Removal of sugar colorants by granular activated carbons made from bindersand agricultural by-products

Twenty-four granular activated carbons (GACs) made from mixtures of four bi nders (coal tar, sugarcane molasses, sugar beet molasses, corn syrup) and t hree agricultural by-products (rice hulls, rice straw, sugarcane bagasse) w ere evaluated for their ability to remove sugar colorants (molasses color r emoval, sugar decolorization). These properties were compared to the same p roperties of two commercial reference carbons. GACs made from sugarcane bag asse, in general, possessed the best ability to remove sugar colorants and were closest to the reference carbons in this regard. In fact, the four hig hest ranked GACs all used bagasse as a feedstock along with four different binders. Therefore, the ability to remove sugar colorants appears to be by- product dependent with the binder playing a minor role. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.