[Terrapreta] why is carbon black?

[Kurt Treutlein]

MFH wrote:
>  Interesting.
>
>  Given the current propensity for litigation it's reasonable to assume
>  that the manufacturers of the Solo knapsacks can back this up.
>
>  Activated charcoal is used to absorb poisons in people, e.g. "
>  Activated charcoal is the treatment of choice to prevent absorption
>  of the poison. It is usually administered when the patient is in the
>  emergency room. However, charcoal is ineffective against metals, Na,
>  K, alcohols, glycols, acids, and alkalis." Its use is also widespread
>  amongst animal farmers.
>
>  Does it adsorb or absorb glyphosphate? And does it "neutralise" or
>  simply adsorb and then eliminate the poisons from the body during the
>  normal waste cycle?  I'd tend to think the latter.
>
>  Max H
>

Activated charcoal adsorbs the stuff. From our point of view, there is 
little difference between absorption and adsorption. Absorption is a 
process somewhat similar to a sponge soaking up water, while adsorption 
is similar to wetting a surface with it. Because activated charcoal has 
such a huge surface area it is capable of adsorbing large quantities of 
some materials.

Does it neutralize Roundup? No idea. Roundup is neutralised by 
clayparticles in soil, by a process that may be similar to adsorption 
followed by some chemical reaction, or at least, that is what we are 
told by the manufacturer.

We use activated charcoal in various ways to clean things up. In 
chemistry prac, many years ago they gave us a sample of a brownish  
xtaline material and some activated charcoal, we mixed them both with 
water, filtered the charcoal out of the mix, then evaporated the water 
from the solution and ended up with pure white xtals of the chemical. It 
is used in filter masks, for instance in spray painting, some gasmasks, 
my vacuum cleaner has such a filter to adsorb nasty odours you can put 
containers of it in your fridge for the same purpose and so on.

Once it is full of whatever, it is possible to evaporate the 
contaminants with heat, but mostly we chuck it out and get a new catridge.

So, yes activated charcoal will remove many toxins, but they are still 
in the charcoal and I would not like to bury *that* in my soil, to 
slowly bleed off the contaminants.

Charcoal will often do the same job as activated charcoal but less 
efficiently, so be careful what you expose you char too before burying 
it in the soil.

regards,

Kurt