Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Adsorption is a natural process by which molecules of a dissolved compound collect on and adhere
to the surface of an adsorbent solid. Adsorption occurs when the attractive forces at the carbon
surface overcome the attractive forces of the liquid.

Granular activated carbon is a particularly good adsorbent medium due to its high surface area to
volume ratio. One gram of a typical commercial activated carbon will have a surface area
equivalent to 1,000 square meters. This high surface area permits the accumulation of a large
number of contaminant molecules.

Source: http://www.carbtrol.com/images/white-pa ... &waste.pdf

QUESTION: How could just one gram of activated carbon have a surface area equivalent to 1000 sq meter(Such a huge area)- Unable to understand this?


Can anyone help me in this?

Hi maravindthangam,

The structure of activated carbon includes a huge number of pores. These pores range in size from a couple of nanometers to more than 100 nanometers across. The high surface area of activated carbon is due to the surface area within the pores.

More information about activated carbon properties is available at the following links.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activated_carbon

http://www.haycarb.com/activated-carbon

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/ent ... ted_carbon

I hope this helps. Please post again if you have more questions.

A. Norman