How is Charcoal Made?
Charcoal is made by heating wood at very high temperatures without any oxygen being present. In order to do that the wood is heated in a sealed fire-proof box. This intense heat minus the oxygen burns away all of the volatile organic compounds (listed above) and leaves behind pure carbon and ash. In developing nations, the wood is heated underneath soil to deprive it of the oxygen. Why Not Burn Wood Instead of Charcoal? Wood that has been freshly cut can contain over half its weight in water. Kiln-dried wood has less water than fresh cut but there is still some present. It could take a year or more to dry wood naturally outdoors so the efficiency of charcoal is greatly superior. You notice the difference between wood and charcoal when they are both placed on a fire. The smoke coming from the wood is all the volatile hydrocarbon/compounds leaving and once the temperature gets hot enough the wood will start on fire. As soon as there is a fire there is no smoke; the hydrocarbons have turn
Charcoal, also known as raw coal, can be technically described as a soft, black, brittle and porous substance that resembles coal and is usually produced when materials such as wood, sugar and bone char are heated to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. It consists of almost 86 – 98% of carbon and is used for a variety of purposes. As per the available documentary evidences, usage of coal by humans dates back to around 30,000 BC. When it comes to European countries, coal was used some 5,000 years ago for smelting of metals such as iron and copper. Except coal, there was no other fuel source available during that period that could provide temperatures around 1000°F required for smelting process. From then onwards, coal was being made using different methods. “Many of us use charcoal each time we have a barbecue, but almost no one knows much about it, and how it can improve your barbecue experience.” One such ancient method of making charcoal is known as coppicing. This method dat
Anybody who’s grilled with charcoal knows what it’s like — black, hard, long-burning, and relatively smokeless. Charcoal gets those characteristics from the way it’s made, a centuries-old process that essentially involves heating carbon-based substances like wood or bone in an environment with little or no oxygen. This process removes water and gases that were in the original material, creating “char.” The char is then mixed with other substances, including binding materials such as corn, and shaped — often into briquettes or other shapes. Charcoal literally goes through a trial-by-fire process, which makes it, in turn, a substance that can be burned to deliver steady, reliable, and long-lasting heat. There are three basic stages to the charcoal making process: charring, shaping, and bagging. In the first stage, wood, bones, or other carbon-rich materials are dried and then subjected to extreme heat, around 840° – 950° F (450° – 510° C). This is accomplished by placing the materials ei
