Types of Charcoal

Anthracite, often referred to as hard coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal except for graphite and is the highest ranking of coal.

Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen or asphalt. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than anthracite. Formation is usually the result of high pressure being exerted on lignite.

Liquid Graphite, like paint made with graphite rather than colored pigment (Review: Liquid Pencil). Remember, heavily layered graphite is slippery and you may encounter adhesion problems if you try to apply charcoal over it. Spraying some fixative over it will help.

As nouns the difference between charcoal and lignite is that charcoal is (uncountable) impure carbon obtained by destructive distillation of wood or other organic matter, that is to say, heating it in the absence of oxygen while lignite is a low-grade, brownish-black coal.

Charcoal Char Coal is generally prepared by burning wood and sometimes animal matter and extinguishing the fire just before they turn ash. Charcoal is mostly pure carbon, called char, made by cooking wood in a low oxygen environment, a process that can take days and burns off volatile compounds such as water, methane, hydrogen, and tar.

Heat Production in Coal and Charcoal; The other difference between coal and charcoal is the amount of heat produced. Coal produces much heat than charcoal, which makes it be preferred for heating industrial systems and in steam generation for electricity production.