Activated carbon in gold recovery

Even to produce few grams of gold, thousands of tons of ore must be mined, crushed, roasted, ground, treated, pulped and leached. Activated carbon plays a key role in capturing the gold from its ore. In any gold mine, any gold that is not adsorbed by activated carbon will be lost. To achieve the highest possible gold yield, selection of an appropriate activated carbon product is crucial. With the focus on quality, minimal fines formation, reliability and services we can make a difference when it comes to maximizing gold recovery in mines and in your gold circuits.

A major use of activated carbon in mining is in gold recovery, where granular activated carbon (GAC) is used for adsorption of the gold-cyanide complex in carbon-in-pulp (CIP) and carbon-in-leach (CIL) systems, or in carbon-in-column (CIC) systems after a heap leach operation carbon. We offer a wide and dedicated product range including extruded and high-quality broken grades for gold recovery applications. These activated carbons combine superior hardness with adsorption/desorption kinetics and capacity, resulting in fewer fines and associated gold losses.

Carbon in Pulp (CIP) Vs Carbon in Leach (CIL) Vs Carbon in Column (CIC)Carbon in Pulp (CIP):

It is the sequential leach then absorption of gold from ore. During CIP stage, pulp flows through several agitated tanks where sodium cyanide and oxygen have been added to dissolve gold into solution, In the absorption stage, this solution flows through several agitated tanks containing activated carbon. Gold absorbs onto the activated carbon which flows into the pulp, while screens separate the barren pulp from the gold-loaded carbon.

Carbon in Leach (CIL):

It is the simultaneous leach and absorption process. The simultaneous leach and absorption phases of the CIL process were developed for processing gold ores that contain preg-robbing materials such as natural absorptive carbon. These reduce the gold yield by attracting gold meant activated carbon. Simultaneous leaching and absorption help minimize the problem.

Carbon in column or Circuits (CIC):

Carbon in column or Circuits are typically used to recover precious metals from solutions as opposed to slurries.The design of CIP/CIL/CIC is closely related the design of agitated leach circuits. The primary consideration is that the use of GAC to remove gold from leach circuit. This means carbon attrition is a major concern in the selection of equipment, activated carbon and of handling the carbon used in the circuit.

Carbon losses due to attrition or deterioration of GAC are important not only because of cost of GAC itself but also because of fine carbon results from attrition continues to adsorb precious metals and then cannot be contained in the recovery circuit. The associated loss of fine carbon with precious metals loaded results in reduced recovery of precious metals which affects the profitability of the operation.

Kalpaka has been supplying top quality activated carbon for may years to various gold mines across the globe. Our long-time presence in this market has assisted us to develop an impressive and diversified activated carbon products for the gold mining industries.

Activated Charcoal in Cosmetics

Activated Charcoal has been used for centuries for purification and detoxification. Activated charcoal is basically a carbonaceous material that has been steam-activated to have more pores and more surface area. Higher surface area and vast pores of the carbon that is available can allow the toxins and other chemicals to bind by a process known as adsorption. This beautiful black powder acts like a chemical magnet to rid away whatever it touches of impurities and toxins.

Activated charcoal is the all new all-rounder beauty ingredient that can be used in multiple ways for skin, hair and health. Activated charcoal has tremendous skin and hair beautifying properties that makes it one of the best natural ingredients when it comes to skin and hair care. Hair fall, and stunted hair growth can be a due to a variety of reasons like clogged hair follicles, scalp infections, dandruff, clogged pores etc. Activated charcoal can help you get back the natural hair growth pattern, in fact even speed up the growth of your hair! Below is how you could use activated charcoal for extreme hair growth along with its benefits:

Our skin is a living organ, which has pores of its own. These pores, and the skin's permeable membrane, allow chemicals and toxins to pass both into and out of your body. Acne has many possible causes, including blocked pores; dirt and bacteria on the skin's surface; excess sebum, or oil; and poor diet. Applying activated charcoal to your skin, it's claimed, will remove detritus from your skin's surface and can even extract toxins from beneath the skin, according to Health 911. The antibacterial properties of charcoal can also help alleviate infections or keep them from happening.

Though we may not immediately associate charcoal with healthy skin or skin-care products, activated charcoal boasts beauty benefits for skin by drawing oil, dirt and other harmful substances from clogged pores due to its adsorption powers.

Activated charcoal draws bacteria, poisons, chemicals, dirt and other micro-particles to the surface of skin, helping you to achieve a flawless complexion and fight acne. Charcoal is not metabolized, adsorbed or absorbed by the body, but it can be used to treat some poisonous bites and disinfect some wounds. Activated charcoal powder is proven to adsorb thousands of times its own mass in harmful substances, which makes it a popular ingredient in facial masks.

