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What is activated charcoal?

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Carrie Ge

Activated charcoal is a specially formulated substance made from common charcoal. Common charcoal is made from peat (partly decomposed vegetable matter), coal, wood, petroleum or coconut shell (or husks).

 

To produce common charcoal, the ‘ingredients’ used are exposed to high heat in order to create a ‘charred product’.activated carbon suppliers If the final product is intended for industrial use, the ‘ingredient’ is typically fossil fuel coal. For dietary use (i.e. charcoal fit for human or animal consumption), the ‘ingredients’ used are more typically wood or coconut husks.

 

The activated charcoal products in use today are manufactured by extracting pure carbon (via chemical means) from wood or coconut husks and breaking down the charred pieces into a fine granular form (this is known as the activation process). Activation involves an enclosed furnace and the application of steam, carbon dioxide, dilute oxygen and other chemical gases at extremely high temperatures in order to remove impurities from the substance.

 

The fine granules which remain develop multiple ‘pores’ (spaces) which effectively work to ‘trap’ toxins when used. This mechanism (i.e. the physical binding of toxin molecules to the surface of charcoal particles) prohibits the absorption of the offending substances from the stomach and into the body (provided that the ratio of charcoal to toxin is high enough). The toxic or poisonous substance is thus able to bind to activated charcoal which is then excreted in faeces / stools.

 

Activated charcoal doesn’t actually ‘absorb’ the toxic compounds, however. Its interference mechanism instead functions via the chemical process known as ‘adsorption’, which is an exothermic process wherein a deposit of molecular compounds sticks to the surface of the adsorptive substance – i.e. compounds bind to carbon. dxdcarbon Once bound, the movement of the compounds becomes restricted and this means that they cannot be absorbed into the rest of the body, causing further damage to other tissues and cells.

The mechanism of absorption on the other hand, means that compounds (like chemicals, toxins or even nutrients) are ‘soaked up’ and incorporated. In the body, nutrients, for instance ‘absorb’ into the bloodstream where they can actively move and fulfil a specific purpose.

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Carrie Ge
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