NORIT Activated Carbon
About us
Formed in 1916, NORIT Activated Carbon is one of the world's largest and most experienced producers of activated carbon and offers you a full range of products, services and technical support. NORIT's history of innovation, product performance, technical expertise and our customer focus ensure that you receive the right products and solutions for your specific purification needs.
Building on a 100+ year history of innovation in manufacturing and product development, we produce a diverse array of products from a wide range of raw materials including lignite, peat, bituminous coal, coconut and wood. We have created more than 400 different grades of activated carbon so that our customers get precise solutions that fit their applications and work better than an "off the shelf" product.
NORIT Activated Carbon products are used to remove pollutants, contaminants and other impurities from water, gas and air, food and beverages, pharmaceutical products and other liquids in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Our activated carbon solutions are also used as colorants, carriers or catalysts in industrial processes.
In addition to our unparalleled product portfolio, we offer a full range of activated carbon services including rental systems, carbon reactivation, bulk delivery and change-out, carbon evaluation, as well as technical service and application support to help our customers meet their specific purification needs.
The company operates eight manufacturing or joint‑venture plants across six countries on three continents, providing reliable supply, consistent quality and flexible sourcing worldwide. This global network includes two steam activation plants in the Netherlands, a chemical activation plant in the UK, and a reactivation facility in Italy, alongside additional plants globally. This integrated manufacturing footprint enables NORIT to efficiently support our customers globally.
NORIT Activated Carbon operates under robust quality and management systems and is certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, demonstrating a strong commitment to consistent product quality and environmental responsibility. For highly regulated applications, selected products can meet the requirements of the European Pharmacopoeia, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) and the US Food Chemicals Codex (FCC).
Relevant manufacturing facilities, such as our Klazienaveen Plant, also operate in accordance with GMP requirements for active substances and hold food safety certifications including ISO 22000 and FSSC 22000, ensuring high standards of safety, traceability and regulatory compliance for pharmaceutical, food, and high-end industrial applications.
Products & services
NORIT Activated Carbon for Oil & Gas Industry
With its high adsorption capacity for a wide array of molecules ranging from odorous compounds to dark color bodies, properly selected activated carbon is an excellent choice for the purification of raw materials, intermediates and end products for the oil and gas industry. Removing unwanted contaminants such as mercury, colors, odors, and sulfur components allows for the consistent production of high quality natural gas, oil and petrochemical products. Whether cleaning gas scrubber liquids (AGRU) to increase their longevity, decolorizing field condensates, or providing catalyst support for hydrocarbon sweetening, our activated carbons play a critical role. Here are some of the primary applications where NORIT provides essential assistance for the oil and gas industry: Acid gas removal units Mercury removal Hydrocarbon sweetening Liquid hydrocarbon purification Vapor recovery Wastewater Treatment Steam Condensates We are a pioneer in innovative activated carbon applications. Since we began producing activated carbon more than 100 years ago, we have expanded our product range to keep up with ever-changing demands. Offering the broadest product portfolio in the industry, we have the capability to produce activated carbon from a variety of raw materials in ISO 9001-certified plants across the globe.In addition to offering high quality activated carbon products for more than thirty applications in the oil and gas industry, we also provide a comprehensive service offering, including: Review of your anticipated activated carbon needs On-site carbon application training Basic design calculations Samples for testing and analysis Speak to a member of our team to find our more.
NORIT Activated Carbon for Chemicals & Catalysts
NORIT® activated carbons play multiple roles in the chemical industry. Our products are used to purify a vast array of chemicals & oleochemicals, and are also used as catalyst support and even as catalytic substance itself. In the chemical industry, NORIT® activated carbons find widespread use to purify numerous products, ranging from bulk to fine chemicals (e.g. hydrochloric and phosphoric acid, methionine, pentaerythritol, tartaric acid). They are also used in the recycling of chemicals (e.g. metal plating baths and dry cleaning solvents). Our products effectively remove: Feedstock impurities Synthesis byproducts Residues from extractants, catalysts, etc. Impurities collected during use More than 50 NORIT activated carbon grades are used for purification of chemicals. We supply: Powdered, granular, and extruded grades Different pore structures to best fit the impurity molecules Hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces to optimize the affinity for impurities Standard and high purity grades A wide choice of particle size distributions for optimized handling (pressure drop, filtration) NORIT® activated carbons can also be used as a catalyst support. These are used by leading catalyst manufacturers to produce noble metal and other heterogeneous catalysts. These catalysts then find use in a range of processes, from fine chemical / pharma synthesis, to vinyl chloride monomer production and mercaptan oxidation. Leading oleochemical industries globally use NORIT® activated carbons to purify glycerin, fatty acids and esters, alcohols, and other derivatives, including medium chain triglycerides. Our purification products effectively remove: Plant pigments MONG PAH Color precursors/ heat instability causing compounds Reducing substances Odors Contact us to discuss how we can meet your needs in the chemical, catalysis, and oleochemical industries
NORIT Activated Carbon for Pharmaceutical Applications
NORIT® activated carbons have been used by the global pharma industry for decades to purify APIs, nutraceuticals, and intermediates. Our products provide high adsorption capacity for removing impurities such as side products, odors, discolorations, proteins, and metals from catalyst residues. The pharmaceutical production process requires absolute purity and traceability to ensure the highest quality end products. Our highly controlled manufacturing processes bring activated carbons with purity, consistency, traceability, and auditability. NORIT activated carbons purify: API's (antibiotics, painkillers, steroids, ...) Vitamins Intermediates Diagnostic agents Enzymes And they remove these impurities: Synthesis byproducts Discolorations and pigments Cell residues, oligopeptides, proteins Odor compounds Impurities from feedstocks Metal-containing residues from catalysts We’ve developed a method by which you can choose easily the optimal activated carbon grade for your specific process. Speak to a member of our team, we’re happy to work with you and provide dedicated advice.
