Hi,
This is possibly a stupid question, but can anyone tell me what the differences are between activated and non activated charcoal, activated and non activated carbon, and graphite?
I have old charcoal blocks and a couple bottles of activated charcoal powder. I'm trying to work out how these should best be stored.
Chemffx lists both activated and non-activated charcoal as a dangerous good, non activated carbon as a dangerous good, activated carbon wwas dg on some msds but not others , graphite was not DG but depending on the MSDS could be hazardous.
At the moment the bottles of activated charcoal powder are stored in DG 4.2 in a metal dish In my chem store room. The charcoal blocks are also in this section, but are only in a (rather large) cardboard box. I don't have flammable cupboards.
Please help!
carbon/graphite
Re: carbon/graphite
OK, lots of tech talk available on the net, but here's the basic info:
Activated carbon powder is the very fancy industry name for carbon with lots of surface area on the particles - in other words very fine carbon powder. This "activated" powder can be bound with a "binder" - read "glue" - to form a charcoal block that has very fine pores, instead of random sized, possibly large pores. The very fine surface area gives a larger S.A to mass ratio, meaning that is enhances the opportunities for the carbon to grab onto passing molecules of whatever, and filter them out of whatever medium they're in.
Therefore, activated carbon, or charcoal, is used to filter the water in fish tanks, the gas in portable fume hoods and a bunch of other applications. The carbon blocks in fish filters can become "de-activitated" (as the bloke in the pet shop might tell you) because basically the pores get full of crap - probably literally. Similarly, the molecules of carbon in gas filters fill up with attached molecules of other stuff, e.g. gases, and stop working as efficiently.
NON-activated charcoal is just good old fashioned BBQ beads created from wood burnt in the absence of oxygen. Both of them can be fire hazards, only because, as we know from our BBQ's, if they do catch fire, they'll burn happily for hours.
Is that enough info for a Monday morning.
Activated carbon powder is the very fancy industry name for carbon with lots of surface area on the particles - in other words very fine carbon powder. This "activated" powder can be bound with a "binder" - read "glue" - to form a charcoal block that has very fine pores, instead of random sized, possibly large pores. The very fine surface area gives a larger S.A to mass ratio, meaning that is enhances the opportunities for the carbon to grab onto passing molecules of whatever, and filter them out of whatever medium they're in.
Therefore, activated carbon, or charcoal, is used to filter the water in fish tanks, the gas in portable fume hoods and a bunch of other applications. The carbon blocks in fish filters can become "de-activitated" (as the bloke in the pet shop might tell you) because basically the pores get full of crap - probably literally. Similarly, the molecules of carbon in gas filters fill up with attached molecules of other stuff, e.g. gases, and stop working as efficiently.
NON-activated charcoal is just good old fashioned BBQ beads created from wood burnt in the absence of oxygen. Both of them can be fire hazards, only because, as we know from our BBQ's, if they do catch fire, they'll burn happily for hours.
Is that enough info for a Monday morning.
Cheers, K 
Re: carbon/graphite
That's the best, simplist explanation I've heard
Good one Smiley
Good one Smiley
