Industrial Odor and Air Stream Carbon Filtration
Pellet and impregnated activated carbon filters for industrial odor control on wastewater treatment plant vents, sewage pumping stations, food processing exhausts, and manufacturing odor abatement.
Applications
Process Purification & Recovery
Applications
7 process duties
Compliance
USP · GMP · ISBT
Technology
GAC · PAC · CMS · Impregnated AC
Manufacturing
ISO 9001:2015
Application Theme · Engineered by SorbiTech
Decolorisation, solvent recovery, gold adsorption, and pharmaceutical purification across process plants.
Process purification and recovery covers the duties where adsorption removes colour, captures a high value compound, or eliminates a trace contaminant from a process stream. The seven applications in this theme span sugar and syrup decolorisation, pharmaceutical API purification, solvent vapour recovery, beverage CO₂ purification, gold recovery, edible oil bleaching, and industrial odour control.
The dominant technology is activated carbon. The precursor selection and the pore distribution drive the choice: coconut shell for gold cyanide adsorption and small molecule capture, coal based for broad pore distribution on solvent recovery and gas phase service, lignite for high mesopore volume on decolorisation duty.
SorbiTech delivers each duty under a documented qualification. USP and GMP grades for pharmaceutical service, ISBT specification for beverage carbon dioxide, NSF/ANSI 61 eligible grades for food contact. The lifecycle service contract handles reactivation logistics and the regulatory documentation required by the auditor.
Mechanism
Activated carbon precursor selection drives the duty. Coconut shell for micropore dominant. Coal for broad pore. Lignite for mesopore. The pore distribution is matched to the contaminant size.
iodine above 1000 mg/g
Gold loading
85 to 95 percent virgin activity
Reactivation
Process Description
Precursor and Pore Selection
Coconut shell carbon has the highest micropore volume of the standard precursors. Iodine numbers above 1000 mg per gram are routinely achieved. The micropore dominant structure suits gold cyanide adsorption in CIP and CIL circuits, drinking water polishing, and small molecule guard duty. Coconut shell is the reference grade for the duty.
Coal based carbon has a broad pore distribution and high mechanical strength. It is the workhorse for gas phase service, solvent recovery, and heavy hydrocarbon adsorption where the duty cycles between adsorption and steam regeneration. Lignite based carbon has the highest macropore volume and the highest decolorisation capacity, making it the grade for sugar and syrup decolorisation and edible oil bleaching.
Engineering & Delivery
Qualified for the Duty
SorbiTech qualifies each carbon grade for the duty against the regulatory standard the buyer needs to meet. USP and GMP compliant grades for pharmaceutical purification with the supporting documentation for the regulator submission. ISBT certified grades for beverage CO₂ guard beds with food grade certification of analysis and Halal and Kosher eligibility on request.
For gold recovery the duty is engineered as a complete CIP/CIL gold carbon plant or as a media supply contract for an existing operator with their own circuit. The reactivation programme returns the loaded carbon through the licensed reactivation facility, recovers the gold via elution and electrowinning, and restores the carbon to 85 to 95 percent of virgin activity for return to the leach tank.
Process duties in this theme
Each duty page carries the inlet specification, the recommended media or system, the cycle parameters, and the engineering selection guidance.
Edible Oil Bleaching
Powdered activated carbon and bleaching earth combination for edible oil bleaching to remove chlorophyll, carotenoids, and oxidation products from palm, sunflower, soybean, and canola oils.
Gold Recovery (CIP / CIL)
Carbon in pulp (CIP) and carbon in leach (CIL) gold recovery using high activity coconut shell granular activated carbon to adsorb dissolved gold cyanide from cyanide leach slurry.
Beverage Carbon Dioxide Purification
Pellet activated carbon guard bed for beverage grade carbon dioxide purification meeting ISBT (International Society of Beverage Technologists) specifications for carbonated soft drinks, beer, and sparkling water.
Solvent Vapor Recovery
Solvent vapor recovery using twin tower pellet activated carbon adsorbers with steam or vacuum regeneration to capture and recover volatile organic solvents from process and printing vents.
