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Recharging Activated Carbon Can it be Done?

4

420-Grower07

Member
CAN IT BE DONE???:chin:​

Hey Kids i got a Carbon Filter I built and It work great for a week or so but i noticed the smell was slowly getting stronger. Any way i spent $15 on Carbon and i was wondering if it can be recharged??? Other wise its goin to be a expensive next 5 weeks.....


420_G
 
Storm Crow

Storm Crow

Active member
Veteran
Yes- aquarium owners have done it for years!

Yes- aquarium owners have done it for years!

Just spread it out on a cookie sheet and bake at low temperature for a couple of hours! - Granny
 
blynx

blynx

WALSTIB
Moderator
ICMag Donor
Veteran
For the average Joe Schmoe, the quick answer is No you cannot 'recharge' activated carbon.

The Army Corp of Engineers has a publication called the “ADSORPTION DESIGN GUIDE” (DG 1110-1-2)

In it they say “regeneration” means removing the contaminants from the carbon without destroying them and “reactivation,” which occurs at very high temperatures, means destroying the contaminants and reactivating the carbon.

They mention steaming as a method of regeneration.

For reactivation, they mention temperatures of 1500 degrees F. I don't think either your oven or laying it in the sun is going to come close to that temperature.
 
P

pgtekin

New member
You can regenerate Carbon by Microwave or Chemical materials. The reactivation ratio will be around 70~90%. These data are got from some serious Tech (Chemical Field) papers. All solutions had been proven based on experiments. The problems that make hard to apply are :
1) Longtime, Chemical reactivation need 24 hours and some special chemical washer devices and a Auto-Baker.
2) Microwave reactivation needs non-oxygen env. Microwave Oven's power is need to control carefully. Timing is also other issue.
I currently do several carbon reactivation tests (Microwave, Chemical etc). My target is : We can use normal home-style equipments to cook and reactive Carbon finally.
Meanwhile, you can add some special chemical materials to payload on the Carbon. If it works, these chemical can make odor eliminating more efficient.
Army's article is right. Most efficient regen method is steaming.
BTW, I wonder 420_G's carbon is regen carbon. And the carbon's regen ratio is not very high. So It dead so quickly. Lots cheap carbons are rebuilt products from Asia.

P.S., from an industrial water/Air Pollution Control view, materials (odor) scrubbed by carbon are very light. So it should be easily removed (Compared with heave dirty waste water pollution). For waste water, these carbon's regeneration need very high temp, so steaming is necessary.
 
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S

swampskunk

Member
... thanks for the advice? i like trying to keep my costs as low as possible. carbon's cheap, sure, but if you can re-use it, why not?
 
G

Guest

... thanks for the advice? i like trying to keep my costs as low as possible. carbon's cheap, sure, but if you can re-use it, why not?
Click to expand...

420-Grower07 said:
haha after reading this i just went out and spent $15 and got more at walmart
Click to expand...

$15 is a cheap investment to keep you out of jail... :wave:

I buy it by the 50 lb bags for the larger cans. I have a friend in the filter industry and by doing this I save 75% cost on a new can.

I don't know, you don't want to spend 2 hours baking it in the oven or $15 on new carbon.... :badday:

Hard man to please. :laughing:
 
L

Liam

Active member
No one recharges it, its cheaper to buy new stuff.

If you want reusable odour control, go with zeolite, grade C. That releases all odours just by being in the suns uv rays.
 
S

swampskunk

Member
Northern Farmer said:
$15 is a cheap investment to keep you out of jail... :wave:

I buy it by the 50 lb bags for the larger cans. I have a friend in the filter industry and by doing this I save 75% cost on a new can.

I don't know, you don't want to spend 2 hours baking it in the oven or $15 on new carbon.... :badday:

Hard man to please. :laughing:
Click to expand...

i try to do as much research as i can before i run out and spend any money at all. i have only recently ran into a strain that makes my entire house stink, and cover-ups just aren't cutting it. but thanks for making assumptions about my situation, advising me of your "special carbon connection" and just being so snide in general.

minds_I does the coco work better/last longer or what?

edit: and liam, i hardly see how buying new carbon would be cheaper than 2 hours in an oven IF it actually works, which is what i'm trying to find out.
 
