Recreational briquettes - for fireplace and barbecue

Nowadays, heating a house with a live fire or cooking over embers is a rarity - the domain of mountain chalets and summer cottages.

Modern fuels, such as pellets, are now the standard: ecological, safe and convenient.

Despite this, many of us are still drawn to the fire - not only as a source of heat, but also as a symbol of home. There's a reason why the synonym for an atmospheric evening is a candlelit dinner, not an afternoon tea by LEDs.

A substitute for this primal bond with fire remains today a weekend barbecue or an evening by the home fireplace.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), thanks to the development of science, we are now aware that wood smoke is not good for our health, and sausage from a campfire is a great holiday adventure, but not the best idea for an everyday dinner.

What if we could somehow reconcile our attachment to booming flames without treating our lungs to toxic inhalations?

A step in that direction is briquettes - in this case, recreational briquettes, designed for fireplaces and grills - let's take a closer look at them.

1. Wood briquettes for the fireplace - an alternative to wood.

Wood briquettes, also known as chip briquettes or wood briquettes, are an increasingly popular type of fuel used both for strictly heating purposes and for recreational purposes - as an insert for a home fireplace.

1.2 Wood briquette - production and characteristics

Wood briquette is made by pressing ground wood waste. A machine called a briquetting machine is responsible for grinding and then compressing the raw material under high temperature conditions created by friction. The wood fed to the briquetting machine should be pre-crushed beforehand using a so-called chipper. During the briquetting process, the wood releases a natural binder - lignin. As a result, the finished briquettes in the form of cubes or cylinders have a compact consistency and high density.

The caloric value of wood briquettes oscillates between 15 - 19 MJ/kg, depending on the species of wood.

Wood briquettes are easy to produce on their own, especially for those who have constant access to wood shavings, brushwood, bark or wood waste. The briquetting machine is an easy-to-use machine that does not require high user skills.

1.3 Advantages of wood briquettes

During the briquetting process, the wood will evaporate some of the water contained in the tree. It is the moisture that is responsible for the gray, irritating smoke of burning wood. As a result of the compression of biomass, the combustion parameters of the wood are improved - the ash content drops even below 1%.

Wood briquettes, thanks to their high density, burn slowly and evenly.

The use of briquettes in fireplaces also guarantees less soot accumulation on the glass of the combustion chamber.

Briquettes provide a long-lasting fire while reducing unhealthy fumes.

This is a good alternative for anyone who appreciates a roaring fire in the fireplace, but is not fond of the smoky smell permeating carpets, curtains or clothing.

2. Charcoal briquettes - for cooks and allotment holders.

Charcoal briquettes need no introduction to anyone. From April to late autumn its sight greets us at the checkout in every supermarket. Unlike the types of fuel discussed above, charcoal briquette has only recreational use and is not used for home heating.

2.2 Production and characteristics of charcoal briquette

The production of this briquette begins with the burning of wood under controlled anaerobic conditions - in a process called pyrolysis - resulting in charcoal.

This charcoal is then crushed into fine fractions, according to the definition of briquette,

which are combined with natural binders such as potato starch, wood flour or clay.

Once mixed, the mass goes into forming presses, where it is shaped under high pressure into typical dark gray pillows, cylinders or cubes.

Unlike wood briquettes and other fuel briquettes, barbecue briquettes do not need to be dense, and their main purpose is not to burn for a long time, but to emit high heat evenly for a limited period of time.

Typically, the moisture and ash content of barbecue briquettes is very low - which contributes to their ease of ignition and clean burning.

Unlike biomass briquettes, barbecue briquettes are the result of a rather complicated and several-stage production process. The process of forming briquettes itself is similar to the production of other briquettes, but the pyrolysis of wood into charcoal requires knowledge and the constant maintenance of appropriate conditions so that the wood does not burn.

Applications of charcoal briquette

Charcoal briquette is primarily intended for recreational use - especially for barbecuing and grilling. Thanks to its structure and composition, it provides a constant, even temperature, which allows you to precisely control the process of cooking food - from delicate vegetables to larger cuts of meat.

Compared to classic charcoal (e.g., in chunks), barbecue briquettes burn more slowly and predictably, which is especially appreciated by those using large grills with lids or planning longer roasts.

The calorific value of charcoal barbecue briquettes is typically 28-32 MJ/kg, making them one of the most energetic fuels in the biomass category. The high calorific value is due to the fact that charcoal is an already partially processed product, containing mainly elemental carbon.

Importantly, good quality barbecue briquettes do not contain chemicals and do not transfer unpleasant odors to the food. However, it is worth avoiding products admixed with artificial flammable substances - these can affect the taste of food and air quality.

It is best to choose products marked with FSC or PEFC certificates - this means that the raw material comes from sustainably managed forests.

Recreational briquettes - a compromise on good terms

Of course, nothing can match a real campfire - smelling of resin and crackling with sparks. Still, there are occasions and places to light such a bonfire.

However, on a daily basis, in terms of recreation, briquettes successfully replace traditional fuel from the forest - in a convenient, clean and more environmentally friendly way.