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Introduction of activated carbon | ApplicationsLiquid-phase

Water purification

City tap water

The water sources for waterworks in Japan are lakes and rivers. In some cases, the water may not be suitable for drinking with conventional treatment due to algal odors or contaminants.

Powdered or granular activated carbon is used to purify water at waterworks.

When purification is insufficient only with activated carbon, high-performance purification treatment methods involving combination with ozonation, etc., are used.

Furthermore, processing methods involving multiplying microbes in the granular activated carbon layer to remove biodegradable organic matter are also available.

Drinking water industry

Raw water for drinking and making beer or rice wine should be tasteless and odorless, and is therefore processed using activated carbon.

Household water purifier

Free chlorine is always included in tap water, in addition to odorants and traces of trihalomethane, in some cases.

Granular activated carbon or fiber-type activated carbon included in a cartridge is used to remove these contaminants.

Coconut shell activated carbon, which has a large surface area, is appropriate for dechlorination.

Ultrapure water

Granular activated carbon is used in preprocessing to protect the ion exchange resin and reduce load during the production of ultrapure water.

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Water purification

Sewage treatment

In normal processing for sewage treatment, standard for effluent may not be satisfied in some cases. Therefore, activated carbon is used for advanced treatment.

Industrial waste water

Normally processed industrial effluent may not satisfy the discharge standard. In such cases, activated carbon is used for advanced treatment.

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Decolorization and refinement

Sugar industry

Crude original carbohydrate solutions and starch sugar are impure in many cases and are colored. Therefore, to make white sugar, powdered activated carbon and/or granular activated carbon is used in addition to ion exchange resin.

Amino acid industry, pharmaceutical purification

Crude amino acid or pharmaceutical agent solutions are also impure in many cases and are colored. Therefore, powder activated carbon and/or granular activated carbon is used in addition to ion exchange resin.

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Brewage

Powdered activated carbon is used to remove colored materials due to aging in alcohol and to reform flavor.

As activated carbon for brewing requires the absence of iron, strict purification is performed.

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Recovery of precious metal

The gold content in gold ore is only of the order of several g/Ton.

Gold ore is crushed and gold is extracted with cyanidation soda solution. Gold is adsorbed by contacting activated carbon and this extraction liquid.

The activated carbon that has adsorbed gold is liquated with fresh cyanidation soda solution. Electrolysis is performed on the concentrated effluent to recover the gold.

In this case, coconut shell activated carbon is widely used.

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KURARAY COAL™ used for liquid phase

KURARAY COAL™ used for liquid phase is as follows:

Name Shape Grain size(mesh) Application
PW Powder 100 mesh or less Water purification, water treatment
PK Decolorization, purification
GW Granular shape 10×32, 20×42, 32×60, etc. Water purification, water treatment
GW-H Decolorization, purification, collection of gold
GLC 10×32, 16×42, etc.
(chemical liquid regeneration available)
Decolorization, purification, pharmaceutical purification, brewage
T-S Granular shape 10×32, 20×42, 32×60, etc. Purifier (silver-impregnated activated carbon)