What is activated charcoal?
Activated charcoal is a medicine that may be in the form of a powder or liquid. It is usually given by caregivers in a hospital to someone who has swallowed certain types of poisons. These poisons may include medicines or drugs. Activated charcoal is given when poisons are swallowed in very large amounts which are life-threatening. Activated charcoal is also sold over the counter for use at home. Activated charcoal works by stopping your body from absorbing (taking in) the poison. The poison is absorbed by the activated charcoal instead of by your body. The poison will leave your body with the charcoal when you have a bowel movement. Activated charcoal does not stop your body from absorbing all types of poisons. What should I do if someone has been poisoned? Call 911 for help right away if you are with someone who swallowed a poison and is not awake or alert. Call the local poison control center if you or someone else has swallowed a poison and is still alert. They will ask you for inf
Activated charcoal is a form of charcoal which has been specially treated to create an especially high surface area. Technically, any form of carbon, not just charcoal, can be used to make activated carbon products, but charcoal is one of the most common sources for activated carbon. There are a wide range of uses for activated charcoal, ranging from water filtration to the treatment of poisoning. Activated charcoal is often included in products like filters which can be bought in the store, and it is also possible to buy activated charcoal alone in bulk. The most common way to produce activated charcoal is to heat it. Heating causes the gases inside to escape, leaving behind an extremely porous, lightweight substance. Under magnification, a pellet of activated charcoal looks sort of like a rumpled pile of fabric, with each twist and fold providing more surface area. The large surface area of activated charcoal is what makes it so very useful. Instead of absorbing things, activated cha
Activated charcoal is charcoal that has been treated with oxygen to open up millions of tiny pores between the carbon atoms. Its called activated charcoal because it is produced to a very fine particle size. As a result, this increases the overall surface area and adsorptive capacity of the charcoal. That probably does not mean much to the average person, so let me put it another way so you can begin to grasp charcoals importance. It has been said that one standard 50-gram dose of activated charcoal has the surface area of 10 football fields.
Activated charcoal binds to certain poisons to minimize absorption of the poison. The poison is then eliminated through bowel movements. Activated charcoal is a gritty, unflavored substance. This can make it difficult to administer. Activated charcoal can be administered through a nasogastric (NG) tube, a tube inserted through the nose to the stomach.
Put simply, as wood burns there is often not enough oxygen to allow for complete combustion. The water evaporates off, and the carbon in the wood distills into the black charred coals or crust we see when we put the fire out. As the fire smolders for a period of time, the wood slowly dries and eventually changes into charcoal. Activated charcoal begins as regular charcoal and is then “activated” with oxidizing gases, such as steam or air, at high temperatures. This oxidative process further erodes the charcoal’s internal surfaces. This increases its adsorption capacity by creating an internal network of even smaller pores rendering it two to three times as effective as regular charcoal. But charcoal is not produced from wood alone. Bone char, coconut shells, peat, coal, petroleum coke, and sawdust are the most common starting materials for making activated charcoal. Many other materials have been experimented with, but generally are not as economical.
