I

,j
The white paper
PINES FROM THE LANDES REGION
Acticarbone is a wood- based activated carbon.
A type of pine- wood which grows along the Bay
of Biscay coastline is used for this purpose; it is
processed at CECA's Parentis factory, in the heart
of the Landes region in South West France. This
raw material's structure and purity largely contribute
to Acticarbone's performance.
ACTIVATED CARBON
Activated carbon is a carbon structure which has been
given a particular porosity, with a resulting inner
surface accessible to molecules of varying nature
and size. This porosity is developed by the activation
process, which creates a remarkable power of adsorp-
tion, an indispensable process in industrial separation,
purification, decolorisation and recovery techniques.
Acticarbone's distinct characteristic is therefore its
inner suiface which is accessible to organic molecules
dissolved in gas or in aqueous and organic liquids. The configuration of its access
network defines its eventual uses. Preliminary laboratory studies determine the
Acticarbone grade which best suits the application.
ADSORPTION
Adsorption is the physical phenomenon by which a solid attracts and fixes onto its
surface organic molecules which are dissolved in a liquid or a gas. In the case of
activated carbon, "surface" is to be understood less as the outer surface than
the inner surface developed within the pores of this
solid. Pore diameters in activated carbon range from
5 to 50 A. As a result of this large number of small
diameter pores, the inner area is considerable, and,
depending on the Acticarbone grades, ranges from
800 to 2,000 m
2
/g. The effective adsorption surface
of just three grammes of Acticarbone, for example,
is therefore equivalent to the area of a rugby pitch,
the favourite sport in the Landes region. In the
adsorption process, the adsorbed substance (adsorbate) is retained in a more
or less solid state by Van der Waals forces. Gases and vapours behave like
liquids on the pores' suiface, which leads to a significant adsorption of these
substances. The term ad sorption should not be confused with ab sorption,
which means the filling of a hollow substance with a liquid or a gas which is
then retained through capillary forces (e.g. sponges, fabrics, etc.).
A natural and porous substance
ADSORPTION INTENSITY AND CAPACITY

"' E
c
ADSORPTION ISOTHERMS ON ACTICARBONE AC 40
1000
Ben.zene
20 C
40 C
- 600 (

0. 1 1000
(temperature, concentration, etc.). It is normally expressed as the number of
grammes adsorbed for each 100 grammes of Acti carbone.
TYPICAL CUMULATIVE CURVE FOR POROSITY BREAKDOWN
100
ADSORPTION OF SINGLE SUBSTANCES
90
JO
10
R: 10-JOOA - BJH method
R: 75-5. 10, A- Hg poroiimetry
AC 40 Total pore 1,2 ml.g-1
JOJ JO' 105
The adsorption of single substances is governed
by a few general principles. Firstly, acti vated
carbon can easily adsorb any non-polar molecules
which can be found in the liquids or gases being
treated. Additi onally, adsorption intensity generally
increases with molecular weight. This phenomenon
is parti cularly obvious when atoms of oxygen ,
R Pore radius-A chlorine or nitrogen are added. However, adsorption
also depends on the type of functional group being used. Introducing a
nitrated group, for exampl e, often enhances adsorpti on , whereas adding
hydroxyl , amine or sulfoni c groups lowers it. Variabl e results are also obtained
when carboxyli c, halogenated or doubl e bond groups are being used.
Furthermore, introducing a second or third substituent oft en increases
adsorpti on. Finally, aromatics are clearly better adsorbed than aliphati cs of equal
molecular size, and so are non- linear chain compounds compared to linear
chain compounds.
ADSORPTION AND SOLUBILITY
The less soluble impurities are in a given medium such as air or water, the more
easily they can be adsorbed in that medium. Vapours of maj or solvents such
as toluene, xylene and chlorinated derivatives can
therefore easily be fixed onto Acticarbone. By virtue
of thi s solubili ty principle, Acti carbone traps, from
vapours, the substances with the highest boiling
points. In the manufacture of pure gases, for example,
Acticarbone eliminates methane from hydrogen. The
operati on takes place in two phases: adsorption,
whi ch t akes place under press ure, followed by
desorpti on, whi ch takes place in a vacuum.
A range of products capable of adsorbing any substance
POWDER, GRANULE, EXTRUDATE
Ext rudates look like cylindri cal rods, and are
especially used in gas purifi ca tion and solvent
recovery .
Granules can be used both in liquids and in gases.
Their main advantage is their regeneration capabibty.
The advantage of powders lies in their excellent
effi ciency resulting from the inner contact they
create with the soluti ons to be treated. Powder
dosage ca n be adjusted to suit parti cular requirements, and tlus fl exibili ty is a
bonus to many users . CECA' s Acti carbone range offers powders to suit every
appli cati on: their range of adsorption capacity depends on the specific surface
and the type of porosity.
ACTIVATION
Two activati on principles are used by CECA to develop
the carbon' s porosity:
c;
'
Cl
E
IODINE ADSORPTION ISOTHERMS
Chemical ocl1vohon
- Phy:licoloctivohorl
Acti vati on is called physical when the carbon is hit
by steam through the reaction of gas in water. This
process produce extremely pure activated carbon
which owes to its mi croporosity -its outstanding
adsorpti on properti es for small to medium sized
molecules, even when these are diluted down to trace
elements.

