White charcoal

[Michaelangelica]

I mentioned white coal on the blog but this is even stranger
Anyone out there with any ideas /experience of this?

Binchotan, the name given to white charcoal in Japan (which by many accounts is the country which first popularized its usage), is made by steadily steam-activating oak wood over a long period of time finally to temperatures up to and beyond 1,000 degrees Celsius.
. . .
"I have about 60 kilos in my house," laughs Fung.

"It's all around my studio. I even stick a charcoal stick in my vegetable compartment to make them last longer."
. . .

Back in black: Could charcoal be the new green? - CNN.com

[freeztar]

Interesting. I wasn't familiar with it until now.
There's lots of links for it on google, including the wiki page:
Binch�tan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Michaelangelica]

Thanks freeztar. This is the stuff on white coal.

Tonight i saw a ABC TV Catalyst show, a segment on a delivery method for cancer chemotherapy (AKA 'rat poison') using a diamond skin patch. I wondered if it was just carbon and the 'diamond' label was marketing --just a little fib to make the patch sound more glamourous or effective.(?). Either way, an improvenment on present delivery system

Has anyone ever heard of this??

Posted: May 6, 2008
Post Expires: November 2, 2008
White Coal Source/Info for Power Plant?

We are working on a project to build a power plant in Massachusetts and looking for a local source of white coal as the source to create the power. In addition, we are looking for more information of the use of this product. Our focus is to provide power to local communities and beyond if program is successful. Plant will have the ability to burn coal; however white coal is reportedly cleaner, so we would prefer to go that route for a variety of reasons. Partner is prominent building contractor in the Northeast.

It's called 'white coal' - it may be a byproduct combined with agricultural waste or a cleaner coal product. This may be an accurate definition of it, "White coal is a form of fuel produced by drying chopped wood over a fire. It differs from charcoal which is carbonised wood. White coal was used in England to smelt lead ore from the mid-sixteenth to the late seventeenth centuries. It produces more heat than green wood but less than charcoal and thus prevents the lead evaporating. White coal was produced in distinctive circular pits with a channel, known as Q-pits. They are frequently found in the woods of South Yorkshire."

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Japanese cooks aparently like white charcoal because, when burnt, it does no give off any smoke (!)

White charcoal is made by charring the wood at a relatively low temperature for some time, then, near the end of the process, raising the kiln temperature to about 1000ºC to make the wood red-hot.
The charcoal is then pulled out and quickly smothered with a covering of powder to cool it. The powder is a moist mixture of earth, sand and ash, and gives a whitish hue to the charcoal surface. This explains the name "white charcoal." The rapid rise in temperature, followed by a rapid cooling, incinerates the bark and leaves a smooth, hard surface. If you strike it, you'll hear a clear, metallic sound.
One variety of white charcoal is made from holm oak, a very hard wood used in kilns in the southern Kishu area (Wakayama Prefecture). This charcoal, called Kishu binchotan, is considered to be the best grade because it is hard and yields a long burn. It emits plenty of far-infrared rays, which bring out the flavor of broiled foods. Today, more and more establishments serving grilled eel and yakitori (skewered chicken) make a point of advertising the fact that they use binchotan charcoal.

http://web-japan.org/nipponia/nippon...pic/index.html