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The use of activated carbon is an effective method in purifying air and water – the necessities for everyday living – and cleaning our environment. The global demand for activated carbon products is growing due to increasing pollution caused by global population growth. Novactor is a new activated carbon producer in Europe.

Strong growth of activated carbon markets

The global activated carbon market is growing rapidly. The global market exceeds 1.5 million tonnes and the European market is approximately 300,000 tonnes. During recent years, the market has been growing at an annual rate of approximately five percent. Novactor’s target is to raise its market share to 10 percent in 10 years.

Import covers over 70 percent of Europe’s activated carbon use. Most of the activated carbon is imported from Asia and North America. Novactor’s activated carbon products produced in Finland have been received well in the industry as COVID-19 has highlighted uncertainties related to long distance importing. In addition, activated carbon produced closer to Central European consumers has a much smaller carbon footprint.

Activated carbon production unit in Ilomantsi

Novactor – a new market player

Novactor aims to be the leading European producer of activated carbon. The first production unit was built in Ilomantsi, Finland and will offer a major amount of new capacity for the European market.  The most cutting-edge activated carbon production facility is based on modern and clean technology.

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Water and air purification

Activated carbon is part of everyone’s life. The final purification of the drinking water is done with activated carbon.  Activated carbon filters are also needed at wastewater processing facilities. Filters made out of activated carbon can be used to remove many contaminants, such as metals, toxic materials and chemicals from wastewater.

Another main form of use is filtering air impurities. Everyday objects like vacuum cleaners, cooker hoods and indoor air filters for cars often contain activated carbon.  The purer the air required, the more likely it is there is some activated carbon in the filter.  The air purification in hospitals, operating rooms and even top-quality COVID-19 masks is based on activated carbon.

Industrial applications

Industrial uses of activated carbon include the purification of gases. It is also used in the food and medical industries and even breweries and soft drink manufacturers use activated carbon to ensure that their products’ flavours are just right.

The essence of activated carbon

The secret of activated carbon is its enormous surface area per gram. A single gram of activated carbon can have a surface area of over 1,000 square metres. The porousness of activated carbon is adjusted during the production process in a way that allows it to separate molecules of different sizes from each other. Either harmful or useful. Simply put, activated carbon works like a sieve used for separating grains of material of different sizes.