Typically, carbon adsorbers are used on systems utilizing bulk chlorinated solvents such as Trichloroethylene or Perchloroethylene in large vapor degreasing operations such as tube, auto parts, or other high volume degreasing. 

Carbon adsorbers work by exhausting solvent laden air into carbon beds, which will adsorb the solvent from the air.  The air can then be vented to the atmosphere with little or no solvent whatsoever remaining.  The carbon beds are then regenerated by steam stripping.  Typical systems have at least two carbon beds so that while one bed is being stripped, the other can continue to operate to strip solvent from the exhaust stream.

Care must be taken to monitor a solvent’s acid acceptance level, in particular when using carbon adsorption as the adsorption process tends to remove stabilizer molecules that are otherwise present in an azeotropic mixture in the solvent vapors.