Towards quality charcoal briquettes

Abstract

The work investigated the characteristics and properties that affect the operational capabilities of charcoal briquettes used for hookah smoking. A comparative analysis of charcoal briquettes from coconut, birch and pine raw materials. The main raw material for the production of hookah briquettes is coconut coal, which is an expensive raw material. The paper proposes to replace coconut coal with birch, which is economically feasible. To obtain coal samples, pyrolysis of coconut, birch and pine was carried out. The obtained samples were further investigated by the TGA and DTG methods, moisture, ash, and non-volatile carbon content were determined. A study simulating the working condition of the briquette was carried out, which made it possible to determine the most important characteristics of the charcoal briquette used for hookah smoking. It is revealed that the main operational characteristics are: the smell and durability of the briquette in working condition, the nature of the destruction under intense exposure to air. The influence of the following factors on the quality of briquettes was determined: raw materials for coal, fractional composition of coal, type of binder, amount of binder, pressing pressure. The obtained birch charcoal briquettes are not inferior to coconut briquettes in a number of characteristics, which allows to reduce the cost of producing charcoal briquettes when using birch raw materials instead of coconut. The prospect of using birch coal as a substitute for coconut coal is revealed, and a formula for obtaining the final product is also proposed.