Charcoal briquettes

Charcoal is a desirable fuel because it produces a hot, long-lasting, virtually smokeless fire (Emrich, 1985). Combined with other materials and formed into uniform chunks called briquettes, it is popularly used for outdoor cooking in the United States. 

Charcoal has been manufactured since prehistoric times. Around 5300 years ago, a hapless traveler perished in the Tyrolean Alps. Recently, when his body was recovered from a glacier, scientists found that he had been carrying a small box containing bits of charred wood wrapped in maple leaves. The man had no fire-starting tools such as flint with him, so it appears that he may have carried smoldering charcoal instead. 

As much as 6000 years ago, charcoal was the preferred fuel for smelting copper. After the invention of the blast furnace around 1400 AD, charcoal was used extensively throughout Europe for iron smelting. By the eighteenth century, forest depletion led to a preference for coke (a coal-based form of charcoal) as an alternative fuel. 

Plentiful forests in the eastern United States made charcoal a popular fuel, particularly for black-smithing. It was also used in the western United States through the late 1800s for extracting silver from ore, for railroad fueling, and for residential and commercial heating. 

Historically, charcoal was produced by piling wood in a cone-shaped mound and covering it with dirt, turf, or ashes, leaving air intake holes around the bottom of the pile and a chimney port at the top (Moscowitz, 1978). The wood was set afire and allowed to bum slowly then the air holes were covered so the pile would cool slowly. In more modem times, the single-use charcoal pit was replaced by a stone, brick, or concrete kiln that would hold 25-75 cords of wood (1 cord = 4 ft x 4 ft x 8 ft). A large batch might bum for 3-4 weeks and take 7-10 days to cool. 

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Another large appHcation is as an ingredient in the production of charcoal briquettes. The amount of sodium nitrate used in charcoal briquette manufacture depends on the type and amount of wood and coal used. Typically charcoal briquettes contain up to almost 3% sodium nitrate. Sodium nitrate is also used in the manufacture of enamels and porcelain as an oxidizing and fluxing agent. In porcelain—enamel frits used for metal coating, the amount of sodium nitrate in a batch varies with the various metal bases to be coated, typically from about 3.8 to 7.8 wt %. 

Inorganic pigment Cornstarch Fiber staple Charcoal briquettes Gelatin Inorganic chemical... 

Charcoal briquettes, shell, screenings, wood, etc. NA1361... 

Belt conveyor dryers yeast, charcoal briquettes, synthetic rubber, catalysts, soap, glue, silica gel, titanium dioxide, urea formaldehyde, clays, white lead, chrome yellow, and metallic stearates... 

Charcoal briquettes -sodium nitrate for prdn of [SODIUM COMPOUNDS - SODIUM NITRATE] (Vol 22)... 

The chemical equation of the reaction that takes place when charcoal briquettes burn in a grill is... 

In the early 1900s, charcoal from byproduct recovery plants usually was used for cooking and heating in low-income areas and was known as a poor man s fuel. Beginning in about 1950, there was an upturn in demand for charcoal for recreation use. In this era of suburban living, the use of charcoal briquettes for cookouts represents a significant market. The charcoal briquette now can be considered a luxury fuel, as it is too expensive for heating. 

An easy way to perform the distillations of mercury amalgam is to construct a small retort using iron pipe fittings from the hardware store, pack charcoal briquettes around it and start the fire outside. Again the outlet is submerged in a container of water and the distillation of metallic mercury proceeds. When the distillation stops, be sure to remove the retort outlet from the water or the vacuum created by the cooling retort will draw the water into the apparatus with possible dire consequences, i.e. explosion. 

Wattle tannin resins are also used to manufacture other resins, such as foams comparable to phenolics, as waterproofing additives, and binders for corrugated cardboard or charcoal briquettes. This discussion, however, deals only with particleboard, plywood, glulam, and finger-jointing exterior-grade wood adhesives. Formulations of the adhesives will be mentioned ad hoc, if at all necessary, as they have already been extensively discussed in articles and reviews in the relevant literature.(7)... 

Despite present trends toward use of synthetic polymers developed over the last 10 or 20 years, starches are still being widely used as an adhesive in such applications as the production of paper and paperboard products, warp sizing, and bonding charcoal briquettes. Because of a unique combination of properties and low cost, these adhesives are almost impossible to exclude from many applications, especially those involving the use of hot paste (size) for anchoring fibers. For starch molecules to act as an adhesive, they must be chemically or thermally hydrated. Then, their adhesive character is developed and modified in different ways by chemicals or other additives for different end uses. As renewable resources that are both economical and reliable, starch and dextrin are likely to continue to be significant factors in the adhesive market for many years. 

DOT CLASSIFICATION 4.2 Label Spontaneously Combustible SAFETY PROFILE A flammable solid. See also CHARCOAL (BRIQUETTES). 

Kind of Material Inorganic Pigment Cornstarch Fiber Staple Charcoal Briquettes Gelatin Inorganic Chemical... 

Catalysts of wood pyrolysis are used to increase the yield of charcoal and to obtain a charcoal with modified properties or to produce definite valuable volatile products. The substances promoting condensation reactions are employed if high jields of charcoal are desired (4, 5, 7). Some catalysts increase the apparent density of charcoal, the pore dimensions and their adsorbency nature. Of all silvichemicals charcoal is currenUy the most in demand Commercial interest is focused on deciduous wood charcoal or charcoal briquettes. 

J.n your furnace you will also need something to hold the crucible above the first layer of the charcoal briquettes as they don t burn... 

Charcoal briquettes are better than regular charcoal because they burn more evenly and last longer. They also throw out less sparks when you are using a hair dryer for white heat. Whatever sparks might blow out are not really dangerous, as they go out within seconds but you don t want to attract a lot of attention, especially if you are working on a back porch in a city. 

The best charcoal for use in black powder is the softwood type sold as "willow dust" by suppliers of pyrotechnic chemicals. As a substitute, hardwood charcoal can be used, such as by pulverising charcoal briquettes or even the charcoal stomach tablets for relief of flatulence. For the best powder, however, the softwood variety is recommended ) ... 

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