Characterization of Thermally Regenerated Activated Carbons Used in Rum Production by Acoustic Emission Analysis, N2 and Ar Gas Adsorption

Abstract

Acoustic emission analysis applied for the characterization of granular activated carbons (GAC) has been barely explored. The porosity of regenerated GAC used in rum production has been assessed using the acoustic emission method based on the signal envelope analysis by band-pass filtering at 1.3 kHz of the sound produced by water flooding the activated carbon. Acoustic measurements have been correlated with porosity and surface area analysis applying argon at 87K and N2 at 77K. The found relationship proves not only the almost equivalency but also the partly complementarity of both techniques and the possibility to determine the regeneration degree of GAC using the acoustic emission method.