Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal or activated coal, is a form of that has been processed to make it extremely porous and thus to have a very large available for or . The word activated in the name is sometimes substituted by active. Due to its high degree of microporosity, just one of activated carbon has a surface area of approximately 1200 m� as determined typically by gas . Sufficient activation for useful applications may come solely from the high surface area, though further chemical treatment often enhances the adsorbing properties of the material. Activated carbon is usually derived from .