How to Make Activated Charcoal at Home

[@LAzereye13]

Here’s a link to the paper that was published due to the research that was conducted in this video. doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2023.102241

[@maryhare8528]

I’ve known it could be made in a process but wasn’t sure of the steps, so I buy it. Now no matter where I am with your clear steps, I can make activated charcoal myself. Thanks for this excellent video.

[@Vintech64]

Why do others use lemon juice during activation? And they activate in a preheated oven.

[@LAzereye13]

Hey I believe people mix lemon juice with charcoal that’s already activated in order to make face scrubs but I don’t believe it aids the activation process, let me know if that’s wrong! And then it would be tough to get an oven to 550 C( 1000 F).

[@lucabrasisleepswiththefish77]

No lemon juice?

[@carbotradingcompany4794]

Thanks for this video. I am watching a lot of videos and Joshlabs kinda debunked the added acid like lemon. In his titration tests, it did nothing and the lemon juice made it worse. Steam, however, definitely seems to increase effectiveness but I haven't found a relatively easy way to do this in the backyard without a lot of building thinks. Outwest guy on youtube brought it up to temp then doused water below the fire and then above which was a good idea but still not sure how to pull that off on a stove. I do small batches so I'm going to try bring the finished bulk wood to 1000F then using a catsup bottle to just add water to steam it really good over the fire. Any better suggestions? I can sort of see crushing it first, as it would make more surface available for pitting.

[@thaifreeburma]

Well explained. Although you don't include a demonstration of how effective activated charcoal is, made by this method, I found your clip comparing this product with a commercially available one. Very good. Can you explain why aerobic heating to 500-600°C for that specific amount of time is so effective? Are low volatile materials in the microscopic cavity structure being 'boiled' off or combusted?

[@hulkgqnissanpatrol6121]

My best guess is that heating removes the tar, soot ect that would then allow the pores to open as it's all burnt away but I always thought steam introduction was the best way as it expands those pores by a few time's, think of it like expanded clay pellets or even popcorn.

[@freerun_dragon]

Great work! I'll be trying this soon.

[@meta1583]

Your voice is beautiful

[@My-Nickel]

Thank you, sir!

[@justinw1765]

Isn't sulfuric acid usually used to activate it? Is this an alternative method to the usual?

[@hernandorodrigues9259]

make a video explaining what you need to use to test charcoal and find out if it is really activated above 800% iodine

[@LAzereye13]

I have another video on my channel doing this! Check it out

[@rootclinic9268]

Great tutorial! Do you have to use pestle and mortar to break it down or could we use a vitamix instead? Would using a blender make it less active?

[@LAzereye13]

Hey there I burned out a couple bullet grinders trying to make this and it didn’t seem quite as fine and therefore my samples at the end weren’t as clear. A vitamix may do better though I’d love to hear if you try it sometime!

[@rootclinic9268]

@@LAzereye13 oooh... I so don't want to risk my vitamix to find out!😬 Thanks for sharing your bullet insights!

[@pyroislove7823]

​@@LAzereye13u can put the charcol in a ballmill

[@ricardomoreiraandrade-k2j]

higt temparature only? for activate? activation product like acid no need?

[@ekabrown1773]

Thanks

[@MarkBarners]

Why not do second step in the same pan?

[@LAzereye13]

Great question! It’s harder to regulate the temperature in the cast iron skillet. If you get too hot, it’s hard to bring the temp down with just the burners.

[@rko2016]

@@LAzereye13 so what are you using? most other metals used for pans are in the range of melting at those temps and in the video you call it a "plate", what, like a dinner plate? i dunno

[@l.s.5471]

Or just buy Royal King

[@minibenny5237]

Nice video

[@jennymalta5564]

Please after activating it how can it be given to someone

[@mobmob5944]

This is not activated charcoal its just charcoal made into dust and then burned while being contaminated with the air particles/dust ect... To activate you must use acid like lemon juice or hot steam in a enclosed area free from pollutants . With acid you have to let it soak for 24 hours or so then you rinse it with distilled water and put in a oven or air fryer to slowly dry. . This can still be used we a filter but wont be as effective

[@PJ-vb3fl]

@@mobmob5944 don’t you realize that if it’s effective at filtering at all, it’s activated? It might be “less activated” than commercial grade charcoal but it’s a good solution for people that don’t own expensive equipment/chemicals and need something quickly. Try running methyl orange solution through a filter of inactivated charcoal or straight dirt…what comes out won’t be clear, it’ll be orange. We used the activated charcoal in this experiment in homemade filters and had pretty good results with clear water coming through.

[@mobmob5944]

@@PJ-vb3fl no its just called charcoal, even if you crush it to dust and burn it 100 times back to back . And yes inactivated charcoal will filter water pretty good still because it will have pores. Not as good as charcoal activated by super hot steam which the steam drills out more pores in the charcoal increasing the surface area by over 1000x

[@LAzereye13]

There is other scientific literature out there that uses heat as a form of activation, check it out sometime

[@kareldegreef3945]

i would not use aluminium => contamination with it aluminium oxide is realy bad for your body 😵

[@LAzereye13]

That’s a great point, I put the shield together In a pinch when it was windy but another material would be ideal.

[@Dee-v9c6m]

It's not in the pot how does it mix😅

[@LiliansGardens]

This is the most expensive charcoal in the world. Burning gas to make charcoal.

[@PJ-vb3fl]

a 2-pack of propane, which will provide you with many, many batches of charcoal, is $10.

[@daniastry8088]

Using a burn barrel with a smaller metal barrel with lid to fit inside is also used to make charcoal put hard wood inside smaller barrel close then use scrap wood or waste wood to burn around the small barrel inside the larger one and bam you have alot of good charcoal

[@muhammadghazi4644]

What is the point of burning wood to make charcoal. Thats stupid

[@mystictree_potterings]

It's how charcoal is made so it's central to the process.