How to cook charcoal. DIY charcoal

People who are engaged blacksmithing, usually use coal in stoves, others use gas, others use charcoal.

I have read that the good thing about charcoal is that it is environmentally friendly, cheap, and you can make charcoal at home.

I have read several manuals on how to make charcoal with my own hands and chose the simplest and cheapest method.

Step 1: Tools and Materials

Basic materials and tools:

fire wood and charcoal wood
tool for sawing and splitting wood
metal container and how to seal it

What I used:

Chainsaw (any saw will do)
Sturdy wood-cutting knife, steel wedge and sled, or long ax
Block of wood for driving a knife
Large coffee can
Aluminum foil for jar sealing

Step 2: Kolem, cut, fill

I didn't attach any pictures of the wood preparation process, but I think you'll get the idea of what needs to be done.

First, I sawed the tree trunk into stumps, slightly inferior in length to the height of a metal can, then divided them into firewood about 2-3 cm thick.

The thickness of the firewood is a very personal matter, and since this was my first experiment, I decided not to make it too thick. I filled the jar as much as possible with logs and covered it with aluminum foil. I made a small hole in the foil to allow moisture and wood gas to escape.

When wood is heated in the absence of oxygen, it releases wood gas, which is actually very useful thing if you can collect it. Even the engines work on it! If you make a fully stoppered container of wood, you are practically making a bomb - with foil, of course, nothing like this will happen, but completely closed containers ... I think you can imagine what can happen.

Step 3: Build a Campfire

Safety first! Therefore, make sure that you have a bucket of water or a water hose at hand.

I also have a rather large beard, and just recently I half burned it. So guys with beards, braid your beard or tuck it into your shirt. People with long hair can tie a braid or fold their hair. The main thing - just do not burn them, because it will take you a long time to grow everything anew.

I lit a fire with pine chips and small pieces of wood. After the fire flared up, I added oak wood to it. The traditional method of making charcoal requires patience, but I wanted to make it tonight, so I put a fan on the fire. After about half an hour, the jar with a foil lid was placed on the fire, and you could proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Wait and Watch

I overlaid the jar with firewood and directed a fan at it. After 20 minutes, steam came out of the jar. About an hour passed and gas began to come out of the hole in the foil instead of steam. This meant that the method worked, and the tree began to char. After another hour or so, the flame on top of the jar went out, which meant that the wood gas had escaped and the process was nearly complete.

With the help of a couple of sticks, I pulled the canister out of the fire and laid a layer of wet dirt on top - this finally sealed the lid. At this stage, the air would contribute to the burning of wood, which we need to avoid. I waited about an hour, opened the jar and evaluated the result.

Step 5: Open the jar, draw conclusions

I unpacked the refrigerated canister, removed the earth, pulled out the coal and broke it into pieces. I was pretty sure the wood was charred, and it turned out to be! As a result, I got about 3 liters of coal.

My considerations:

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of charcoal I received as I thought the jar would be about half full when I opened it.
If you don't have a coffee can, you can buy a paint can or a bucket.
Make sure to use hardwood for making charcoal, as it has a higher energy density than softwood.

I hope you liked the instructions on how to make charcoal for barbecue and you use it!

How charcoal is made: distinctive chemical-physical properties + 3 types of substance + 8 applications + technological aspects + production conditions + cost accounting + 2 traditional home-made methods.

Charcoal has been around since ancient times. It was made using primitive technologies in small quantities, and the process itself was burdensome and lasted a long time. Over time, when the need for the substance increased, many people thought about how charcoal is made and opened their own production.

Today, a more simplified methodology is used, modern equipment is used, new developments are introduced and knowledge is accumulated, so to get quality material simpler.

Since charcoal is in high demand, the business for its production is quite profitable and promising.

Distinctive properties of charcoal

Charcoal, in accordance with State Standard 7657-84, is understood as a solid, porous substance capable of releasing energy during combustion. The composition of the material is mostly carbon.

In many ways, charcoal resembles stone, because. The main element of both is carbon.

Both substances are, in fact, made from wood. However, for coal, wood is used, which decomposed under conditions of limited oxygen access for several centuries. Charcoal is made from charred wood. First, it is partially burned at a low oxygen content.

