Re: Recycling activated charcoal

[Wright Huntley <jwwiii at pacbell_net>]

Hi Erik,

I'm sure you mean charcoal (heat-reduced wood), which is quite different 
from coal, the carbonaceous mineral.

There is no practical way to reactivate it at home. It needs treatment 
at very high temperature in a reducing atmosphere, as I recall, to 
remove the adsorbed materials and "activate" it again. There are 
actually different kinds of "activation" for different applications, I 
think.

Carbon filters that will do much to tap water have powdered carbon 
pressed into a cartridge that would be even more difficult to 
restructure. Loose granules, like sold in the lfs, are quite worthless 
for serious filtering.

You can check me by doing a web search for "activated charcoal."

Wright

PS. I buy cartridges from industrial surplus places. Much cheaper than 
at Home Depot or such hardware stores.

Erik Pfingstner wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I have bad tap water and need to filter it before use. Activated coal is
> rather expensive here in Germany. I once heard that activated coal can be
> recycled. Does someone know how?
> 
> Erik
> 
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-- 
Wright Huntley -- 209 521-0557 -- 731 Loletta Ave, Modesto CA 95351

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