Charcoal is a lightweight black carbon residue produced by strongly heating wood in minimal oxygen to remove all water and volatile constituents. Activated carbon has been used for its adsorptive properties as a ‘universal antidote’ in cases of poisonings, as a filter aid agent, and in decolorization processes. The high porosity of wood charcoal is responsible for its significant adsorption properties. At normal temperature wood charcoal is capable of combining with the oxygen in air; this is the reason for cases of spontaneous combustion of wood charcoal.