The material is known for its environmental friendliness. It does not pollute nature with acrid smoke, despite the fact that it is good view fuel.

Also, the substance acts as an adsorbent. The porous structure allows you to purify water, gases, alcohol. Thanks to the unique chemical and physical properties, such coal is prone to spontaneous combustion, having an increased calorific value, practically not inferior to stone.

When manufacturers make quality wood products, the output is black coal with a clearly visible brilliant, blue tint. If the material is broken, it is clear that the structure of the tree species is preserved, and the surface is cracked. Thanks to them, they determine how much the substance was subjected to charring.

Worldwide, annual charcoal production reaches 9 million tons. Brazil is the leader. Russia accounts for about 100 thousand tons. The country imports products from China, Belarus, and Ukraine.

The championship in consumption belongs to Japan (60 kg per year per citizen), in European countries the amount of coal consumed per capita is approximately 20 kg. In the Russian Federation, this figure is 100 gr.

Varieties and uses of charcoal.

Coal is classified into 3 types:

Red, the wood raw material of which are conifers. Its production is achieved by soft charcoal.
Black, it is made from willow, aspen and other softwood tree species.
White, obtained from oak, beech, birch, ash, hornbeam, etc. First, the charring process occurs at low temperatures, and then there is a sharp jump to 1000°C. White charcoal does not retain its bark, unlike black charcoal.

Wood material is widely used in various spheres of the national economy. Coal is made for further use in the creation of pure ferroalloys in non-ferrous / ferrous metallurgy.

Metal products are carburized with coal in order to improve their properties and prevent oxidation as a result of carbon saturation. For the most part, coal from wood is required by enterprises that manufacture carbon disulfide, crystalline silicon.

In addition, the substance is made for:

chemical industry(production of paint solutions, artificial fiber, glass, pesticides, plastic, filters, cellophane, antiseptic);
construction (as an absorber of moisture and unpleasant odors);
electrical engineering (due to radiation resistance and non-toxicity, it is used in the creation of radio components, electrodes, conductors, etc.);
medicine (in the form of tablets, as a medicinal preparation);
Agriculture, in particular animal husbandry (addition to the usual diet of birds, cattle and small cattle, fertilizer of the top layer of the earth);
floriculture (organic element terra preta);
food industry (food coloring, which can be found on food packaging under the brand name E153);
cosmetic industry(one of the components of products designed to provide care for the skin of the face, body, hairline).

In Japan, the wood product has an even more varied use. Coal is used in laying the foundation, baking cookies, making toothbrushes, and soap. Our people are accustomed to using it in everyday life, as fuel and in cooking.

How coal is made from wood in factories: technological aspects

Charcoal is made from wood by pyrolysis. This is a process consisting in the dry distillation of raw materials. In other words, during production, under the influence of high temperatures (with or without oxygen at all), the decomposition of organic carbon compounds occurs.

For pyrolysis, retort furnaces (pyrolysis boilers) of a stationary or mobile type are used, in which there is a pyrometer that allows you to control the temperature. Raw materials are placed into the loading space manually or automatically.

However, first, the wood is unloaded to the place allotted for this, sorted. If wood raw material is purchased not chopped, it is chopped for firewood.

The first stage is drying. Then the temperature is not raised more than 150°C.
When out wood material leaves excess moisture, increase the temperature and proceed to the next step. Heat is generated in the upper chamber of the oven. Under its action, wood is burned, wood gas is formed, which moves to the nozzle for mixing with secondary air. As a result of these processes, burnt, dry coal is formed.
Next, you need to make it calcination. In this way, resin and unnecessary gases are separated.
The wood product is then unloaded and allowed to cool.
Then crushed is made from it,.

Scheme technological process, flowing for 16-20 hours, during which coal is made, is shown in the figure:

The raw materials are:

decks;
hemp;
branches;
measles;
chips;
whips;
waste from the manufacture of furniture,
logs;
sawdust;
wood blanks;
caps;
peat.

Purchase consumable organized by forestries.

To produce 1 ton of coal, you will have to spend up to 8 cubic meters. m. birch. If soft hardwoods are used, the consumption is greater - up to 12 cubic meters. m. The factories make 3 grades of coal: A, B, C.

