Charcoal is a porous black solid material, consisting of an amorphous form of carbon, obtained as a residue when organic matter is heated in the absence of air. This process removes water and volatile chemicals from the material. The carbonised product possesses different chemical properties, depending on the source material. Brimac is a unique form of activated carbon, due to the nature of the kilning process. The carbonised product possesses great mechanical strength due to its chemical composition and improved adsorption of many unwanted chemicals and heavy metals such as fluorine, chlorine, chloramine, lead and mercury. Its main use for many years has been in sugar refining, where it has been used to decolourise solvent sugar and remove other mineral impurities. Brimac is also a very effective water filter media, as its ability to remove many heavy metals is greater than standard activated carbon. Most of these heavy metals are neurotoxins which pose significant hazards to human health and are therefore to be avoided.