Carbon

Isaiah 44:14 15 Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. 16 He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: 17 And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. 19 And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?

PROBLEM:

How to make charcoal; the process is known as destructive distillation of wood, the solid that remains is charcoal.

MATERIALS:

Safety goggles; A heat source, preferable done outside on a grill. However, if done inside on the stove, use a very small quantity; A wooden match stick, with the match head removed, by using wire cutters; or you could use two small toothpicks. A piece of aluminum wrapping paper, sufficient to wrap the wooden match.

PROCEDURE:

Place wrapped wooden match stick, ( with no head on match stick ) on to the stove or grill,

make sure that you have your parents permission,

other wise wait until you get to use the grill. Because, this process will produce a stink and may set off the fire alarm. Keep heating it, until there is no more fumes produced, about 10 to 15 minutes.

OBSERVATION:

1. The stink that you notice is a mixture of wood alcohol, acetic acid, wood tar, pitch, and creosote.

2. Allow to cool, then carefully unwrap the newly made charcoal.

3. Notice the yellowish brown stain residue on the aluminum paper, this is the wood tar, pitch and creosote.

4. Notice how light the charcoal now appears to be.

5. Try writing on a piece of paper with it, any success ?

QUESTIONS:

1. List the characteristics that indicate, that this was a chemical process taking place.

2. Make a list of some of the products that are made from coal tar.

3. What is activated charcoal, and where can it be used ? How do you activate charcoal ?

4. How is coke connected to the steel industry ?

5. Find out how graphite is made, why does it look different then the other forms of carbon ? Can graphite conduct electricity ?

6. How are fixed carbon resistors made, so that they conduct varying voltages ?

7. In the original telephone, how did carbon play a role ?

8. Where did the old silent films get their light source from ? How did the original spot lights work ?

9. What role did carbon play in the original flash light cell ?

10. How is carbon used in modern atomic plants ?

11. How is brown sugar made into white sugar ?

12. What is the difference between Carbon 12 and Carbon 14 ?

There are many forms of carbon, such as diamonds, graphite, and amorphous carbon such as charcoal, coke, coal; all are made from carbon, they have drastically different properties, together they are known as allotropic forms of carbon.

Charcoal is still made for home use in many countries, because there is no smoke produced, makes it suitable to use in homes that do not have chimneys.

NOTES :

Only in the mid fifties of the last century, has U. S. switched over from coal gas to natural gas. Most gas companies still have these large round storage drums maybe 200 feet across and maybe 300 feet or so high, these drums would rise and fall with the production of the coal gas. When coal gas was produced, you would see large mounds of coal next to or near by these huge drums.

During WWII and for a short time there after, there were shortages of gasoline, so people resorted to using coal for their trucks. Now, a truck cannot run on coal, but it can run on the gas that soft coal produces. This again is called destructive distillation, because you have to heat the soft coal in the absence of air. So, a coal gas truck had to have at least two people to operate it, besides the driver, you had to have a person in the back of the truck to maintain the stove in the back. The products of soft coal ( bituminous ) are coke, ammonia, oils, and tar, there are numerous products that are made from coal tar. Unfortunately most of the dyes used in food coloring, just happen to be carcinogenic, this included the red dye used in lip stick and dying cherries to put on top of ice cream. Of course today these red dyes are no longer used in lipstick and foods, live and learn the hard way.

As a matter of fact, my dad got his truck driving license on a truck, that was powered by coal gas.

In the Charcoal industry, and the use of trees, they could brag about the fact, that they were able to use all of the product including the BARK, unlike the big pork industry which are unable to make use of the SQUEAL.

Coal gas, which basically consisted of Methane and other impurities, replaced by natural gas, which is basically Methane, a fuel known as a hydrocarbon. Which most homes use, and when you have complete combustion, you get heat and water, the vapor is slightly acidic. However, when you have incomplete combustion, when you have a deficient supply of oxygen, you get heat and Carbon Monoxide ( CO ). CO can cause death or permanent brain damage, because CO combines with the Hemoglobin of the red blood cells more readily than oxygen does, replaces the vital oxygen that our body needs. That is why it is so important to use a CO detector, especially if your home is heated by natural gas or any other fuel. CO deaths are needles, however you will still hear yearly at least several occur deaths from CO, because the individuals, did not have a CO detector.

Here is a partial list of burning Hydrocarbons, from one C to five C, since C can have four bonds, Methane is first. Find out how companies, can make propane and butane from methane.

Here is my list:

Methane CH4

Ethane C2H6

Propane C3H8

Butane C4H10

Urapain 2 Just a joke

Pentane C5H12



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