Charcoal is the lightweight black carbon and ash residue hydrocarbon produced by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances.
Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis — the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen .
The advantage of using charcoal instead of just burning wood is the removal of the water and other components, which allows charcoal to burn to a higher temperature, and the fact that the product of its combustion is mainly carbon dioxide, resulting in very little smoke.
