The deactivation mechanisms, regeneration methods and devices of activated carbon in applications

Activated carbons (ACs) have been widely used in many aspects of production and life, while a mass of used ACs are generated as hazardous wastes each year. Currently, waste ACs are mainly disposed of by landfill or incineration, which is not only a waste of potential resources but also a possible cause of secondary pollution to the environment. Thus, the regeneration of activated carbons seems a much better choice for waste ACs disposal. In this work, the deactivation mechanism of activated carbons during adsorption or catalysis (focusing on adsorption deactivation) was firstly interpreted then main regeneration methods, including thermal methods (thermal regeneration, microwave regeneration, etc) and non-thermal methods (chemical regeneration, electrochemical regeneration, ultrasonic regeneration, biological regeneration, etc). Subsequently, this paper introduces the regeneration devices used in some of the regeneration methods, and finally analyzes the application prospects and development trends of various regeneration methods at present and in the future.