UNSPSC 47101501: Activated carbon equipment

UNSPSC 47101501 Activated carbon equipment (Commodity) covers granular and powdered activated carbon media, vessels, and related hardware supplied for water and wastewater treatment remediation systems. State and local governments procure this under the code primarily to remove volatile organic compounds—chlorinated solvents, BTEX, PFAS, MTBE, Freon compounds—from groundwater pump-and-treat and soil vapor extraction systems at active contamination sites. Recent solicitations show municipalities and counties issuing RFPs, RFQs, and IFBs for spent carbon collection, analysis, manifesting, removal, transport, and installation labor alongside the activated carbon media itself, with vessel exchange services bundled in several cases. Issuing bodies include city environmental services departments, county purchasing divisions, water authorities, and state departments of water resources. Water treatment authorities and municipal utilities are the primary repeat buyers. A subset of opportunities addresses iron and manganese removal and ozone destruction catalyst applications, though these fall outside the core activated carbon scope and represent a minority of recent activity.

The recent-opportunities block shows concentrated activity in the Southeast and Southwest. The City of Tucson Environmental Services posted a multi-vendor annual requirements contract (RFP 270137, response due September 23, 2026) for activated carbon removal of VOCs from two groundwater pump-and-treat systems and soil vapor extraction systems, with emphasis on virgin coconut shell carbon, bituminous coal carbon, reactivated carbon, and PFAS-treatment formulations; the Macon Water Authority (Georgia) issued an IFB for granular activated carbon filter underdrain replacement (bids due October 27, 2026); the City of Rio Rancho, New Mexico solicited bids for removal and replacement of GAC media in four 9,800-gallon tank vessels (bids due August 11, 2026); and Tampa Bay Water (a regional Florida authority serving Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties) issued an RFP for PFAS treatment implementation using fixed-bed ion exchange systems at two wellfield locations (proposals due June 24, 2026). The California Department of Water Resources posted two comprehensive water treatment system service contracts spanning multiple field divisions, including activated carbon and other media maintenance and replacement work. Henry County, Georgia solicited proposals for groundwater and methane gas monitoring services at closed landfills (RFP #27-06, proposals due September 10, 2026), which involves sampling and analysis rather than equipment supply. Opportunities cluster in California, Georgia, Florida, New Mexico, and Arizona, with additional activity scattered across water authorities and state departments nationwide.