How does Activated Carbon Work for Glycerol Decolorization?

For glycerol decolorization, the most mainstream method currently used is to use fixed bed decolorization. As the name implies, the operation of fixed bed decolorization is actually to fill a large amount of activated carbon in the decolorization tank, and then let glycerin slowly pass through this “activated carbon decolorization tank” at a certain temperature and a certain flow rate.

When glycerin flows through the activated carbon, the pores on the surface of the activated carbon will adsorb the pigments in the glycerol that are equivalent to the pore size of the activated carbon, so as to achieve the purpose of decolorizing the glycerol by using the activated carbon. Decolorizing carbon is finely produced activated carbon, which is often used to decolorize a solution. The small particles of decolorizing carbon provide a large surface area to which large colored molecules may become adsorbed.

What is more, activated carbon adsorbs impurities as well as other substances in the glycerine, so after decolorization, the glycerine needs to be re-treated to remove any residual substances in the glycerine from the activated carbon. In addition, the activated carbon will gradually become saturated and will need to be replaced or regenerated to maintain its decolorization effect.