What exactly is ROX 0.8 Carbon?

[malfist]

Many people run 0.8 ROX carbon, including myself, but other than BRS telling us it's the best and it not having many fines, I can't find a whole lot of information about it.

BRS says it's used in the pharmaceutical industry, but besides TL Reefs and BRS, I can't find anyone else selling ROX 0.8 carbon. I can't even find what ROX means in the context of carbon.

Anyone actually know what it is and why it's supposedly better? Or have anything scholarly talking about it's effectiveness compared to other forms of pelleted carbon or even just regular activated carbon?

 

[malfist]

Closest thing I can find is this: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32088818/

But it's talking about ROX (roxarsone) as something to be absorbed by carbon. So I don't think that's super relevant. Especially considering roxarsone is an arsenic compound, probably not something that is added to carbon for treating water.

 

[malfist]

I found this study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1226086X15001355

That mentions ROX being supplied by a company NORIT, but neither the study nor norit's website really says what it is, because pelleted extruded carbon. Study is to prove it can absorb gold.

 

[yanetterer]

I don't have any journal articles for you, but I believe the industrial term you are looking for is "pelletized carbon." Hopefully that term will help you track down some better articles. I had always assumed ROX was just a BRS marketing term (i.e. hard has "rocks") since the pelletized carbon is harder than the bituminous stuff.

IIRC it isn't necessarily better (more effective), but since it is harder it doesn't create as much dust, making it easier to use. The few industrial sites I went to indicate it is used for air applications rather than water.

 

[malfist]

I found this on a manufacturer's website:

> Pelletized activated carbon is created by extruding activated carbon into cylindrical shaped pellets with diameters ranging from 0.8 to 5 mm. Their high activity and surface area make it ideal for many vapor phase applications. The uniformity of its shape makes it particularly useful in applications where low-pressure drop is a consideration

So I bet BRS's 0.8 ROX is just the 0.8mm diameter pelleted carbon. I checked amazon to see if I can find somewhere it's cheaper, but they mostly just hat 4mm pellets. That's probably too big for aquariums.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm not really sure what level of answer you are wanting. My opinion on it has nothing to do with BRS. It is a high quality dust free carbon that is a good choice for reefers.

Rox 0.8 is made by Norit and is used in a variety of demanding applications, such as decaffinating coffee.

"Food safety is in good hands too: NORIT ROX 0.8 is produced and processed to a high purity, under HACCP certification."

Decaffeination by NORIT activated carbon

Organic decaffeinated coffees are produced by extracting caffein from green coffee beans using a water-based extractant and NORIT ROX 0.8

norit.com

 

[malfist]

Thanks for that info Randy. I was mostly trying to confirm that this wasn't some product BRS was overhyping to corner a market on (since no one else seems to carry it), and that it's not going to be any worse than any of the other GAC on the market. As long as it performs comparability (and I don't think anything suggests it doesn't) I'll continue using it just because of the reduction in rinsing you have to do.

Do wish it was a bit cheaper though.