What is smokeless charcoal?
What is smokeless charcoal?
smookless charcoal or be called Clean charcoal, is the charcoal which is highly carbonized (> 72%) to elimilate Xenlulo and contaminants in the wood which cause smoke and smell sticking to food. Inlet wood also be carefully selected before putting into furnace.
For exam: White charcoal is a smokeless charcoal with highest quality is made 100% from big wood trunk, while Sawdust charcoal type A is made from carefully selected sawdust and turn into highly compressed billet with minimum contaminants.
Unlike White charcoal (made 100% from wood trunk) or coconut charcoal (made 100% organic coconut shell), Sawdust charcoal is made from sawdust billets which are selected from Uncheckable sawdust on the market, Hence, the quality of Sawdust charcoal varies very wide, we would have sawdust charcoal type A, B, C with much diffrent prices also.
More advantageous, the smokeless charcoal has high carbonization content so does the calorific value and emitting much heat and long lasting time compared to traditional charcoal.
There is a premium charcoal on the market, it is called White charcoal, carbonized up to 90-95%, almost no contaminant, keep the food taste originally. Usually imported by developing countries.
Popular smokeless clean charcoals in Vietnam
Specs to determine quality of smokeless charcoals:
-Lasting of fire
-Fire without smoke
-Carbonization (>72%)
-Calorific value (>7000 Kcal/kg)
-Contaminants (S, No, CO...)
-No sparks
Quality of smokeless charcoal on market
There are many smokeless charcoals on market together with images and advertisings which we cannot examine or verify without real test.
Same charcoal name, type B just lasting 1 hour while another type A lasting up to 6 hours with the same images, while price type A is just 30% more expensive than type B.
With many years of experience in charcoal, we have some tips to test charcoal efficiently as following:
-Most effiecient method is to test charcoal in reputable Labs
-2nd method is by naked eyes through 3 criteria:
- Lasting 2-3 times more than traditional wood charcoal
- No smoke, no unpleasant smell or spark
- No crack to last
Here are comparison table of charcoals based on criteria:
| Charcoals | Black charcoal | Coconut charcoal (B) | Sawdust charcoal A | White charcoal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % carbonization | 65-75% | 50% | 75-85% | 90-95% |
| Total calorific value (Kcal/kg) | 6500-6800 | >5100 | 7100 | 9000-9500 |
| Lasting (hrs) | 3-3.5 | 3-3.5 | 5-6 | 6-8 |
| Spark | Sometimes | None | None | None |
How to produce smokeless charcoal ?
Depending: white charcoal, coconut charcoal or sawdust charcoal...Technology also will be different
Woods are to put into anaerobic furnaces for 7-8 consecutive days for the carbonization process to happen.
Each furnace can produce 5-10 tons of charcoal each month.
Tech, skills of labors also determine quality of charcoal
Charcoal storing
Smokeless charcoals, especially white charcoal, shall be isolated from the air immediately because those are in extremely dehumidification.
When charcoal is cooling down, protect by vynil wrapping and cardbox.
