TITLE:
Charcoal as a Fuel in the Ironmaking and Smelting Industries
AUTHORS:
Thomas J. Straka
KEYWORDS:
Charcoal, Ironmaking, Smelting, Fuel, Carbonization, Pyrolysis
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Historical Studies,
Vol.6 No.1,
March
21,
2017
ABSTRACT: Charcoal has been used as a metallurgical fuel for
thousands of years. In the United States it was the fuel of choice for ironmaking
and the smelting of other metals for much of the nineteenth century, and an
understanding of the basics of charcoal production is necessary for any
historical description of those industries. Discussion of the technology and
production process in charcoal making rarely addresses the fundamentals of the
charcoal itself. Four key attributes of charcoal in terms of this historical
context are described: charcoal characteristics, the carbonization process,
measuring charcoal, and transporting charcoal.