Rocket Fuel: Charcoal

Charcoal is mostly carbon remaining from organic material after chemical decomposition by slow heating.  It is used extensively in rocketry as the primary fuel in black powder rockets, such as the well known Estes^® motors.  Pyrotechnic grade charcoal should not be confused with the popular BBQ briquettes, which have added sawdust and other impurities.  However, a crude, low performance propellant can be made with briquettes.

Advantages:

• Inexpensive to manufacture and purchase
• One of the easiest fuels to obtain
• Non-toxic, Non-poisonous
• Moderately hydrophobic

Disadvantages:

• Messy
• Low energy compared to metal fuels

Cautions:

Many mixtures of charcoal and strong oxidizers form a low explosive.

See Charcoal Powder MSDS

Other Interesting Uses:

Charcoal is used in cooking in heating.

Charcoal is the primary fuel in black powder, combined with potassium nitrate and sulfur.