Charcoal is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. There are three naturally occurring isotopes, with 12C and 13C being stable, while 14C is radioactive, decaying with a half-life of obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal Animals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently. Most animals are also and vegetation Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader than the term flora which refers exclusively to substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis Pyrolysis is the chemical decomposition of a condensed substance by heating. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro "fire" and lysys "decomposition", the heating of wood Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense it is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it conducts water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves. However, wood may also refer to other plant, sugar Sugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple (in maple syrup), and in many other sources. It forms the main, bone char Bone char, also known as bone black, ivory black, animal charcoal, or abaiser, is a granular material produced by charring animal bones: the bones are heated to high temperatures in an oxygen-depleted atmosphere to control the quality of the product as related to its adsorption capacity for applications such as defluoridation of water and removal, or other substances in the absence of oxygen Oxygen (pronounced /ˈɒksɨdʒɨn/, from the Greek roots ὀξύς (acid, literally "sharp," from the taste of acids) and -γενής (-genēs) (producer, literally begetter) is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. It is a member of the chalcogen group on the periodic table, and is a highly reactive (see pyrolysis Pyrolysis is the chemical decomposition of a condensed substance by heating. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro "fire" and lysys "decomposition", char Charring is a chemical process of incomplete combustion of a solid when subjected to high heat. The resulting residue matter is called Char. Charring can be either a deliberate and controlled reaction used in manufacturing or it may be the result of naturally-occurring processes. By the action of heat, charring removes hydrogen and oxygen from the and biochar Biochar is charcoal created by pyrolysis of biomass. The resulting charcoal-like material is a form of carbon capture and storage. Charcoal is a stable solid and rich in carbon content, and thus, can be used to lock carbon in the soil. Biochar is of increasing interest because of concerns about climate change caused by emissions of carbon dioxide). The resulting soft, brittle, lightweight, black, porous material resembles coal Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. It is composed primarily of carbon along with variable and is 85% to 98% carbon Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. There are three naturally occurring isotopes, with 12C and 13C being stable, while 14C is radioactive, decaying with a half-life of with the remainder consisting of volatile chemicals and ash.

The first part of the word is of obscure origin, but the first use of the term "coal" in English English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries and of the United States since the mid 20th century, it has become the lingua franca in many parts of the world. It is was as a reference to charcoal. In this compound term, the prefix "chare-" meant "turn", with the literal meaning being "to turn to coal". The independent use of "char", meaning to scorch, to reduce to carbon, is comparatively recent and is assumed to be a back-formation In etymology, back-formation refers to the process of creating a new lexeme by removing actual or supposed affixes. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1897.[citation needed] from the earlier charcoal. It may be a use of the word charren or churn, meaning to turn; i.e. wood changed or turned to coal Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. It is composed primarily of carbon along with variable, or it may be from the French French is a Romance language spoken, around the world, by more than 130 million people as a first language (mother tongue), by 190 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 54 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France, where the language charbon. A person who manufactured charcoal was formerly known as a collier (also as a wood collier). The word "collier" was also used for those who mined or dealt in coal, and for the ships that transported it.

Charcoal, or biochar Biochar is charcoal created by pyrolysis of biomass. The resulting charcoal-like material is a form of carbon capture and storage. Charcoal is a stable solid and rich in carbon content, and thus, can be used to lock carbon in the soil. Biochar is of increasing interest because of concerns about climate change caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, is also an essential element in the composition of terra preta Terra preta refers to expanses of very dark, fertile anthropogenic soils found in the Amazon Basin. Terra preta owes its name to its very high charcoal content, and was indeed made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, and manure to the otherwise relatively infertile Amazonian soil over many years. It is also known as “Amazonian dark earth”.

Fossil record

History

Historically, production of wood charcoal in districts where there is an abundance of wood dates back to a very ancient period, and generally consists of piling billets of wood on their ends so as to form a conical pile, openings being left at the bottom to admit air The Earth's atmosphere is a layer of gases surrounding the planet Earth that is retained by the Earth's gravity. It has a mass of about five quadrillion metric tons. Dry air contains roughly 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.038% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on, with a central shaft to serve as a flue A flue is a duct, pipe, or chimney for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, water heater, boiler, or generator to the outdoors. In the U.S.A., for water heaters and modern furnaces they are also known as 'vents' and for boilers as 'breeching'. They usually operate by buoyancy, also known as the stack effect, or the combustion. The whole pile is covered with turf or moistened clay Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired. Clay deposits are mostly composed of clay minerals , minerals which impart plasticity and harden when fired and/or dried, and variable amounts of. The firing is begun at the bottom of the flue, and gradually spreads outwards and upwards. The success of the operation depends upon the rate of the combustion Combustion or burning is a complex sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat or both heat and light in the form of either a glow or flames, appearance of light flickering. Under average conditions, 100 parts of wood yield about 60 parts by volume The volume of any solid, liquid, plasma, vacuum or theoretical object is how much three-dimensional space it occupies, often quantified numerically. One-dimensional figures and two-dimensional shapes such as square geometry squares are assigned zero volume in the three-dimensional space. Volume is commonly presented in units such as mililitres or, or 25 parts by weight In the physical sciences, the weight of an object is the magnitude, W, of the force that must be applied to an object in order to support it in a gravitational field. The weight of an object equals the magnitude of the gravitational force acting on the object, less the effect of its buoyancy in any fluid in which it might be immersed. Near the, of charcoal; small scale production on the spot often yields only about 50%, large scale was efficient to about 90% even by the seventeenth century. The operation is so delicate that it was generally left to colliers (professional charcoal burners).

