2. Historical Production and Use of Carbon Materials: The Activated Carbon

The use of carbon extends far back to 3750 BC, for the reduction of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and tin (Sn) ores in the manufacture of bronze by the Egyptians and Sumerians. In 157 AD, carbons of both vegetable and animal origin had been used for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. In the year 1773, Car Wilhelm, a chemist from Pomerania, a Baltic coast of Europe under Swedish control, recognized the absorptive power of carbon-derived materials from different sources. However, marketing of first industrially produced activated carbon, Eponit (trade name), was first reported in the year 1911 by the Fanto Works, Austria [1]. The largest market for activated carbon is currently in the municipal water purification industry.