History and use of activated carbon Activated carbon has been used to treat water for more than 2000 years. It was produced commercially in Holland at the beginning of the 20th century and used to de-colorize sugar and distilled spirits. From 1930 it was used for water treatment to remove taste and odour. The unique thermal activation process used in manufacturing activated carbon produces an very large surface area, E.g., 1 gram = > 1000 m². The carbon surface is non-polar which results in an affinity for non-polar adsorbates such as volatile organic contaminates (voc’s) that can remain in the water after the distillation phase. Adsorption is a surface phenomenon in which adsorbates are attracted to and held onto the pore surface of the carbon by Van der Waal’s forces. Water distillers and post carbon treatment Water distillers can actually allow a tiny percentage of impurities, voc’s to migrate into the storage container during distillation. Voc’s including some pesticides and solvents, boil at temperatures below or very close to water (98 – 103° C) . Distillation alone might not be enough to remove voc’s. Distillers equipped to remove these substances have activated carbon post treatment filters.
