MadsRC Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 So I fired up my forge with a fresh batch of charcoal the other day. After some time, I noticed that some of the flames had a slight hint of green. It was fairly obvious, as it was after dark, so I'm fairly sure I that I really did see a green flame. I know that some chemicals can cause green flames (I think I've heard that Borax can cause green flames). Is charcoal supposed to give off that color, or is it an indication of bad quality charcoal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I'd be concerned that some old CCA treated wood got into the charcoal precursor scrap: wiki "Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is a wood preservative that has been used for timber treatment since the mid-1930s." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadsRC Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share Posted July 27, 2016 Never actually considered that. If CCA smuk info the batch, that would be bad :S So much for "restaurant quality" charcoal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAG Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I strongly suggested that you consider contacting the charcoal seller and manufacturer. Selling arsenical contaminated material is illegal. It is definitely a health hazard. (arsenic ingestion has been implicated in numerous types of cancers. Copper is also toxic. Your inquiry should elicit alarm bells, with them. Even if they offer excuses to you. If they are not responsive or do not seem to care, make your concerns known to the Federal health people. ( I do not know what they are officially called in Denmark). Chromated copper acetate is probably banned in the E. C., & Denmark, and has been so for a long time. Saving some of the charcoal, in question, is a good move. Some of these folks may wish to have it analyzed. Regards, to all. SLAG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Hopefully it's not CCA, I don't know how popular CCA was in Europe compared to the USA; seawater can also cause wood to burn with differing colours; could it have been caused by that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadsRC Posted July 27, 2016 Author Share Posted July 27, 2016 1 hour ago, SLAG said: I strongly suggested that you consider contacting the charcoal seller and manufacturer. Selling arsenical contaminated material is illegal. It is definitely a health hazard. (arsenic ingestion has been implicated in numerous types of cancers. Copper is also toxic. Your inquiry should elicit alarm bells, with them. Even if they offer excuses to you. If they are not responsive or do not seem to care, make your concerns known to the Federal health people. ( I do not know what they are officially called in Denmark). Chromated copper acetate is probably banned in the E. C., & Denmark, and has been so for a long time. Saving some of the charcoal, in question, is a good move. Some of these folks may wish to have it analyzed. Regards, to all. SLAG. I do plan to give them a call tomorrow. Surely, colored fire is caused by chemicals. If there's a chance their harmful, they should be recalled. Already put the bag aside for later. 1 hour ago, ThomasPowers said: Hopefully it's not CCA, I don't know how popular CCA was in Europe compared to the USA; seawater can also cause wood to burn with differing colours; could it have been caused by that? You're right, hopefully it's not CCA. I did some research and found quite a few chemicals that can cause green flames: thallium compounds antimony compounds barium compounds manganese(II) compounds molybdenum compounds ammonium compounds phosphates moistened with sulfuric acid borax copper sulfate boric acid Ref: http://chemistry.about.com/od/firecombustionchemistry/fl/What-Chemical-Turns-Fire-Green.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kozzy Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Sodium = yellow, Copper = green, potassium= purpleish, iron-= whitish. Lots of great colors from the metals in solutions. It could be nothing but since CCA was common, I'd be a little hesitant. Arsenic adds a little blue so with the rest of the stuff, you'd probably see it as greenish also. Google image search for burning metal flame colors has some pretty cool photos in case anyone is interested in the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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