Throughout the day, toxins from the world around us clog our pores. When skin pores aren't clear, neither is the complexion. Activated charcoal' when used in a face mask' binds to and helps pull the dirt out of your pores, making them less visible (it's the oil and dirt that makes them appear bigger).

Activated charcoal is a gentle exfoliant. It helps lightly scrape off dead cells from the surface of the skin. It also sucks out impurities of skin. All this reveals new young and glowing skin underneath. So, if you’re plagued with acne scars, dark spots, blemishes and hyperpigmentation, activated charcoal helps lighten your skin by gently exfoliating it.

It also has anti-inflammatory properties that heal blemishes, hyperpigmentation and discolored skin caused by inflammation. This also aids in skin lightening.

Activated charcoal also lightens underarms! It does this by gently but effectively removing the dark dead skin that’s covering your underarms. If used consistently, one will see the difference.

Health Benefits of Activated Charcoal

Activated charcoal is a powerful natural treatment used to trap toxins and chemicals in the body, allowing them to be flushed out so the body doesn’t reabsorb them. It’s made from a variety of sources, but when used for natural healing, it’s important to select activated charcoal made from coconut shells or other natural sources.

One of the most popular activated charcoal uses is for the safe and effective treatment of poisoning and drug overdoses. It’s used in emergency trauma centers across the world. In addition, it’s used to reduce bloating and gas, lower cholesterol, treat bile flow problems safely and even prevent hangovers.

Research shows that activated charcoal works better than stomach pumping (gastric lavage) in some situations.

Treatment Principles

Activated charcoal works by trapping toxins and chemicals in its millions of tiny pores. Typically, however, it’s not used when petroleum, alcohol, lye, acids or other corrosive poisons are ingested. It doesn’t absorb the toxins, however. Instead it works through the chemical process of adsorption. In the body, absorption is the reaction of elements, including nutrients, chemicals and toxins, soaked up and assimilated into the blood stream. Adsorption is the chemical reaction where elements bind to a surface.

The porous surface of activated charcoal has a negative electric charge that causes positive charged toxins and gas to bond with it. The nooks and crannies in activated charcoal are created through a heating process.

The top 10 health benefits of activated charcoal

1.Whitens Teeth

Sometime, teeth become stained from coffee, tea, wine or berries. Activated charcoal helps whiten teeth while promoting good oral health by changing the pH balance in the mouth, helping prevent cavities, bad breath and gum disease.

It works to whiten teeth by adsorbing plaque and microscopic tidbits that stain teeth. This activated charcoal use is cost-effective and an all-natural solution for a bright smile.

To whiten your teeth naturally, wet a toothbrush and dip into powdered activated charcoal. Brush teeth as normal, paying special attention to areas showing the most staining. Sip a bit of water, swish through mouth thoroughly and spit. Rinse well, until spit is clear.

For best results, brush your teeth with activated charcoal powder 2–3 times per week.

2.Alleviates Gas and Bloating

One activated charcoal use often overlooked is to lessen uncomfortable gas and bloating. It works by binding the gas-causing byproducts in foods that cause discomfort.

A study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that activated charcoal prevents intestinal gas following a typical gas-producing meal.

3.Treats Alcohol Poisoning (and Helps Prevent Hangovers)

While activated charcoal does not adsorb alcohol, it does help quickly remove other toxins from the body that contribute to poisoning. Alcohol is rarely consumed in its pure form; mixers that include artificial sweeteners and chemicals are common. Activated charcoal treats poisoning by removing these toxins.

4.Mold Cleansing

Most people don’t think about mold living in their bodies, but it can. Toxic mold causes depression, kidney and liver failure, decreased brain function, heart disease, eye irritation, headaches, vomiting, impaired immune system function and severe respiratory distress. Homes that have flooded, or even those with small leaks under a sub-floor or in the walls, can create an environment where mold can thrive. Poor ventilation contributes to the problem, and bathrooms, basements and laundry rooms are particularly prone to mold growth. If there is visible mold in your home, it must be mitigated properly. It’s important to wear gloves and a protective mask to keep from inhaling toxic mold during cleanup. Activated charcoal, baking soda, apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil and borax can be used to clean mold off hard surfaces and keep mold from growing in the future.

5.Water Filtration

Activated charcoal traps impurities in water including solvents, pesticides, industrial waste and other chemicals. Therefore, it’s used in water filtration systems throughout the world. However, it doesn’t trap viruses, bacteria and hard-water minerals.

