Quality of charcoal marketed in southeast Pará for cooking foods

• Autor(a) principal: Oliveira, Rudson Silva
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Silva, Luan Felipe Feitosa da, Andrade, Fernando Wallase Carvalho, Trugilho, Paulo Fernando, Protásio, Thiago de Paula, Goulart, Selma Lopes
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Revista de Ciências Agrárias (Belém. Online)
• Texto Completo: https://ajaes.ufra.edu.br/index.php/ajaes/article/view/3017
• topic: Waste wood charcoal; Barbecue; Cooking foods; Amazon area; Biofuel; biomass and bioenergy; Carvão de resíduo de madeira; Churrasco; Cocção de alimentos; Região amazônica; Biocombustivel; biomassa e bioenergia

In 2017, the residential and commercial sectors consumed around 677,000 tons of charcoal in Brazil. Due to the expressiveness of this consumption, some studies to attest the quality of this fuel were conducted in several states of Brazil; however, in Pará, studies on this subject are still incipient. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the charcoal for cooking food marketed in southeastern Pará and to evaluate whether the quality observed meets the parameters indicated by the Selo Carvão Premium. The study was conducted in the city of Parauapebas, where three brands of charcoal (A, B, and C) were selected in three different points of sale, with packages of 5 kg being acquired in a three-month period, totaling 15 kg. The variables analyzed were apparent relative density, humidity, higher heating value, net heating value, energy density, volatile materials, ash, fixed carbon and elemental chemical composition (C, H, N, S, and O). The data were analyzed in a completely randomized design, being three treatments and eighteen replications, totaling fifty-four sample units. All brands had moisture content above 5%, apparent relative density greater than 420 kg m-3, and high percentages of ash (> 1.5%). The B and C brands had volatile material contents between 17 – 19% and fixed carbon between 78 – 80%, respectively. The average net heating value for the charcoals of the region was 6672 kcal kg-1. The charcoal for cooking foods analyzed have low quality; however, brands B and C were the closest to the minimum standard required by the Selo Carvão Premium of the state of São Paulo.