This is marketing research on the Activated Carbon industry and can include information on the background, market structure, definitions, competitors, trends and developments of abrasives and is related to other topics such as minerals, purification and filters.

Table of Contents

[edit] Background

Activated Carbon, also called Activated Charcoal, is a generic term used to describe almost all carob materials derived from charcoal. The term activated may at times also be pre-placed by the word "active". The material has very high absorption properties and generally also has a large surface area.

Product Characteristics

• Form
• Powder
• Pellets
• Granules

Grade

• Liquid phase or de-coloring carbon
• Gas phase or vapor absorbent carbon

The production is by either physical reactivation or chemical activation. Though it has numerous applications in chemistry, the most active usage currently remains in removing pollutants from the environment. Some other uses of activated carbon include:

• Gas purification
• Metal extraction
• Water purification
• Medicine
• Sewage treatment
• Air filters in gas masks and filter masks
• Filters in compressed air

Some key environmental uses include:

• Spill cleanup
• Groundwater remediation
• Drinking water filtration
• Air purification
• Volatile organic compounds capture from painting, dry cleaning and other processes
• It may also be used for some medicinal purposes such as in the treatment of poisoning or diarrhea.

[edit] Market Structure

The installed production capacity for activated carbon has consistently been greater then the demand which has kept prices relatively low. Production though is now shifting to Asian sites from European countries and China is now taking a lead in the production of activated carbon. Over one-third of new production capacity is located in China while approximately another third is in South-East Asia. Sri Lanka and the Philippines have also recently increased their exports. The United States and Australia have not added significantly to their production capacity of activated carbon in recent years.

Regeneration capacity has been almost constant, largely due to growth in production in Asia. Demand is again also growing especially due to increased environmental concerns. Activated Carbon finds many uses in the environmental area and therefore worldwide demand is expected to grow for at least several more years. Growth of demand in the U.S. will be backed by the Gas Phase market. Expected growth rate is 5% on a year-on-year basis through the early 2000’s.

World consumption breakdown was as follows in 2005:

[edit] Industry Definitions

Activated Carbon is known in the following forms

• Powdered activated carbon (PAC) - in its powder form, it is about 1.0 mm in size with average diameter between 0.15 mm and 0.25 mm. The key feature is a large internal surface with small diffusion distance. It consistes of crushed or ground carbon particles.
• Granulated activated carbon (GAC) – with larger size, GAC particles have a smaller external surface. They are best used as an absorbate. Useful in water treatment, they are also found in deodorization products and in separation of flow systems.
• Pelleted activated carbon - extruded and cylindrical shaped activated carbon particles with diameters ranging from 0.8 to 5 mm. These are mainly used for gas phase applications because of their low pressure drop, high mechanical strength and low dust content.
• Impregnated carbon – as carbon particles can be impregnated with iodine, silver, cations like Aluminum, Zinc, Manganese, they find extensive usage in pollution control, especially in museums and galleries.
• Polymer coated carbon - coating activated carbon particles with polymer results in a smooth permeable coating without blocking the pores, thereby maintaining the usability.
• Hemoperfusion - hemoperfusion is a treatment technique in which large volumes of the patient's blood are passed over an absorbent substance in order to remove toxic substances from the blood.

[edit] Market Metrics

The production of Activated Carbon has averaged approximately 700,000 tons annually. Pricing for Activated Carbon ranges from $1,000 per ton for low grade powders to $12,000 or more for higher grade material.

Some typical pricing for Activated Carbon includes the following:

• $1,000/ton for low grade AC supplied from China and used for some water treatment applications
• A range of US $1200 to US $1750 per ton for coal based AC useful in general and de-colorization products.
• A range of US $2500 to as much as US $4500 per ton for AC used in the gold industry
• A range of US $3,500 to $7,000 per ton for specialized powdered AC used for short term odor and taste removal from potable water.

A full scale plant with a capacity of 100,000 tons per year of feed from whole trees will produce 
about 5000 tons of Activated Carbon.  The initial estimates for a hypothetical plant would 
include the following:

Feed material			100,000 tons/year
Eucalyptus oil produced		2,000 tons/year
Activated carbon (pellets)	5,000 tons/year
Renewable energy produced 	5 Mwatts
Plant capital cost		Approx US $20 million

Global revenue

In 2006, production of Activated Carbon reached US $1 billion. The net demand in 2008 for Activated Carbon is expected to be around US $314 million in the U.S. alone. Demand is expected to grow at approximately 4.3% annually, at least out to 2010.

U.S. production

• Total Production (short tons): 24,225

[edit] Key Players

World Activated Carbon market is expected to grow at about 5% every year till 2010. The world wide industry is about USD 1.1 Billion in size.

