Sugar charcoal

Sugar charcoal is formed by the charring of cane sugar, which was repeatedly recrystallized to remove any organic impurities.^[1] It is also prepared by the dehydration of sugar in the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid. The sulfuric acid is such a strong dehydrating agent that it abstracts water from the sugar molecules themselves and leaves behind black residue of carbon (i.e. the general formula for sugars is C_x(H₂O)_x and it is this water that is removed with only carbon remaining). It is the purest form of amorphous carbon.^{[citation needed]}

Not to be confused with Coal candy.

Use

Since sugar charcoal is a method of producing very pure carbon it is used to prepare artificial diamonds. When heated strongly at high temperature (3000-3500 °C) and high pressure, it is converted into an artificial diamond.

It is used as a reducing agent in the process of extraction of metals.

Sugar charcoal has decolourizing properties, which means it removes some dyes, such as methylene blue,^[1] from water. Note: this is not a chemical bleaching process, but rather a physical process. The dyes are adsorbed into the pores and onto the surface of the charcoal particles, thereby removing them from solution.