Product Description

Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen. The resulting soft, brittle, lightweight, black, porous material resembles coal.

The resulting soft, brittle, lightweight, black, porous material resembles coal.[1] Note that the current trade nomenclature for charcoal is "lump charcoal" and that products sold as "charcoal briquettes" are made from a mix of materials, such as low-grade coal, sawdust, wax, and starch binders, and often do not contain any true charcoal.

Historically, production of wood charcoal in districts where there is an abundance of wood dates back to a very ancient period, and generally consists of piling billets of wood on their ends so as to form a conical pile, openings being left at the bottom to admit air, with a central shaft to serve as a flue. The whole pile is covered with turf or moistened clay. The firing is begun at the bottom of the flue, and gradually spreads outwards and upwards. The success of the operation depends upon the rate of the combustion. Under average conditions, **0 parts of wood yield about *0 parts by volume, or *5 parts by weight, of charcoal; small scale production on the spot often yields only about *0%, large scale was efficient to about *0% even by the seventeenth century. The operation is so delicate that it was generally left to colliers (professional charcoal burners).
The massive production of charcoal (at its height employing hundreds of thousands, mainly in Alpine and neighbouring forests) was a major cause of deforestation, especially in Central Europe. In England, many woods were managed as coppices, which were cut and regrew cyclically, so that a steady supply of charcoal would be available (in principle) forever; complaints (as early as the Stuart period) about shortages may relate to the results of temporary over-exploitation or the impossibility of increasing production to match growing demand. The increasing scarcity of easily harvested wood was a major factor for the switch to the fossil fuel equivalents, mainly coal and brown coal for industrial use.
The use of charcoal as a smelting fuel has been experiencing a resurgence in South America following Brazilian law changes in ***0 to reduce carbon emissions as part of President Lula da Silva's commitment to make a "green steel".
The modern process of carbonizing wood, either in small pieces or as sawdust in cast iron retorts, is extensively practiced where wood is scarce, and also for the recovery of valuable byproducts (wood spirit, pyroligneous acid, wood tar), which the process permits. The question of the temperature of the carbonization is important; according to J. Percy, wood becomes brown at **0 °C (**8 °F), a deep brown-black after some time at **0 °C (**6 °F), and an easily powdered mass at **0 °C (**0 °F).[citation needed] Charcoal made at **0°C (**2 °F) is brown, soft and friable, and readily inflames at **0 °C (**6 °F); made at higher temperatures it is hard and brittle, and does not fire until heated to about **0 °C (1,**2 °F).
In Finland and Scandinavia, the charcoal was considered the by-product of wood tar production. The best tar came from pine, thus pinewoods were cut down for tar pyrolysis. The residual charcoal was widely used as substitute for metallurgical coke in blast furnaces for smelting. Tar production led to rapid deforestation: it has been estimated all Finnish forests are younger than **0 years. The end of tar production in the end of the *9th century meant also rapid re-forestation.
The charcoal briquette was first invented and patented by Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer of Pennsylvania in ***7[2] and was produced by the Zwoyer Fuel Company. The process was further popularized by Henry Ford, who used wood and sawdust byproducts from automobile fabrication as a feedstock. Ford Charcoal went on to become the Kingsford Company.

Production methods
Charcoal has been made by various methods. The traditional method in Britain used a clamp. This is essentially a pile of wooden logs (e.g. seasoned oak) leaning against a chimney (logs are placed in a circle). The chimney consists of 4 wooden stakes held up by some rope. The logs are completely covered with soil and straw allowing no air to enter. It has to be lit by introducing some burning fuel into the chimney; the logs burn very slowly (cold fire) and transform into charcoal in a period of 5 days' burning. If the soil covering gets torn (cracked) by the fire, additional soil is placed on the cracks. Once the burn is complete, the chimney is plugged to prevent air from entering.[3]
Modern methods use a sealed metal container, as this does not have to be watched lest fire break through the covering.[citation needed] However onsite attendance is required. This is often carried out by the last forestry workers to live in working woodland in the western world. There has been a resurgence of this particuarly in the UK. A good example of this is Bulworthy Project where charcoal production supports an experiment in low-impact living and nature conservation

Ogatan, Charcoal briquettes made from sawdust
Commercial charcoal is found in either lump, briquette, or extruded forms:

    Lump charcoal is made directly from hardwood material and usually produces far less ash than briquettes.