How is Granular Activated Carbon Used for Power Plants?

Treating water and removing contaminants from other such liquids is often important in power plants. Many power plants achieve these goals with the help of granular activated carbon.

Granular activated carbon is a filtration medium with several possible uses in a power plant setting. The following guide will cover a few noteworthy examples.

What You Need to Know About Granular Activated Carbon

Granular activated carbon is a common water treatment and filtration media. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), granular activated carbon boasts a large surface area capable of trapping large amounts of contaminants. The EPA states granular activated carbon may even have a removal efficiency of up to 99.9% for a range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Using granular activated carbon in water treatment may also be a wise financial decision. Its cost-effectiveness lies in the efficient removal of contaminants, ensuring clean water and long-term savings on purification. Often, it’s possible to transport “spent” granular activated carbon (granular activated carbon that is too contaminated to trap more contaminants) to facilities where specialists may heat it to very high temperatures. Doing so removes the contaminants that have accumulated. Removal of said contaminants allows for reuse of the filtration media.

Applications for Granular Activated Carbon in Power Plants

Granular activated carbon has many potential uses in a power plant setting. The following are a few noteworthy examples:

Treating Water

Many types of power plants use water for various purposes. Naturally, some use water to generate power. Even those that don’t may nevertheless use process water, a general term for industrial-use water.

Treating this water is often useful for several reasons. For instance, by removing contaminants from the water, granular activated carbon can prevent said contaminants from slowly damaging or eroding a power plant’s equipment.

Purifying Gas Treatment Liquids

Water isn’t the only liquid that granular activated carbon can filter and treat. Granular activated carbon can also purify gas treatment liquids. Doing so guards against corrosion. Power plants may operate with greater efficiency as a result.

Granular activated carbon may even remove compounds from natural gas itself. Purifying gas in this manner reduces the negative environmental impact of natural gas usage.

Recovering Solvents

Power plants using solvents for industrial purposes may also rely on granular activated carbon to treat or filter them. Treating solvents with granular activated carbon may allow for reuse of those solvents.

That’s a critical point. Granular activated carbon can help power plants minimize resource loss and prevent damage to their facilities. Thus, using granular activated carbon in a power plant setting could be an effective money-saving strategy.

Granular Activated Carbon in Power Plants: Boosting Efficiency in Many Ways

The above isn’t an exhaustive list. The specific ways in which power plants use granular activated carbon can depend on the nature of their operations.

The main point to understand is that granular activated carbon can do more than treat drinking and bathing water. Even in industrial settings, its purification capabilities offer value. These are just some examples of how they may do so.

Puragen offers granular activated carbon and various other purification and filtration products.