The massive production of charcoal (at its height employing hundreds of thousands, mainly in Alpine and neighbouring forests) was a major cause of deforestation Deforestation is the logging and/or burning of trees in a forested area. There are several reasons deforestation occurs: trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and used by humans, while cleared land is used as pasture, plantations of commodities and human settlement. The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted, especially in Central Europe Central Europe is the region lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. The term and widespread interest in the region itself came back into fashion after the end of the Cold War, which, along with the Iron Curtain, had divided Europe politically into East and West, splitting Central Europe in half. In England England /ˈɪŋɡlənd/ is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population, while its mainland territory occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. England is bordered by Scotland to the north, Wales to the west and the North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea,, many woods were managed as coppices Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management in which young tree stems are repeatedly cut down to near ground level. In subsequent growth years, many new shoots will emerge, and, after a number of years the coppiced tree, or stool, is ready to be harvested, and the cycle begins again, which were cut and regrew cyclically, so that a steady supply of charcoal would be available (in principle) forever; complaints (as early as the Stuart period The Stuart period of British history usually refers to the period between 1603 and 1714. This coincides with the rule of the House of Stuart, whose first monarch was James VI of Scotland. The period ended with Queen Anne and the accession of George I from the House of Hanover. The Stuart period was plagued by internal and religious strife) about shortages may relate to the results of temporary over-exploitation or the impossibility of increasing production to match growing demand. The increasing scarcity of easily harvested wood was a major factor for the switch to the fossil fuel Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are fuels formed by the natural resources such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years. These fuels contain high percentage of carbon and hydrocarbons equivalents, mainly coal Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure. It is composed primarily of carbon along with variable and brown coal Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad, is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat. It is considered the lowest rank of coal; it is primarily mined in Russia, the United States, Australia and many European countries, and it is used almost exclusively as a for industrial use.

The modern process of carbonizing wood, either in small pieces or as sawdust Sawdust is composed of fine particles of wood. This material is produced from cutting with a saw, hence its name. It has a variety of practical uses, including serving as a mulch, or as an alternative to clay cat litter, or as a fuel, or for the manufacture of particleboard. Until the advent of refrigeration, it was often used in icehouses to keep in cast iron Cast iron usually refers to Gray iron, but also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys, which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured due to its carbide impurities which allow cracks to pass straight through. Grey cast iron is retorts In a chemistry laboratory, a retort is a glassware device used for distillation or dry distillation of substances. It consists of a spherical vessel with a long downward-pointing neck. The liquid to be distilled is placed in the vessel and heated. The neck acts as a condenser, allowing the evaporated vapors to condense and flow along the neck to a, is extensively practiced where wood is scarce, and also for the recovery of valuable byproducts (wood spirit Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a toxic chemical with chemical formula C , pyroligneous acid Recently, it has been promoted as a natural aid for various uses including detoxification, mild pain relief, and to sterilize and promote healing of minor wounds. These claims may be of questionable value, wood tar Tar is modified resin produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. It is a viscous black liquid. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving and protecting wooden vessels against rot. The largest user), which the process permits. The question of the temperature In physics, temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold; something that feels hotter generally has the higher temperature. Temperature is one of the principal parameters of thermodynamics. If no heat flow occurs between two objects, the objects have the same temperature; otherwise heat flows of the carbonization Carbonization or carbonisation is the term for the conversion of an organic substance into carbon or a carbon-containing residue through pyrolysis or destructive distillation. It is often used in organic chemistry with reference to the generation of coal gas and coal tar from raw coal. Fossil fuels in general are the products of the carbonization is important; according to J. Percy, wood becomes brown at 220 °C, a deep brown-black after some time at 280 °C, and an easily powdered mass at 310 °C.^{[citation needed]} Charcoal made at 300° is brown, soft and friable, and readily inflames at 380 °C; made at higher temperatures it is hard and brittle, and does not fire until heated to about 700 °C.

