A BioReaction odor control vessel.

Calgon Carbon Corp., headquartered in Pittsburgh, can trace its roots back to a company by the name of Pittsburgh Coke and Chemical Co. Inc. in 1942. Pittsburgh Coke pioneered the development of coal-based granular activated carbon for use in military protection masks. Changing its name to Pittsburgh Activated Carbon Co., the company expanded its product line to include innovations in the removal of odors and impurities from various air and water sources. Calgon Corp. acquired the company in 1962 and merged with Merck and Co. Inc. in 1968. In 1985, Calgon Carbon was acquired by a management-leveraged buyout to become Calgon Carbon Corp. Today, Calgon is a public company traded under the NYSE symbol CCC and has operations on every continent in the world.

Calgon has continued to develop products to improve air and water quality for consumer and industrial markets. The company has grown through acquisitions and strategic alliances.

Pollution Engineering spoke with Calgon Global Marketing Director Charles Fluharty. Mr. Fluharty grew up working as a machinist and obtained his first degree in engineering. He later decided that he enjoyed the business aspect of the industry and returned to school for another degree, this time in business. Fluharty represents Calgon at WWEMA and has been an active member since joining Calgon in September 2001. He noted that he had been forced to re-evaluate the value of membership during two recent management changes and found that it was worth the investment.

According to Fluharty, Calgon started a consumer division about three years ago using miniaturized carbon technology, at which point they began building consumer alliances. One such accord was reached with the QVC home shopping network, where the company would sell products for use in tarnish prevention such as a carbon impregnated cloth for jewelry boxes.

Recent alliances include an agreement with Shell Global Solutions to improve the company presence in the remediation market. Shell markets patented BioRemedy microbes for ex-situ removal of fuel oxygenates such as methyl tert-butyl ether, more commonly known as MTBE, and tert-butyl alcohol, or TBA, from contaminated groundwater. Calgon added ion exchange, UV treatment systems and other remediation technology to their product lines, combining their expertise with Calgon's sales and distribution systems to become a global leader in perchlorate remediation. They also have systems in place for many other groundwater contaminates, including nitrates, organics, arsenic, chromium and lead.

Calgon's most recent acquisition was Waterlink's Specialty Products Division. This company is known in the United States as Barnebey Sutcliffe and in the United Kingdom as Sutcliffe Speakman. The acquisition will increase Calgon's presence in the homeland security market and enable them to provide specialty carbons for the smaller volume customer.

Other recent alliances include deals with Harrington Industrial Plastics and Bio Reaction Industries to offer more choices in chemical and biological scrubbing technologies. Both of these company products are offered as standalone or in conjunction with other Calgon products. Harrington products are designed to remove sulfide and ammonia odor causing compounds from waste water treatment systems. The Bio Reaction products use biofilters to remove any odorous compound as well as volatile organic compounds from municipal water treatment systems. PE