CHARCOAL AS AN ALTERNATIVE INK
A Science Investigatory Project
Presented to the Faculty of the Special Science Class
Leonora S. Salapantan National High School
San Miguel, Iloilo

CRIS BERNADETTE S. CALDEDERO
Special Science Class fourth year
Section A
March 2015
09071949701

Chapter I
Introduction
Background of the Study One of the most important historical applications of wood charcoal was as a constituent of gunpowder. It was also used in metallurgical operations as a reducing agent, but its application has been diminished by the introduction of coke, anthracite smalls, etc. A limited quantity is made up into the form of drawing crayons; but the greatest amount is used as a fuel, which burns hotter and cleaner than wood. Charcoal is often used by blacksmiths, for cooking, and for other industrial applications. One additional use of charcoal rediscovered recently is in horticulture. Although American gardeners have been using charcoal for a short while, research on Terra preta soils in the Amazon has found the widespread use of biochar by pre-Columbian natives to turn otherwise unproductive soil into very rich soil. The technique may find modern application, both to improve soils and as a means of carbon sequestration.
The world today is suffering for an economic crisis; many people seem to realize the importance of each item that needs to be bought. Ink is an ordinary item but prevalent in everyday use. Some things that provide ink for its functions are expensive that not all people can afford. That’s why the researcher investigated a project that can help lessen the economic crisis for the production of ink.

Statement of the problem Generally, this study tries to find out the used of charcoal as a good source of ink. This study aims to produce a good quality of ink by using charcoal. Specific Objectives This study aims to answer the following questions: 1. Is there a significance difference on the quality of charcoal ink and commercial ink according to their thickness, dryness, and color (darkness of ink)?
Hypothesis
1. There was no significant difference on the quality of the charcoal ink according to their thickness, dryness, and color (darkness of ink) than the commercial one.
Significance of the study
The significance of the study “Charcoal: An Alternative Ink”
Is a study which aims to produce a good source of inks and to get use of charcoal, because nowadays, inks are so expensive and the people who used to use pens can’t afford to buy inks .They won’t be worry about the inks they’ve been using because they can now use inks which is cheap but can provide the same result which expensive inks can also do. Scope and Limitation This study entitled “Charcoal as an Alternative Ink” was conducted to determine the quality of two different inks according to their thickness, dryness and color (darkness of ink).
This study was conducted at the researcher’s residence at Barangay San Antonio, San Miguel, Iloilo.
This study is limited for the investigation of charcoal as an alternative ink. In this study, the researcher will test if the charcoal can be used as an alternative ink. Quality | Charcoal Ink | Commercial Ink | 1.Thickness of Ink | | | 2. Dryness of Ink | | | 3.Color (Darkness of Ink) | | |

Definition of terms
Charcoal
- is the blackish residue consisting of impure carbon obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by heating wood, sugar, bone char, or others substances in the absence of oxygen. The soft, brittle, lightweight, black, porous material resembles coal and is 85% to 98% carbon with the remainder consisting of volatile chemicals and ash In this study, this refers to charcoal use as alternative ink.
Ink
- is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for coloring a surface to produce an image or text. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen or brush or quill. Thicker inks, in paste form, are used extensively in letterpress and lithographic printing. In this study, this refers to a substance that use to differentiate the difference of charcoal ink and commercial ink.

Conceptual Framework Independent Variable Dependent Variable
Quality of Ink in Terms of:
-Thickness
-Dryness
-Color (Darkness)

Quality of Ink in Terms of:
-Thickness
-Dryness
-Color (Darkness)

