[Terrapreta] Commercial charcoal VM content

[Tom Miles]

I continue to question drawing a correlation between reactor temperature and
charcoal quality without also quantifying the volatile matter (VM) content. 

 

When we gasify wood in a  down draft gasifier we find two types of char in
the bed . The first is a hard shiny char that we find produced near the
oxidation zone. The second, we call it "reduction char", is a porous puffy
char that is in the reduction zone where the CO2 produced from oxidation
reacts with char to produce combustible gas. It has been subjected for a
short time to gases that start at  1000 C and are cooled by reaction with
the char to 600C.  This reduction char is puffy, porous, and low density,
with a visible swelled structure. I don't know what the volatile matter is
for this reduction char but I would guess that it would be very low.  It can
be produced as a byproduct of gasification to produce power for rural
communities. Is this char any good for crops? We need VM data.

 

Tom

 

See:

http://www.fluidynenz.250x.com/_framed/250x/fluidynenz/IrelandJune2005/IMG_1
255.jpg

 

 

  

 

From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org
[mailto:terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Tom Miles
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 6:18 AM
To: thomas.beer at clorox.com; 'Michael J. Antal, Jr.'
Cc: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org; 'Jdeenik at Hawaii. Edu';
terrapreta at bioenergylists.org; 'Goro Uehara'
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Commercial charcoal VM content

 

Thomas,

 

Can you give us a range of typical VM and ash characteristics of your char
in? Is the analysis Michael reported typical?

 

Can you make a 20% volatile char (approximate max temp 400-450 C) on order?
What minimum quantities?

 

What is the typical ash content of the char before it gets blended?

 

Do you have typical analyses of ash compositions (K, NA, CaO, Mg, P, etc.)

 

Thanks

 

Tom Miles

 

 

 

 

From: thomas.beer at clorox.com [mailto:thomas.beer at clorox.com] 
Sent: Thursday, March 08, 2007 5:45 AM
To: Michael J. Antal, Jr.
Cc: Goro Uehara; Jdeenik at Hawaii. Edu; terrapreta at bioenergylists.org;
terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org; Tom Miles
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Commercial charcoal VM content

 


Hi Folks: 
Remember that Kingsford is offering the pure  wood char... before it is
combined with other ingredients and a binder to make a briquette. The size
of this material is typically 1/4" and below, with a few thin (1/8-1/4")
chips up to 1/2" across. These are what make it through our milling
processes. 
Volatile content, ash, particle size, ignition temperature, moisture are all
specified. 
Let me know your interest and I'll connect you with a contact within
Kingsford. 

Thomas Beer
Manufacturing Technology
Clorox Services Company
3900 Kennesaw 75 Parkway, Suite 100
Kennesaw, GA   30144
770-426-2419
770-426-2428- FAX
770-364-1079- Cell 


"Michael J. Antal, Jr." <mantal at hawaii.edu> 
Sent by: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org 

03/07/2007 09:15 PM 


To

Tom Miles <tmiles at trmiles.com>, terrapreta at bioenergylists.org 


cc

"Jdeenik at Hawaii. Edu" <jdeenik at hawaii.edu>, Goro Uehara <goro at hawaii.edu> 


Subject

[Terrapreta] Commercial charcoal VM content

 

		




Hi Tom: thanks for your very informative posting.

Readers of Energy & Fuels may recall an article from my lab "High-Yield
Biomass Charcoal" (Vol. 10, No. 3, 1996, pp. 652-658) that lists the
following proximate analyses of commercial barbeque charcoals:

Kingsford briquette                  36.4% VM                 17.2%  ash
Kiawe lump charcoal                 28.3% VM                 01.96% ash
Mesquite lump charcoal                  9.0% VM                 04.17% ash

The very high VM content of the Kingsford briquette charcoal makes it easy
to ignite.  The mesquite charcoal is tough to ignite.

Best wishes, Michael.

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Miles [mailto:tmiles at trmiles.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 8:10 AM
To: 'Michael J. Antal, Jr.'; terrapreta at bioenergylists.org
Subject: RE: [Terrapreta] Charcoal properties II



All,

Michael wrote:

"Since well-characterized charcoal samples are not easily available, I
suggest that you document everything you know (e.g. its source, the
feedstock, its history, etc.) about the sample you are testing, and that you
set aside a small sub-sample of the charcoal (ca. 100 g or more) for later
testing in the event that you find the charcoal to be particularly
beneficial (or detrimental) to plant growth.  Without well-characterized
charcoal samples, progress can still be made if the charcoals that prove to
be particularly beneficial (or detrimental) can be identified and tested
after the fact."

If the volatile matter content is the distinguishing characteristic of the
charocal then we can use that as a reference. The Ash and Moisture Content
would also be a product of the proximate analysis.

I uploaded a post to the Terra Preta site called "Factors Influencing
Charcoal Quality" that I posted to the biomass cooking stoves site last
year.
http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/charcoalquality
If a target quality is 20%-25% volatile matter then the heat treat
temperature for the wood samples cited would be about 400-450 C for about an
hour. I understand that commercial charcoals contain about 14% volatile
matter.

Charcoals used in the Indonesia work by the Forestry Research and
Development Agency and the Japan International Cooperation Agency using a
flat kiln were tested at 20-25% volatile matter (VM) and 4%-6% ash. See:
"A Flat kiln and Utlization of Sawdust Charcoal"
http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/?q=node/124
And
"Trials on Some of Charcoal Production Methods for Carbon Sequestration in
Indonesia Kazuya Ando, Nobuo Ishibashi, Gustan Pari, Kiyoshi Miyakuni 2004"
http://www.georgiaitp.org/carbon/PDF%20Files/Posters/AndoPoster.pdf

Other chemical properties that I see tested are: pH, Cation Exchange
Capacity (me/100g), Exchangeable cations (me/100g) K, Ca, Mg, Na, and
probably available phosphate.

I'm sure that organizations like Cornell have databases of these qualities
and a good notion of how charcoal quality impacts plant response in soils.

What values do we have for lump charcoal purchased in stores for barbecue,
"horticultural charcoal" or other common sources. I'm sure that producers
like Kingsofrd/Chlorox could produce the quality of charcoal required by the
truckload.

Tom Miles









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