Recent Patents on Activated Carbon Production and Applications

In the present paper, a review of the production methods of activated carbons from various kinds of precursors and their industrial use is presented, based on recently developed patents. The main discussion is divided into two major parts: (i) the activated carbons fabrication industry starting from the choice of the precursor to the activation of the carbonaceous materials and (ii) their diverse applications. Dealing with the activated carbons precursors, recent patents pointed out the beneficial use of several bioresources, agro-industrial wastes, used tires and newspapers for example. In addition, inventors proposed different kinds of fabrication process, with respect to the field in which the activated carbon will be used including wastewater and air treatment, fuel purification and gold recovery. Besides, to enhance the overall economical benefit in using activated carbons, other researchers developed some innovative techniques to regenerate those costly materials, for further utilization of the carbon itself or the recovery of the already sorbed precious compounds. Hence, this review article summarizes recent and important patents relating to the chemical engineering of activated carbons.