Charcoal Ink
Charcoal Ink

CHAPTER II
REVEIW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Charcoal
Description
Charcoal, substance obtained by partial burning or carbonization (destructive distillation) of organic material. It is largely pure carbon. The entry of air during the carbonization process is controlled so that the organic material does not turn to ash, as in a conventional fire, but decomposes to form charcoal.
According toJosh Velson ink is made from particles of carbon black, a pigment substance. These particles are segregated from each other by a polymer that is adsorbed onto the surface of the carbon black particles. Finally, a solvent is applied so that the ink will flow. This is similar to the process for inkjet printer ink, for example, but the particles are optimized for pens rather than for the fine particles required in printers.
He learned in his first research assistant position in college. He were trying to figure out ways to adsorb the polymers onto carbon black that didn't use the standard solvent-based methods, which involved slurrying the polymer, carbon black and methanol in a supercritical carbon dioxide reactor. He understand that conventionally, a set of organic solvents are used for this slurrying process.
But where do the components come from? Carbon black comes from sintered carbon, usually from coal or oil sources. There are specialized firms out there that are devoted entirely to carbon black. The different types of polymers that go into polymers are either petrochemical in nature, and may be made up of many different types of monomers, or they can also be derived from pine tree tall oil or rosin. The solvents are usually petrochemical and evaporate quickly from your ink.
He later learned that industrially, there are many, many grades of carbon black, although only a few will be suitable for ink. A much more considerable amount of engineering goes into creating the polymers that surround the ink. This polymer usually determines the flow properties, particle size, and (for color inks) some of the optical properties, such as gloss. These in turn impact the color separation and sharpness of inks, at varying levels of expense.
Printing inks, for example, will vary based on the type of application. Flexible plate printing (flexo) inks are chemically similar, but distinct, from inks used for newsprint delivered from a rotating gravure-type printing press. These in turn are distinct from inkjet printer ink, laser printer ink, rollerball ink, gel inks, and fountain pen inks. India ink is a whole other class, composed of carbon black, water and shellac and these days is mainly used for inking comic books.

The fact of the matter is, I think the process used to make each of these is fairly similar, and as processes, go it's quite simple to do. Most facilities that formulate inks will also package them in the same facility, and the packaging in cartridges, tubes, or what have you is probably much more mechanically and technically complex than the actual ink formulation. The secret sauce for inks really is in research and development.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the experimental design, tools, materials, procedure and pictures of the study.
A.
I. Tools and Materials * -------------------------------------------------
Barbecue grill or metal fire pit * -------------------------------------------------
Kitchen scale * -------------------------------------------------
Charcoal briquettes * -------------------------------------------------
Distilled water * -------------------------------------------------
White vinegar * -------------------------------------------------
Glass jar * -------------------------------------------------
Glass bowl * -------------------------------------------------
Wire brush or metal whisk

II. Procedure
1. Burn a handful of charcoal briquettes in a barbecue grill or metal fire pit until they turn to ash. Wait until the ash has cooled completely. Use a kitchen scale to measure 1 oz. of charcoal ash. Place 1 oz. of charcoal ash in the glass bowl.
2. Measure out 1 oz. of distilled water and add it to the bowl containing the charcoal ash.
3. Stir the charcoal mixture with a wire brush or metal whisk. As the water and ash combine, the mixture will become very dark. Continue to mix it until the clumps of ash disappear. Be careful to not splash the ink because it will stain your clothing or counter top.
4. Add one drop of white vinegar to the mixture and carefully stir it in. The vinegar adds stability to the ink and makes it more permanent once it has dried on paper.
5. Pour the ink into a glass jar that has a tight-fitting lid. The ink will last longer if it isn't exposed to too much light. Keep your glass jar in a dark place, or you can wrap paper around the jar and tape it to hold it on tight.

III. B. Preparation of the test specimen Different inks were used as on the experiment.

C. Preparation in using charcoal as an alternative ink
Different inks had been used as be called on the study. By observing it, we will know if where is more effective between the charcoal ink and commercial ink.

D. Observation and Recording Data The effect of the commercial ink and alternative ink was observe if which is more effective between the two inks.

E. Proper Disposal of Waste Materials The materials used in the study are not hazardous but useful to human. But we must to work properly and carefully so that ink will not stain our clothes. So instead of throwing we must keep it because we can use it again. And the waste materials in the experiment must dispose properly. We must clean our place where we conduct the study.

E. Experimental Design and Experiment The table below should be filling-up after the experiment if there is difference on the quality between charcoal ink than the commercial ink:

Quality | Alternative Shoe Polish(made from charcoal) | Commercial Shoe Polish | Thickness | | | Dryness | | | Color (darkness of ink) | | |