Is there a practical re-use value gained by grinding up activated carbon that is spent/saturated?
Activated carbon is called &quot;activated&quot; when its grains contain a large amount of large cavities. These cavities are big enough to hold large molecules of undesired substances (oils, smokes) which are present in the air. Only small molecules like oxygen and nitrogen from the air can go through without being retained. So the activated carbon removes pollution from the air. After a long time, there are more and more cavities occupied by these unwanted substances. As a consequence, the effectiveness of the activated carbon slowly decreases. It has to be replaced. But it is no use grinding it. If one wants to reuse this carbon again, one should heat it up to such a high temperature that the substances fixed in the cavities are vaporized. Unfortunately some substances like soot will never get vaporized. So the effectivity of the activated carbon will never be entirely restored