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57-480: Turkansaari island was a marketplace for Russian traders in the Oulujoki river. The open-air museum started out when the old church, from the year 1694, was restored on the island in 1922. Every summer there is a demonstration of burning tar in a pit to produce tar in the traditional way. [REDACTED] Media related to Turkansaari at Wikimedia Commons This article about a Finnish building or structure

114-468: A wood gas generator . In 1931, Tang Zhongming developed an automobile powered by charcoal, and these cars were popular in China until the 1950s, and in occupied France during World War II , where they were called gazogènes . Charcoal is used in the production of black powder , which is used extensively in the production of fireworks. It is usually ground into a fine powder, with air float grade being

171-403: A circle against a chimney. The chimney consisted of 4 wooden stakes held up by some rope. In the clamp too the logs were completely covered with soil and straw allowing no air to enter. It must be lit by introducing some burning fuel into the chimney. The logs burned slowly and transformed into charcoal over a period of 5 days. If the soil covering became torn or cracked by the fire, additional soil

228-460: A conical pile. Openings were left at the bottom to admit air , with a central shaft serving as a flue . The whole pile was covered with turf or moistened clay . The firing began at the bottom of the flue, and the fire gradually spread outward and upward. The traditional method in Britain used a charcoal pile or clamp . This was essentially a pile of wooden logs (e.g. seasoned oak) leaning in

285-435: A deep brown-black after some time at 280 °C (540 °F), and an easily powdered mass at 310 °C (590 °F). Charcoal made at 300 °C (570 °F) is brown, soft and friable, and readily inflames at 380 °C (720 °F); made at higher temperatures it is hard and brittle, and does not fire until heated to about 700 °C (1,300 °F). Modern methods employ retorting technology, in which process heat

342-400: A filter, catalyst , or adsorbent. Charcoal burns at temperatures exceeding 1,100 degrees Celsius (2,010 degrees Fahrenheit). By comparison, the melting point of iron is approximately 1,200 to 1,550 °C (2,190 to 2,820 °F). Due to its porosity, it is sensitive to the flow of air and the heat generated can be moderated by controlling the air flow to the fire. For this reason charcoal

399-456: A filter. Activated charcoal readily adsorbs a wide range of organic compounds dissolved or suspended in gases and liquids. In certain industrial processes, such as the purification of sucrose from cane sugar, impurities cause an undesirable color, which can be removed with activated charcoal. It is also used to absorb odors and toxins in gaseous solutions, as in home air purifiers and some types of gas mask . The medical use of activated charcoal

456-503: A large range of purposes including art and medicine, but by far its most important use has been as a metallurgical fuel. Charcoal is the traditional fuel of a blacksmith's forge and other applications where an intense heat is required. Charcoal was also used historically as a source of black pigment by grinding it up. In this form charcoal was important to early chemists and was a constituent of formulas for mixtures such as black powder . Due to its high surface area , charcoal can be used as

513-414: A microscopic scale. Charcoal may be used as a source of carbon in chemical reactions. One example of this is the production of carbon disulphide through the reaction of sulfur vapors with hot charcoal. In that case, the wood should be charred at high temperature to reduce the residual amounts of hydrogen and oxygen that lead to side reactions. Charcoal may be activated to increase its effectiveness as

570-465: A regulated charcoal industry that required replanting and sustainable use of the forests "would give their people clean efficient energy – and their energy industries a strong competitive advantage". Recent assessments of charcoal imported to Europe have shown that many charcoal products are produced from tropical wood, often of undeclared origin. In an analysis of barbecue charcoal marketed in Germany,

627-660: A short time, research on Terra preta soils in Amazonia has discovered the widespread use of biochar by pre-Columbian natives to ameliorate unproductive soil into soil rich in carbon . The technique may find modern application, both to improve soils and as a means of carbon sequestration . Charcoal is mixed with feed, added to litter , or used in the treatment of manure . Poultry benefits from using charcoal in this manner. A concern that activated charcoal might be used unscrupulously to allow livestock to tolerate low quality feed contaminated with aflatoxins resulted in

