CIP CIL activated carbon Philippines
CocoCARB provides the activity, hardness, and particle-size consistency required by modern Philippine gold recovery circuits. Its coconut-shell pore structure supports adsorption of dissolved gold-cyanide complexes, while strong granules help reduce losses caused by attrition.
Operational benefits
- High adsorption activity for precious-metal recovery
- High hardness for repeated transfer and regeneration cycles
- Low ash and controlled moisture
- Confirmed 6 x 12 mesh sizing for the listed gold-recovery grades
Our team can help compare CTC 50, CTC 55, and CTC 60 activated carbon against your recovery targets and operating conditions.
Process guide
Activated carbon for carbon-in-pulp, carbon-in-leach, and carbon-in-column
Carbon-in-pulp (CIP)
In a CIP circuit, cyanide leaching is substantially completed before the slurry enters the adsorption train. Granular activated carbon moves counter-current to the pulp and adsorbs dissolved gold. Carbon hardness, adsorption kinetics, screen retention, and resistance to abrasion all influence circuit performance.
Carbon-in-leach (CIL)
In a CIL circuit, leaching and carbon adsorption occur in the same tank train. Suitable carbon must retain activity while tolerating repeated mixing, pumping, screening, acid washing, elution, and thermal regeneration. Stable particle sizing helps operators control carbon movement and losses.
Carbon-in-column (CIC)
CIC systems pass clarified, lower-solids pregnant solution through columns containing activated carbon. They are commonly associated with heap-leach and selected solution-treatment duties. Hydraulic behavior, contact time, loading profile, and carbon condition should be reviewed during grade selection.
Selecting granular activated carbon for gold recovery
CTC activity is one useful indicator, but it should not be assessed alone. Plants should also review iodine number, hardness, ash, moisture, apparent density, particle-size distribution, regeneration performance, and actual gold-loading behavior.
CocoCARB gold-recovery grades are listed in 6 x 12 mesh. Requirements for another size, such as 6 x 16 mesh, must be confirmed before ordering.
Information to include in an inquiry
- CIP, CIL, CIC, or other process configuration
- Current grade and mesh specification
- Typical carbon inventory and consumption
- Requested sample or order quantity
- Mine location and delivery destination
Complete application guide
Gold Recovery activated carbon: performance, selection, and use
Gold recovery plants use activated carbon to collect dissolved gold from cyanide-bearing process solutions and concentrate it for downstream elution and electrowinning. The carbon is not simply a consumable filter medium. It circulates through adsorption tanks, screens, transfer lines, washing, elution, regeneration, and return-to-service steps. Each stage creates mechanical and chemical demands that influence loading, losses, and operating cost. A suitable coconut-shell carbon therefore needs a useful balance of adsorption activity, kinetic response, hardness, density, particle-size consistency, and resistance to repeated thermal and hydraulic cycling.
During adsorption, dissolved gold-cyanide complexes move from the liquid phase into the internal pore network of activated carbon. Coconut-shell carbon is valued because steam activation can create a large microporous surface while retaining a hard granular structure. In CIP and CIL tanks, mixing keeps carbon in contact with slurry while interstage screens retain the granules. In CIC columns, clarified solution flows through a fixed carbon inventory. Loading performance depends on solution chemistry, free cyanide, competing metals, organic foulants, residence time, carbon concentration, temperature, and the condition of regenerated carbon.
Typical applications and evaluation scenarios
- Carbon-in-pulp adsorption after leaching
- Carbon-in-leach adsorption during leaching
- Carbon-in-column treatment of clarified solutions
- Heap-leach pregnant solution treatment
- Carbon make-up after regeneration losses
- Laboratory and plant-scale grade comparison
How to select activated carbon for gold recovery
Selection priorities
Selection begins with the process flowsheet and the plant's actual performance constraints. A circuit losing carbon through screens may prioritize hardness and tight size distribution. A circuit limited by adsorption kinetics may place greater emphasis on activity and fresh-versus-regenerated loading tests. CTC activity is useful for grade comparison, but it is not a direct gold-loading value. Iodine number, ash, moisture, apparent density, plateaus in loading, attrition tests, and site trial results should be interpreted together. CocoCARB CTC 50, CTC 55, and CTC 60 provide a practical range for comparative evaluation.
