Bamboo charcoal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bamboo Charcoal is made up from pieces of bamboo, which are taken from plants five years or older, and burned inside an oven at temperatures over 800 degrees Celsius. It not only provides a new way to utilize bamboo, but also benefits to environment protection by reducing the residues pollution. Bamboo charcoal is a kind of environmentally functional material which has excellent absorption and friendly properties to environment.
Bamboo charcoal has a long history in China and has been documented as early as 1486 AD during the Ming Dynasty in Chuzhou Fu Zhi. Later, it was also mentioned in the Qing Dynasty during the rule of Kang Xi, Qian Long and Guang Xu.
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[edit] Production
Bamboo charcoal is made of bamboo by pyrolysis process. According to the types of raw material, bamboo charcoal can be classified as raw bamboo charcoal and bamboo briquette charcoal. Raw bamboo charcoal is made of bamboo body such as culms, branch, and root； bamboo briquette charcoal is made of bamboo residue, such as bamboo dust, saw powder, etc, by compressing the residue into certain shape sticks and carbonizing the sticks. There are two kinds of equipment for carbonization, one is brick kiln, and the other is mechanical.
[edit] Uses
(1) Fuel
Bamboo charcoal is mainly used as fuel for cooking and drying tea in China and Japan. Most bamboo charcoal for fuel is a bamboo briquette charcoal, the rest of which is raw bamboo charcoal.
(2) Purifying agent for water
Bamboo material has extraordinary micro-structure: it produces high absorptive capacity after carbonization, and becomes more effective after activation. Bamboo charcoal can be used for purifying water, eliminating organic impurity substances and smells. Drinking water sterilized with chlorine is to be treated with bamboo charcoal to remove the residue chlorine and chlorides.
(3) Purifying agent for air in dwelling environment
The air in dwelling environment is mainly polluted by sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfurated hydrogen discharged from chimneys, and smells occurring in living environments. The bamboo charcoal arranged in dwellings can absorb these smells and harmful gases, and regulate the humidity, keep the temperature going up within limits, and prevent the mold microbe multiplication.
(4) Bamboo active carbon
Bamboo charcoal can be processed into bamboo active carbon after activation. Bamboo active carbon is widely used in many fields of industry as absorbent, additive and so on...
(5) Electromagnetic shielding capacity
Allocate bamboo charcoal beside television sets and microwave ovens to shield the radiation of electromagnetic waves.
[edit] Benefits
(1) Humidification
Bamboo charcoal is known to have high porosity. Various impurities or foreign matter will be absorbed on the wide surface area of the charcoal. When air passes, and if humidity is high, the charcoal will adsorb the moisture, and air will be converted to dry. If the air is too dry, then the charcoal will discharge its moisture, thus adjusting the humidity in the air.
(2) Deodorization
Through the microscopic-sized holes, charcoals will adsorb harmful matters including bad smell particles simultaneously.
(3) Mineralization
Trees and shrubs grew by sucking up necessary nutrition such as minerals from the ground. Because of that, when trees and shrubs are made into charcoal, these carbonated and oxidized minerals can be easily dissolved in water. Therefore, if the charcoal is submerged in water, the minerals which are trapped in the charcoal will start dissolving. This will change the water to mineral water.
(4) Infrared ray
Charcoal flame produces infrared rays not visible with our eyes. The place it hit will become warm regardless of air temperature. This warmth promotes proper blood circulation and renewal. Fish, meat, and vegetables will taste better and other nutrients will be produced.
(5) Negative ionization
Charcoals generate negative ions. Negative ions begin to work in the parasympathetic nervous system, which relaxes the mind and body.
(6) Bamboo charcoal vinegar
Bamboo charcoal vinegar is extracted when making charcoal and is used for hundreds of treatment on almost all aspects. This liquid contains 400 kinds of chemical elements and can be applied in many purposes such as cosmetics, insecticides, deodorants, food processing, and agriculture.
[edit] Sources, references and external links
- The Bamboo Charcoal - Informations and How-to guide on bamboo charcoal making.
- Manual for Bamboo Charcoal Production and Utilization by Guan Mingjie of Bamboo Engineering Research Center (BERC)
- About Bamboo Charcoal - Properties and Facts
