Why does activated carbon need to be activated?

General activated carbon goes through several processes: carbonization, activation, and superheated steam catalysis. In the process of making activated carbon, an important process is the activation process. So why does activated carbon need to be activated? What is the effect of activated carbon after activation?

Generally speaking, good activated carbon products have been activated. Activation treatment is to increase the porosity of activated carbon to improve its adsorption effect. However, whether the activated carbon has been activated or not is difficult to distinguish with the eyes.

Why does activated carbon need to be activated?

Before use, activated carbon will go through processes such as packaging, transportation, and storage. These processes may absorb moisture and air, reducing its adsorption capacity. If these activities are not processed before, the performance of the activity will be affected. Before use, the activity can be pre-treated, which can improve the performance of the activity.

The activation treatment of activated carbon generally adopts the gas activation method, which is a method of using oxidizing gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and air as activators to activate at high temperatures to produce activated carbon. This method is also called physical activation method. Activation using this method can decompose the carbon compounds left in the activated carbon to produce impurities on the surface, reopening the blocked gaps, and water vapor can corrode the active surface structure and then form new gaps, making The increased surface area improves the adsorption capacity of activated carbon.