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684-535: A significant contributor to deforestation, particularly in regions like Central Europe. However, various management practices, such as coppicing , aimed to maintain a steady supply of wood for charcoal production. The scarcity of easily accessible wood resources eventually led to the transition to fossil fuel equivalents like coal. Modern methods of charcoal production involve carbonizing wood in retorts, yielding higher efficiencies compared to traditional kilning methods. The properties of charcoal depend on factors such as

741-597: A smelting fuel has been experiencing a resurgence in South America resulting in severe environmental, social and medical problems. Charcoal production at a sub-industrial level is one of the causes of deforestation. Charcoal production is now usually illegal and nearly always unregulated, as in Brazil , where charcoal production is a large illegal industry for making pig iron . Massive forest destruction has been documented in areas such as Virunga National Park in

798-426: A way to improve the health of people burning raw biomass for cooking and/or heating. Modern "charcoal" briquettes, widely used for outdoor cooking, are made with charcoal but may also include coal as an energy source as well as accelerants, binders and filler. To contain the charcoal and use it for cooking purposes, a barbecue grill may be used. A small Japanese charcoal grill is known as a shichirin . A brazier

855-417: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Tar Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon , obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation . Tar can be produced from coal , wood , petroleum , or peat . Mineral products resembling tar can be produced from fossil hydrocarbons , such as petroleum . Coal tar

912-591: Is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel. To start the charcoal burning is harder than starting a wood fire and charcoal lighter fluid may be employed. A chimney starter or electric charcoal starter are tools to help with starting to light charcoal. Approximately 75% of fuel burned in Haiti is charcoal. Certain types of charcoal, such as wood charcoal, are used for reducing heated metallic oxides to their respective metals: Charcoal can also be used to reduce super heated steam to hydrogen (along with

969-485: Is generally more effective as an adsorption filter due to its increased porosity and surface area. Charcoal is used for drawing , making rough sketches in painting , and is one of the possible media used for making a parsemage . It usually must be preserved by the application of a fixative . Artists generally utilize charcoal in four forms: One additional use of charcoal was rediscovered recently for horticulture . Although American gardeners have used charcoal for

1026-427: Is mainly the absorption of poisons . Activated charcoal is available without a prescription, so it is used for a variety of health-related applications. For example, it is often used to reduce discomfort and embarrassment due to excessive gas ( flatulence ) in the digestive tract. Animal charcoal or bone black is the carbonaceous residue obtained by the dry distillation of bones. It contains only about 10% carbon,

1083-605: Is no evidence to determine its safety and effectiveness. Red colobus monkeys in Africa have been observed eating charcoal for self-medication. Because their leafy diets contain high levels of cyanide , which may lead to indigestion, they learned to consume charcoal, which absorbs the cyanide and relieves discomfort. This knowledge is transmitted from mother to infant. Production and utilization of charcoal, like any use of woody biomass as fuel, typically results in emissions and can contribute to deforestation. The use of charcoal as

1140-455: Is produced from coal as a byproduct of coke production. "Tar" and " pitch " can be used interchangeably. Asphalt (naturally occurring pitch) may also be called either "mineral tar" or "mineral pitch". There is a tendency to use "tar" for more liquid substances and "pitch" for more solid ( viscoelastic ) substances. Both "tar" and "pitch" are applied to viscous forms of asphalt, such as the asphalt found in naturally occurring tar pits (e.g.,

1197-421: Is recovered from, and solely provided by, the combustion of gas released during carbonization. Yields of retorting are considerably higher than those of kilning, and may reach 35%-40%. The properties of the charcoal produced depend on the material charred. The charring temperature is also important. Charcoal contains varying amounts of hydrogen and oxygen as well as ash and other impurities that, together with

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1254-485: Is still widely used by blacksmiths. Charcoal has been used for the production of iron and steel (where it also provided the necessary carbon) since at least 2000 BCE , with artifacts having been found in Proto-Hittite layers at Kaman-Kalehöyük . Charcoal briquettes can burn up to approximately 1,260 °C (2,300 °F) with a forced air blower forge. In the 16th century, England had to pass laws to prevent