Key players in the market

Australia

• Australian Technology Securities
• Char International Pty Ltd.
• The Environmental Group Ltd. (EGL)
• Pacific Edge Holdings
• Pica Activated Carbon Australia Western Power

Belgium

• Chemviron Carbon

China

• Bengbu Ocean Activated Carbon Plant
• Datong Huibao Activated Carbon Co.
• Datong Sanxing Liyuan Activated Carbon Plant
• Datong Tianzhao Activated Carbon Co. Ltd.
• Datong Weidu Activated Carbon Plant
• Fujian Snowblack Activated Carbon Co. Ltd.
• HeNan Huaxian Activated Carbon Plant
• Jianyang No. 2 Chemical Plant
• Jilin Activated Carbon Plant
• Mindong Lianyi Group
• Ningxia Fengyuan Activated Carbon Co.
• NingXiang Tian Fu Activated Carbon Inc.
• Noromo-HJCC
• Shaanxi New Times (Group) Co.
• Shanghai Activated Carbon Co. Ltd.
• Shanxi Xinhua Chemical Plant
• Shanxi Xuanzhong Chemical Industry Co. Ltd.
• Zhuxi Activated Carbon Co. Ltd.

France

• Ceca SA
• Pica SA

Germany

• Aktivkohle und Umweltschultz Technik (AUG)
• Chemviron Carbon GmbH
• Donau Carbon GmbH & Co. KG
• German Carbon Teterow

Italy

• Kemira Chimica SpA
• Norit Italia SpA

Japan

• Calgon Carbon Far East Co. Ltd.
• Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
• Futamura Chemical Industry Co.
• Hokoetsu Carbon Industry Co. Ltd.
• Hokutan Chemical Industries Co. Ltd.
• Kuraray Chemical Co. Ltd.
• Kureha Chemical Industry Co. Ltd.
• Mitsubishi Chemical Corp.
• Norit Japan Co. Ltd.
• Pacific Metals
• Taihei Chemical Industry Co.
• Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd.
• Tsurumicoal Co. Ltd.

South Korea

• Cheil Activated Carbon Industrial Co. Ltd.

Malaysia

• Century Chemical Works Sdn Bhd
• KD Technology Sdn Bhd
• Laju Carbon Products Sdn Bhd
• Pacific Activated Carbon Sdn Bhd

Mexico

• Clarimex SA de CV
• Nobrac Mexicana SA de CV
• Polifos SA

Netherlands

• Norit NV

Philippines

• Activated Carbon Co.
• Cenapro Chemical Co.
• Davao Central Chemical Corp. (DCCC)
• Mapecon Philippines Inc.
• Pacific Activated Carbon
• Philippine Activated Carbon Co.
• Philippine-Japan Activated Carbon Corp. (PJAC)
• Premium AC Corp.

Russia

• JSC Sorbent
• JSC Zarya
• JSC Karbokhim
• JSC Elektrostal Chemical-Mechanical Plant
• Amzinsky Sawmill
• PFK Karbon Ltd.
• Angarsk Petrochemical Co.
• Antaliks Ltd.
• JSC Finprom
• JSC Gorkinsky Chemical Plant
• Leninsk-Kuznetsk Semi-Coke Plant; Sri Lanka
• CPL Carbon Link
• Haycarb Ltd.;J.B. Carbon Activators
• Mendis Carbon Pvt Ltd.
• Prime Carbons Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.
• Tajit & Co. (Pvt) Ltd.

Sweden

• Jacobi Carbons AB

Taiwan

• China Activated Carbon Industries Ltd.
• Taipei Chemical Industry Co. Ltd.
• Taiwan Active Carbon Industry Co. Ltd.
• Taiwan Carbon Technology Co. Ltd.
• Titan Technologies Inc.

UK

• Charcoal Cloth International
• Norit UK Ltd.
• Tate & Lyle Process Technology
• Waterlink Sutcliffe Carbons
• Chemviron Carbon Ltd.
• CPL Carbon Link
• Grafham Carbons Ltd.
• Purton Carbons Ltd.
• Eurocarb Products Ltd.

USA

• Anticarb
• Asbury Graphite Mills Inc.
• Calgon Carbon Corp.
• Ekos Materials Corp.
• Mead/Westvaco Corp.
• Norit America Inc.
• Pica USA Inc
• Waterlink Barnebey Sutcliffe Corp

[edit] Recent Trends and Developments

Key exporters activated carbon include China and Sri Lanka. In 2006 March, U.S. manufacturers filed complaints against Chinese firms for the dumping of cheaper variants.

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