6.Emergency Toxin Removal

As mentioned above, one of the most common activated charcoal uses is to remove toxin and chemicals in the event of ingestion. Most organic compounds, pesticides, mercury, fertilizer and bleach bind to activated charcoal’s surface, allowing for quicker elimination, while preventing the absorption in the body.

Activated charcoal is also used in the event of an accidental, or purposeful, overdose of many pharmaceutical drugs and over-the-counter medications. It’s effective for aspirin, opium, cocaine, morphine and acetaminophen. It’s important that the proper amount is administered as quickly as possible, within an hour of ingestion.

7.Skin and Body Health

Activated charcoal uses extend beyond internal applications. For external treatments, it’s effective at treating body odor and acne and relieving discomfort from insect bites, rashes from poison ivy or poison oak, and snake bites.

After a mosquito bite or bee sting, mix one capsule of activated charcoal with ½ tablespoon of coconut oil, and dab on affected area. Reapply every 30 minutes until itching and discomfort are gone. As activated charcoal stains nearly everything it touches, wrap with a bandage

8.Digestive Cleanse

Activated charcoal uses help promote a healthy digestive tract by removing toxins that cause allergic reactions, oxidative damage and poor immune system function. By removing the toxins from your system, it can reduce joint pain, increase energy and increase mental function.

Environmental factors, including pesticides on food, chemicals in the water we drink and exposure to mold, create a toxic burden in our bodies.

9.Anti-Aging

Aging is a natural part of life, but due to the toxic load we are exposed to through food, our homes and workplaces, and our environment, to prevent pre-mature aging we must get rid of them.

10.Reduces High Cholesterol

Studies around the world show that activated charcoal reduces bad cholesterol and increases good cholesterol as much as some prescription medications.

What one should do after consuming activated carbon?

Whenever you take activated charcoal, it’s very important to drink 12–16 glasses of water per day. Activated charcoal can cause dehydration if adequate amounts of water aren’t consumed. In addition, this helps to flush out the toxins quickly and prevents constipation experienced by some individuals.

Where to Buy Activated Charcoal

When selecting activated charcoal products for any of the uses above, it’s vital that you know what it’s made from. Not all activated charcoal supplements are created equally. Look for activated charcoal made from coconut shells or identified wood species that have ultra-fine grains. In the activated charcoal powdered form, many products have added artificial sweeteners to make them more palatable; avoid these.

Activated Carbon in Oil and Gas Refineries

The versatility of activated carbon allows its application in a variety of processes. Not only can activated carbon provide an increasingly important role in water purification, cleaning contaminated water before emission to the environment, also it can provide an extremely important economic contribution to the operations of oil and gas refineries. By assisting in the recovery of a range of expensive process chemicals, activated carbon can have a direct impact on the cost of refinery operations.

In many cases, processing operations are located close to the primary extraction point of the refinery feedstock, and the concentration of the world’s oil and gas resource in the most areas of the world means that management of water is a critical subject. Condensing steam provides an easily recovered resource, however, the criticality of the quality of the recirculated water demands the use of high purity specialized activated carbons. Where the resulting product is used for produced or potable water applications, activated carbon can assist in the achievement of extremely high purity products.

With its high adsorption capacities ranging from odorous compounds to dark colored bodies activated carbon is an excellent option for the purification of raw materials, intermediates and end products in oil and gas industry. By removing unwanted contaminants like mercury, colors, sulfur components and odors allows for the consistent production of high quality natural gas, oil and other petrochemical products. Activated carbon plays a vital role here by cleaning gas scrubber liquids, decolorizing field condensates and providing catalyst support for hydrocarbon sweetening.

In gas scrubber system activated carbon cleans the gas scrubber liquids like amines, glycols which are used in the gas absorption systems for the removal of sour gases (carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide) and water vapor from natural gas.
Due to the high removal efficiency, low pressure drop and high hardness of activated carbon it finds its superior application for the removal of mercury (in natural gas) which is very harmful to the environment.

Activated carbon is also used in Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) technology where the separation of gases is done by adsorption and desorption at different pressures. Specially developed activated carbon (GAC) is being used as catalyst carriers for hydrocarbon sweetening and this process involves the catalytic extraction of mercaptans from refinery products.

Activated carbon also finds it’s application in field condensate purification where heavier hydrocarbons and other colored bodies are removed. Due to its high adsorption and low leachable silica content properties of it is used for the removal of dissolved organic compounds like mineral oil in steam condensates generated from steam boilers. It is statutory that airborne emissions of harmful or odorous components and other contaminants from industrial process gases to be restricted to a minimum as per the norms. Activated carbon is very much cost effective in meeting these challenges and removing organic and inorganic impurities at levels up to a few hundred ppm.