Activated Charcoal, technically known as Activated Carbon, is one of the most exploited agents in the 21st century. The uses and benefits of activated charcoal are so numerous and diverse that it is axiomatic that one cannot live a day without directly using or being intimately impacted by multiple activated charcoal products or applications.

Activated Charcoal Applications, Uses & Benefits

Activated Charcoal Applications:

• industrial/pharmaceutical/chemical/military/agricultural/environmental - adsorption of unwanted chemicals
• neutralize toxic compounds
• medical
• food purification
• metalurgy
• carrier for chemical catalysts
• soil enrichment
• greenhouse gas reduction
• soundwave/microwave/radiowave capture

Activated Charcoal Uses:

• Air filters in gas masks, filter masks, air compressors.
• Food coloring
• Gas purification
• Gold purification
• Medicine: liver and kidney dialysis machines, laser surgery, breast cancer surgery, stomach decontamination from drug/food poisoning, wound dressing...
• Metal extraction
• Metal finishing - the purification of electroplating solutions, as in bright nickel-plating solutions.
• Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC) suits
• Nuclear power plants
• Recycling solvents
• Rye grass seed industry
• Sewage treatment
• Snow avalanche control - helping to melt snow
• Soil enhancement
• Sound systems - "cleaning" out bad background noise
• Toxic soil cleanup from chemical spills or accumulation of chemical spraying
• Volatile organic compounds capture: from painting, dry cleaning, gasoline dispensing operations, and other processes.
• Water purification: aquariums, swimming pools, domestic & municipal water systems, recycling precious water on the orbiting space station (cost $10,000/liter)

Activated Charcoal Benefits:

• Scientific - scientifically studied and validated with thousands and thousands of research papers.
• Safe* - FDA Category I - "Safe & Effective for poisoning". So safe it is used to filter the water we drink and the air we breathe. So safe it is added to some foods for coloring. So safe it is used in kidney and liver dialysis machines in hospitals. Safe for people. Safe for pets and livestock. Safe for the soil. Safe for the environment.
• Free of adverse side effects* - FDA recognized as GRAS. Charcoal workers exposed to high levels of charcoal dust do not get lung cancer as do coal miners.
• Affordable* - compared to other manufactured products used in the chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries, activated carbon is inexpensive.
• Available - in its simplest form charcoal is universally avaialble.
• Medicinal - a 3,500-year history & safety record
• Multitask - filters for thousands of diverse applications.
• GREEN
  • renewable - except for those activated carbons made from coal, more and more activated carbons are being made from renewable sources such as nut shells, corn stover,
  • reusable
    • reactivation - used, "filled up", spent activated carbons, are being reactivated  and resued
    • through the innovation of pyrolisis plants, otherwise unuseable landfill garbage is being carbonized then activated
  • negative carbon footprint - like attracts like. Carbon charcoals incorporated into farm land or contaminated soils actually pull carbon from the air and capture them into the soil. How GREEN is that!
  • environmentally responsible - from beginning to end activated charcoals do not harm the environment.
  • not only is activated charcoal able to be renewed but it restores/revitalizes water, air, chemicals, soil, over and over hundreds of times so they can be safely and effective used over and over hundreds of times. Win Win Win.

* This does not necessarily hold true for chemically "impregnated" activated carbons.