Can charcoal be used directly for purifying water? How?

Yes absolutely, But not just charcoal, but activated charcoal. Activated charcoal is nothing but heated charcoal.

Just keep charcoal powder or pieces in cloth and pour water on it.The water coming from other side will be pure.

Charcoal has ability to absorb harmful chemicals from water. It can as much as absorb 200–30 times its weight.granular activated charcoal The small pores in activated carbon is where all magic happens. They filter out particles of size 0.5 to 50 micrometers.

It can absorb volatile organic compound generally known as VOC, chlorine, sedimentation, and odor, thereby refining taste of water.

Normally you can buy activated charcoal in market or online portals. Just take come portion in a fine cloth and directly tie/attach it to your tap. Whatever water you get will be clean and without any odor.www.yrdcarbon.com

All water purifier companies have atleast 2 filters. First filter containing sand which is to remove sedimentation, and second activated charcoal filter to remove additional gases, chemicals and odor.They further add UV to kill micro-bacteria to make water even safer.