Titan Water Systems Pharmaceutical Grade Carbon has a very high hardness and is more abrasion resistant than any other type. It is a totally natural, environmentally friendly product, that has a very small carbon foot print, since it is derived from coconut shells. As most of its pore structure consists of micropores (more than 80%), coconut shell carbon can efficiently absorb impurities with micropore molecular structure, such as those present in drinking water. In addition, because of its high abrasion resistance and exceptional chemical and physical characteristics, only coconut shell activated carbon can support applications such as recovery of gold and other precious metals. Coconut shell activated carbon also removes Volatile organic chemicals (VOC), disinfection by-products (DBPs) such as chlorine, trihalomethanes (THMs), and other VOC contaminants such as trichloroethylene (TCE) leaving you with fresh, pure water.