According to the raw materials, the classification of activated carbon is more specific: there are activated carbon and activated charcoal.
In more detail, coal activated carbon belongs to activated carbon, while coconut shell and wood activated carbon belong to activated charcoal.
Activated carbon made of different materials is suitable for different scenarios and uses.
Coal activated carbon, coconut shell and wood activated charcoal, each have unique adsorption properties and application advantages.
From removing impurities from water to adsorbing gaseous pollutants and even for chemical treatment, these activated carbons play an important role in industry and life.
This article will provide an in-depth comparison of “activated carbon VS activated charcoal” to help you find the best solution.
Production Process of Activated Carbon VS Activated Charcoal
The production process of coal activated carbon, coconut shell and wood activated charcoal have their own characteristics. They are mainly made through two major steps: carbonization and activation.
Production Process of Coal Activated Carbon
Coal activated carbon generally uses coal such as anthracite, bituminous coal or lignite as raw material.
The raw material is heated to high temperature under oxygen-deficient conditions to carbonize the organic matter to form a basic carbon skeleton.
The carbonized charcoal is further processed by physical activation (such as impregnation or catalytic carrier) to form a porous structure. Among them, anthracite is mostly microporous, while bituminous coal is mainly medium and medium-large pores.
Production Process of Coconut Shell Activated Charcoal
Dried coconut shells are heated to high temperatures in an oxygen-deficient environment for carbonization. After removing moisture and volatiles, it forms a hard carbon structure.
Then workers use physical activation method to form fine pores to improve adsorption capacity.
Coconut shell activated charcoal is mainly microporous and is better for use in water treatment and air purification where fine particles need to be adsorbed.
Production Process of Wood Activated Charcoal
Workers heat the wood in an oxygen-deficient environment to carbonize it, removing moisture and volatile components.
It’s then chemically activated at high temperature using chemical reagents such as phosphoric acid or zinc chloride, and sometimes with water steam, to generate a rich porous structure.
Wood activated charcoal is commonly used in applications such as decolorization, gas adsorption and light molecule treatment due to its rich mesoporous and macroporous structure.
The differences in the production processes of the three activated carbons mainly lie in the differences in raw materials and activation methods, which also lead to differences in their pore structure, adsorption performance and applicable occasions.
Property of Activated Carbon VS Activated Charcoal
Coal activated carbon, coconut shell and wood activated charcoal have significant differences in physical and chemical properties due to differences in raw materials and production processes.
In this part, let’s first understand the properties of different raw materials activated carbon, so as to make a comparison and judge which activated carbon or whether activated carbon vs activated charcoal is best for air purification, which activated charcoal is best for water purification, which activated charcoal is best for decolorization.
The following are the main differences of activated carbon and activated charcoal comparison:
Property of Coal Activated Carbon
Physical Property: Coal activated carbon is usually black granules or powder, with high abrasion resistance and large specific surface area.
It has a higher hardness, but not as good as coconut shell activated charcoal. Its density is moderate, between coconut shell and wood activated carbon.
Chemical Property: The surface of coal-based activated carbon is rich in acidic oxide groups (such as carboxyl, hydroxyl, and carbonyl), which facilitates the adsorption of polar molecules.
It also has good acid resistance and is suitable for water treatment and industrial gas purification.
Property of Coconut Shell Activated Charcoal
Physical Property: Coconut shell activated charcoal is dark black granular, mainly microporous, with uniform pore size and very high specific surface area.
It has high hardness and strength, excellent wear resistance and low breakage, making it the most durable of the three activated carbons.
Chemical Property: Its surface chemical properties are relatively stable. The pH is generally neutral or weakly acidic. It has good acid and alkali resistance and a long service life.
Its microporous structure makes it very suitable for adsorbing small molecules and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). And it’s often used in high-precision water treatment and air purification.
Property of Wood Activated Charcoal
Physical Property: Wood activated carbon is usually black or gray-black powder, with light particles. It has mainly mesopores and macropores, so pores are large.
But the specific surface area is generally lower than that of coal and coconut shell activated carbon.
