Re: carbonisation

["A.D. Karve" <adkarve@pn2.vsnl.net.in>]

Dear Daniel,
  We are using the retort process primarily to convert sugarcane leaves into
char.  Dry sugarcane leaves left in the field after the harvest are quite a
bother.  They are highly lignified and silicified, so they don't rot easily.
Also the cattle won't eat them. The leaves are about a meter long and
because of their tough nature they interfere with operations like ploughing,
harrowing, interculturing and even with irrigation.  Therefore they are just
burnt off in the field itself. We therefore thought that they represented an
ideal raw material for char briquettes. The retorts are metal barrels. They
are filled with the leaves, their lids closed and placed in an inverted
manner on the grate in the oven (kiln). A small fire is ignited below the
grate.  The heat of this fire starts the process of pyrolysis of the leaves
in the retorts.  The gas comes out through the gaps in the lids of the
retorts and burns at the level of the grate itself, adding to the heat.  The
process stops when the leaves have been completely pyrolysed.  Counting the
material burnt to start the process, our char output is 20% of the original
biomass. We are still working on the process.  The calorific value of the
char briquettes as determined by a commercial laboratory in Bombay is around
4500kcal per kg, which is almost as much as that of wood.  This figure has
disappointed us, because we were expecting a value nearer 6000 kcal/kg.
A.D.Karve

----- Original Message -----
From: <Carefreeland@aol.com>
To: <adkarve@pn2.vsnl.net.in>; <stoves@crest.org>; <gasification@crest.org>
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2001 11:41 AM
Subject: Re: carbonisation


> Mr. Karve,
>     This retort process is very similar to the process that I am working
on
> for Metallurgic charcoal.  I have several questions.
>  1: Is the char you produce with this system any denser than the same
biomass
> pyrolisised in a stove or gasifier?
>  2: Is the ash percentage any lower than the same?
>  3: What type of burner do you use for the gas emitted from the retorts?
>  4: Is it efficient?
>  5: Could you set this up to be self sustaining with the gas from the wood
> once the process starts?
>  6: How clean does the gas burn?
>  7: What types of biomass have you worked with in this system?
>     I am looking forward to any information you have on this.  Thank you,
>                                     Daniel Dimiduk
>                                    Shangri-La Research and Development Co.
>                                     Dayton, Ohio, USA
>


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