In Finland Finland /ˈfɪnlənd/ , officially the Republic of Finland ( Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is and Scandinavia Scandinavia is a historical and geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scandinavian Peninsula. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; some authorities argue for the inclusion of Finland and Iceland, in Scandinavia the term is, however, used unambiguously for Denmark, Norway and Sweden,, the charcoal was considered the by-product of wood tar Tar is modified resin produced primarily from the wood and roots of pine by destructive distillation under pyrolysis. It is a viscous black liquid. Production and trade in tar was a major contributor in the economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America. Its main use was in preserving and protecting wooden vessels against rot. The largest user production. The best tar came from pine See Pinus classification for complete taxonomy to species level. See list of pines by region for list of species by geographical distribution, thus pinewoods were cut down for tar pyrolysis Pyrolysis is the chemical decomposition of a condensed substance by heating. The word is coined from the Greek-derived elements pyro "fire" and lysys "decomposition". The residual charcoal was widely used as substitute for metallurgical Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use. Metallurgy is commonly used in the craft of metalworking coke in blast furnaces for smelting. Tar production led to rapid deforestation: it has been estimated all Finnish forests are younger than 300 years by their age. The end of tar production in the end of the 19th century meant also rapid re-forestation.

The charcoal briquette, first invented by Henry Ford, was first made using wood and sawdust scraps from his automotive assembly plant.^[1]

Types of charcoal

Commercial charcoal is found in either lump, briquette, or extruded forms:

• Lump charcoal is made directly from hardwood material and usually produces far less ash than briquettes.
• Briquettes are made by compressing charcoal, typically made from sawdust and other wood by-products, with a binder and other additives. The binder is usually starch. Some briquettes may also include brown coal (heat source), mineral carbon (heat source), borax, sodium nitrate (ignition aid), limestone (ash-whitening agent), raw sawdust (ignition aid), and other additives like paraffin or petroleum solvents to aid in ignition.^[2]
• Extruded charcoal is made by extruding either raw ground wood or carbonized wood into logs without the use of a binder. The heat and pressure of the extruding process hold the charcoal together. If the extrusion is made from raw wood material, the extruded logs are then subsequently carbonized.

The characteristics of charcoal products (lump, briquette, or extruded forms) vary widely from product to product. Thus it is a common misconception to stereotype any kind of charcoal, saying which burns hotter, etc.

Charcoal is sometimes used to power commercial road vehicles—usually buses—in countries where oil is scarce or completely unavailable. In the years immediately after the Second World War, charcoal buses were in regular use in Japan and are still used today in North Korea.^[3]

Uses

One of the most important historical applications of wood charcoal was as a constituent of gunpowder. It was also used in metallurgical operations as a reducing agent, but its application has been diminished by the introduction of coke, anthracite smalls, etc. For example, charcoal may be used to smelt a variety of metals from aluminum to copper as it burns at the necessary temperature: 1,100 °C (2,010 °F).^[4] A limited quantity is made up into the form of drawing crayons; but the greatest amount is used as a fuel, which burns hotter and cleaner than wood. Charcoal is often used by blacksmiths, for cooking, and for other industrial applications.

Cooking fuel

Charcoal briquettes are widely used for outdoor grilling and barbecues in backyards and on camping trips.

In many non-industrialized countries, charcoal is used for everyday cooking by a large portion of the population. This is potentially a serious health problem when used indoors since carbon monoxide (CO) is a combustion product.^[5]

Industrial fuel

Historically, charcoal was used in great quantities for smelting iron in bloomeries and later blast furnaces and finery forges. This use was replaced by coke during the Industrial Revolution. For this purpose, charcoal in England was measured in dozens (or loads) consisting of 12 sacks or shems or seams, each of 8 bushels.

Automotive fuel

In times of scarce petroleum, automobiles and even buses have been converted to burn wood gas (gas mixture containing primarily carbon monoxide) released by burning charcoal or wood in a wood gas generator. In 1931 Tang Zhongming developed an automobile powered by charcoal, and these cars were popular in China until the 1950s. In occupied France during World War II, wood and wood charcoal production for such vehicles (called gazogènes) increased from pre-war figures of approximately fifty thousand tons a year to almost half a million tons in 1943.^[6]

Purification/Filtration

Charcoal may be activated to increase its effectiveness as a filter. Activated charcoal readily adsorbs a wide range of organic compounds dissolved or suspended in gases and liquids. Charcoal is often used to filter water to removed bacteria and undesired tastes. In certain industrial process, such as the purification of sucrose from cane sugar, impurities cause an undesirable color, which can be removed with activated charcoal. It is also used to absorb odors and toxins in gasses, such as air. One striking example is the use of charcoal to remove the smell of maraijuana plants in small-scale residential settings. Charcoal filters are also used in some types of gas masks. The medical use of activated charcoal is mainly the adsorption of poisons, especially in the case of suicide attempts in which the patient has ingested a large amount of a drug. Activated charcoal is available without a prescription, so it is used for a variety of health-related applications. For example, it is often used to reduce discomfort (and embarrassment) due to excessive gas in the digestive tract.

