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A simple step by step tutorial on how to make your own charcoal powder in your back yard.
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Signing UpStep 1The Art of Charcoal Making
"char-coal" definition: a black or dark gray form of carbon, produced by heating wood or another organic substance in an enclosed space without air. (Encarta - World English Dictionary (c) 1999)
For thousands of years men have manufactured charcoal from all manner of trees, but experience taught them that the harder the wood the better the grade of charcoal. In the picture below, taken on the Isle of Crete, you can see one traditional method of charcoal making. Several piles of wood prepared for the next bonfire, a half-excavated charcoal pyre, and sacks filled with charcoal ready for sale, describe the age-old art of charcoal making. Great piles of wood are carefully arranged so that once the fire is set the heat that is generated slowly "bakes" the wood, boiling off the moisture, leaving behind the hard black crusted charcoal.
Today, charcoal is commonly produced from any number of materials including sawdust, bamboo, coconut shells, olive pits, pecan shells, besides hardwoods. In fact any organic material can be used to start with.
For thousands of years men have manufactured charcoal from all manner of trees, but experience taught them that the harder the wood the better the grade of charcoal. In the picture below, taken on the Isle of Crete, you can see one traditional method of charcoal making. Several piles of wood prepared for the next bonfire, a half-excavated charcoal pyre, and sacks filled with charcoal ready for sale, describe the age-old art of charcoal making. Great piles of wood are carefully arranged so that once the fire is set the heat that is generated slowly "bakes" the wood, boiling off the moisture, leaving behind the hard black crusted charcoal.
Today, charcoal is commonly produced from any number of materials including sawdust, bamboo, coconut shells, olive pits, pecan shells, besides hardwoods. In fact any organic material can be used to start with.
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Will a blender do this ?
I may go on down the goodwill and get 1 if so .power has 100's of time the surface area .
The volatile things that boil off can be recaptured and used. Methanol is a primary constituent of the gaseous by product.
The grey and white dust is an oxide layer composed of alkali material that won't evaporate. it's a good idea to try to get rid of this stuff as it can be dangerous. adding water to this layer can create sodium hydroxide which isn't safe to injest.
Finally, activated charcoal varies slightly from ground charcoal. Activated charcoal has hot distilled water (sometimes in the form of steam) pumped through it to dissolve an impurities... like sodium oxide or potassium oxide.