Activated carbons are produced and used as a black or dark grey solid, in granular, powder, pellet or textile form. It is produced from various raw materials such as bituminous coal, coconut shells, lignite, peat, synthetic sources, semi-anthracite and wood.
Activated carbon is a porous, amorphous, high surface area adsorbent material composed of largely elemental carbon, with a low or high skeletal density, depending on the manufacturing process used.

The type of raw material also influences the pore size in the final product. In fact, pore diameter in the final product depends on the natural raw material pores. For example coconut shells and very dense materials produce micropores (< 2 nm), while medium-dense and light materials produce meso- (between 2 and 50 nm) or macro-pores (> 50 nm).