How often should activated carbon be replaced

I believe that activated carbon is familiar to many people. It is a substance that is often used to eliminate odors or formaldehyde in home life. Of course, activated carbon also has a certain service life. Generally, activated carbon needs to be replaced between half a month and one month. If it is an old house, it can be replaced every three months. Next, I will introduce you to the usage of activated carbon.

Activated carbon, also known as activated carbon black, is amorphous carbon in black powder or granular form. In addition to carbon, its main components include oxygen, hydrogen and other elements. Activated carbon is a porous carbon with low packing density and large specific surface area because the microcrystalline carbon is irregularly arranged and has pores between the cross-links, which will produce carbon tissue defects during activation. Activated carbon is odorless, tasteless, non-gritty, and insoluble in any solvent. It has selective adsorption capacity for various gases and has a high capacity adsorption capacity for organic pigments and nitrogen-containing alkalis.

The main function of activated carbon is to absorb pollutants, but this is just like a sponge absorbing water, it is not infinite! The release period of formaldehyde is also relatively long (3 to 10 years). If the activated carbon absorption reaches the saturation value, it will not only be ineffective, but it will also become a new source of pollution. The general treatment method for activated carbon that has been used for a period of time is to expose it to the sun. However, I personally think that this is not very scientific, because the temperature required to reactivate activated carbon is generally high, requiring more than 150°C. So the best way is to replace the new charcoal bag.

When activated carbon has been used for a period of time, the total amount of harmful molecules contained in its pores reaches the saturation value, and it is easy to desorb when absorbing harmful molecules. In this case, we need to replace the activated carbon bags placed in the house in time.

The replacement frequency of activated carbon packs is not fixed. If it is a new house, it is best to change it once every 15 days or one month; if it is an old house, it is generally sufficient to change it once every three months.

The release of toxic gases from decorated furniture is a slow process (lasting 3 to 15 years). The harmful gases emitted during this slow process are small doses. Therefore, in family life, you can also choose to frequently expose the activated carbon to the sun to evaporate and release the internal space of the activated carbon that is actually occupied by a large amount of water vapor with large molecular structures. This makes it easy to use the activated carbon for a long time without the need for costly and laborious replacement.