Are you an aquarium hobbyist, or own a water purification system? If not, chances are you have no idea what activated carbon is, or what it could possibly do in HEPA Air Purifiers. Even if the concept itself isn't totally foreign, you probably still don't know exactly what it does.
How Is Active Carbon Used In HEPA Air Purifiers?
Choosing HEPA air purifiers is often the first time most people encounter activated carbon. They begin their search because of allergies or asthma, but they have no real idea how these machines work. As they look deeper, they'll start to learn that odors and chemicals are what's actually causing the vast majority of the issues they're trying to remedy. Most quality HEPA air purifiers are designed to eliminate allergens as well as odors and chemicals in the air. This is where the activated carbon comes in.
How Was Activated Carbon Used Before HEPA Air Purifiers?
Oddly enough, we humans have been using activated carbon to filter water for a long time; as long as two centuries. Way back then, they already knew of activated carbon's great absorption qualities. Beginning in the early 1900's, activated carbon was produced and sold commercially in the form of a powder. Only used to remove taste or smell from water or color from sugar, we really didn't know at that point exactly what all it could do for us. Once World War I was in full swing, it was discovered that it could be used in gas masks for protecting our soldiers from the chemical agents in the air. The soldiers also used it, as did their ancestors, for water purification. By this point, commercial activated carbon had evolved from powder form to a granular form, which was the beginning of activated carbon being used in even more other ways.
What Does "Activated" Mean?
Most people have a general idea of what carbon is - it's a mineral. The most basic example would probably be charcoal. Activated carbon is what you get after heat is used on the carbon to drive all of the impurities out, leaving room for more to take their place. Think of it as a sponge, only instead of using pressure to extract the contents, we're using heat. Once the activated carbon is full, it can actually be reactivated by re-heating, though this is considered by most to be both impractical and dangerous. So, in this case, activated basically means empty.
Different Types Of Activated Carbon
Basically, yes. Though there are different types of activated carbon, and it's often described in various ways, all activated carbon is nothing more than amorphous carbon-based materials. These materials all have many holes, also known as a high degree of porosity, which cover a relatively large surface area. This is what gives the material such awesome absorbent quality, enabling it to work so extremely well in filtering both air and water. - 32378
How Is Active Carbon Used In HEPA Air Purifiers?
Choosing HEPA air purifiers is often the first time most people encounter activated carbon. They begin their search because of allergies or asthma, but they have no real idea how these machines work. As they look deeper, they'll start to learn that odors and chemicals are what's actually causing the vast majority of the issues they're trying to remedy. Most quality HEPA air purifiers are designed to eliminate allergens as well as odors and chemicals in the air. This is where the activated carbon comes in.
How Was Activated Carbon Used Before HEPA Air Purifiers?
Oddly enough, we humans have been using activated carbon to filter water for a long time; as long as two centuries. Way back then, they already knew of activated carbon's great absorption qualities. Beginning in the early 1900's, activated carbon was produced and sold commercially in the form of a powder. Only used to remove taste or smell from water or color from sugar, we really didn't know at that point exactly what all it could do for us. Once World War I was in full swing, it was discovered that it could be used in gas masks for protecting our soldiers from the chemical agents in the air. The soldiers also used it, as did their ancestors, for water purification. By this point, commercial activated carbon had evolved from powder form to a granular form, which was the beginning of activated carbon being used in even more other ways.
What Does "Activated" Mean?
Most people have a general idea of what carbon is - it's a mineral. The most basic example would probably be charcoal. Activated carbon is what you get after heat is used on the carbon to drive all of the impurities out, leaving room for more to take their place. Think of it as a sponge, only instead of using pressure to extract the contents, we're using heat. Once the activated carbon is full, it can actually be reactivated by re-heating, though this is considered by most to be both impractical and dangerous. So, in this case, activated basically means empty.
Different Types Of Activated Carbon
Basically, yes. Though there are different types of activated carbon, and it's often described in various ways, all activated carbon is nothing more than amorphous carbon-based materials. These materials all have many holes, also known as a high degree of porosity, which cover a relatively large surface area. This is what gives the material such awesome absorbent quality, enabling it to work so extremely well in filtering both air and water. - 32378
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