charcoal
Sign in to savethumb|Charcoal thumb|alt=workers packing charcoal in paper bags | Packaging of charcoal for export in Namibia
AI overview
Charcoal is a dark, porous form of carbon made by heating wood or other organic materials in the absence of oxygen. It has been an important fuel source throughout history and remains widely used today for cooking, heating, and industrial purposes.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
28 sectionsContents
- History
- Charcoal pile
- Charcoal burners
- Low efficiency and harmful emissions
- Peak of production and decline
- Deforestation and scarcity
- By-product of wood tar production
- Charcoal briquette
- Production methods
- Types
- Uses
- Metallurgical fuel
- Cooking and heating fuel
- Reducing agent
- Syngas production, automotive fuel
- Pyrotechnics
- Cosmetic use of bamboo charcoal
- Carbon source
- Purification and filtration
- Medicine
- Art
- Horticulture
- Animal husbandry
- Environmental impact
- In popular culture
- See also
- References
- External links
thumb|Charcoal thumb|alt=workers packing charcoal in paper bags | Packaging of charcoal for export in Namibia
Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood (or other animal and plant materials) in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. In the traditional version of this pyrolysis process, called charcoal burning, often by forming a charcoal kiln, the heat is supplied by burning part of the starting material itself, with a limited supply of oxygen. The material can also be heated in a closed retort. Modern charcoal briquettes used for outdoor cooking may contain many other additives, e.g. coal.