Carbon Heat-Treatment Process

A method for producing activated carbon in a heating system from a particulate carbon feedstock suitable for forming same, comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a carbon activation gas;
• b. providing a particulate conveying means;
• and
• c. conveying said particulate carbon feedstock into a reactor utilizing said conveying means and adding said carbon activation gas either prior to or concurrent with entry of said feedstock into said reactor such that said carbon feedstock is introduced tangentially into said reactor at a rotational velocity of at least 90 RPM;
• and
• d. heating said feedstock such that devolatilization and activation occur.

A method for heat-treating a particulate carbon feedstock in a heating system, comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a particulate carbon feedstock conveying means;
• b. providing a gas containing at least one of H2O, CO2, or O2;
• and
• c. conveying said carbon feedstock into a devolatilization reactor utilizing said conveying means and adding said gas either prior to or concurrent with entry of said feedstock into said devolatilization reactor;
• d. heating said feedstock such that devolatilization occurs;
• and
• e. conveying said feedstock to a separate reactor and heating such that activation of the feedstock occurs.

A method for heat-treating a particulate carbon feedstock in a heating system, comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a particulate carbon feedstock conveying means;
• b. providing a gas containing at least one of H2O, CO2, or O2;
• and
• c. introducing said feedstock with said gas into a reactor having a burner and heating said feedstock, wherein said burner produces between 4,000 and 10,000 BTU's per pound of activated carbon produced.

A method for heat-treating a particulate carbon feedstock in a heating system, comprising the steps of:

• a. providing a particulate carbon feedstock conveying means;
• b. providing a gas containing at least one of H2O, CO2, or O2;
• and
• c. introducing said feedstock with said gas into a reactor, wherein said particulate carbon feedstock ranges in uniformity of size as follows:
• at least 90% of the feedstock is within one-half an order of magnitude in size for particles coarser than 0.40 mm;
• and
• at least 90% of the feedstock is within one-quarter an order of magnitude in size for particles 0.40 mm or smaller in size;
• wherein feedstock overlapping these size ranges have at least 90% of the particles within one-half to one-quarter an order of magnitude in size of each other.