What Are Carbon Filter Scrubbers?

Air Scrubbers

• Air scrubbers are devices that clean the air using a filtration system. Contrary to their name, they do not actively "scrub" anything. Instead, they simply pass air through a filter to remove particles or chemicals that may be floating along. Having an air scrubber in your house can help remove dust, pollen, pet dander or smoke residue. They are often used in labs, workshops and businesses to reduce specific airborne contaminants present in the workplace.

Filters

• The filters used by air scrubbers have to remove airborne particles that can range anywhere from a tenth of a millimeter down to a nanometer in size. This is done using a couple different kinds of filters. One is a HEPA filter (high efficiency particulate arresting), which is a lattice of small fiberglass filaments, and the other is activated carbon. Carbon filter scrubbers are air scrubbers that make use of the activated carbon filters.

Activated Carbon

• Activated carbon is a material designed to have as much surface area as possible. The carbon atoms are arranged in a structure that is filled with many tiny pores. A single kilogram of activated carbon has over a square kilometer of surface. As air is moved through a carbon filter, all the particles and molecular contaminants present are pushed through these tiny pores, coming into contact with the surface, where they tend to stick. With so much surface area, there is a lot of room for particles to be absorbed.

Making Activated Carbon

• To produce activated carbon, carbon-rich materials must be processed. These can include coal, wood, charcoal, petroleum and even coconut shells. In the factory, these materials are ground down to a fine powder and then heated up in an oxygen-free chamber to get rid of non-carbon constituents without it igniting. The porous structure comes about when it is heated again with oxygen and steam. Different adjustments to this process can produce different sizes of pores and granules.