Safety rules in the manufacture of charcoal.

According to safety rules, only produced coal, the volume of which exceeds 100 cubic meters. dm, may catch fire spontaneously. Because of this, it is necessary to take measures to prevent spontaneous combustion.

Many entrepreneurs who understand how charcoal is made, alas, do not comply with these requirements and do not protect products from contact with an oxidizing agent. It is also considered a big mistake to allow the accumulation of coal dust.

When workers make charcoal, labor protection rules R O-00-97 are necessarily observed, which you can read here - https://ohranatruda.ru/ot_biblio/norma/252437

For the transportation of wood products, it is necessary to use steel barrels, craft, paper, polypropylene bags. Coal is stored in closed warehouses, special bunkers to prevent the ingress of precipitation.

Delivery of goods is carried out in bulk or in packaged form using trucks, covered wagons.

Necessary conditions for the production of charcoal

Make charcoal, before creating the appropriate conditions for this:

Firstly, this is a room for a workshop, located outside the city, open land plot required for the boiler. The area, taking into account a separate room for a warehouse, should be at least 200 square meters. m.
Secondly, staff is required, usually 2-3 workers. They must be provided with a working uniform (overalls, goggles, mask, gloves). In addition to production workers, you need to hire an accountant, a cleaner, a watchman, a sales manager, a driver, and several handymen or loaders.
Thirdly, equipment.

The technological equipment of the workshop where charcoal is made includes:

The installation that makes charcoal, you need to choose a good one, then the production will be complete. How to define it?

Does not emit a burnt, suffocating odor into the atmosphere. It is released, but remains in the furnace used for thermal decomposition of the next batch of wood and drying. Also, high-quality retort furnaces minimize the loss of energy resources.

On the market there are:

overall complexes of a stationary type, which make coal in large volumes;
mobile machines;
auxiliary equipment.

The choice of equipment is significantly influenced by the planned production volume and the following parameters:

If the process is automated, the computer program will regulate the temperature in retorts, drying chambers, set commands for making corrections, reduce worker errors by reducing their number, and report the next stage of the production process.

On the photo you can see the industrial site and working retort furnaces. Their total capacity reaches 20 barrels. This is more than 200 tons of wood matter per month (about 1.5 cubic meters of raw materials). Such equipment pays off within 1-2 years.

Another important condition for production is a certain amount of raw materials. When 25-30 tons of coal are made per month, an average of 225-250 cubic meters is consumed. m. of wood (depending on the species). And additional packaging is required.

Direct and indirect costs for the production of coal from wood.

Charcoal is made with at least 1.5 million rubles. Business is a very costly business. Most of the money will have to be spent on powerful equipment, the average price of which is 800 thousand rubles.

From the installations of domestic production, pay attention to the Zarya units. Good performance was also demonstrated by the Fantastica complexes. The charcoal of the OD-30, OD-60 stoves is made of high quality, the prices for which lie in the range of 680-890 thousand rubles.

Expect that it may take about 200-400 thousand rubles to rent premises and industrial sites. , the cost of buying raw materials will cost 100 thousand rubles. The wage fund and taxes will result in 600 thousand rubles. In addition, consider the cost of advertising, transport - 50 thousand rubles. Registration of necessary documents - about 10 thousand rubles. , utilities - 50 thousand rubles.

Total the total conditional amount of initial investment, at which wood products are made in bulk, is 1.8 million rubles.

The sale of 1 kg of coal occurs at 18-35 rubles. Net profit every month from the production of 100 tons of finished products will be 70-80 thousand rubles.

2 traditional ways to make charcoal at home

A simple old-fashioned method is used to make charcoal on a smaller scale than in full-fledged production. Since standard equipment for home charcoal burning is not suitable due to bulkiness and high cost, many people have adapted to burning raw materials in pits and barrels.

First way.

It implies the manufacture of coal in a barrel. This method is more convenient than the one described below.

Make a woody substance in a container with a volume of at least 200 liters. A hole is drilled at the bottom of the barrel to insert a pipe. A vacuum hose must be attached to it, which will supply primary oxygen to the combustion zone. metal container should be hermetically sealed, so you should find a suitable cover.

