Making Charcoal

[Michaelangelica]

Interesting article, if a little dated

Has a couple of references to books on the subject

How charcoal briquette is made - Background, History, Raw materials, The manufacturing process of charcoal briquette, Byproducts/waste

[mathuranatha]

Hey ,I've dug a pit [about 2 cubic meters] and have accumulated a big mound of charcoa l[3or4 cubic meters] and am wondering how best to crush it or if crushing is necessary . I made some garden beds, some without biochar and some with[30%]about 2 months ago , not much difference in growth rates though.

[Gerrit]

Here's a link to a present day charcoal maker from Poland from Wikipedia. It is called a retort style, but it doesn't look like one. Don't see how they fit a furnace underneath it.

 

Image:Charcoal retorts cm01.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

But I would like to build a retort style about this size. Anybody have any clue?

[Philip Small]

Here's a link to a present day charcoal maker from Poland from Wikipedia. It is called a retort style, but it doesn't look like one.

 

Definitely _not_ a retort. I have seen photos/article about this style of charcoal maker in England or the SE USA (can't recall exactly). IIRC, They said they needed two or three to make good use of their time: one to fill, one burning, maybe one to be cooling off. I'll try to find the link.

 

Here is a link to a medium sized retort: you would need some massive tanks to upscale it. Make sure you look at the last two pictures for his improved version. I want it!

[palmtreepathos]

I used to make campfires frequently and generally burned them down to ashes every time, I love a good fire. So learning about how to make charcoal seemed a no-brainer until I read about the air restricted method. With the drought here in Georgia US digging a hole in the ground and making smoke for a couple of days seemed a recipe for how to get a ticket(and make neighbors unhappy). So instead I pick my days and do small burns in cans with bottom venting and I burn from the top down, which produces very little smoke and still makes a lot of charcoal , helps get rid of a lot of dead branches around here, too.

I need some char for a new row in the garden and I have wanted to use up some really lousy stuff I found in the hedges and woods nearby. Drying and rotting deadwood 1 to 4 inches in diameter.

 

It's a misty rainy day(not much wind) so I thought would be a good one for a burn and I put a bit of it on video clips. Almost got rained out, so I rushed it a bit but all is well and ended up with about 5 gallons of charcoal. Today I doused it with a couple buckets of rainwater but usually I just dump it and cover with damp sawdust until it extinguishes. Hope you enjoy my small time set up... :thumbs_up

 

I have pics of the set-ups and comments all mixed through my public gallery and video of the burn... also smaller scale burn is in my video clips....

 

patsapeachygal's Public Gallery - AOL Pictures

 

UnCut Video - Now Playing "charcoal firing experimental"

 

UnCut Video - Now Playing "charcoal fire- charring acorns in a wire basket"

 

UnCut Video - Now Playing "charcoal fire- speeding it up"

[palmtreepathos]

I have found a better way to char the acorns that I have in such abundance. I cut a 3 inch diameter pipe from the frame of an old swingset into 24 inch sections and plugged the bottom of each one by pushing it into the local clay (2 inches). This made a tube-like container which can then be filled with the acorns and stood in the trash can/burner along with other 1-3 inch branches. They charred nicely and did not pop out . I may try to cap one with clay in the next burn to stop flame from shooting out the top. They reduced in size by half, little charcoal balls to experiment with, maybe for hydroponics??

[Turtle]

I have found a better way to char the acorns that I have in such abundance. I cut a 3 inch diameter pipe from the frame of an old swingset into 24 inch sections and plugged the bottom of each one by pushing it into the local clay (2 inches). This made a tube-like container which can then be filled with the acorns and stood in the trash can/burner along with other 1-3 inch branches. They charred nicely and did not pop out . I may try to cap one with clay in the next burn to stop flame from shooting out the top. They reduced in size by half, little charcoal balls to experiment with, maybe for hydroponics??