1311-484: Is used as a topical medicine for conditions such as psoriasis . Coal and petroleum tar has a pungent odor. Coal tar is listed at number 1999 in the United Nations list of dangerous goods . Charcoal 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

1368-535: Is used for the surface treatment of wooden shingle roofs, boats, buckets, and tubs and in the medicine, soap, and rubber industries. Pine tar has good penetration on the rough wood. An old wood tar oil recipe for the treatment of wood is one-third each genuine wood tar, balsam turpentine, and boiled or raw linseed oil or Chinese tung oil. In Finland , wood tar was once considered a panacea reputed to heal "even those cut in twain through their midriff". A Finnish proverb states that "if sauna , vodka and tar won't help,

1425-440: Is used to obtain showers of golden sparks in pyrotechnic compositions. Charcoal is also incorporated in multiple cosmetic products. It can be produced from regular bamboo cut into small pieces and boiled in water to remove soluble compounds. Raw bamboo charcoal is obtained after drying and carbonization in an oven at elevated temperature. The role of charcoal in cosmetics is based on its highly effective absorbing properties at

1482-637: The Democratic Republic of Congo , where it is considered a primary threat to the survival of the mountain gorillas. Similar threats are found in Zambia . In Malawi , illegal charcoal trade employs 92,800 workers and is the main source of heat and cooking fuel for 90 percent of the nation's population. Some experts, such as Duncan MacQueen, Principal Researcher–Forest Team, International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) , argue that while illegal charcoal production causes deforestation,

1539-479: The Harz Mountains of Germany, charcoal burners lived in conical huts called Köten which still exist today. The success of the operation depends upon the rate of the combustion . Under average conditions wood yields about 60% charcoal by volume , or 25% by weight ; small-scale production methods often yield only about 50% by volume, while large-scale methods enabled higher yields of about 90% by

1596-514: The Kingsford Company . 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 220 °C (430 °F),

1653-585: The La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles). "Rangoon tar", also known as "Burmese oil" or "Burmese naphtha", is also a form of petroleum. Oil sands , found extensively in Alberta, Canada , and composed of asphalt, are colloquially referred to as "tar sands". Since prehistoric times wood tar has been used as a water repellent coating for boats , ships , sails , and roofs . In Scandinavia , it

1710-534: The World Wildlife Fund found that most products contain tropical wood. As a notable exception, reference is made to barbecue charcoal imports from Namibia , where charcoal is typically produced from surplus biomass resulting from woody plant encroachment . Charcoal trafficking in Somalia is an economic and environmental issue with significant regional-security implications. The last section of

1767-469: The 17th century. A strong disadvantage of this production method is the huge amount of emissions that are harmful to human health and the environment (emissions of unburnt methane). As a result of the partial combustion of wood material, the efficiency of the traditional method is low. The massive production of charcoal (at its height employing hundreds of thousands, mainly in Alpine and neighbouring forests)

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1824-593: The Association of American Feed Control Officials banning it in 2012 from use in commercial livestock feeds. Charcoal in the form of charcoal biscuits was consumed in the past for gastric problems. Now it can be consumed in tablet, capsule, or powder form for digestive effects. Research regarding its effectiveness is controversial. Charcoal has been used in combination with saccharin in research to measure mucociliary transport time. Charcoal has also been incorporated into toothpaste formulas; however, there

1881-519: The Industrial Revolution, charcoal was occasionally used as a cooking fuel . It is counted as a smokeless fuel ; that is, the carbon is sufficiently pure that burning it causes substantially less air pollution than burning the original uncarbonized organic material would. In the 20th century, clean-air legislation mandated smokeless fuels (mostly coke or charcoal) in many areas of Europe. In the 21st century, charcoal has been advocated as

