Activated Carbon as a Catalyst or for Catalyst Support

With its large surface area, purity and relative hardness, activated carbon is an ideal carrier for catalytic metals or indeed as a catalyst in its own right. Chemviron produces a range of activated carbons, standard or tailor-made, which are ideally suited for use in these specific applications.

Some of the applications where Chemviron’s activated carbons are successfully used as a catalyst are included below:

• Batteries - Dry cell batteries where the catalytic activity of the internal surface area of the carbon allows zinc-oxygen depolarisation.
• Cyanuric Chloride - Activated Carbon promotes the chlorination of hydrocyanic acid to cyanogen chloride and ultimately cyanuric chloride.
• Glyphosate - This is a biodegradable herbicide. Chemviron  has produced a special catalytically enhanced activated carbon, CENTAUR®, which is available as a powder or granular material and can be used as the oxidation catalyst for glyphosate production.
• Merox - MRM-X is a specially developed steam activated bituminous coal activated carbon for use in the Merox process for mercaptan removal in petroleum distillates.
• Phosgene - Activated carbon is used both for the production and destruction of phosgene. During production, carbon monoxide and chlorine are catalysed on activated carbon.
• Precious Metals Carrier - Chemviron  has a range of granular and powdered, high purity, hard coconut carbons that are ideally suited as precious metal catalyst carriers for use in the pharmaceutical and chemicals industry.