An auxiliary tool will be a poker for mixing firewood. Performers need to find a longer steel bar.

The wood material is treated to remove the bark before being immersed in the barrel. It will emit a lot of smoke, and the exit from it is small. Then the logging is sawn into logs 30 cm long.

Firewood is laid out in such a way as to fit snugly against each other. A small fire is made at the bottom of the tank, after which the vacuum cleaner is started. Be sure to control the process in order to lay the next portion on time.

Charcoal should not be allowed to turn into ash. In the process of work, the entire barrel will be filled. Then it is tightly covered with a lid, the air supply is turned off, the pipe is closed.

It remains to wait until the charring is over. The container opens only when its walls are completely cooled. If there are unburnt chocks, they are calmly sent in the next batch.

The resulting coal is now time to sift and pack in bags.

Methods for the production of charcoal.

How is charcoal made? The main stages of production.

The second way.

Charcoal is made in another way - in a pit. It is dug out in the form of a cylinder. You can make two bags of products from a pit of the following parameters: 50 cm - depth, 80 cm - diameter.

The bottom is trampled down, and the vertical walls are cleaned a little, so the soil will not mix with the wood. A fire is made from dry firewood 30-40 cm in length. Gradually, people who make the material should put chips, thin branches.

When the fire flares up to the desired degree, you can proceed directly to charcoal burning. Wood raw materials are gradually added, periodically stirring the burning firewood. As with the barrel, the pit must be filled completely.

Do this for 3-6 hours. The duration depends on many factors: air humidity, wood size, density. Burning firewood from hardwood lasts longer, but the result of the work will turn out well.

After filling, the pit is covered with foliage, grass, a small layer of soil. All this is rammed. Coal in such conditions should lie for 48 hours. After cooling, it is ready for sieving.

Charcoal is a very valuable product. Despite the "gas revolution", it will continue to be a good biofuel in the future, an indispensable assistant in many areas.
Even if the demand in the domestic market “sags” a little, it is always possible to arrange the export of products.

So why not learn thoroughly in practice how charcoal is made in order to produce a quality product and make a profit from it? Or, at the very least, provide for their own needs.

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Coal, which is mined in the mines, is also charcoal, the path of its formation is very long, it takes many millions of years until it becomes the coal we see it. Until the time when the industry began to extract coal, only charcoal was used everywhere. The first metallurgy worked on it, samovars were melted with it, and every real blacksmith knew how to make charcoal with his own hands. The technology is quite simple and interesting.

Where is charcoal used?
Today, charcoal is indispensable in some areas of production. It is used, for example, for the manufacture of: electrodes; glass and crystal products; some paints; gunpowder; a number of plastics; filters; for grinding parts; as an insulating material ... Every adult and not only knows activated carbon tablets, fertilizer is made from it and used as an additive to livestock feed. And from the resins that stand out in parallel, they make rosin, acetic acid, turpentine, solvents and methyl alcohol.
Among the population, this type of fuel has gained popularity mainly in three areas: Blacksmiths highly appreciate it (you can get better quality steel). Charcoal is an environmentally friendly way to heat a bathhouse, a summer house, and kindle a fireplace. On picnics, for grills, barbecues and fires. The taste of the food that you are going to cook on the fire completely depends on the quality of the coal used. Charcoal is ideal for campfire cooking.

Advantages
It has many advantages in high temperature, the heat of charcoal is even, there is no smoke and open flame, and it does not ignite itself. Charcoal does not emit carbon monoxide, which makes it possible to use it indoors.
If you take a portion of coal and firewood at the same time, then it will flare up faster than firewood and will burn longer. When burned, charcoal does not emit sulfur and phosphorus. After combustion, there is practically no ash, it takes up little space during storage, and the heat transfer from one kilogram is 31 thousand kJ. Coal can only be bought by paying a lot of money, and charcoal can be obtained from ordinary branch waste (branches, roots, deadwood - that is, production waste).

Self-manufacturing
The market sells packages of charcoal, the price of them is not low. But you can make a lot of such fuel yourself, while the costs will be scanty. For cooking fuel, it is better to use hardwood (yes, I forgot coal is of grade A, B, C.) To obtain coal of grade A - birch - it gives fast heat transfer and intense heat.
Oak gives uniform heat and a long burning process, beech, elm, hornbeam, pine, fir, spruce - we get grade B. Soft wood (poplar, aspen, willow and linden .... will give grade B charcoal.