Pharmaceutical API Purification
USP and EP grade powdered activated carbon for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) purification by slurry contact, removing colour bodies, residual catalysts, and trace impurities ahead of final crystallisation.
Sugar and Syrup Decolorization
Powdered activated carbon decolorization of cane and beet sugar syrups, glucose syrups, and high fructose corn syrups to meet contracted ICUMSA colour grade for refined product.
Ethanol Dehydration (Biofuel)
Breaking the ethanol water azeotrope using 3A molecular sieve to produce fuel grade anhydrous ethanol at 99.5 percent purity or higher for blending into gasoline.
Biogas Upgrading (CO₂ Removal)
Carbon dioxide removal from anaerobic digester biogas and landfill gas using carbon molecular sieve PSA to deliver grid quality bio methane for pipeline injection or CNG vehicle fuel.
Industries served by this theme
Four representative industries where SorbiTech delivers installations under this application theme, with the engineering record behind each.
One supplier covers the chemistry, the vessel, and the EPC
Adsorption duties touch the media specification, the vessel design, and the project execution at the same time. SorbiTech engineers all three from the same record, with one performance guarantee against the contracted outlet condition.
Engineered, Not Traded
The grade shipped is the grade engineered into the vessel design. SorbiTech designs the unit, sizes the bed, and supplies the media as one decision.
Lot Traceability per Shipment
Every shipment carries a certificate of analysis covering iodine, water capacity, crush strength, attrition loss, and bulk density measured against the lot.
Lifecycle Service Contract
The bed is supported through its service life. Field sampling, performance audit, reactivation logistics, and end of life return under one agreement.
Cross Disciplinary Team
Process engineers, mechanical designers, and lifecycle specialists work the same project. The recommendation closes against duty data, not a catalogue page.
Duty to recommended solution
Starting point for the engineering conversation. The final specification closes out after SorbiTech receives the inlet composition, the operating window, and the target outlet condition.
Duty or Target
Recommended Approach
Gold recovery in CIP and CIL leach circuits
Coconut shell GAC, iodine above 1000 mg/g, high abrasion strength for slurry service.
Sugar and syrup decolorisation
Lignite based PAC or column GAC for slurry contact and bulk decolorisation duty.
Solvent vapour recovery from process vents
Coal based pellet, butane working capacity above 12 percent, steam regeneration cycle.
Pharmaceutical API purification under GMP
USP grade PAC, slurry contact, batch filtration, full documentation pack.
Beverage CO₂ guard bed
Food grade pellet activated carbon, ISBT specification, Halal and Kosher certified.
Common Questions on Process Purification & Recovery
Which carbon precursor suits gold recovery?
Coconut shell. The micropore dominant structure adsorbs the gold cyanide complex efficiently, and the high hardness handles the abrasive slurry service in CIP and CIL leach tanks. Iodine numbers above 1000 mg per gram are standard for the duty.
How is decolorisation capacity tested?
By a laboratory dose response test on the actual stream. The standard method loads a sequence of carbon doses, contacts each dose for a defined time, measures the residual colour, and identifies the dose that meets the target outlet. The test is run on the buyer source material, not on a synthetic standard.
What documentation is supplied for pharmaceutical duty?
USP monograph compliance, certificate of analysis for iodine, methylene blue, decolorization, moisture, and ash, plus heavy metals analysis and microbial testing. The GMP grade carries traceability to the manufacturing batch and the documentation required for the buyer regulatory submission.
How does the gold reactivation programme work?
Loaded carbon from CIP and CIL is eluted in a heated caustic cyanide solution that strips the gold for downstream electrowinning. The barren carbon is then thermally reactivated at 850 to 900 °C in a rotary kiln, restoring 85 to 95 percent of virgin activity. The reactivated carbon returns to the leach tank under the SorbiTech contract.
Can solvent recovery achieve closed loop operation?
Yes. A carbon bed captures the solvent from the process vent at 95 percent recovery or better, steam regeneration desorbs the solvent for condensation and return to the process, and the regenerated carbon returns to service. Closed loop operation depends on the solvent specification and the regeneration utility availability.
Cannot Find Your Application?
Our 112-application database covers most industrial duties. Contact us to find the right solution.