 

Mmmm...:shrug: don't cap those pipes too tightly with clay! ;)

 

Perhaps rather than charcoalize your acorns, you plant them and then distribute them in a re-treeing project? Is this a mast year for acorns where you are? Anecdotally, I have seen more acorns this year than in the past decade, and apparently California is having the same. (I never heard the masting laid to warm dry Aprils before? )

Oak trees produce mass amounts of acorns this year - Campus News

 

That's all I got. :doh:

[Gerrit]

If you're looking for a do-it-yourself charcoal kiln of a larger size, check out this one:

 

Kiln design

 

Gerrit

[palmtreepathos]

Black said she's been getting a lot of phone calls lately with people concerned about acorns producing baby oak trees in their backyards as well.

People don't have too much to worry about since only about one in 10,000 acorns successfully germinates, she said.

Oak trees produce mass amounts of acorns this year - Campus News

 

The "one in 10,000" that will sprout happens many times over here. In fact they grow so thick as to be considered weeds! I sure would be pleased to share as many of my sprouters as possible...:hyper:

Two oak trees got away from me in the hedgerow in my back yard and this was their year to bear fruit, about 20 gallons in addition to the 55 gallons from the front yard trees. In the front yard the land lays at 20-45% inclines and the acorns are so thick as to be dangerous. Three years ago I slipped while raking and tore ligaments in both knees. It's like walking on marbles. This picture is from the area right off the driveway... aieee!

 

Picture by patsapeachygal - AOL Pictures

 

Many of the acorns from last year are still there so I have decided to use them for my pet projects-Charcoal and gardening.

 

Mmmm...:) don't cap those pipes too tightly with clay! :ebomb:

 

You are probably right about that...there are smaller holes drilled in the pipes and they too blazed like little torches. The plug would probably blow (or worse :eek:) if they were to clog. It worked okay this way, best leave well enough alone...

 

I will be girdling the trees in the hedgerow in the spring for future charcoal and timber lengths for a cordwood tool shed I have planned. Also one of the trees in the front has a crack from hurricane storms 3 years ago, it will be coming down shortly so that will help with the acorns on the driveway.

 

Gerrit that sure is a nice kiln, wish I had a partner to help me fabricate something like that. My little direct fire set up will have to do for a while...

[Michaelangelica]

A nice article on making charcoal from waste.

although I still think the gold standard is pyrolysis as it uses the energy released by the process and reduces airborne toxins considerably.

Charcoal making from agricultural residues - Knowledge Bank - HEDON Household Energy Network

One comment was interesting

Charcoal making

Traditionally, charcoal is made from forest wood cut into pieces and partially burnt. However, charcoal can be made from agricultural residues such as stems and twigs that would otherwise be left in the field and burnt away as waste. Some of the common crops whose stems are suitable for charcoal making are soyabean and red gram.

Any kind of wood can be used to make charcoal. However, if softwood is used, it will make soft charcoal and therefore burn more quickly. Also, the method used for softwood would not be applicable for hard wood as the latter is denser and tends to burn slowly.

As I remember, the Amazonian Indians used hardwood.

I wonder if this makes a diffence to TP?

[Michaelangelica]

This Fragile Earth - Photo Essays - TIME

Hazy Future

An Indonesian man burns coconut shells to make charcoal.

The government has announced a plan to rank cities based on air quality.

:phones: :cheer: :hihi:

All that wasted energy and smoke.

[unawatuna]

I have been impressed with the kilns made by pro-natura for "green charcoal" production. http://www.pronatura.org/?lang=en&page=climate#clim1

 

Does the board know how much excess energy is released in the exothermic reactions that make charcoal?

 

It seems to me that few kilns are catching the extra energy. Is this because there isn't much or if not, where can I find others that do for large scale production?

[unawatuna]

I have been impressed with the kilns made by pro-natura for "green charcoal" production. Pro-Natura International (PNI) - Fighting against climate change

 

Does the board know how much excess energy is released in the exothermic carbonization/pyrolysis reactions that make charcoal?

 

It seems to me that few kilns are catching the extra energy. Is this because there isn't much or if not, where can I find others that do for large scale production?

[Turtle]

I have been impressed with the kilns made by pro-natura for "green charcoal" production. Pro-Natura International (PNI) - Fighting against climate change

 

Does the board know how much excess energy is released in the exothermic reactions that make charcoal?

 

It seems to me that few kilns are catching the extra energy. Is this because there isn't much or if not, where can I find others that do for large scale production?