..... e
{ ..
_g
0. 1 I
Concenlrol ion lin mg/ I)
Activati on is called chemical when the pine sawdust is thermally treated with
phosphoric acid as a catalyst. Since 1988, the Parentis fa ctory has been rumung
an entirely automated chenucal activati on plant, producing activated carbon
of very !ugh activi ty and purity, wluch, due to its mesoporosity, is particularly
suitable for liquid decolorisation.
TAILOR-MADE PRODUCTS
One of CECA' s di stinct advantages is that it accommodates both physical and
chemi cal acti vati on plants on the same site, and so the company is able to blend
products with the resulting benefit of combined properties. However, more
specific applicati ons require additi onal properti es to be fine- tuned wlu ch make up
speciali ty products. CECA can, for exampl e, offer Acti carbone in which the
acidity, measured by pH, has been adjusted. Rinsed
product s fea ture a very low ash con.tent and the
resulting degree of high purity required for
pharmaceuticals and fine chenucals. Humidification
makes Acticarbone powders easier to use by miilinusing
loose dust when they are handled by customers.
Finall y, particl e size and abrasio n resis tance ca n
be cont roll ed and adjust ed to meet custo mer s'
specifi cation s.
10
A comprehensive range of products
FIXING IMPURITIES
Acticarbone is the perfect answer to two major
concerns of industry:
obtaining increasingly purer products with
enhanced quality,
avoiding polluting the environment with gas,
liquid or solid waste emissions.
Acticarbone maximises the potential of products it
'--------------------' has treated, and it eliminates impurities at lesser cost
arid destroys them during regeneration or eventual combustion. Acticarbone is a
stable and neutral product, which does not trigger decomposition reactions with the
products it is treating. Its high quality makes it an ideal product in industry as well
as in the protection of the environment.
IN GASES
Solvents are recovered by being trapped onto Acticarbone granules or extrudates,
which feature the clear advantage oflow steam consumption during regeneration.
For large scale production, adsorption takes place on activated carbon beds. This
applies to a wide range of sectors, ranging from the rubber and leather industries
to industrial cleaning, printing, and photographic film manufacture, etc.
Acticarbone filters the air in public places through air conditioning systems,
and, when used in safety face mask cartridges, provides protection for anyone
potentially exposed to toxic fumes and gases, whether in industry or in the armed
forces.
IN LIQUIDS
The most common applications consist m adding
Acticarbone powder to liquids such as water or
sweetened solutions from which impurities have to be
removed. Drinking water, for example, is systematically
treated with activated carbon, which eliminates all
micropollutants such as pesticides, as well as tastes
and odours. Similarly, Acticarbone is used, in industry,
to eliminate chlorine from the water used in the
manufacture of beverages, and to purify waste water which may contain harmful
substances or may have been coloured by some manufacturing process.
,___ ________________ __,
In the case of glucose made from natural products,
colour variations can occur. So, the answer to
obtaining a syrup with a constant quality is to treat it
with the right quantity and the right quality of
Acticarbone. In broader terms, therefore, whenever
the problem is one of purifying, decolorising,
deodorising, recovering or eliminating any kind
of substance, there is bound to be one Acticarbone
grade to suit the application.
Applications in a pure state

Your car's evaporation control canister traps petrol fumes.
It has been filled with chemically activated Acticarbone SA 1817.
Acticarbone JS is used to purify pharmaceuticals:
antibiotics, vitamins, aspirin, paracetamol, etc.
Acticarbone Eno and Eno Anticromos help adjust
the colour of wines and vermouths.
Unique custom-designed products
Corrosive sulphur substances are removed from
kerosene and other light fuels with
the help of Acticarbone BGP MX 10x30.
Acticarbone A C 40 4mm traps solvents used
in printing and photogravure.