1938-407: The abundance of wood in various regions. The process typically involves stacking wood billets to form a conical pile, allowing air to enter through openings at the bottom, and igniting the pile gradually. Charcoal burners, skilled professionals tasked with managing the delicate operation, often lived in isolation to tend their wood piles. Throughout history, the extensive production of charcoal has been

1995-573: The advent of iron and steel ships. Production nearly stopped in the early 20th century. Traditional wooden boats are still sometimes tarred. The heating ( dry distilling ) of pine wood causes tar and pitch to drip away from the wood and leave behind charcoal. Birch bark is used to make particularly fine tar, known as " Russian oil", used in Russian leather protection. The by-products of wood tar are turpentine and charcoal . When deciduous tree woods are subjected to destructive distillation ,

2052-468: The country from becoming completely denuded of trees due to production of iron. In the 19th century charcoal was largely replaced by coke in steel production due to cost, even though coke usually adds sulphur and sometimes other deleterious contaminants to the pig iron. Wooded metallurgical regions devoid of coal like Sweden, the Urals, or Siberia transitioned from charcoal in the early 20th century. Prior to

2109-459: The disease is fatal." Wood tar is used in traditional Finnish medicine because of its microbicidal properties. Wood tar is also available diluted as tar water , which has numerous uses: Mixing tar with linseed oil varnish produces tar paint. Tar paint has a translucent brownish hue and can be used to saturate and tone wood and protect it from weather. Tar paint can also be toned with various pigments, producing translucent colors and preserving

2166-537: The economies of Northern Europe and Colonial America . Its main use was in preserving wooden sailing vessels against rot. For centuries, dating back at least to the 14th century, tar was among Sweden 's most important exports. Sweden exported 13,000 barrels of tar in 1615 and 227,000 barrels in the peak year of 1863. The largest user was the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom . Demand for tar declined with

2223-497: The end of the 19th century resulted in rapid re-forestation of affected areas. The American form of the charcoal briquette was first invented and patented by Ellsworth B. A. Zwoyer of Pennsylvania in 1897 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

2280-561: The film Le Quattro Volte (2010) gives a good and long, if poetic, documentation of the traditional method of making charcoal. The Arthur Ransome children's series Swallows and Amazons (particularly the second book, Swallowdale ) features carefully drawn vignettes of the lives and the techniques of charcoal burners at the start of the 20th century, in the Lake District of the UK. Antonín Dvořák's opera King and Charcoal Burner

2337-413: The finest particle size available commercially. When used in black powder compositions, it is often ball-milled with other ingredients so that they are intimately mixed together. Certain charcoals perform better when used to make black powder; these include spruce, willow, paulownia and grapevine among others. Charcoal produces fine dark orange/golden sparks . Usually, powder with a mesh size from 10 to 325

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2394-576: The formation of carbon monoxide): Like many other sources of carbon, charcoal can be used for the production of various syngas compositions; i.e., various CO + H 2 + CO 2 + N 2 mixtures. The syngas is typically used as fuel, including automotive propulsion, or as a chemical feedstock. In times of scarce petroleum, automobiles and even buses have been converted to burn wood gas: a gas mixture consisting primarily of diluting atmospheric nitrogen , but also containing combustible gasses (mostly carbon monoxide ) released by burning charcoal or wood in

2451-426: The hulls of ships and boats. For millennia, wood tar was used to waterproof sails and boats, but today, sails made from inherently waterproof synthetic substances have reduced the demand for tar. Wood tar is still used to seal traditional wooden boats and the roofs of historic, shingle-roofed churches, as well as painting exterior walls of log buildings. Tar is also a general disinfectant. Pine tar oil, or wood tar oil,

2508-399: The introduction of more active and easily managed reagents, but it is still employed to some extent in laboratory practice. The bleaching action of the charcoal in solution diminishes as it adsorbs colored contaminants, and it must be reactivated periodically by separate washing and reheating. While wood charcoal effectively removes some pigments and contaminants from solutions, bone charcoal

