From the Laboratory to Your Daily Life: Activated Carbon Beyond Water Filters and Air Purifiers!

Have you ever wondered how water filters, air purifiers, and even cosmetics effectively capture and retain unwanted substances? The secret lies in activated carbon—a material that acts like a sponge, trapping pollutants. But how do scientists determine how well this material performs?

The answer lies in sorptometry studies—a method used to analyze the porosity, adsorption capacity, and efficiency of carbon materials. Dr. sci. ing. Aleksandrs Volperts from the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry has improve this method, making it even more precise for testing carbon-based materials.

But that’s not all! LSIWC researchers are exploring not only the porosity of activated carbon but also its other properties. Char, derived from biomass, is an alternative, eco-friendly material that can replace expensive and unsustainable raw materials, such as platinum, which is used in fuel cells, or enhance battery and supercapacitor performance.

To be used in batteries, activated biochar must be stable and offer good electrical conductivity. Meanwhile, in supercapacitors, which are used in electric vehicles, the carbon material must also have a large surface area to maximize performance.

Currently, our brilliant colleagues Ph.D. Ance Plavniece and Dr. sci. ing. Aleksandrs Volperts are working within the Project ARMS to develop and modify different types of wood-based activated carbon for use as electrode materials in supercapacitors.

Read more about this topic HERE.