How to choose activated carbon correctly? Don't just look at the iodine value and price!

In the process of purchasing activated carbon, price is undoubtedly the most concerned factor for most companies. Especially when seeing some activated carbons with very attractive prices, such as: 800 iodine honeycomb carbon at 3,000 yuan per square meter? 800 iodine columnar carbon at 5,000 yuan per ton? In fact, when buying activated carbon, pri

ce cannot be used as the only criterion. Too low a price often means some potential quality problems, which may affect the use effect of waste gas treatment, wastewater treatment or other fields. Therefore, understanding the core indicators of activated carbon and its influencing factors can make wise purchasing decisions. Shufang Activated Carbon will explore in depth from multiple angles what factors are equally important when choosing activated carbon in addition to price.

1. Main applications and market demand of activated carbon

Activated carbon is widely used in various industries due to its excellent adsorption performance. For example, in the process of waste gas treatment, activated carbon can effectively adsorb harmful gases such as formaldehyde, benzene, VOCs, etc.; in the water treatment industry, activated carbon can decolorize, reduce COD, and remove organic matter, chlorine and other impurities in water; in addition, activated carbon also plays an irreplaceable role in the food, medicine and other industries. Therefore, different application scenarios have different requirements for activated carbon, and you need to choose the right product according to your specific needs when purchasing.

2. Chaos in activated carbon prices

When buying activated carbon, you cannot just look at the price, because cheap activated carbon may have quality problems. The production cost of activated carbon is here. You cannot blindly pursue low-priced and high-quality activated carbon. This often forces activated carbon suppliers to falsely mark the iodine value to make deals. Some even use regenerated activated carbon to impersonate original carbon. Therefore, there is a phenomenon that some companies buy activated carbon with 800 iodine, but the actual iodine value is only more than 200. Now most companies have no way to measure the iodine value, and inferior activated carbon has an opportunity for speculation.

3. The relationship between the price and quality of activated carbon

Many companies often take price as the primary consideration when choosing several cubic meters of activated carbon, and even pursue cheap goods. However, the price of activated carbon is not the lower the better, and low price often means low quality. Why can low-priced activated carbon be of poor quality? The reason is that the production cost of activated carbon is high, and the raw materials, production process, quality control and other aspects will affect the final price.

Raw material selection: The quality of activated carbon is directly related to the raw materials used in its production. Different raw materials such as bituminous coal, anthracite, coconut shells, and wood produce activated carbon with significant differences in performance. For example, the price difference between 800 iodine bituminous coal columnar carbon and 800 iodine anthracite columnar carbon is quite large.

Production process: The difference in production process also directly affects the price of activated carbon. The main production processes include physical method and chemical method. The physical method heats the raw materials through high-temperature steam or hot air to stimulate its porous structure; while the chemical method uses chemical agents (such as zinc chloride, phosphoric acid, etc.) to enhance the adsorption performance of activated carbon.

Effect of binders: The role of binders in activated carbon production cannot be ignored. Different types of binders affect the hardness, wear resistance and adsorption performance of activated carbon. For example, the price difference between tar binders and starch binders is very obvious. Activated carbon using tar binders is stronger and more durable, but more expensive; while activated carbon using starch binders is cheaper, but its stability and durability are relatively poor.

4. Core index parameters of activated carbon

In addition to price, the technical indicators of activated carbon are the key to judging its quality. The following are some common activated carbon quality indicators, which directly affect the performance and application scenarios of activated carbon:

Iodine value: Iodine value is an important parameter to measure the adsorption capacity of activated carbon. Generally speaking, the higher the iodine value, the stronger the adsorption capacity of activated carbon. However, iodine value is not the only quality standard. Excessive pursuit of high iodine value may ignore the balance of other indicators. In many cases, activated carbon with low iodine value can also show good performance if the raw materials are of high quality and the production process is appropriate.

CTC value: CTC (carbon tetrachloride adsorption value) value is another indicator to measure adsorption performance. The higher the CTC value, the stronger the adsorption capacity of activated carbon.

Methylene blue value: it is an important indicator to measure the adsorption performance of activated carbon. It indicates the adsorption capacity of activated carbon to methylene blue, an organic dye. The higher the methylene blue adsorption value, the stronger the decolorization ability of activated carbon.

Moisture content: Moisture content refers to the proportion of water in activated carbon. Generally, a higher moisture content will reduce the adsorption capacity of several cubic meters of activated carbon. Activated carbon with too high moisture content is easy to absorb moisture during use, resulting in reduced performance and a relatively cheap price.

Ash content: Ash is an inorganic substance insoluble in water in activated carbon. Too high an ash content will affect the effect of activated carbon. Therefore, activated carbon with low ash content often means it is purer and has more stable performance.

Strength: The strength of activated carbon is a measure of its wear resistance and mechanical strength. Activated carbon with high strength has a long service life and is suitable for high-intensity working environments.

PH value: The PH value of activated carbon determines its chemical stability in a specific environment. Different application scenarios have different requirements for PH value. For example, in water treatment, the PH value may affect its effectiveness in removing certain pollutants.

5. Regeneration and recycling of activated carbon

The difference between regenerated activated carbon and primary activated carbon is also an issue that needs to be focused on when purchasing. Regenerated activated carbon is made by treating used activated carbon to restore its adsorption performance to a certain extent, and is usually cheaper. However, the adsorption performance and service life of regenerated carbon are generally shorter, so it is not suitable for application scenarios with higher requirements.

If the company chooses regenerated carbon, it must ensure that the supplier has perfect regeneration technology and that the regenerated activated carbon can meet the use requirements. Otherwise, low-priced regenerated activated carbon may bring unnecessary risks and even lead to losses in equipment and production processes.

6. How to avoid buying inferior activated carbon

Due to the low threshold of the activated carbon industry, there are some substandard products on the market. In order to avoid buying inferior activated carbon, companies can take the following measures:

Choose suppliers with good reputation: Choose suppliers with good reputation and technical support to ensure the stability of product quality.

Pay attention to product test reports: Regular manufacturers will provide complete product test reports, covering important indicators such as iodine value, CTC, ash content, moisture, etc. Companies should ask to see these reports when purchasing and verify their authenticity.

Sample testing: Companies can ask suppliers to provide samples before purchasing and have them tested by independent testing agencies to ensure the quality and compliance of the products.

Beware of abnormally low-priced products: If the price of some activated carbon is ridiculously low, companies should be vigilant. Products priced far below the market price may have the risk of false indicators or the use of inferior raw materials.

Sign a quality assurance contract: Sign a detailed quality assurance contract with the supplier to clarify the quality requirements of activated carbon and the handling methods of unqualified products.

VII. Summary

When choosing activated carbon, price is undoubtedly an important consideration, but it cannot be the only criterion. Enterprises should comprehensively consider factors such as the raw materials, production process, and various indicators of activated carbon to avoid buying low-quality activated carbon for the sake of cheapness, which will lead to a series of problems in the production process. Only by fully understanding the various technical indicators and production processes of activated carbon can enterprises purchase products with high cost performance and excellent performance, thereby improving production efficiency and reducing operating costs.

When choosing activated carbon, please remember: what you buy is not necessarily cheap, but what just meets your needs!