Consider two "artisanal" methods of production.
First method cooking at home charcoal is cooking in a barrel. The following requirements are imposed on it: the walls of the barrel itself must be thick enough, if you have a barrel in which petroleum products were stored, then it must be burned out, if due to pesticides, such a barrel cannot be used. To the barrel, you need to have a lid made of non-combustible materials and so that it tightly closes the container. Well, the size depends on the amount of raw materials available and on the availability of the barrel itself. What will it be.
Sequence of work:
In order for the gas to escape from the barrel, several holes must be made in the lid, but so that they can be closed. We lay a sheet of metal on it, make a mini oven of several bricks, then put a barrel on these bricks. We fill it to the top with waste from which we will make coal, close it with a lid. We make a fire under the barrel in a mini stove, when our barrel is very hot, gas starts to come out of the waste wood, all this lasts from 2-3 hours. This time has passed, we put out the fire and close the holes in the lid. Then we leave the barrel alone for two days. This method of producing charcoal is convenient, cheap, and difficult to control. If this mining process is done for the first time without experience, it is possible to burn or not to burn coal.

Second extraction method charcoal in the pit. This mining method is more open, which means there should be fewer errors. We choose an open place, preferably closer to the forest, where there are many branches and twigs. The dimensions of the pit: it should be cylindrical in shape and have a diameter of close to 80 cm, clay 50 cm. We dug a pit, now we ram the base (bottom) well. Such a hole will give about two bags of coal.
Sequence of work.
First, we procure raw materials, everything is cleaned of bark, and cut into logs, they should be no thicker than 7 cm and up to 30 cm long. We make a fire, a large fire, all over the bottom of the pit. Then we tightly throw the main raw material, but try to compact it so that it can still flare up. After two and a half, three hours, when the pit is full, we fall asleep on top of a layer of leaves, or green grass, and then a layer of earth. We strongly ram and leave for two days, during this period our fire, together with coal, will cool down. Remove the layer of earth, select the coal and sift.

Furnaces for the production of charcoal
The market offers special furnaces for the production of coal without oxygen. The burning process in such furnaces is carried out in several stages. First, the raw materials are tightly packed into retorts, then they are sent to the drying department, after which they are transferred to the pyrolysis compartment. The furnace is ignited, the temperature is brought to certain parameters, the pyrolysis process begins. After the end of the process, the retort is removed and cools down, and the other one is fed from the drying compartment to the pyrolysis compartment, and so on in a chain. Such a furnace does not stop, the process continues constantly as long as there is raw material and the need for further extraction of charcoal. The last, final stage is the packaging of coal. The furnace is not dependent on power supply, only the lighting of the room is needed.

In conclusion, I would like to note that as a business, charcoal mining is a troublesome and time-consuming business. For yourself, you can do it just as entertainment.

Charcoal is a natural biofuel that you can make yourself.

Making charcoal in a pit

With your own hands you can make in a pit. This method has been used for a long time. In this way, coal can be made quite simply. To do this, it will be necessary to prepare a small hole, which should be in the shape of a cylinder, while the walls should remain vertical. Its diameter should be equal to 80 cm, while the depth is 50 cm. Using this technology, you can get two bags of biofuel.

Features of making a pit for coal production

If you decide to make it yourself, then you first need to prepare a hole. After its bottom is carefully compacted, you can use the method of crushing with your feet for this. This is necessary in order to prevent mixing of the finished product with the soil. After that, you need to make a fire using birch bark and small branches. Gradually, you need to start adding firewood and thin branches to the fire. It is necessary to ensure that everything is covered with burning wood. When the fire flares up, you can start making coal. To do this, you will need to prepare firewood.

Requirements for raw materials for the manufacture of coal

Do-it-yourself charcoal will turn out to be of high quality if you throw firewood into the pit that does not have bark. This is due to the fact that it smokes a lot. Whereas coal using such firewood is of very poor quality. In order to use fuel more comfortably, the raw material must first be cut into separate elements.

