The use of coconut shell waste as raw material for charcoal is starting to get popular all around the world. Mostly, it is popular around serious shisha or hookah smokers, and it is also being used for cooking and barbecue, hence the term coconut charcoal BBQ. But surprisingly, coconut shell charcoal can become a main material for activated carbon too.
What Does Activated Carbon Mean?
Activated carbon is a form of carbon, which is purposely processed to have small pores with low volume. By doing so, it is able to increase the surface area available for adsorption. That is why it is being used to purify liquids and gasses, such as odor removal, water treatment, and industrial pollution control.
Surprisingly, not only is it able to filter unwanted chemicals from vapor and liquid streams, it can also provide health benefits when taken orally. In the medical field, it is used to treat poisonings and overdoses, and it can also be consumed to maintain a healthy life. There are a lot of health benefits that activated carbon can give when consumed sparingly.
Most of the time, activated carbon is produced from coal and wood, but apparently coconut charcoal (which is usually used for coconut briquettes) can also be used as its main material. Coconut shell charcoal has been gaining popularity around the world and used as a better, eco-friendlier substitute of regular charcoal for cooking and grilling.
The process of retrieving coconut shell charcoal is actually pretty simple, as it goes through several steps: carbonizing – crushing – mixing – molding – drying. There are three methods to produce coconut shell charcoal, which are the drum method, the pit method, and a method involving a carbonizing machine.
Coconut shell charcoal is starting to gradually become more used as it significantly has more advantages compared to regular charcoal, and one of the main reasons is the environmentally friendly production process. This is what makes coconut shell charcoal a better option for activated carbon.
The Multiple Benefits of Activated Carbon
As mentioned above, activated carbon can offer us a lot of advantages, ranging from filtering air and water, to providing multiple health benefits. Activated carbon from coconut shell charcoal can give huge health benefits for some people if it is used correctly, such as reducing toxins in the body, reducing intestinal gas, and more.
When activated carbon is used for filtering water, it is able to remove small particles such as sediment, volatile organic compounds, chlorine, taste, even bad odor in water. It is able to bind with those pollutants in water, and will not disturb any salt or important mineral which is necessary for the human body.
Activated carbon is also used to filter air. It is able to trap odors through adsorption, and remove any potential hazardous gasses from the air. By putting a canister of activated charcoal powder in a room, it is allowed to filter unstable chemicals from the air. It can create a fresher, safer, and healthier environment.
In health, there are multiple benefits activated carbon can give. There can be situations of an overdose of medications, or accidentally swallowed harmful toxins that can be threatening for health. Thanks to its adsorptive capability, activated charcoal can help bind and reduce the amount of toxins that enter the body. This is why activated charcoal is commonly used in emergency situations for overdoses and exposures to toxins of some kinds.
Since it is able to adsorb toxins, supplements from activated charcoal made of coconut shells may also help treat diarrhea. A lot of activated charcoal users state that compared to anti-diarrheal medications, coconut shell charcoal works better in reducing the diarrhea symptoms.
Not only does coconut shell charcoal adsorb toxins, but it is also able to adsorb gas. Activated charcoal is able to bind gas in its millions of pores. This is highly helpful in reducing gut pain. Using activated charcoal can help reduce excessive abdominal gas production in patients with excessive gas issues.
However, consuming activated charcoal has to be accompanied with enough water intake. If the body does not receive enough water while consuming activated charcoal, it might lead to dehydration. It also can interfere with medications, and supplements, which is why it is advised to take activated charcoal around 60 – 90 minutes before consuming medications or supplements, preferably in an empty stomach.
Activated charcoal is also being used in skincare, soap, deodorant and toothpaste too. The use of activated charcoal is popular in skincare products because of its ability to bind with dead skin cells, bacteria, and dirt that may be on the surface of the skin. That way, it is effective in unclogging pores and helps in minimizing the appearance. Deodorant containing activated charcoal can help reduce odors and bacteria, while toothpaste with activated charcoal can help clear plaque.
Coconut Shell Charcoal For Activated Carbon
As activated carbon can provide various benefits that involve binding toxic particles from the environment, it is better to also use charcoal material that is eco-friendly. Charcoal made from coconut shells is considered to be helpful to the environment as its primary raw material is coconut shell waste.
Because it utilizes materials from waste, it also does not require any tree cutting. Regular charcoal mainly comes from wood, meaning there are trees being cut down in order to produce it. The process of producing regular charcoal is often considered to be toxic for the environment. That is why using coconut shells for charcoal products is way more encouraged, as it can greatly help promote environmental friendliness.
Final Words
Coconut shell charcoal is mainly used by people for cooking, grilling, and any other activities that involve burning. However, surprisingly it can also be the main material for activated carbon. This type of carbon has been proven to be a great adsorptive agent towards volatile, harmful, and toxic chemicals. On top of that, it can also give us various health benefits, such as emergency medicine for overdosis cases, helping with detoxification, amazing skin cleanser, and many more.
