What is activated charcoal and why is it used in filters ...
Charcoal is carbon. (See this Question of the Day for details on how charcoal is made.) Activated charcoal is charcoal that has been treated with oxygen to open up millions of tiny pores between the carbon to Encylopedia Britannica:. The use of special manufacturing techniques results in highly porous charcoals that have surface areas of 3002,000 square metres per gram.