The dimensions of the blanks can be selected independently, however, the size of one element should not exceed 30 cm. New firewood should be laid on top, while the mass should move with the help of a long pole. The bars should be stacked in layers as tightly as possible. Thus, the hole should be filled to the top. The duration of burning will also depend on the humidity of the air.

When making charcoal with your own hands, it will be possible to fill a hole of the mentioned size in about 3 hours.

Final works

After the pit is filled, it must be covered with grass, as well as leaves. Everything is sprinkled on top with a layer of soil and compacted. Under such conditions, charcoal should remain for two days, after which it can be sifted, and then packaged. As soon as it is possible to complete these works, it can be considered ready for use.

Making charcoal in a barrel

You can use equipment for the production of charcoal according to the type of container. To do this, it will be necessary to prepare a steel thick-walled barrel. Its dimensions should be selected depending on how much coal is supposed to be received.

If the barrel is large, it will take much longer to fill it. If the container has ever been filled with chemicals, such containers cannot be used. If oil products were stored in the barrel, it must first be prepared by burning, and then used, but only in its pure form.

Options for making coal in a barrel

Pyrolysis of wood will make it possible to obtain coal using one of the technologies, each of which involves the use of a barrel. The first method involves making fire inside the container. In this case, the process will not differ from the production of coal in a pit. The container should have a large capacity (about 200 liters) - this is necessary so that the firewood does not clog the fire.

It is also necessary to install bricks in the amount of 6 pieces, it is advisable to use refractory products. Between them and have to build a fire. If such equipment is used to produce charcoal, then the wood must be loaded carefully until it covers the bricks. After that, a grate must be installed on the products in order to put the next batch of firewood on it.

The wood should be laid in rows fairly tightly. After the barrel is filled to the top, you need to wait until the flame appears from above. After everything needs to be covered with a steel sheet and leave a small gap. In order to speed up this process, you need to make a hole in the bottom of the container through which air will flow. While the firewood is burning, you will need to monitor the color of the smoke. As soon as it acquires a bluish tint, the barrel will need to be closed as tightly as possible and left to cool completely. After that, the lid is removed from the container, and ready-made coals are removed from the inside.

An alternative option for making coals in a barrel

Pyrolysis of wood can make it possible to obtain coal using a slightly different technology. To do this, it will be necessary to fill the container to the top with wood. After that, everything should be covered with a non-combustible lid. Close the barrel almost hermetically. It is necessary to leave a hole for the exit of gases (it must be large), the temperature inside will need to be brought to 350 degrees.

In order for the production of charcoal to become possible, the container must be installed on the platform. Thus, it will be possible to isolate it from the soil. The easiest way to do this is with bricks that have to be laid on a sheet of steel. A fire must be lit between them, which will warm the barrel.

After a certain time, the process of wood oxidation will begin, and gas will come out. As soon as the gas outlet stops, the barrel will need to be left on the fire for some time. Thus, it will take about 2.5 hours to burn through a 200-liter container. After that, the barrel must be removed from the fire and the remaining holes in the lid should be sealed. In this state, the container must be stopped before cooling. Charcoal at home will be ready after the barrel is opened. Coal can be used immediately.

Making charcoal with a kiln

If you have thought about how charcoal is made, then you can consider another method that involves the use of an oven. After the firewood burns out, it will be necessary to select burnt-out, but not yet collapsed coals. They must be red. They will need to be placed in a container with a well-sealed lid. It is preferable to use a ceramic container, but you can also use a bucket or a small barrel. It is worth remembering that the use of steel containers should imply compliance fire safety. The lid must be kept closed until the coal has cooled completely. After it becomes cold, it can be considered ready for use.

Someone uses coal to kindle the forge, someone uses gas, and some prefer to use charcoal.
I read about charcoal and identified three of its main positive qualities for myself: it burns cleaner than coal, it costs an order of magnitude cheaper, and you can cook it yourself.

I looked at a few instructions for making charcoal on my own, and this method seemed to me the easiest and cheapest. I originally dug it up somewhere on the Internet a couple of years ago, but in that video, the guys used 210-liter drums with pipes. I have no such steel cans or closed barrels at my disposal. How did I get out? Now I will tell you everything in detail.