System and process design
Circuit design determines how carbon is contacted, retained, advanced, washed, and regenerated. Operators should review tank residence time, carbon concentration, screen aperture, carbon advance rate, elution frequency, acid washing, kiln conditions, quenching, and make-up addition. Screen condition deserves particular attention because broken wires, pegging, or an unsuitable aperture can create avoidable losses. Sampling points should allow the team to compare solution tenor, carbon loading, particle-size distribution, and fines generation across the circuit rather than relying on a single composite sample.
Operation, monitoring, and performance review
What to monitor
Useful operating indicators include barren-solution gold, loaded-carbon value, carbon inventory by tank, carbon advance, attrition or fines generation, screen oversize and undersize, regenerated-carbon activity, and carbon consumption per unit of ore or recovered metal. Trending these measurements helps separate carbon quality issues from changes in ore, leach chemistry, residence time, or equipment condition. When a new grade is introduced, a controlled trial with agreed baseline data is more informative than an immediate full-circuit change that makes root-cause analysis difficult.
Important limitations
Activated carbon cannot correct every recovery problem. Poor leaching, preg-robbing minerals, short residence time, screen bypass, excessive organic contamination, or unsuitable regeneration can limit results even when fresh carbon meets specification. Product data should therefore support, not replace, metallurgical testing and plant review. CocoCARB is offered for customer evaluation, and final grade selection remains the responsibility of the operation based on laboratory work, trial performance, safety requirements, and site-specific procedures.
Qualification and supply
Testing, documentation, and commercial planning
Start with representative testing
A product data sheet is a screening tool, not a guarantee of performance in every system. Use representative feed, realistic concentrations, expected contact time, operating temperature, and the actual acceptance method whenever possible. Compare the proposed carbon with a known baseline and document the preparation, dosage, sampling, and analytical procedure. Where a laboratory test cannot reproduce hydraulic or mechanical conditions, follow it with a controlled site trial and agreed monitoring plan.
Review quality documents
Technical Data Sheets summarize typical properties, while Certificates of Analysis report selected results for a supplied batch. Safety Data Sheets support workplace handling and emergency planning. Customers may also need country-of-origin information, product samples, test methods, retained samples, or a customized specification. Document requirements should be discussed before ordering because not every certificate or test is automatically included with every grade or shipment.
Prepare a complete inquiry
State the intended gold recovery duty, current material, target performance, relevant process conditions, preferred particle size or form, required quantity, packaging, delivery destination, and schedule. Include mandatory specification limits and analytical methods. A complete inquiry helps the supplier identify whether a standard CocoCARB grade is appropriate, whether additional testing is needed, and what commercial and logistical information belongs in the quotation.
Packaging, storage, handling, and responsible use
Packaging and storage
CocoCARB is available in 25 kg sacks for samples, trials, routine handling, and smaller requirements, plus 550 kg bulk bags for larger industrial supply. Packaging choice should match lifting equipment, storage space, contamination controls, and consumption rate. Store unopened material in a dry, covered, well-ventilated area away from incompatible chemicals, ignition sources, and substances that could be adsorbed from the surrounding environment. Rotate stock and protect packaging from puncture, water, and direct weather exposure.
Opened packages should be resealed or transferred into a suitable labeled container. Activated carbon can adsorb vapors during storage, so proximity to fuels, solvents, fragrances, pesticides, or process chemicals can change the material before use. Customers with strict purity requirements should define dedicated storage and handling controls.