Its low hardness makes it relatively fragile and easily broken; its low density makes it suitable for occasions which require lighter activated carbon.
Chemical Property: The surface contains more hydroxyl groups and other oxygen-containing functional groups with higher chemical activity.
This type of activated carbon is usually activated by phosphoric acid or sodium hydroxide and has better acid resistance.
Due to the larger number of mesopores and macropores, it is more suitable for adsorbing large molecular organic matter.
And it’s often a good choice for decolorization, deodorization and adsorption of large molecular gases.
Benefits of Activated Carbon VS Activated Charcoal
In this part, we can learn advantages and benefits of activate carbon VS activated charcoal, thus you can judge which one is more suitable for your demands, such as which is better for decolorization, deodorization or purification? Activated charcoal from wood vs activated carbon from coal? Coal activated carbon for industrial use is better or not?
Benefits of Coal Activated Carbon
Coal activated carbon is usually cheaper because of its lower raw material cost, mature production process and large output.
Compared to other types of activated charcoal, the production of coal activated carbon has less impact on the environment, especially when not using too many chemicals.
Coal activated carbon has good regeneration performance and high-temperature treatment can restore its adsorption capacity, so its reuse rate is high.
It has a long service life and is suitable for long-term use, especially in the industrial field, where coal activated carbon tends to last a long time.
The surface area and pore structure are relatively reasonable, which can effectively adsorb various organic matter and gas. And it’s particularly suitable for industrial sewage and waste gas treatment.
Coal activated carbon is highly effective in treating large-scale industrial wastewater and waste gas, especially for removing organic pollutants of low-concentration.
Benefits of Coconut Shell Activated Charcoal
The availability of coconuts has never been a problem as they grow year-round and its harvest cycle is three to four times a year.
Coconut shells are agricultural waste. Using coconut shells to make activated carbon can effectively reduce waste and conform to the environmental protection concept of resource recycling.
Coconut shell activated carbon has high purity, low ash and few impurities, especially after acid washing, the ash content of coconut shell activated carbon is even lower, ＜1%.
Therefore, compared to other materials, coconut shell activated carbon is better for ultra-pure water, drinking water, food water and cosmetic additives.
It has better reusability, can maintain high adsorption capacity for a long time, and the regeneration process is relatively easy.
Coconut shell activated carbon has a long service life and performs well especially in the adsorption of harmful gases in the air and organic matter in water.
It has a very high adsorption efficiency, especially in adsorbing organic compounds, odors and certain toxic gases.
It performs well in removing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), odors and certain harmful gases, and has a remarkable adsorption effect.
Benefits of Wood Activated Charcoal
Wood activated charcoal usually uses raw materials such as wood and wood chips, and the production process is relatively simple.
Most of the raw materials of wood activated charcoal are wood chips from industrial waste, which can protect the environment, save costs and help carbon recycling.
Wood powdered activated carbon has mostly medium and large pores, suitable for adsorbing large molecules, such as pigments.
Challenges and Disadvantages
Coal Activated Carbon
Although the raw material is cheap, the production process of coal activated carbon consumes more energy, which may lead to an increase in the overall cost.
Coal mining has a large impact on the environment, causing problems land destruction, air pollution and other problems during the mining process.
Bituminous coal is particularly dangerous for miners due to the release of explosive gases.
The production process of coal-based activated carbon consumes a large amount of energy and may impose a heavy burden on the ecological environment.
While coal is still a safe choice for carbon block filtration, it does contain certain chemicals that can leach into the water, which can affect the smell and result in a slightly less effective filtration product.
Coconut Shell Activated Charcoal
The production cost of coconut shell activated carbon is usually higher than that of coal-based activated carbon and wood-based activated carbon, because the raw material cost of coconut shell is higher and the production process is more complicated.
Wood Activated Charcoal
Excessive exploitation of timber puts certain pressure on forest resources. Therefore, it requires strict control over the source of raw materials in order to avoid unsustainable resource depletion.
Compared with coal activated carbon, wood activated charcoal has a slightly poorer regeneration performance and a lower reuse rate.
Wood activated charcoal is relatively easy to age and has a short service life, especially it will fail quickly under high load.