Tools and material

In general, we will need:

Wood for ignition and wood for coals.
Tools for cutting and chopping wood.
A metal container and everything needed to seal it.

What I used:

A cordless chainsaw, although a conventional manual chainsaw will do just fine.
A Ka-Bar fighting knife for cutting small wood, a wedge and a hammer, although a shingle splitter can also be used (like in my forge-making story, so I will make a shingle splitter from an old lawn mower blade).
A block of wood for hitting a knife (or a shingle splitter).
Red oak for kindling.
Coffee jar as a container.
Aluminum foil to seal the container.

We chop, prick and throw in a jar

I wasn't able to capture everything properly on camera because I lost my tripod somewhere, but I think you'll get the idea anyway.
First, I sawed red oak blocks to a length slightly less than the height of my coffee can, then I crushed them into pieces about 20 mm thick.
I estimated the thickness by eye. Since I am planning to use these coals to kindle a forge, I thought that small stones would not work for me. Also considering that everything was done as an experiment with an unknown result, I needed bars with as much surface area as possible for combustion.
Then I stuffed the jar as tightly as possible with wood, after which I covered it with aluminum foil. I made a small hole in the foil to remove moisture and wood gas.
When wood smolders in the absence of oxygen, it releases wood gas, which, by the way, can be useful in the household. In principle, this gas can even refuel cars! It is because of the gases that a completely sealed container in our case will turn into a time bomb. Aluminum foil with a hole avoids this effect.

We build a fire

Safety above all!
A bucket or other container with water nearby is a must. It has been raining for 2 days for me, but the fire can break out suddenly and very quickly, so you need to be ready to stop it at any second. I had about 40 liters of water on hand.
I started the fire in a steel homemade container that I made in a welding course a couple of years ago. I planned to make a brazier out of it.
I have a fairly long beard, and I've burned it before, so here's my advice to anyone with long beards: braid them or tuck them into a shirt! I believe that a braid a la fishtail is a good option, while traditional three-strand braids come apart fairly quickly.
To those who have long hair: collect them in the back in a braid or in a bun so as not to singe. It's not easy to grow them back. Now my hair length does not exceed 3 cm, so this issue does not bother me anymore.
So, I decided to cheat a little, using gas to ignite blowtorch. For tinder, I used pine shavings from my workshop, and for ignition I used dry pine blocks - all this will help the red oak to flare up.
I made a fire and put an oak tree on top, but the fire burned weakly. The traditional method of making coals requires patience, but I really wanted to do it before the evening! That is why I sent a fan on the fire, and in about half an hour it completely covered the tree. It's time to move on to the next step.

Watching and waiting

I lined the coffee can with poles and left the fan on to keep the high temperature burning.
After about 20 minutes, smoke came out of the jar, but it was just the water vapor that I talked about at the beginning.
About an hour later, wood gases went out. HURRAH! This means everything works as it should and the wood turns into charcoal! After an hour or so, the fire was almost gone, and I decided to put some fire on the hole in the foil to make sure no more wood gas was being released. Everything is almost ready!
I removed the jar from the fire with two rods and put some earth on top to completely seal the container - air must not enter there, otherwise, due to the pressure difference, it will allow the charcoal to smolder further.
I waited about an hour, after which I opened the jar and saw the finished product.

Result and final thoughts

I opened the cold jar, brushed off the dirt, dumped the charcoal and broke it into small pieces about 5 cm long. Really, I just wanted to make sure the wood was charred enough. And I made sure of it! I ended up with about 3 cubic liters of pure charcoal!
My thoughts on the experience:
Until I finish my forge, I won't be able to say for sure how good this coal is, and the resulting material will obviously not be enough. So I will have to repeat this procedure a few more times to replenish my supplies.
In fact, I was surprised at the amount of coal received - after the experiment, the bank was only half filled.
If you don't have a similar coffee can on hand, but have some spare cash, you can buy a paint can. I would recommend looking for one of those shiny metal canisters that are sold at hardware stores.
I advise you to use hardwoods, as they are usually denser than softwoods, while smoldering will not release as much resin and juice.
I hope you liked my instructions, and I hope that it will be useful to someone!
I finally finished my forge and used the resulting charcoal. It turned out well - coal gives a powerful heat, while it flares up quite quickly.