Regeneration Service By CK Regen Systems

Activated carbon can be regenerated several times while retaining the same adsorption capacity. Regeneration offers substantial cost savings and restores the carbon to 97% or greater of its original adsorption capacity. In addition to adsorptive capacity, the recycling of spent granular or extruded carbon eliminates the need for incineration or landfill disposal.

Classical regeneration of spent Activated Carbon is performed off-site in a furnace, rotary kiln or multiple hearth furnaces. The thermal regeneration process is similar to that used to manufacture the original Activated Carbon and is especially used where large tonnages of granular activated carbon are involved. Thermal regeneration can regenerate spent gas phase granular activated carbons where the adsorbed impurities have a high boiling point or are very strongly adsorbed and for spent liquid phase Activated Carbons used in water treatment.

Some Activated Carbon particles will break during handling and the regeneration process burns off some of the Activated Carbon to produce slightly smaller particles on average. This loss will be made up with fresh input of virgin material.

Chemical regeneration involves treatment with acids or alkalis. It can be used for GAC saturated with certain organic acids. The most widely used chemicals are sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid. Chemical regeneration is generally used when only single adsorbates need to be removed or recovered. This treatment can restore only partial activity to carbons loaded with a heterogeneous mixture of adsorbates, such as those normally present in industrial streams or effluents. Biological regeneration has also been utilized to treat carbons used in purification of textile mill and oil refinery wastewater.

The number of times granular Activated Carbon can be regenerated and the periods between regeneration vary significantly depending on the type of carbon and on its application. In solvent recovery, GAC can be used for up to 5,000 cycles.