Safe and responsible handling
Review the current Safety Data Sheet before receiving or using the product. Control dust during opening, transfer, mixing, loading, and cleanup. Use suitable ventilation, grounded equipment where required, housekeeping methods that avoid dispersing dust, and personal protective equipment selected through the site’s risk assessment. Wet activated carbon can reduce oxygen in enclosed spaces, so confined-space hazards and ventilation must be addressed by qualified personnel.
Spent carbon may contain concentrated process contaminants and should never be assumed non-hazardous. Characterization, transport, regeneration, recycling, or disposal must follow the captured substances, local requirements, and the customer’s environmental procedures. Technical and commercial guidance from the supplier does not replace professional engineering, safety, regulatory, or environmental review.
Implementation roadmap
From initial inquiry to routine operation
1. Define the duty and baseline
Begin with a written description of the problem, the existing process, and the result that must be improved or maintained. Record current media, operating conditions, consumption, maintenance frequency, analytical results, failure modes, and total cost. A baseline prevents a trial from being judged only by impressions. It also helps the supplier understand whether the request concerns adsorption capacity, kinetics, mechanical strength, purity, pressure drop, appearance, documentation, logistics, or several factors at once.
Representative samples and complete operating data are more valuable than a product name alone. Include normal conditions as well as startup, peak loading, seasonal changes, upset conditions, and shutdown practices. Define who will approve the technical specification, who will operate the trial, who will review safety, and who will authorize commercial supply.
2. Screen, test, and trial
Use published specifications to identify plausible candidates, then apply a test method connected to the real duty. A fair comparison uses the same sample preparation, dosage, contact time, temperature, analytical method, and endpoint for every candidate. Record raw data and observations, including filtration behavior, dust, wetting, pressure, color, odor, particle damage, or any unexpected interaction with the process.
If laboratory work is promising, plan a controlled site trial with a written start date, quantity, sampling schedule, operating window, acceptance criteria, and stop conditions. Keep unrelated process changes to a minimum. Trial duration should be long enough to observe stable operation and relevant lifecycle effects rather than only initial fresh-carbon performance.
3. Approve and control supply
After technical acceptance, convert the important requirements into a purchasing specification. Identify the product, grade, test methods, limits, packaging, labeling, documents, sampling rights, handling requirements, delivery terms, and process for reviewing changes or nonconforming material. Distinguish mandatory acceptance limits from typical informational values so both parties understand what controls release.
Routine supply should include lot traceability and an agreed document flow. Receiving teams need a practical inspection process for packaging condition, labels, quantity, and required certificates. Store and issue material by lot where traceability matters, and retain records that connect incoming carbon with process performance.
Evaluating suppliers and total lifecycle value
Look beyond the purchase price per kilogram
The lowest unit price may not produce the lowest operating cost. Evaluation can include adsorption capacity, service life, carbon or media consumption, product loss, pressure drop, downtime, labor, waste handling, regeneration, energy, cleaning, analytical work, freight, inventory, and the consequences of unstable performance. The relevant cost model differs by application, but it should reflect the full period from receiving through use and final management of spent material.
Consistency also has economic value. A material that performs predictably allows more stable operating targets, clearer replacement planning, and faster investigation when another part of the process changes. When comparing offers, confirm whether specifications are typical or guaranteed, which tests are performed per batch, and whether packaging and documentation are included.
Build a practical supplier relationship
A useful supplier should ask enough questions to understand the duty, state what is and is not confirmed, provide traceable documents, and avoid promising performance that has not been tested. Buyers should communicate forecasts, delivery constraints, approval steps, and changes in operating conditions. Early communication is especially important for customized specifications, nonstandard mesh sizes, special packaging, export documentation, or large project quantities.
Periodic review can cover quality trends, delivery performance, complaints, corrective actions, forecast accuracy, documentation, and opportunities to improve packaging or inventory. If a process or specification changes, repeat the appropriate level of technical assessment. Long-term supply works best when commercial continuity and application performance are managed together rather than treated as separate conversations.
