Charcoal

In a perfect world, charcoal would be pure carbon. In practice it contains some uncharred cellulose and wood ash. Many sources approximate charcoal with the formula C₇H₄O Charcoal fires with forced air can attain higher temperatures than wood fires because less energy is given over to the vaporization of water, which is produced when the cellulose in wood is burned.

Uses

Primary

• As a high-temperature fuel. (Energy Content: 30 MJ/kg)

Secondary

• As a filtering medium

Character

• Charcoal is lighter (10% mass) than the wood it comes from.
• Charcoal is smaller (25-40% volume) than the wood it comes from

Production

See charcoal kiln

Disposal

Charcoal can be disposed of directly into the environment.

See Also

• carbon