Understanding sintered activated carbon element
The sintered activated carbon filter element is made by mixing activated carbon powder material and polymer hot-melt pore-forming material, pouring into a special mold, and sintering at a high temperature of 200-300℃. It integrates adsorption, filtration, interception, and catalysis, and can effectively remove organic matter, residual chlorine and other radioactive substances in water, and has the effect of decolorization and removal of odor.
What Is a Sintered Activated Carbon Filter?
Definition: A compressed, high-density carbon block created by heating carbon particles to bond them structurally.
Key Advantage: 10x finer pores (0.5–10 microns) vs. granular carbon (50–100 microns).
The sintered activated carbon filter element uses high-quality powdered activated carbon. Through its unique low-temperature compression activation manufacturing process and deep filtration effect, the filter element forms ultra-fine pores with tortuous pore sizes. When in use, it greatly prolongs the contact time between water and activated carbon, can effectively filter out carcinogens such as discoloration, odor, heavy metals and pesticide residues, and effectively inhibit bacterial reproduction. At the same time, it fully utilizes the pore-forming properties of powder bonding materials and activated carbon with high adsorption capacity, and naturally activates and forms at high temperatures to avoid reducing the adsorption function of the activated carbon surface due to the binder wrapping, and maximizes the adsorption specific surface area and adsorption speed. And by using physical effects such as "power traction" and "water pressure balance", black water will not occur due to the leakage of fine carbon powder. The filter element can withstand up to 10 kg of water pressure to ensure the purity and safety of water quality, and the taste is more mellow and delicious.
Product Features
(1) Sintered activated carbon filter element combines adsorption and interception. It not only has the adsorption capacity of activated carbon, but also has dense pores, which can effectively intercept large particles of impurities and effectively reduce physical pollution of water quality;
(2) The pore size can be adjusted arbitrarily, and the minimum can reach 0.2 μm, which is better than the large-flux hollow ultrafiltration membrane on the market;
(3) The outflow of black water is less than that of granular activated carbon. After the black powder in the carbon rod is flushed out for the first time, there will be no black water in the future, and it will not be desorbed after adsorption due to the flushing of water flow like granular activated carbon, forming secondary pollution;
(4) It is processed with activated carbon powder below 80 mesh, with a large specific surface area, so that the performance of activated carbon can be fully exerted.
Due to its special molding process, sintered activated carbon filter elements can develop a composite filter element with activated carbon as the main body and mixed with a variety of ultrafine filter material powders. Its varieties include special filter elements for decolorization and deodorization, removal of organic matter, and softening of water quality; special metal removal filter elements for removing heavy metals such as aluminum, mercury, manganese, and arsenic from water, and special fluoride removal filter elements for high-fluoride water areas; special mineralization filter elements for adding trace elements and minerals to well water and soft water; antibacterial filter elements that inhibit bacterial growth and add antibacterial materials. Sintered activated carbon filter elements have a tortuous cage-like micropore channel and are effective in filtering impurities.
Application fields
Sintered activated carbon filter elements are suitable for the purification of water and solutions used in semiconductors, electronic devices, printed circuit boards, electroplating industry, food and beverage industry, etc.
It is commonly used in:
(1) Electronics and power industries: pure water, gas, electroplating solution, printing plate, etc.
(2) Chemical and petrochemical industries: solvents, coatings, magnetic slurries, detergents, liquid wax, etc.
(3) Pharmaceutical industry: hospital water, pharmaceutical injections, etc.
(4) Food industry: food, beverages, drinking water, alcohol, etc.
Difference between sintered activated carbon filter element and extruded activated carbon filter element
The main difference between sintered activated carbon filter and extruded activated carbon filter element Sintered activated carbon filter element is often confused because of its similar appearance to low-end extruded activated carbon filter element. The two filter elements mainly have the following differences:
(1) The former is bonded and then calcined at high temperature to carbonize the binder and form micropores, so that the filter element body is 100% carbon material; the latter is mixed and kneaded by plastic, and some carbon particles are wrapped by plastic. The actual effective adsorption of carbon particles is only 40%.
(2) The former has fine carbon particles, large specific surface area, tortuous pores, and stronger pollution holding capacity. The efficiency of filtering residual chlorine and other organic matter in water can reach more than 99.9%; the latter has large particles, small specific surface area, and the pores are formed by the gaps between the particles to form a linear pore. In addition, most of the micropores of the activated carbon are blocked during the processing process, resulting in low filtration efficiency and incomplete adsorption. The water flow rate is faster than the former under the same pressure, and the pollution holding capacity is weak.
(3) The former has a better decolorization effect. At a filtration rate of 1 L/min, the color of cola and soy sauce can be completely removed; the latter can hardly remove the color of cola and soy sauce.
(4) The filtration accuracy of the former is controllable within the range of 0.1 μm-30 μm, and it can replace the effect of ceramic filter elements to some extent; the latter does not have this feature.
(5) The former is more environmentally friendly. 100% carbon materials are easy to regenerate and reuse, and will not pollute the environment after disposal; the degraded organic materials of the latter are difficult to regenerate, expensive, and will pollute the environment after disposal.
Benefits Over Granular Filters
| Feature | Sintered Carbon | Granular Carbon |
|---|---|---|
| Lifespan | 6–12 months | 2–4 months |
| Flow Rate | 1.5 GPM | 2.5 GPM |
| Contaminant Removal | 99% chlorine, heavy metals | 80–90% chlorine |
Differentiation method
Sintered activated carbon filter elements have good hydrophilicity. A drop of water will immediately penetrate into the filter element, while the water droplets of squeezed activated carbon filter elements will always float on the filter element.
Sintered activated carbon has a special sintering process, strict material selection (material particle size should be less than 80 mesh), high production requirements, and large mold investment. Its product cost is higher than that of ordinary filter elements, but its superior product performance makes it an indispensable accessory in the water purification industry. Xiamen Smart Water Tech has long used this high-end product as our water purifier filter element material.