Talking about charcoal, it can be easily said that it belongs to the carbon family and very well resembles to coal. So, much so that it is fairly hard to differentiate between the two. The uses of coal and charcoal are also somewhat similar, but charcoal gives out low emissions as compared to coal. Governments around the globe are focusing more and more on decreasing the emissions from fuels, so charcoal has all the potential of replacing coal, as a domestic fuel, at least.
If we talk about the use of charcoal in Philippines, it is sued as a low-cost domestic fuel.
There is no doubt that the combustion of the same produces a lot of emissions, but the affordability of charcoal as a fuel propels the people of the country to continue using it in their day-to day life.
One more interesting thing that powers the consumption of charcoal in Philippines, is the fact that the nation is one of the largest producers of coconut, and the husk and shell of the coconut is used for the production of charcoal. And, it is quite clear that, a country, where there is an abundance of coconut, there will be an abundance of coconut husk and shell to be used in the formation of charcoal.
Barbecuing Tradition in Philippines
Barbecuing is one of the oldest and also one of the most favourite cooking techniques of people all over the world, and yes, Philippines is also not lagging behind in this regard. The meat grilling technique, and that too over open flame was introduced to the people of Philippines, by their Spanish colonizers in the 16th century. But soon the technique was adopted by the natives with open arms, when they started the use of local ingredients and flavors and giving rise to their own barbecue cuisine.
Where there is open flame cooking, there will be a generous use of charcoal as well, and that’s exactly the case with Philippines. The form in which charcoal is used in barbecue are briquettes. Apart from its low price, there is another reason for the use of charcoal in barbecuing, and i.e., it gives a distinct and favoravble taste to the authentic dishes of Philippines. Plus, people find charcoal without much fuss, whenever they want it for barbecue or even household uses.
Used for the Production of Activated Charcoal
Charcoal is also used for the production for activated charcoal. It is used in various beauty and cosmetic products, as it helps to remove all the impurities from the skin, and also comes good for the exfoliation of the skin. It is also use in toothpastes to give a pearl white-shine to the teeth
Not only that, activated charcoal also comes in handy for the purification of water and hence used in various water-filtration systems.
Due to all these uses of charcoal in Philippines, the demand for the same will continue to increase, and will reach a value of USD 688.2 million by the end of this decade.
