What is activated carbon?
Activated carbon is known as a very effective adsorbent., its high porosity and, consequently, its high surface area, make its properties ideal for retaining atmospheric organic particles.
Can be prepared from a numerous variety of raw materials.. Generally plentiful and cheap, with high carbon content and low content of inorganic components.
They must also be easily activated and have low aging degradation (process known as the loss of its characteristics due to time.).
Process for obtaining activated carbon
the bagasse, sugarcane mill residue, can give rise to active carbon, one of the main components of water and air purification systems. The national technology also produces a special coating of silver particles on active carbon, with antimicrobial capacity, removing, for example, harmful water bacteria.
The first step to obtain active carbon is the incomplete burning of the raw material, followed by a chemical treatment that produces a large amount of pores in the burnt material., of diameters between nanometers and picometers.
The presence of pores in active carbon makes it act as an atmospheric filter., adsorbing organic molecules that have chemical affinity for it.
The difference between the developed activated carbon and the usual activated carbon is the average size of its pores.. According to Brazilian researchers, there is an ideal quantity and size so that efficiency is as high as possible.
production expectation
There is a wide variety of residues that enable the preparation of activated carbon.
In the sugar-alcohol industry, From 655 million tons per year of the Brazilian sugarcane crop, one third corresponds to the bagasse of the plant after the production of alcohol and sugar. A large volume of waste generated, that could make the large-scale production of activated carbon a reality.
But according to the technology developers themselves, for this production to approach reality, it will be necessary to better analyze the effects of nanometric silver clusters on the environment. The fact of working on very small scales, certain precautions must be taken before global applications.
The importance of waste management
There are more than 15 years ago researchers developed processes for obtaining activated carbon from the residues of some materials. Numerous advantages have been identified, mainly of an economic and environmental nature, in order to reduce waste disposal costs, helping to protect the environment.
In the case of sugarcane bagasse, There are already initiatives to use this excess of organic matter as a source of energy within the processes at the plant itself, as well as for production, still on development scale, of second generation ethanol, also known as lignocellulosic ethanol., obtained from the use of enzymes capable of decomposing molecules that do not degrade by the usual process of obtaining, no case, of first generation ethanol.
Waste management and diversification in its use will only bring benefits. Transforming these wastes, previously analyzed at the end of their life cycles, in raw materials with diverse and excellent applications.
Specifically sugar cane waste, bring into evidence how important and advanced the technology for handling this raw material is. Furthermore, it should be noted that all research and development is carried out in the national territory, genuinely Brazilian.