Indo Activated Carbon / Activated carbon glossary
Terms are listed A to Z. Each one gives a short definition, how to read it on a supplier sheet, the unit and method where known, and a status tag for the source.
Verified means the figure comes from a page we opened and read on 2026-10-20. It records what that page says, not that the number is guaranteed. Under research means we found it in a search listing or a general source and have not checked the original. Data not available yet marks what Kora has not published.
The step that turns charcoal into activated carbon. Charcoal is held at high temperature in steam or carbon dioxide (physical activation), or treated with a chemical agent and heated (chemical activation). Both open a network of fine pores.
On a sheet: A grade sheet rarely says how a carbon was activated. Ask, because steam and chemical routes can give different pore structures.
Under research, not yet verified · General description; not a Kora process statement.
Molecules sticking to the surface of a solid. It is not absorption, where a substance soaks into the bulk. Activated carbon works by adsorption on the walls of its pores.
On a sheet: Every adsorption number on a sheet (iodine, butane, CTC) is a stand-in for how much pore surface is available to a certain size of molecule.
Under research, not yet verified · General definition.
Weight of a fixed volume of loosely poured carbon, in g/cc or kg per cubic metre. It decides how much carbon fits in a filter bed or a bag.
On a sheet: One supplier table lists 0.40 to 0.54 g/cc across its grades. Compare density only within the same particle size.
Verified · Supplier-published range (Ecologix Systems page, read 2026-10-20).
Mineral residue left after the carbon is burned off completely, as a percentage of weight. Lower ash means fewer soluble minerals that can leach into water or a process liquid.
On a sheet: The same supplier table gives a maximum of 5% for regular grades and 3% for water-washed grades. Look for "max", not an average.
Verified · Supplier-published range (Ecologix Systems, 2026-10-20). Method number from standards listings.
Total surface per gram estimated from nitrogen adsorption, in m²/g. It is the headline number for porosity, but it is a model, not a direct count.
On a sheet: Supplier tables often show 850 to 1,350 m²/g. Do not convert it to iodine number: the iodine standard itself warns that the link between the two cannot be generalised. The BET method number was not found in our sources.
Under research, not yet verified · Range from one supplier table; the caution comes from a standards listing (search summary).
Percentage of its own weight that a carbon holds when exposed to butane under test conditions. A quick check of pore volume, common for gold-recovery and air grades.
On a sheet: One manufacturer’s data links it to CTC activity with a factor of 2.55, and lists gold grades with butane minimums of 17.5% and 23.3%. That is a single source from a search summary.
Under research, not yet verified · Manufacturer data seen in a search summary; PDF not opened.
The first stage: heating shell or wood with too little air to burn, so it turns into charcoal. Carbonization comes before activation.
On a sheet: Kora states that its shell charcoal is pyrolyzed in kiln and retort ovens. The temperature and time are not stated, and they influence volatile matter and ash.
Verified · Kora shell charcoal page, read 2026-10-20 (Kora’s own statement).
Carbonized material with no engineered pore network. It burns as fuel, serves as a pressing base for briquettes, and is the feedstock that activators start from.
On a sheet: Kora’s shell charcoal and charcoal powder belong here. Kora’s pages sell them as fuel and as feedstock for industrial carbon processors; the word "activation" is not on them.
Verified · Kora shell charcoal and charcoal powder pages, read 2026-10-20.
Carbon tetrachloride activity: percentage of its weight a carbon takes up from carbon tetrachloride vapour. An older pore-volume test.
On a sheet: A supplier table lists minimums of 50% to 80%. Because the solvent is hazardous, butane activity is increasingly quoted instead. No ASTM number for CTC was found in our sources.
Under research, not yet verified · Range from one supplier table; trend is a general observation.
The raw material that is carbonized and activated. For coconut-shell carbon it is the shell itself, or shell that has already been made into charcoal.
On a sheet: Shell is a large cost line. A producer quoted in trade press in 2023 put shell from five Southeast Asian countries at about 70% of its production cost.