Troubleshooting, change control, and continuous improvement
Investigate performance changes systematically
When results move outside the expected range, confirm the data before assigning a cause. Review sampling location, sample preservation, instrument calibration, analytical method, calculations, and whether the observation represents a sustained trend or a single event. Compare the affected period with feed composition, flow, temperature, pressure, pH, humidity, equipment condition, maintenance, operator actions, upstream treatment, and any change in carbon lot or storage history.
Inspect the physical system for bypass, channeling, damaged screens or retainers, leaks, abnormal pressure drop, settling, dust, carryover, poor mixing, and incorrect loading. Check receiving and usage records to verify product identity and lot traceability. Preserve representative samples of unused and used material where practical. A structured investigation keeps the team from replacing carbon prematurely when the root cause is elsewhere, or overlooking a material issue when the process appears normal.
Control changes and retain learning
Changes to grade, supplier, particle size, specification, packaging, dosage, vessel configuration, operating window, analytical method, or replacement interval should follow the customer’s management-of-change procedure. Define the reason, technical risk, trial plan, approval authority, documentation, training, and rollback criteria before implementation. Critical applications may require formal requalification even when the proposed change appears minor.
After implementation, compare results with the agreed baseline and record both benefits and unintended effects. Update operating procedures, purchasing specifications, inspection plans, safety assessments, inventory settings, and training materials when the evidence supports a permanent change. Share relevant findings with the supplier so future batches, documents, packaging, or technical discussions can improve. Continuous improvement depends on traceable evidence, not memory, and makes each future carbon evaluation faster and more reliable.
Application FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What activated carbon is used for CIP and CIL gold recovery?
CIP and CIL circuits commonly use hard granular activated carbon with high adsorption activity and a particle size that can be retained by interstage screens. Coconut-shell carbon is widely evaluated because it combines a developed pore structure with mechanical strength. The final grade should be selected through metallurgical testing and plant trials.
What is the difference between CIP, CIL, and CIC?
CIP adsorbs gold after leaching, while CIL combines leaching and adsorption in the same tank train. CIC passes clarified solution through carbon columns and is often associated with heap-leach or low-solids streams. Each configuration creates different hydraulic, mixing, retention, and carbon-management requirements.
Which CocoCARB grade should a gold plant choose?
CTC 50, CTC 55, and CTC 60 provide different activity levels for comparison. The correct choice depends on solution chemistry, loading kinetics, residence time, carbon inventory, regeneration, attrition, and economic targets. A higher CTC value is not automatically the best option for every operation.
Is 6 x 12 mesh available for gold recovery?
The listed CocoCARB gold-recovery grades use 6 x 12 mesh. This size supports retention and movement in many established CIP, CIL, and CIC circuits. Requests for 6 x 16 mesh or another distribution should be raised before quotation so availability and the technical specification can be confirmed.
Why is activated carbon hardness important?
Carbon moves through pumps, screens, tanks, elution, washing, and regeneration. Weak granules can break into fines that are difficult to retain and may carry adsorbed gold out of the circuit. High hardness helps reduce attrition, but equipment condition and handling practices remain important.
How should a new gold-recovery carbon be tested?
Start with representative laboratory loading and kinetic tests against the current carbon, then conduct a controlled plant trial. Record solution tenor, carbon loading, regenerated-carbon activity, particle-size distribution, fines, screen performance, carbon inventory, and consumption so changes can be interpreted properly.
Can CocoCARB supply samples and technical documents?
Samples, Technical Data Sheets, Safety Data Sheets, Certificates of Analysis, and commercial quotations can be requested. State the process, current specification, required quantity, mine location, packaging, and target schedule so the request can be reviewed efficiently.
Does higher activity always produce higher gold recovery?
Not necessarily. Activity is only one factor. Gold recovery may also be limited by leaching, preg-robbing minerals, residence time, carbon concentration, fouling, screens, elution, or regeneration. Plant performance should be evaluated as a complete circuit rather than attributed to one laboratory value.