Spent Carbon Reactivation

Spent carbon is commonly disposed of in landfills and/or through other waste disposal methods like incineration. We work alongside our UK partners Puragen to collect spent carbon bring it to their thermal reactivation facility, where it can then be reactivated, tested and certified for re-use.

Our strategic partnership with Puragen Activated Carbons gives us the advantage of operating one of the most advanced reactivation processes available on the market, and access to the only reactivation facility in the UK!

Specialised Reactivation

In many applications, we design personalised reactivation processes for each customer’s requirements.

Each batch of spent carbon is carefully inspected to determine the correct reactivation protocol, ensuring consistent quality and performance throughout the entire process, from collection to the use of the reactivated carbon.

Puragen’s award-winning technologies, including advanced PFAS removal and destruction, adhere to the highest standards of purity and safety. Before reuse, all reactivated carbon undergoes thorough analysis and testing.

How does carbon reactivation work?

Nova Q uses an efficient, closed-loop reactivation process that assists our customers in lowering their environmental footprint, achieving ESG goals, and reducing long-term carbon expenses.

We collect and transport spent carbon to our UK partner, Puragen’s advanced thermal reactivation facilities in Immingham, where it’s processed under controlled conditions to restore its adsorption capacity for reuse.

Benefits of Reactivating Spent Carbon

Efficient Filtration:

Reduce carbon disposal costs and reduce the cost of purchasing expensive virgin material.

Sustainable Purification:

Reduces CO₂ emissions by up to 90% compared with virgin carbon use and disposal.

Guaranteed Carbon Quality:

Rigorous quality control ensures reliable performance for every application.

What are the different typers of spent carbon reactivation?

Facility	Application(s)	Reactivation
CR1: For Green list carbon	Drinking water and food-grade	Reactivated per customer
CR2: For Amber list carbon	Industrial and environmental (e.g., Biogas, VOCs, wastewater)	Pooled reactivation – we restore carbon for re-use across multiple customers
CR3: For High-sulfur carbon	Biogas & Biomethane	A specialised process for heavily loaded, high-sulfur carbons