Applications of Activated Carbon VS Activated Charcoal
If you want know the difference of activated carbon vs activated charcoal, I guess you will search activated carbon vs activated charcoal, activated carbon vs charcoal, activated carbon vs charcoal air filter, are charcoal cabin filters better or carbon vs charcoal in Google, but the results are not always satisfactory.
Well, I suggest you read this article and hope you can find the answer.
In this part, you will learn whether activated carbon is same as charcoal totally, and the difference in application of activated charcoal vs activated carbon.
Application of Coal Activated Carbon
In practical application, coal activated carbon has high specific surface area, abundant micropores, better acid resistance.
And it has ability to effectively adsorb organic pollutants, chromaticity, chloride and some heavy metal ions in water.
Therefore, coal activated carbon is a commonly better choice to use in municipal water treatment and industrial wastewater treatment.
Especially in larger scale water treatment projects, the cost advantage of coal activated carbon is very obvious.
In the field of air purification, people tends to use coal activated carbon to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs), odors and certain harmful gases.
Its excellent adsorption capacity makes it a common material in large-scale industrial waste gas purification, flue gas treatment and air purifiers.
Anthracite pelletized activated carbon and bituminous coal pelletized activated carbon are better for air purification.
Coal-based activated carbon is often used to remove harmful gases (such as ammonia, chlorine, sulfur dioxide, etc.).
And it’s particularly suitable for some industrial applications that require continuous high-intensity adsorption.
Its porous structure can provide a larger adsorption surface and higher adsorption efficiency.
If you are looking for a cost-effective solution, coal activated carbon is the best choice.
Application of Coconut Shell Activated Charcoal
After steam activation of coconut shells, the carbon surface generates millions of pores. It’s suitable for removing toxic gases, odors, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polluted gases in the air.
People often use coconut shell activated carbon in home air purifiers, industrial waste gas treatment, automobile air purification and other fields. It can also be used to treat acute poisoning and gastrointestinal problems.
In the food industry, it’s a good choice to use coconut shell activated carbon to remove color, odor and impurities from syrups, beverages and food products.
For example, in the production of fruit juices, drinking water, wine and refined sugar, coconut shell activated carbon can effectively improve the purity and quality of the products.
Application of Wood Activated Charcoal
Wood activated charcoal is well known for its excellent decolorization properties. Wood powdered activated charcoal is non-toxic, has a large specific surface area, and has many medium and large pores.
It can adsorb large molecules, such as pigments, and has strong adsorption capacity.
People often use it in industrial wastewater treatment, water purification, and deep purification of drinking water. It can effectively remove odor, pigment, and harmful organic matter in water.
In the food and pharmaceutical industries, we can use wood activated charcoal to remove organic and chemical pollutants from water and liquids.
Such as removing impurities from sugar solutions or removing harmful substances in the pharmaceutical production process.
Wood powdered activated charcoal produced by phosphoric acid process has fast filtration rate. And it’s zinc-free, suitable for use in food and pharmaceutical industries.
People widely use the wood activated charcoal made from the moso bamboo plant in the skin care industry.
Wood activated charcoal performs well in fine chemicals, special fields such as laboratory gas purification, drug adsorption and small-scale air purification.
It is more suitable for small-scale fields with high performance requirements.
Wooden activated charcoal has a large pore size, which makes it better for adsorbing large organic molecules.
It’s a good choice for those who wish to remove certain smells, odors or colors from water. It can be more easily customized for specific applications due to its own properties.
Since wood activated charcoal consists primarily of medium and large pores, it is unable to remove many finer contaminants, making it less desirable for those seeking a higher level of filtration.
Where to Buy Good Activated Carbon?
Coal activated carbon, coconut shell and wood activated charcoals have unique properties and offer their own benefits. Whether it is for domestic or commercial applications, the importance of these carbons cannot be undermined.
If you want to know more information about coal activated carbon, coconut shell and wood activated charcoal, please contact Heycarbons at any time. Heycarb Team will answer your questions, provide professional advice and best activated carbon to your satisfaction.
