General Information on Spent Carbon Acceptance
Calgon Carbon cannot accept the return of any spent carbon until the material has been tested and approved for reactivation. This is necessary to ensure that the spent carbon can be handled and reactivated safely and that the quality of our reactivated carbon products is maintained. This process is called Carbon Acceptance.
NOTE: Calgon Carbon may not accept spent carbon that was not originally purchased from us. Please contact us for specific pricing on this service.
The first step in obtaining Carbon Acceptance is to send us an Adsorbate Profile Document (APD) and a representative spent carbon sample for testing.
The spent carbon sample should be obtained by using the Carbon Acceptance Canister or the Carbon Acceptance Kit.
For new applications involving our large adsorption equipment and most package systems, a Carbon Acceptance Canister will already be mounted on the unit or, in rare cases, may be shipped to you separately. An Information Packet is included with the Carbon Acceptance Canister. The Information Packet includes all of the necessary paperwork and sampling information required to pursue acceptance testing: an Adsorbate Profile Document, labels and instructions for filling out the profile document; installing/exposing/removing the canister; and returning it to us for testing.
The Carbon Acceptance Kit is used for submitting a sample from non-Calgon Carbon adsorption equipment or from Flowsorbs and Ventsorbs (drum-size units). The kit contains a 1/2 gallon sample bottle, Information Packet with all of the required documents and a pre-labeled return shipping box. It is very important that the sample be representative of the carbon bed. Do not just scrape the sample from the top of the bed, but rather dig down into the bed as deeply as possible, using a grain thief or similar device.
Laboratory Testing
Each new sample is tested to ensure it meets our requirements for safety/toxicity, regulatory compliance and protection of our personnel, process equipment and quality of the reactivated carbon products. The samples are tested for ignitability, pH, volatile halides (chloride, fluoride and bromide), volatile sulfur, metals and reactivation efficiency, as well as other specific parameters. Calgon Carbon has internal guidelines and specific permit limits for a number of parameters.
Carbon Acceptance testing on routine samples typically requires 2-3 weeks from receipt of the sample and completed profile document to assignment of a Carbon Acceptance Number (CAN) and notification to the customer that the spent carbon may be scheduled for return to our reactivation facility. If the customer has requested TCLP testing to aid in making a RCRA declaration, additional time will be required.
The CAN will be used for the life of the specific project and must be referenced when you call to schedule a return. The CAN is a four-digit number followed by the letter "N" (for non-hazardous), "R" (for RCRA), or "S" (hazardous in generator's state).
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