Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 4: How to Cook Charcoal
• Part 2 of 4: How to Activate Charcoal
• Part 3 of 4: How to use activated carbon
• Part 4 of 4: How to Make an Activated Carbon Gas Mask
• Warnings
• What do you need

Activated carbon, sometimes called carbolene, is used to purify dirty water or polluted air. In emergency situations, activated carbon is used to remove dangerous toxins and poisons from the body. Before preparing activated charcoal, it is necessary to make charcoal at home by burning wood or fibrous plant material. After that, activating chemicals such as calcium chloride or lemon juice can be added to complete the process.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: How to Cook Charcoal

1. 1 Fire up in a safe place small fire. The easiest way to get charcoal is by building a fire outside, but you can also do it in your home fireplace (if you have one). The fire must be intense enough to burn all the wood.
   • When working with fire, take precautions and always keep a fire extinguisher handy.
2. 2 Place small chips of hardwood into a metal pot. If you don't have the right wood, you can replace it with any dense, fibrous plant material, such as coconut shells. Place wood or plant material in a metal pot and cover it with a lid.
   • Holes must be made in the lid of the pot for ventilation, but the flow of air inside must be strictly limited throughout the entire process. You can use a camping kettle, but in this case, excess air can go out, for example, through the spout.
   • Check that the material to be burned is absolutely dry before putting it into the pot.
3. 3 Heat a pot over an open fire for 3-5 hours to make charcoal. Place the covered pot over the fire. As you cook, you will see smoke and gas coming out through the holes in the lid. All unnecessary substances are removed along with the smoke, and only clean coal remains in the pot.
   • The charcoal making process will be complete when smoke and gas stop coming out of the pot.
4. 4 Rinse the cooled charcoal with water. The charcoal in the pot remains hot for some time. Let it cool down for a while. When the charcoal is cool to the touch, transfer it to a clean container and rinse in cool water to remove ash and other debris. Then drain off all the water.
5. 5 Crush the coal. Transfer the washed charcoal to a mortar and pestle to a fine powder. Alternatively, you can put it in a sturdy plastic bag and grind it into a powder with a wooden chop hammer or large hammer.
6. 6 Wait for the charcoal powder to dry completely. If using the cellophane bag method, transfer the powder to a clean bowl. Otherwise, leave it in the mortar. After about a day, the powder is completely dry.
   • Touch the powder with your fingers and check how dry it is; in the next step, you will need a completely dry powder.

Part 2 of 4: How to Activate Charcoal

1. 1 Mix calcium chloride with water in a 1: 3 ratio. Be careful when mixing these substances, as the finished solution will be very hot. You will need enough mortar to completely submerge all the coal. A medium-sized batch of coal typically requires 100 grams of calcium chloride and 310 milliliters of water.
   • Calcium chloride can be purchased at most home improvement stores or malls, as well as vendors in the market.
2. 2 Use bleach or lemon juice instead of calcium chloride solution. If you don't find calcium chloride, you can replace it with bleach or lemon juice. Just use 310 milliliters of bleach or the same amount of lemon juice instead of the calcium chloride solution.
3. 3 Mix the calcium chloride solution with wood powder. Transfer the dry wood powder to a glass or stainless steel bowl. Add the calcium chloride solution (lemon juice or bleach) to the powder in small portions, stirring constantly with a spoon.
   • When the mixture reaches the consistency of a paste, stop adding the solution.
4. 4 Cover the bowl and wait 24 hours. Cover the bowl and let the mixture sit. Then drain as much liquid as possible from the bowl. At this stage, the coal will still be wet, but not wet.
5. 5 Coal activation will take another 3 hours. Transfer the charcoal back to the metal pot (cleaned) and put on fire. The fire must be intense enough to boil the water needed to activate the charcoal. After 3 hours of boiling at the same temperature, the activated carbon will be ready.