Under research, not yet verified · Trade-press report read through a search summary (Mining Weekly 2023).
In a charcoal analysis, the share of weight that is carbon once moisture, volatile matter and ash are set aside.
On a sheet: Kora states fixed carbon of at least 70% for its shell charcoal. By itself this does not tell an activator how the charcoal will behave; volatile matter and size matter too.
Verified · Kora shell charcoal page, read 2026-10-20.
Carbon-in-pulp, carbon-in-leach and carbon-in-columns: mining circuits where carbon granules capture dissolved gold.
On a sheet: One supplier tells gold buyers to define mesh, hardness, attrition, ash, iodine, adsorption rate and moisture for themselves. That checklist is a good template for any purchase.
Verified · Black Opal Carbons gold-recovery page, read 2026-10-20.
Granular carbon (GAC) is sieved into particles you can pack in a bed. Powdered carbon (PAC) is fine enough to mix into a liquid. Pellets are extruded cylinders.
On a sheet: Form decides handling, dust and pressure drop, so it comes before grade in most buying decisions. One large producer lists all three forms.
Under research, not yet verified · Forms listed on a producer page read 2026-10-20; usage pattern is general.
How well granules survive breaking and wear. A sample is shaken with steel balls, and hardness is the share that stays on the sieve.
On a sheet: A supplier table lists minimums of 95% to 99%. Gold circuits care most because the carbon moves between tanks and loses fines.
Verified · Supplier-published range (Ecologix Systems, 2026-10-20); gold relevance from Black Opal Carbons.
Milligrams of iodine one gram of carbon adsorbs under test conditions. It is a rough indicator of the fine pores available to small molecules.
On a sheet: One supplier table shows minimums from about 800 to 1,300 mg/g depending on grade. A higher number is not always better for your use; match it to the molecule you want to remove.
Verified · Supplier-published range (Ecologix Systems, 2026-10-20). Method number from standards listings.
Granule size by sieve openings. A label such as 8x30 means the particles pass an 8 sieve and are held by a 30 sieve (US sieve series).
On a sheet: The supplier table we read lists 4x8, 6x12, 8x16, 8x30, 12x40 and 20x50. Charcoal powder is also sold by mesh; Kora says powder mesh is set to specification.
Verified · Ecologix Systems page and Kora charcoal powder page, read 2026-10-20.
Water in the carbon as shipped, in percent of weight, usually quoted as a maximum. You pay for the water, and it can distort other test results.
On a sheet: The supplier table shows a maximum of 5% for regular and 2% for washed activated grades. Kora states at most 10% for its raw shell charcoal, which is a different material.
Verified · Ecologix Systems page and Kora shell charcoal page, read 2026-10-20.
Acidity or alkalinity of carbon in water. Steam-activated coconut carbon is usually alkaline.
On a sheet: The supplier table shows 9.5 to 11 for regular grades and 8 to 9.5 for water-washed ones. No pH method number was named.
Verified · Supplier-published range (Ecologix Systems, 2026-10-20).
Heating spent carbon to restore much of its capacity so it can be used again.
On a sheet: A large producer offers regeneration as a service. AWWA B605 appears in search listings as the reactivation standard; its text was not opened.
Under research, not yet verified · Producer page read 2026-10-20; standard named from a listing only.
The part of a charcoal that leaves as gas when it is heated without air, as percent of weight. It tells you how fully the charcoal has been carbonized.
On a sheet: Two lab studies of coconut-shell charcoal report about 14.8% and 24.9% at different carbonization temperatures, and one says 20% to 25% suits activation. These are experiments, not trade specifications. Kora’s pages do not state volatile matter.
Under research, not yet verified · Two lab studies seen in search summaries; not opened in full.
A carbon rinsed after activation to remove soluble minerals. Acid-washed grades are treated with acid for a deeper clean.
On a sheet: In the supplier table, washed grades have lower ash and moisture limits and a lower pH than regular ones. Washing adds a step, so ask what it is for.
Verified · Supplier-published table (Ecologix Systems, 2026-10-20).