Animal charcoal or bone black is the carbonaceous residue obtained by the dry distillation of bones. It contains only about 10% carbon, the remainder being calcium and magnesium phosphates (80%) and other inorganic material originally present in the bones. It is generally manufactured from the residues obtained in the glue and gelatin industries. Its decolorizing power was applied in 1812 by Derosne to the clarification of the syrups obtained in sugar refining; but its use in this direction has now greatly diminished, owing to the introduction of more active and easily managed reagents. It is still used to some extent in laboratory practice. The decolorizing power is not permanent, becoming lost after using for some time; it may be revived, however, by washing and reheating. Wood charcoal also to some extent removes coloring material from solutions, but animal charcoal is generally more effective.

Art

Charcoal is used in art for drawing, making rough sketches in painting and is one of the possible media for making a parsemage. It must usually be preserved by the application of a fixative. Artists generally utilize charcoal in three forms:

• Vine charcoal is created by burning sticks of wood (usually willow or linden/Tilia) into soft, medium, and hard consistencies.
• Compressed charcoal charcoal powder mixed with gum binder compressed into round or square sticks. The amount of binder determines the hardness of the stick. Compressed charcoal is used in charcoal pencils.
• Powdered charcoal is often used to "tone" or cover large sections of a drawing surface. Drawing over the toned areas will darken it further, but the artist can also lighten (or completely erase) within the toned area to create lighter tones.

Horticulture

One additional use of charcoal rediscovered recently is in horticulture. Although American gardeners have been using charcoal for a short while, research on Terra preta soils in the Amazon has found the widespread use of biochar by pre-Columbian natives to turn otherwise unproductive soil into very rich soil. The technique may find modern application, both to improve soils and as a means of carbon sequestration.

Medicine

Charcoal was consumed in the past as dietary supplement for gastric problems in the form of charcoal biscuits. Now it can be consumed in tablet, capsule or powder form, for digestive benefits. Charcoal absorbs gases and toxins to help heartburn, flatulence or indigestion.^[7]

Smoking

Special charcoals are used in the smoking of the Hookah. Lit coals are placed on top of foil, which is placed over the bowl of tobacco, and through indirect heat "cook" the tobacco to a temperature that produces smoke, but does not burn.

See also

• Biochar
• Pyrolysis
• Slash-and-char
• Terra preta
• Biomass briquettes

References

1. ^ "Henry Ford created the charcoal briquette from the wood scraps and sawdust from his car factory."
2. ^ How charcoal briquettes are made.
3. ^ Tokyo views of the city; essay contains a small section on Charcoal buses in post-war Japan
4. ^ "Charcoal in the Forest of Dean". http://www.fweb.org.uk/Dean/deanhist/charcoal.htm.
5. ^ "Smoke Detectors, Carbon Monoxide Detectors, and Charcoal". Archived from the original on 2007-08-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20070822172403/http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/house-domes/fire-feu/detect/index_e.html.
6. ^ Chris Pearson "'The age of wood': FUEL AND FIGHTING IN FRENCH FORESTS, 1940–1944"
7. ^ "J.L.Bragg's Charcoal". http://www.charcoal.uk.com/02_health_benefits.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-11. .

Sources, references and external links

• On Charcoal
• The Lump Charcoal Database - Information about lump charcoal
• Photo of traditional charcoal production A forest kiln
• Charcoal Making - Charcoal making community for livelihood
• How to Make Charcoal - Traditional charcoal production method, India
• The River Wey and Wey Navigations Community Site — a non-commercial site of over 200,000 words all about the Wey Valley and includes a photo file on charcoal production and information relating to gunpowder manufacture at Chilworth
• Catoctin Mountain Park - Charcoal and Iron Industry (U.S. National Park Service) Catoctin Mountain Park, Maryland, USA, includes interpretive features ("Charcoal Trail", etc) on the history of charcoal making in the area
• Bamboo Charcoal - Properties and Facts
• Coconut Charcoal - Facts
• Discovery of new charcoal production process and ARTI, Appropriate Rural Technologies Institute - Making powdered charcoal directly from sugar cane leaves and trash
• The "Adam-retort", or ICPS (Improved Charcoal Production System)
• Flash Carbonization is a pressurised highly efficient charcoal making process

Categories: Art materials | Fuels | Carbon forms | Pyrotechnic fuels | Biofuels

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