Part 3 of 4: How to use activated carbon

1. 1 Find out how activated carbon works. Activated carbon can remove unpleasant odors, bacteria, pollutants and allergens from air and water. It traps all these unwanted elements and chemicals with many tiny air bubbles inside the coal structure.
2. 2 Purify the air in your home. Wrap a small amount of activated charcoal in a sheet and place it where you want it. If you don't have a sheet, use a thick, breathable fabric like cotton.
   • Do not use fabric that smells like washing powder or bleach. The charcoal will absorb these odors, making it less effective.
   • Place a fan over the bundle for maximum air purification. This will clean the air flow with the charcoal.
3. 3 Use a sock to build a charcoal water filter. In the store, water filters are usually quite expensive, but you can build your own filter and get the same result using a cheaper method. Take a clean sock that doesn't smell like washing powder or bleach and put activated charcoal in it. Now you can purify the water by filtering it through a sock.
4. 4 Make an activated charcoal clay face mask. Take a small bowl and add 30 milligrams of bentonite clay, 2.5 milligrams of activated charcoal, 15 milligrams of turmeric, 30 milliliters of apple cider vinegar, and 5 milliliters of honey. Then start adding a little water to the mixture until you get a smooth paste.
   • This mask will remove toxins and unclog clogged pores.
   • The natural ingredients used in this mask are safe for almost any skin type.
   • Apply the mask in a thick layer for 10 minutes, then rinse your face with water.
5. 5 Treat bloating and gas with activated charcoal. Add 500 milligrams of powdered activated charcoal to 350 milliliters of water. Drink this mixture before eating foods that cause bloating, or to manage symptoms if you feel too much gas in your intestines.
   • Taking activated charcoal with non-acidic juice (such as carrot juice) is much more pleasant than drinking it without anything.Try not to take it with acidic juices (such as apple or orange), otherwise the effect will be less pronounced.

Part 4 of 4: How to Make an Activated Carbon Gas Mask

1. 1 Make a gas mask from a 2 liter plastic bottle. Take scissors and cut off the bottom of a 2 liter plastic bottle. Then cut a 7 cm wide flap from one side of the bottle. This section will be a continuation of the cut-off bottom, to which the base of the neck of the bottle is attached up to the spout.
   • The plastic will be jagged where you cut it with the scissors. Take a medical tape and glue the edges of the bottle with it.
2. 2 Build a filter chamber using an aluminum tin can. Use scissors or a can opener to punch holes in the bottom of the aluminum tin can to allow air to enter. Then cut off the top of the can with sturdy scissors or metal scissors.
   • Proceed with caution when working with cut metal. Typically, this metal has sharp edges that will cut the skin. A layer of medical tape will make the edges less sharp.
3. 3 Pour activated charcoal into the gas mask. Line the bottom of the jar with a layer of cotton cloth. Place a layer of activated charcoal on top of the cotton, then press down on top with another piece of cotton cloth. Wrap cotton fabric around the top of the can and punch a small hole in the fabric.
   • Be careful when pouring the charcoal into the aluminum can, unless you've covered the sharp edges with tape.
4. 4 Glue the parts of the gas mask together and use as needed. Insert the spout of a 2 liter bottle into the hole in the cotton fabric that covers the top of the can. Glue an aluminum can to a 2 liter bottle to complete the mask making process. When you breathe in air through such a mask, the air is purified using activated charcoal inside the can.

Warnings

• Watch out for fire while making activated carbon. Coal activation will not occur if the flame has gone out or the temperature of the fire has dropped to a minimum.
• Improper use of chemicals such as calcium chloride can be hazardous. Always follow the precautions on the chemical packaging.

What do you need

• Metal pot (and lid with ventilation holes)
• Hardwood (or fibrous plant material such as coconut shells)
• Container (such as a clean bowl or bucket)
• Mortar and pestle (or sturdy plastic bag and chop hammer)
• Calcium chloride (or lemon juice or bleach)
• Glass or stainless steel bowl
• A spoon
• A piece of sheet (or thick, breathable fabric)
• Clean sock
• Scissors
• Plastic two liter bottle
• Medical plaster
• Aluminum Tin Can
• Cotton
• Activated carbon