Activated Carbon Online

Carbon in Industry

Carbon is a very common element and is absolutely essential to many industries. Given the abundance of carbon it should be no surprise that carbon comes in many different forms and each of these forms have specific applications in an industrial setting. One of the more widely use forms of carbon used in industrial application is activated carbon. Activated carbon also known as activated charcoal or activated coal is processed in such a way as to make it very porous which gives it a large surface area for chemical reactions.

Activated carbon has many applications. It is used for purification of gas, gold, and water, it is used for medical applications and sewage treatment, and it is used in air filters and advanced gas masks. This is possible because the large surface area allows it to absorb impurities and ensure they don’t pass to the target substance. As one example activated carbon can be used to remove poisoning because the toxins attach to the activated carbon and can be removed from the body. This does however have to be performed with caution as activated carbon can potentially be dangerous and if for example it gets in the lungs can lead to pulmonary aspiration which can result in death if not treated quickly and appropriately.

TREAT YOUR OWN WATER

Even in our modern society there are flaws. Many people may not know it but their public city water is polluted with toxic chemicals not fit for any human to drink. Little do most citizens know you could be filtering your own water instead of leaving it to your scummy small town mayors. A process called reverse osmosis has surfaced. It is proven to be able to filter water effectively, unfortunately not yet in large quantities. Reverse osmosis uses plant cells called cellulose to purify the water. As the dirty water is compressed through the cellulose it holds back harmful bacteria and germs. The problem with this is that all that junk gets caught in the so called “filter” and blocks the water’s stream. Therefor making it almost unusable as a reliable filter. Many companies manufacture machines that can quickly produce this reverse osmosis and make into into a compact snap on sink faucet. Many of these filters do not come cheap usually starting at around $100 and reaching up to over $500. Until people realize the dangers of chemical filled water more side effects of the toxins will start affecting the next generations. Hopefully people understand the simplicity and safety of personal filtering systems soon, before it’s too late.

Come to Handyman with All Your Home Related Questions

Did you know that the New England Home Show is 50 years old? If you do, you sure would also know that Handyman, the answer to all your questions on home and hearth related problems have been on the show for 40 years running. The show is going to be on from Feb 26 to March 1 on the Southie waterfront at the Seaport World Trade Center.

Keep all your questions in store and when you visit the show you can shoot all of them to Handyman. Whether you want to know how to insulate your home to ward off the winter or you want to know if you can put a reflector behind your fireplace, you can get answers from Handyman. You could also ask about your water boiler. If the boiler is working properly but the radiator needs cleaning you could ask if you could do it yourself and how you could proceed to do it.

Some of the other common questions asked to Handyman are related to why flooring tiles crack and if the contractor should replace them if it happened only 10 months after they were installed. He can also give you tips about getting rid of odors from dead animals in and around your house. For example he gave a wonderful tip about the use of activated carbon to get rid of 70 percent of the odor in 24 hours time by just placing it in paper plates in and around the place.

Concerned residents told to use carbon filters
In Minnesota 15 communities are being told to use activated carbon water filters. The reasoning behind this that they are worried about a potential contamination from chemicals that were used to create firefighting foam. The reason this has become a concern is that many of the fire training testing areas are adjacent to city walls. It is a concern that the foam could potentially be going into sewers. Stew Thornley is a health educator for the Minnesota health Department, he said that those who don’t want the water treatment, he doesn’t recommend it. It is a concern but those who don’t want to take precaution he feels they have every right to feel that way, and shouldn’t be forced. Minnesota has done its share of research and has found four activated carbon devices and seven RO devices that can reduce PFC’s in the water, but in the end it will come down to the individual as to whether or not they will use them. PFC’s do not break down, and are known to accumulate in humans and wild life. Many companies have stopped making products that had PFC’s but they are still used in fire fighting foam. This is all just a precaution, but everyone should get a water purification device. Even if it isn’t something to worry about, there is nothing to lose from doing so. It may not be a problem but even if its not the individual will be getting cleaner water which will in return be healthy for them any ways.

Orbiting Carbon Observatory Green for Go at NASA

On February 24th, NASA will launch an Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) as a payload on a Taurus XL rocket. With a launch window of just under five minutes, liftoff is scheduled from Vandenberg AFB at 1:51:30 a.m. PST. This will be the first craft devoted to the study of carbon dioxide (CO2) , the number one greenhouse gas responsible for climate change. The idea is to define the whole picture of both human and natural carbon dioxide sources, and their sinks (a sink is where CO2 is pulled from the atmosphere and stored in the earth). This observatory will map both global distribution and monitor the change in emission over time. The Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) in Pasadena will be in control of the mission for NASA, and be involved in interpretation and collection of data.

OCO data will be analyzed and the knowledge gained will help to improve our understanding of processes that control the abundance and distribution of carbon dioxide. It is hoped that this heightened understanding will enable better forecasts of future changes in CO2 both in the atmosphere and in the climate of the Earth.

Planned news conferences will be held featuring the directors of both the Orbiting Carbon Observatory program, the NASA launch group, and the Taurus Rocket program management group on Monday, February 23rd, 2009. A photo-op will be available of the Orbital Science Taurus XL rocket at the launch pad.

Celebrating Dave Limtiaco
Dave Limtiaco worked in the forestry Department since 1998. He was a great man that would rather be outside taking out wildfires than sitting at his computer. Wildfires destroy the land and ruin the peoples drinking water. The fires destroy plants that keep good top soil down. With out those pants the top soil the gets blown away leaving bad soil behind. After all this things grow back, but they usually are grown back to grasses that can burn very easily. So the next year it all tends to burn again. The thing that Dave does is put the fires out, but he is also working to educate people as to what the fires cause and how they are stared. It may shock you but for the most part the fires are intentionally set. There were no fires in the forest before it was opened up to the public. Since it has been there have been countless fires. Sure there are some accidental fires but for the most part the wildfires are arson set by hunters. These hunters use fire to destroy the grass which draws some animals to come to it. Dave Limtiaco is a great man and hopefully you will become more educated in how destructive wildfires are and how we must prevent them not cause them. Listen to Dave’s message and learn more about it by doing your research.