Analysis of charcoal quality for residential use in the region of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil

In Brazil, charcoal has two main uses: the industrial, in the production of pig iron and steel, and the domestic, primarily used for barbecue. The objective of this work was to evaluate the quality of charcoal for domestic use in the region of Curitiba, Parana, Brazil, since the state of Parana does not have norms that ensure in this aspect. For this, 15 brands marketed in the city were collected and their physical and energetic properties analyzed. The average values of the samples had a moisture content of 5.79%, volatile content of 22.93%, fixed carbon of 74.95%, ash content of 2.12% and fines content of 8.27%, calorific value was 7,321 kcal kg(-1), with bulk density and real relative density of 0.329 g cm(-3) and 1.394 g cm(-3), respectively. Almost half (47%) of the samples showed presence of foreign materials or stumps in the packages. According to the sample packaging, bracatinga and eucalyptus were the most used species in the production of charcoal. Despite the lack of information and standardization in some packages, all had records in federal and / or state environmental agencies. It is concluded that the quality of charcoal used in Curitiba is low.