Re: GAS-L: Fw: RETORT FOR CARBONISING COCONUT SHELLS - REG.

[Peter Singfield <snkm@btl.net>]

At 12:33 PM 9/14/2002 -0700, Tom Miles wrote: 
>>>>
Forwarded to the list. What sources do we have for  retorts to make
charcoal from coconut shells?  Tom  ----- Original Message -----  From:
<mailto:aminchem@satyam.net.in>diamond  Sent: Saturday, September 14, 2002
12:51 AM Subject: RETORT FOR CARBONISING COCONUT SHELLS - REG. 
Dear Friends,  I am really struggling to find a low cost retort suitable
for carbonising  coconut shells.  Please enlighten me if a retort is
available for carbonising wood and could  this be used for carbonising
coconut shells also.  It will be greatly appreciated if you could kindly
oblige me with the  company names and addresses who are manufacturing
reliable low cost  charcoal retorts.  Kindly note that I need a simple
retort capable of carbonising coconut  shells only and not generating
electricity  I am eagerly awaiting for your kind help and assistance
Thanks & best regards  A.S.IBRAHIM DIAMOND CONVERSIONS PVT LTD., A-60,
Industrial Estate, Mettupalayam, Pondicherry (South India) Phone: 00 91 413
275319 Fax     00 91 413 248346 Email  aminchem@satyam.net.in  


Dear Tom and Ibrahim;

You have complete information in regards to this topic at:

http://coconutboard.nic.in/charcoal.htm

Have appended the Text of this WWW sight --

I see you are from India -- and India has the best "deal" on this
technology for a fraction of the cost of equivalent systems designed and
made in the modern industrial nations.

Below is the complete information you seek -- including prices in "lakhs"???

One favor I ask -- how does one translate those prices into US dollar?

Peter Singfield -- Belize


*********************appended**************

COCONUT DEVELOPEMNT BOARD, INDIA

Project Profile

Coconut Shell Charcoal*

Introduction
 
The shell charcoal is the raw material required for the manufacture of
activated carbon. The shell charcoal is manufactured by burning shells of
fully matured nuts in limited supply of air sufficient only for
carbonisation, but not for complete destruction. The output of charcoal in
the traditional pith method is just below 30 per cent of the weight of the
original shells. In India the average output in the traditional method has
been found to be 35 kg of charcoal from 1000 whole shells or about 30,000
whole shells yield 1 tonne of charcoal. 

Sometimes, especially when the processing is defective, the output is still
lower and nearly 50,000 shells are required to produce one tonne of
charcoal. To obtain good quality charcoal, fully dried, clean, mature
shells should be used. Now several modern methods are in vogue for the
production of charcoal. In the modern waste heat recovery unit the heat
generated by the burning of coconut shells is used for drying copra and
shell charcoal is obtained as by-product. A simple and efficient method
adopted for the production of charcoal on cottage scale is given below. 

Process (Drum Method) 

A M.S. Drum kiln is used for carbonization of shells. The drum consists of
three sets of six 1" dia holes provided at its bottom, middle and upper
layers and a lid. A detachable chimney is provided which is installed on
the lid after closing the drum. The manufacture of charcoal requires
optimum carbonization of raw shells in a limited supply of air so that
there is neither unburnt shell nor ash due to complete combustion.

The steel drum is filled with raw shells after placing temporarily a four
inch diameter wooden pole in the centre of the drum. The wooden pole is
then removed, leaving a hollow space in the centre, which allows the flow
of smoke during carbonization.

To start carbonization, a piece of burning rag is dropped to the bottom of
the drum through the hollow space in the centre. When the fire is well
underway, the lid with the chimney is placed into position and the upper
and the middle sets of holes are closed. Carbonization which starts at the
bottom progresses as it goes up as well as radially from the hollow space.
When carbonization is complete in a particular zone, a persistent glow can
be seen in all the six holes of a set. When the bottom most set of holes
indicate this situation, the middle set of holes is opened and the bottom
set closed. The stoppage of air flowing into the bottom region avoids
over-carbonization in that region.

The progressive carbonization results in reduction in volume of contents
and therefore more shells are added from the top. When the middle region is
carbonized well, the top set of holes is opened while the middle set is now
closed. A further addition of raw shells is done to fill the volume
reduction to maximise capacity for burning. When the top region is well
carbonized, the top set of holes is also closed, resulting in complete
stoppage of air inflow to the drum. The drum is then cooled for about eight
hours after which the product is ready for discharge.

Product Specification 

Fixed carbon
 72% (minimum)
 
Volatile matter
 15% (maximum)
 
Ash 
 2 % (maximum)
 
Moisture
 10% (maximum)
 
Size
 Not more than 5% shall pass through a 0.63 cm mesh sieve
 
Colour
 Uniformly black
 

Project Cost (one tonne/day) 

Land (cost variable)
 35 cents
 
Building 1000 sq. ft.
 Rs.2.5 lakhs
 
Plant machinery
 Rs.7.5 lakhs
 
Preliminary & pre-operative expenses
 Rs.1.0 lakhs
 
Contingencies
 Rs.0.5 lakhs
 
Margin money for working capital
 Rs.2.0lakhs
 



Machinery 

• Drum kiln with chimney

Yield 
Raw material
 30,000 coconut shells
 
Coconut shell charcoal
 1 tonne
 

Salient Features 

Annual sales turnover
 Rs.15 lakhs
 
Net profit
 Rs.3 lakhs
 
Return on investment
 15 per cent
 

Sources of Machinery/Equipment 

• A.L. Jacob & Sons, A.L. Jacob Road, Ernakulam, Cochin-28.

• Vivega Engineers, 143-C, Nava India Road, Peelamedu, Coimbatore - 641 004

• Ananth & Co. Bhavana, Shakthi Nagar, Irinjalakuda - 680 125.

• Plant India, Vytilla Road, Palarivattom, Kochi-682 025.

* Technology available from the Coconut Development Board, Cochin - 682 011.

Note: The cash estimates and returns are variable.

For more details please contact us:
 E-mail cdbkochi@vsnl.com


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