 

Welcome aboard the board Tuna. :) There is plenty of heat energy to harness, but the aim seems primarily to produce the charcoal. We have discussed in other threads here, adding tubing around a stove and making steam or heating oil to use for generating electricity. I think a problem is that the charcoal stoves run intermittently, and so the cost of the additional equipment to capture the heat isn't justified. :)

 

My little coffee-can wood-gasifier charcoal retort stove can boil ~1 cup of water on one fueling. :(

[Michaelangelica]

This is an article on the many traditional and cultural uses of charcoal in Sibu

 

(where is that?

Is this it?

OR here

Google Image Result for http://www.inet.com.my/sibu/pics/asia.jpg

 

The article ends with a description of their traditional charcoal making process. I find it a little hard to imagine. what do you recon the "cone' is made from -clay, stones, bricks or trees?

Although there is no longer a real charcoal factory in Sibu, I can still refer to a good charcoal factory in Kuala Sepetang, located in North Peninsular Malaysia, to relate how charcoal is made today. So read on.......

 

The mangrove forest around Kuala Sepetang is a vital factor for charcoal making in this part. The Chuah's charcoal factory has been in existence since the 1930's.

 

Mangrove trees which are over 30 years old are harvested, and new ones planted in order to replenish the supply. That area is not to be touched for another 30 years.

 

The trees are then transported with the high tide into the factory. Trees are then stripped off their bark and then sent to the igloo like cones where the baking process starts.

 

These cones are all handmade without any architecture drawing design. The master building simply builds them still "out of memory and experience".

 

A cone is used for around 15 years. Once the cone is finished, the logs are brought inside and heated. The process is in fact very simple and complicated at the same time.

 

It's all about the right temperature, so the process have to be monitored 24 hours a day.

 

The logs are standing up inside the cone on stone. Then the cone is almost closed apart of a small hole where a fire is burning. This fire heats up the cone and water will start to vaporise from the logs. Inside the cone there is now a temperature of 220°C.

 

 

The first stage of this process takes around 8 to 10 days. The log condition inside the cone is determined by the feel of the smoke that comes out of the holes of the cone. Mr. Chuah and his workers have such an experience that they can tell on the feel of the vaporised water how the condition of the log is.

 

After 10 days the cone is completely shut off and the baking process continues on a temperature of around 83°C. This takes another 12 to 14 days. Then the cooling process starts, this takes another 8 days before the hole in the cone is opened.

 

All the water is now vaporised out of the wood and the charcoal should look shiny black. The workers now get the charcoal out of the still hot cone and it is sorted, put in bags or transported in a whole log. Most of the charcoal of Mr. Chuah's factory is exported to Japan. A minor part is used in Malaysia.

 

Producing charcoal is a time consuming process. Most of the process is manually done. People in Kuala Sepetang, Matang and other small villages in the area have a living from the mangrove charcoal factory.

 

Note : More later when I can get hold more information on charcoal making.

sarawakiana: Charcoal and its Uses in Sibu

[Essay]

...sent to the igloo like cones where the baking process starts.

 

Michael, I saw this the other day on BBC News. There was a video of officials breaking up the kilns (like smashing stills, back during Prohibition).

They look to be about 7-8 feet tall.

 

BBC NEWS | Americas | Front line battle to save Amazon forest

 

 

...like igloos?

:)

[Michaelangelica]

Michael, I saw this the other day on BBC News. There was a video of officials breaking up the kilns (like smashing stills, back during Prohibition).

They look to be about 7-8 feet tall.

 

BBC NEWS | Americas | Front line battle to save Amazon forest

 

 

...like igloos?

:(

Interesting part of a BBC special

I will have to get broadband

BBC World Service - The Amazon Paradox

A short distance away, police cars stop at a site where row after row of open air ovens are being used to burn wood for charcoal.

 

Checks reveal that more than the permitted number of dome-shaped ovens has been built, so two are destroyed on the same day.

 

This operation on the ground in the Amazon has been continuing for two months, and police chief, Sergio Rovani, who is responsible for tackling environmental crimes in Para, insists it is getting results.

 

According to the official statistics, Arc of Fire has recovered enough illegal wood to fill 1500 trucks, and 1600 hundred charcoal furnaces have been destroyed. Many fines have also been imposed.

somehow sad and ironic.