T!1HE growing importance of activated carbons in many industrial processes such as decolorizing sugar solutions, water purification, gas adsorption, the purification of organic chemicals and pharmaceuticals, etc., has led many workers to seek new and better methods for producing this modern purifier.Ordinarily an activated carbon is prepared by impregnating a carbonaceous material such as wood or coal with one or more of a variety of substances such as zinc chloride, alkali carbonates, sulfates, or bisulfates, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, etc., followed by heating at red heat. Frequently a carbon is further activated by treatment at high temperatures with steam, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen chloride, chlorine (1,8,9,11,12, IS), sulfur dioxide, etc.The production of carbon black and hydrogen chloride by the combustion of chlorine and hydrocarbons is claimed by Averill (2) and McGuire (10); however, these men did not say that their carbon possessed any unusual adsorptive capacities.