NORIT Activated Carbon for Water Treatment
Water is a precious natural resource and is vital to our lives. People require clean water to drink as a basic need, and many industries use highly purified water in their production processes. Water treatment is a process to reduce or remove the undesirable characteristics of water, so it is fit for its purpose of use. Activated carbon has proven effectiveness in water treatment to adsorb organic contaminants to meet stringent water quality requirements and legislations. NORIT offers a wide range of activated carbon grades in water treatment applications along with strong technical support and reactivation services. Potable water is purified to remove harmful organic contaminants and improve its taste and odor Beverage water is made ‘sparkling’ clean with NORIT Activated Carbons Industrial process water is treated to extremely high purity in various industries Steam condensate is purified to be reused in high pressure steam boilers in refineries and power plants Wastewater is treated to meet regulations for safe discharge into the environment, or for reuse NORIT offers both powdered activated carbon (PAC) and granular activated carbon (GAC) as water treatment solutions. NORIT has recently validated that its thermal reactivation process is capable of consistently achieving 99.98% destruction of PFAS compounds in spent granular activated carbon (GAC) from municipal water treatment applications.
NORIT Activated Carbon for Biogas & Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Treatment
Biogas and Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) produced from landfills and anaerobic digestion are growing in importance as a sustainable, eco-friendly source of energy for direct use, power generation, pipeline injection and vehicle fuel. Biogas purification is essential for its monetization. NORIT® activated carbon is the premier choice of engineering firms, plant owners, and operators to remove unwanted impurities to meet pipeline specifications and ensure the protection of process equipment including membranes, compressors, engines and turbines, pipelines and fuel cells. NORIT's DARCO BG1 is a leading solution for removing hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) from vapor phase gas streams, ensuring cleaner and safer biogas and renewable natural gas (RNG). This non-impregnated, lignite-based, granular, steam activated carbon is designed for high sulfur loading, effectively reducing H₂S to elemental sulfur and removing mercaptans and siloxanes. Its extensive surface area and pore structure make it highly efficient. DARCO BG1 is safe, non-exothermic, and easy to change out, making it a reliable choice for various applications.
NORIT Activated Carbon Sample Kit
In early phase drug development, process chemists in Chemical Research & Development departments are responsible for developing and optimizing a synthetic route and pilot procedure to scale-up promising lead compounds for clinical trials. Process chemists strive to maximize yield of the lead compound, while simultaneously removing unwanted impurities, including: 1) light, medium and dark colors; 2) metal complexes including palladium, platinum, rhodium and ruthenium; and 3) process-related contaminants. Process chemists need to develop a production process that is safe, reproducible and cost-effective. It is almost impossible to predict which activated carbon grade will work best at removing unwanted impurities for any given lead compound. For this reason, we created a sample kit for the pharmaceutical market containing six high purity activated carbon grades with unique selectivity for removing a range of the most common impurities. The convenient design is ideal for placement on a laboratory benchtop. For each new lead compound, we recommend that process chemists try one chemically activated carbon and one steam activated carbon to determine which type works best, then optimize the purification method further by trying other steam or chemical activated grades in the kit. Given that process chemists start with PAC but often switch to powdered activated carbon filter discs during scale-up, we make these activated carbon grades available to the leading filter disc manufacturers, including: 3M, Pall, Millipore, Carlson, Gusmer, ErtelAlsop and Eaton Begerow. So whether you wish to use PAC for its ease of use and low cost, or prefer the cleaner filter disc product format to eliminate costly cleaning and validation steps, we have you covered.
