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Activated carbon is a black solid substance resembling granular or powdered charcoal. It is extremely porous with a large surface area, Activated carbon is produced from organic based materials such as coconut shells, palm-kernel shells wood chips, sawdust, corn cobs, seeds etc. Activated carbon prepared from Bamboo has been found to be the best in terms of surface area and adsorption capacity.Manufacture of activated charcoal is one glaring example of extracting useful product from what was considered wasteful hitherto. Activated charcoal has found use in various industries starting from water filtration to detoxification of body.

Activated carbon can be used for removal of organic chemicals, chlorine, lead, unpleasant tastes and odors in effluent or coloured substances from gas or liquid streams by the mechanism of adsorption. Adsorption can be classically defined as absorption on the surface of the material due to capillary condensation inside the multitude of pores and active sites available. Modern water purifiers come with activated carbon filter. Activated carbon water is very effective in removing chlorine from water which is cancerous if consumed.

High-grade activated carbon can be obtained from woody material like bamboo having inherent mechanical strength, high carbon and low ash content. Since India is the second largest producers of bamboo, there exists an excellent scope for producing bamboo based high-grade activated carbon if appropriate technology is developed and exploited at commercial level.India, have also made good progress in the field of manufacture of activated charcoal prepared from abundant supply of coconut shells, collected after using the kernel and coconut water.

India has been one of major exporters of activated carbon of late and is expected to do better in the coming years.