Activated Coconut Charcoal
Activated coconut charcoal is a highly porous carbon made by carbonising coconut shell and then activating it with steam at high temperature. It is essentially elemental carbon, typically above 90 percent on a dry basis, with a microporous structure that gives a surface area in the region of 900 to 1500 square metres per gram. Coconut shell is preferred over wood or coal feedstocks because its dense structure yields a hard, low dust carbon dominated by micropores rather than larger transport pores.
In food work it has two distinct roles. As a colour it gives an intense matte black at very low dosage and is used for black ice cream, buns, doughs and confectionery in markets where a carbon black is permitted. As a processing aid it is used for decolourisation and for adsorbing off flavours, phenolics and trace contaminants from syrups, oils, juices and fermentation broths, and is then filtered out rather than remaining in the food.
It comes as a fine black powder or as granules. The material is insoluble in water and in all solvents and does not dissolve or disperse in the chemical sense; it suspends. Colour strength depends on particle size, so pigment grades are milled far finer than adsorbent grades. Because the surface is designed to adsorb, it will also take up flavours, vitamins and some additives from a formulation, which limits the dose that can be used without stripping the product.
We source bulk Activated Coconut Charcoal from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Zhejiang. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Function
- Colorant
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Fine black odourless powder |
| Carbon Content, dry basis | 90.0% minimum |
| Iodine Number | 1000 mg/g minimum |
| Methylene Blue Value | 180 mg/g minimum |
| Particle Size | 95% through 325 mesh |
| Moisture as packed | 10.0% maximum |
| Total Ash | 4.0% maximum |
| Acid Soluble Matter | 3.0% maximum |
| pH, aqueous extract | 6.0 to 8.0 |
| Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, benzo(a)pyrene | Complies with food grade carbon limits |
| Lead | 2 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 2 mg/kg maximum |
| Cadmium | 1 mg/kg maximum |
| Total Plate Count | 1000 cfu/g maximum |
Common Markets Grades
The two functions correspond to two distinct grade families. Adsorbent grades are specified on iodine number, commonly 900 to 1200 mg/g, together with methylene blue value, apparent density, hardness and particle size, and are sold as powdered activated carbon for batch decolourisation or as granular carbon for column work. These grades are chosen for adsorption capacity and filtration behaviour, not for appearance.
Pigment grades are milled to a fine and tightly controlled particle size, often with a substantial fraction below 10 micrometres, and are specified on jetness or blackness rather than on iodine number. Both families are made in a washed food grade version, acid washed to reduce ash and soluble metals, and in an unwashed technical version that is not suitable for food. Kosher, Halal and organic compatible documentation is routine for the food grades.
Applications
- Black ice cream, gelato and soft serve, where a very low dose gives a matte black without flavour impact
- Black burger buns, breads and steamed buns, colouring the crumb through the bake
- Black pasta, noodles and dumpling wrappers as an alternative to cuttlefish ink
- Confectionery, liquorice and coated sweets requiring a deep black shell
- Bakery decoration, macarons and cake coatings
- Decolourisation of glucose and fructose syrups, removing colour bodies and hydroxymethylfurfural precursors
- Refining of edible oils, adsorbing pigments, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and oxidation products
- Clarification of fruit juices and juice concentrates, stripping browning products and bitter phenolics
- Purification of fermentation broths for amino acids, organic acids and vitamins before crystallisation
- Treatment of process water and of alcohol streams for spirit production
Brands Using Activated Coconut Charcoal
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Activated Coconut Charcoal on the ingredient label.
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Activated Coconut Charcoal
Top Activated Coconut Charcoal manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Status as a colour differs by market and this determines where black grades can be sold. In the European Union vegetable carbon is the authorised food colour E 153 under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, with identity and purity criteria in Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 that cap polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and require the material to be obtained by carbonising vegetable matter; charcoal made from coconut shell falls within that description when it meets those criteria. In the United States there is no colour additive listing for activated charcoal, and it may not be used to colour food; several state and local authorities have acted against black foods coloured with it. Activated carbon is nonetheless permitted in the United States as a processing aid for decolourisation and purification, where it is removed by filtration and does not remain in the finished food.
As a processing aid the material is covered by food chemical purity monographs rather than by an additive authorisation, and buyers should expect a specification citing food grade activated carbon requirements, including limits on ash, acid soluble matter, heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. JECFA has evaluated vegetable carbon and specifications exist in the Combined Compendium of Food Additive Specifications, with provisions carried in the Codex General Standard for Food Additives.
Manufacturing Process
Coconut shell is collected, cleaned of husk fibre and carbonised in a kiln or rotary furnace at roughly 500 to 700 degrees Celsius under restricted air, which drives off volatile matter and leaves a hard char of about 30 percent yield. The char is screened and then activated in a rotary or multiple hearth furnace at around 900 to 1000 degrees Celsius in a controlled steam atmosphere. Steam reacts with part of the carbon skeleton and burns out the pore network, and the degree of burn off sets the final surface area and iodine number.
The activated carbon is cooled, then acid washed with dilute hydrochloric or phosphoric acid to remove ash, iron and other soluble mineral matter, and rinsed with water until the wash reaches a neutral pH and a low conductivity. It is dried, then milled and classified to the target particle size, coarse for granular column grades and very fine for powdered adsorbent and pigment grades. Food grade material is packed to protect it from adsorbing airborne solvent and odour before use.
