Just wondering if anyone knows how to make activated charcoal. There have been several good posts about it's benifits but how can you make it yourself? Penda

-- Penda Zone (PendaZ@excite.com), December 20, 1999

Answers

The short answer is, no, it's not something you can make yourself. From my own researchs and from corresponding with knowledgeable people making activated charcoal requires equipment that's not feasible in the home setting.

...........Alan.

The Prudent Food Storage FAQ, v3.5

http://www.providenceco-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@sprintmail.com), December 20, 1999.

Penda Zone;

Same question occurred to me so I looked it up.

Seems you take coconut husks and blast them with a stream of high temperature carbon dioxide. For me this is impossible. For one thing, the coconut crop isn't doing so well here in the midwest. Even if I had the technical expertise, the ingredients would cost more than the finished product.

Activated charcoal derives its fabulous filtering properties from the sheer amount of surface area available to interact with chemicals. I assume this has to do with the fibrous structure of the husks.

-- Not Whistlin' Dixie (not_whistlin_dixie@yahoo.com), December 20, 1999.

Try this, "Making Your Own Charcoal" at http://www.eaglequest.com/ ~bbq/charcoal/index.html

-- Queen of Hearts (alice@wonder.land), December 21, 1999.

Or, try this: "How to Make Charcoal at Home", at http:// members.tripod.com/~DanGill/Charmake.htm

-- Queen of Hearts (alice@wonder.land), December 21, 1999.

Making your own charcoal is very simple. Making your own activated charcoal is not. They are both essentially pure carbon but the physical structure of the two are very different. It's that physical structure that makes the difference.

.........Alan.

http://www.providenceco-op.com

-- A.T. Hagan (athagan@netscape.net), December 21, 1999.

It is my understanding that you can make activated charcoal by making the charcoal in a sealed (with pressure relief) container. Ie. it is charcoal made in the absence of oxygen.

But as Alan pointed out, it is the surface area per volume that makes commercial activated charcoal so useful. Your pound of homemade would probably have less surface area than an ounce of commercial.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), December 25, 1999.