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Te article “Carbon Copy” in the Spring 2022 edition of Army AL&T magazine introduced readers to Calgon Carbon and the need for an alternate supplier. In this follow-up letter, a company representative describes its continued dedication to supply carbon for the DOD.


by Sam Yates C


algon Carbon has been the sole supplier [of activated carbon for use in protective filtration] for the United States military for 80 years. In 1942, the military recognized the need for a domestic source of acti-


vated-carbon production for their CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protection] carbon because of the conflict in the Pacific. Up to this point, CBRN carbon was sourced from coconut, which was located in southeast Asia. Te conflict in the Pacific theater during World War II caused a loss of reliable access to these coconut sources.


With the resulting loss of sources of coconut-based activated carbons, the military partnered with Pittsburgh Coke and Chemi- cal, a predecessor company to Calgon Carbon, to develop a means for producing respirator-grade activated carbon from domestic coal sources. Tis was key, as activated carbon is not mined, but is a manufactured product. If the base activated carbon does not have the appropriate characteristics, the final impregnated prod- uct will not perform as needed. Characteristics such as the pore structure, density and moisture levels all have significant impact on the final product’s ability to perform.


Pittsburgh Coke and Chemical developed the process for commer- cially producing an activated carbon for the World War II effort.


92 Army AL&T Magazine Summer 2022


Named ASC, an initialism for the ingredients embedded in it [activated carbon, silver and copper], this carbon formulation was developed by the U.S. Army as the first CBRN protection carbon for the military services. Since 1942, Calgon Carbon has been the exclusive supplier of respirator and collective protec- tion filter carbons for the military. In addition, during the 1990’s Calgon Carbon invented ASZM TEDA carbon, a chrome-free carbon which replaced ASC, and we developed the process to commercially produce it.


During the 80 years that Calgon Carbon has been supplying the DOD, we have never missed meeting all the DOD technical requirements, including during all war efforts and deployments.


In the late 2000s, Calgon Carbon approached DOD about supporting an ASZM TEDA expansion to ensure sufficient surge capacity for ASZM TEDA production. We proactively engaged the government with the concern that, if a sudden surge in demand were to occur similar in magnitude to the initial Iraq and Afghanistan deployments, the ramp-up time might be slower than needed. We proposed expanding our capacity with a second, grassroots production line to ensure a continued uninterrupted supply of ASZM TEDA to meet the DOD’s needs and provide an increased rapid ramp-up capacity.


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