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badgr

badgr

Member
Sounds to me like you have the wrong size or construction carbon filter. In other words you may be doing it all wrong. My carbon scrubbers last me at least a year with no noticable smell difference. If you start to smell your garden after only one weeks use you proubly need a way bigger filter. Do you have some specs so we can help you more? It's not the carbons fault. And why would you keep buying new carbon all the time? Fix the problem. I personally don't re use carbon. The stuff is basicily a life saver for us growers. Good luck son.
PEACE.
 
minds_I

minds_I

Active member
Veteran
Hello all,

The coco carbon is considered to be superior to coal based AC.

As to how long it works depends on other things but my filter is about the size of a "can100" with a 265cfm dayton in a two chamber cabinet

Trying to re-activate your carbon is a noble plan but may prove to be more of a PITA and your results may not prove fruitful.

If money is an issue...you can try using some other techniques for odor control...pinesol bubblers for one.

minds_I
 
E

earthwyrms

Active member
important topic revisited, bump, none other like it found on the forums so far

important topic revisited, bump, none other like it found on the forums so far

i am wondering the same thing. some people just can't afford the carbon or need it for other material.

Storm Crow says "[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
icon10.gif
Yes- aquarium owners have done it for years!
[/FONT]"
Storm Crow said:
Just spread it out on a cookie sheet and bake at low temperature for a couple of hours! - Granny
Click to expand...

pgtekin says
"
pgtekin said:
You can regenerate Carbon by Microwave or Chemical materials. The reactivation ratio will be around 70~90%. These data are got from some serious Tech (Chemical Field) papers. All solutions had been proven based on experiments. The problems that make hard to apply are :
1) Longtime, Chemical reactivation need 24 hours and some special chemical washer devices and a Auto-Baker.
2) Microwave reactivation needs non-oxygen env. Microwave Oven's power is need to control carefully. Timing is also other issue.
I currently do several carbon reactivation tests (Microwave, Chemical etc). My target is : We can use normal home-style equipments to cook and reactive Carbon finally.
Meanwhile, you can add some special chemical materials to payload on the Carbon. If it works, these chemical can make odor eliminating more efficient.
Army's article is right. Most efficient regen method is steaming.
BTW, I wonder 420_G's carbon is regen carbon. And the carbon's regen ratio is not very high. So It dead so quickly. Lots cheap carbons are rebuilt products from Asia.

P.S., from an industrial water/Air Pollution Control view, materials (odor) scrubbed by carbon are very light. So it should be easily removed (Compared with heave dirty waste water pollution). For waste water, these carbon's regeneration need very high temp, so steaming is necessary.
Click to expand...

"

so maybe the volatiles / terpenes that are being filtered only need the heat to evaporate / deadsorb them.

the carbon breaking down quickly is a bummer. is this true? maximizing the components use with the least amount of resources is important to me. getting carbon isn't cheap, i got maybe a pound for 20 dollars. i like to know that i can recycle that if i can or get zeolite if that is recycleable because that doesn't seem like alot of carbon.

i too read the coconut carbon is ideal, actually the seller i got from listed it is what brita filters use.

i am guessing zeolite is better if used in the right type / kind

Liam says
"
Liam said:
No one recharges it, its cheaper to buy new stuff.

If you want reusable odour control, go with zeolite, grade C. That releases all odours just by being in the suns uv rays.
Click to expand...

"

i am not sure which kind that is.
kitty litter kind maybe? the ones with smaller chunks are better i assume.
what i want to know is what is the absolute best zeolite to get, as aluminum zeolite doesn't break down easiliy it seems and can recharged in the oven forever possibly.

one thing not mentioned, if all that stench is contained in the filter, once it is baked off, does the house smell super dank :p ?

how many bakings does coconut carbon take?
 
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