2565-435: The material charred and the temperature of carbonization. Charcoal finds diverse applications, including metallurgical fuel in iron and steel production, industrial fuel, cooking and heating fuel, reducing agent in chemical processes, and as a raw material in pyrotechnics. It is also utilized in cosmetics, horticulture, animal husbandry, medicine, and environmental sustainability efforts, such as carbon sequestration. However,

2622-470: The production and utilization of charcoal can have adverse environmental impacts, including deforestation and emissions. Illegal and unregulated charcoal production, particularly in regions like South America and Africa, poses significant challenges to environmental conservation efforts. The production of wood charcoal in locations where there is an abundance of wood dates back to ancient times. It generally began with piling billets of wood on their ends to form

2679-476: The products are methanol (wood alcohol) and charcoal . Tar kilns ( Swedish : tjärmila , Danish : tjæremile , Norwegian : tjæremile , Finnish : tervahauta ) are dry distillation ovens, historically used in Scandinavia for producing tar from wood. They were built close to the forest, from limestone or from more primitive holes in the ground. The bottom is sloped into an outlet hole to allow

2736-407: The remaining being calcium and magnesium phosphates (80%) and other inorganic material originally present in the bones. It is generally manufactured from the residues obtained in the glue and gelatin industries. Its bleaching power was applied in 1812 by Derosne for clarifying sugar syrup , but its use in this direction has now greatly diminished. Today it is seldom used for this purpose due to

2793-433: The rest of the day. Pitch was familiar in 9th-century Iraq , derived from petroleum that became accessible from natural fields in the region. It was sometimes used in the construction of baths or in shipbuilding. Coal tar was formerly one of the products of gasworks . Tar made from coal or petroleum is considered toxic and carcinogenic because of its high benzene content, though coal tar in low concentrations

2850-403: The structure, determine the properties. The approximate composition of charcoal for gunpowders is sometimes empirically described as C 7 H 4 O. To obtain a coal with high purity, source material should be free of non-volatile compounds. Wood charcoal is obtained as the residue by destructive distillation of wood such that the products are: Charcoal has been used since earliest times for

2907-417: The tar to pour out. The wood is split into dimensions of a finger, stacked densely, and finally covered tight with earth and moss. If oxygen can enter, the wood might catch fire, and the production would be ruined. On top of this, a fire is stacked and lit. After a few hours, the tar starts to pour out and continues to do so for a few days. Tar was used as seal for roofing shingles and tar paper and to seal

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2964-446: 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 . The history of wood charcoal production spans ancient times, rooted in

3021-403: The wood texture. Tar was once used for public humiliation , known as tarring and feathering . By pouring hot wood tar onto somebody's bare skin and waiting for it to cool, they would remain stuck in one position. From there, people would attach feathers to the tar, which would remain stuck on the tarred person for the duration of the punishment. That person would then become a public example for

3078-548: Was a major cause of deforestation , especially in Central Europe . Complaints (as early as the Stuart period ) about shortages may stem from over-exploitation or the impossibility of increasing production to match growing demand. In England , many woods were managed as coppices , which were cut and regrown cyclically, so that a steady supply of charcoal was available. But the increasing scarcity of easily harvested wood

3135-492: Was a major factor behind the switch to fossil fuel equivalents, mainly coal and brown coal for industrial use. 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 local deforestation. The end of tar production at

3192-501: Was placed on the cracks. Once the burn was complete, the chimney was plugged to prevent air from entering. The true art of this production method was in managing the sufficient generation of heat, by combusting part of the wood material, and the transfer of the heat to the wood in the process of being carbonized. The operation was so delicate that it was generally left to colliers (professional charcoal burners). They often lived alone in small huts to tend their wood piles. For example, in

3249-462: Was produced as a cash crop. "Peasant Tar" might be named for the district of its production. Wood tar is still used as an additive in the flavoring of candy , alcohol , and other foods. Wood tar is microbicidal . Producing tar from wood was known in ancient Greece and has probably been used in Scandinavia since the Iron Age . Production and trade in pine-derived tar was a major contributor in

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