Win-win venture turns sawdust to good use

• Published date: 04 November 2021
• Publication title: Taupo Weekender

The company makes a range of products which use waste sawdust from sawmills to create activated carbon, a product that is used in a remarkably wide range of applications, including removing toxic gases in industrial waste and effluent, to purify water, and in the cosmetic, and food and beverage sectors.

Activated carbon is even used in candle manufacturing. It also conducts electricity and insulates heat. Experiments are under way to explore its use as a binder with hemp.

Activated Carbon NZ Ltd is the only New Zealand manufacturer of activated carbon. Being able to supply domestically is proving to be extremely important as supply chains for activated carbon from overseas continue to be severely disrupted due to COVID-19.

In the past, New Zealand businesses have typically sourced their activated carbon from China or Australia, but often from much less environmentally friendly source material such as coal or coconut shells.

“We know that businesses are looking for high-quality activated carbon that is more sustainable and we’re able to provide that for them with no supply issues,” Activated Carbon NZ director Grant Hughes says.

“We’re able to provide activated carbon as a fine powder, granulated, or in capsule form wholesale for industrial customers or for everyday consumers via our online shop.”

Having worked in the farming sector for most of his life, Grant moved into providing short-term financing solutions, which is how he came across the Activated Carbon business. He immediately saw its potential and worked to put the factory together that would form the heart of their business.

“We imported a piece of kit from China that theoretically worked but didn’t in reality. I spent the next couple of years with a grinder and welder and with the help of some really talented locals we developed the plant we needed to create the high-quality activated carbon.”

Activated carbon cleanses through adsorption or ionic exchange. It is made by eliminating the organic volatiles from carbon-rich organic materials, leaving just the carbon pore structure and increasing the surface area. This means that one teaspoon of activated carbon has more surface area than a football field...