The key difference between charcoal and activated charcoal is that charcoal is produced in the absence of oxygen while activated charcoal is charcoal treated with oxygen.
Carbon is everywhere. There are millions of compounds, which are made with carbon. We can say that carbon is the framework for our bodies, plants, and micro-organisms. Furthermore, they are in nature, in several forms, as graphite, diamond, charcoal etc.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Charcoal
3. What is Activated Charcoal
4. Side by Side Comparison – Charcoal vs Activated Charcoal in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is Charcoal?
Charcoal consists of the element carbon. Carbonic compounds are abundant in plants, animals and other living organisms. Therefore, as they die, these carbonic compounds are ultimately converted to other carbonic compounds. Charcoal is one of those products. When water and other volatile substances are removed from the carbonic compounds, charcoal is the resulting product. Charcoal is in solid form, and it has a dark grey colour. It contains ash; therefore, charcoal doesn’t have carbon in its pure form. Charcoal is mainly produced by pyrolysis. This is a method, where organic materials are decomposed at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. Therefore, the chemical compositions and the physical phase of the matter will change very fast. For example, by heating wood, we can obtain charcoal. There are a few types of charcoal. They are as follows.
• Lump charcoal
• Extruded charcoal
• Japanese charcoal
• Briquettes
Lump charcoal produces less ash, and it is mainly produced from hardwood material. Extruded charcoal is made by logs, which have been extruded by raw ground wood or carbonized wood. Briquettes are made by sawdust and other wood by-products using a binder. Japanese charcoal doesn’t contain pyroligneous acid, because it is removed in the charcoal making process. This type of charcoal doesn’t produce a characteristic smell or smoke when burning. There are three types of Japanese charcoal as white charcoal, Ogatan and black charcoal. There are many usages to charcoal. It has a long history; from the very old time charcoal is being used as a fuel. Today also it is used as an important fuel in homes and industries. Charcoal can produce high heat energy since charcoal burns at high temperatures. Charcoal is also added to soil to improve the soil quality. In medicine, charcoal is used to treat gastric problems. Though there are many usages, charcoal production has negative impacts on the environment. This is a threat to the forests as the rate of deforestation is becoming higher in areas where charcoal is producing.
What is Activated Charcoal?
Activated charcoal is also known as activated carbon. When producing activated carbon, charcoal is treated with oxygen. When charcoal is activated, it is processed in a way to increase the porosity. Because of this, activated charcoal will have a large surface area, which can adsorb substances effectively. This primarily increases its effectiveness as a filter. Therefore, activated charcoal is mainly used in water filters, chemical purification process, and in medicine. As we use them, the impurities tend to accumulate in the carbon surfaces. Therefore, the disadvantage of using this is that they become less effective as we use them.
What is the Difference Between Charcoal and Activated Charcoal?
Activated charcoal is made from charcoal. The key difference between charcoal and activated charcoal is that charcoal is produced in the absence of oxygen while activated charcoal is charcoal treated with oxygen. Moreover, another difference between charcoal and activated charcoal is their use. activated charcoal is more useful as filters, whereas charcoal is more useful as a fuel.
Summary – Charcoal vs Activated Charcoal
The key difference between charcoal and activated charcoal is that charcoal is produced in the absence of oxygen while activated charcoal is charcoal treated with oxygen.
Image Courtesy:
1. “2148865” (CC0) via Pixabay