So when you burn wood, you get charcoal. Charcoal is carbon, right? Well then why does it burn if you buy a bag of charcoal? And what’s that gray soot stuff that’s leftover after the charcoal is burned? Is that pure carbon? Could someone explain the stages of burning wood like I’m 5?
In: Chemistry
So yes charcoal is carbon, but so is coal. In those cases the carbon has formed a stable structure with other carbons, hydrogen and oxygen. The result is a black flakey solid. However in the right conditions that solid can be broken down again.
With enough heat and a lack of oxygen the black solid (referred to as “char”) can undergo a process called pyrolysis aka “gassification”. This is usually a self sustaining reaction.
When you start the charcoal with the lighter fluid you create that high heat and low oxygen as the lighter fluid burns. This starts the pyrolysis where the char will break it’s bonds with the hydrogen and oxygen producing carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen gas and a new white colored solid
When chemical bonds break like that they release heat which breaks the other bonds, allowing the pyrolysis to sustain itself. That’s why in campfires you’ll find white and black ash as the internal wood underwent pyrolysis but the external wood had more access to oxygen.
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