What is Charcoal? And How is it Different from Coal?
What is charcoal, exactly? And how is it related to coal?
It turns out these two have nothing to do with each other. Coal is a rock you dig out of the ground (that much I knew). Charcoal is a man-made product, and it’s made from wood.
You make charcoal by heating wood to high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. This can be done with ancient technology: build a fire in a pit, then bury it in mud. The results is that the wood partially combusts, removing water and impurities and leaving behind mostly pure carbon.
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The benefit of charcoal vs. wood is that it burns hotter and cleaner. The temperature is, I think, important for purposes such as smelting. The cleanliness matters for health vs. hazard of the working conditions around a furnace, and may also affect the resulting metal—I’m not clear on this part.
This general process of partially combusting a fuel by heating it in the absence of oxygen is called charring, and it can be applied to coal as well. Confusingly, charred coal is called “coke”. This was important for converting the British iron industry from wood to coal.
Charcoal is a favored cooking fuel for urban occupants in many creating nations. The developing ubiquity of grilling will be a critical factor energizing the interest for charcoal from family unit end-clients. The expanding mindfulness on a sound way of life and the changing nourishment inclinations of individuals are bringing about an expanded utilization of nourishment that is flame-broiled or grilled, which, thus, is giving impulse to the interest to charcoal as cooking fuel. The usage of initiated carbon in family unit water purifiers and beauty care products will likewise add to the charcoal market development.