Though some of these uses are dispersed, such as charcoal for commercial food preparation and for ironing, or firewood for brick-making and cement, others give rise to very large demands concentrated in single locations or small areas. Supra-carbonisation ("MAGE" technology) does not require external energy, unlike pyrolysis, since it is the wood itself which serves as ignition for the furnaces and is done by the upper part; and with the help of high chimneys, this allows to control the process during the carbonization phase. A World Bank Publication from some years ago still correctly illustrates the problems of underpricing and provides methods for estimating adequate woodfuel stumpage values (see: Fuelwood Stumpage. Because charcoal can be transported economically over longer distances, production of wood-based fuel in the form of charcoal can be extended over a much wider area than the production of wood to be burned as fuelwood. As fuelwood has a high ratio of weight to calorific output and hence to value, it can seldom absorb the costs of transport over any but short distances. Ventilation may also be difficult to control and often carbonization is incomplete, producing only low quality charcoal. The potential for expanding the supply of wood fuels is in fact substantial. The main advantage of this type of kiln is that it can be constructed easily without cost at the harvest site. Urban use can lead to very large concentrates demands. Why is Charcoal is considered a better fuel than wood? ECKHOLM, E.P. The production price for the raw material wood is often not reflected when wood is exploited from unsustainably managed wooded areas (e.g. Use in Bangkok in 1972, for example, amounted to 3 million m³ of wood according to FAO's de Backer and Openshaw. ² CE = coal equivalent: assumes one cubic metre of wood is equivalent to 0.33 ton of coal. Financing Renewable Energy for the World’s Other Half). TA 1287. The mobile retort burns most of the smoke and works with high efficiency of about 30% referring to the dry mass of the wood. In most countries, use of wood fuel in the rural areas is predominantly in the form of fuelwood, and lies mainly outside the monetary economy. 1975. OPENSHAW, K. 1971. It also provides the forms necessary for those different actors to ensure legality of the processes. Domestic energy requirements vary with climate, family size and cooking habits. A small opening allows the control and monitoring of the process. In Sri Lanka, over half came from rubber and coconut plantations. About 140kg of wet wood (corresponding to about 120kg of wood without water) can be loaded and about 35kg of charcoal (high temperature burnt) can be harvested. Present wood consumption and future requirements in Kenya. Where this can be achieved only by further encroachment on the forest, future domestic energy prospects may worsen and even more dung may have to be diverted to meet energy requirements. Forest and agricultural waste charcoal briquettes, with about 20% of clay, produce about 12 MJ/kg depending on the composition of charcoal. 1975. Earth pit kilns are typically large and large pieces of wood can be used. The subsidizing of rural fuelwood plantations that is entailed in such provision of technical services is an implicit or explicit recognition that the benefits are likely to extend to more than just the value of the fuelwood itself. The volume of the furnace is about 16m³ of wood and at least 1,500 KGs of charcoal are produced per carbonization cycle, for 1 oven : 36,000 KGs for 24 carbonizations per month.[1]. When fuelwood is displaced, it is usually first displaced by another wood fuel, charcoal, which has twice the heat value per unit of weight of wood and is more energy efficient in application. This is the main reason why the improved and highly efficient Casamance kiln has been disseminated for 20 years throughout Africa without success. The consequence of the localized character of fuelwood supply is to put increasingly heavy pressure on the tree cover and other woody vegetation close to centres of population and to processing activities using wood fuel. The carbonisation cycle is much quicker and allows harvesting of charcoal after 13 – 14 days. 1975. This also holds true for any investments in natural forest management. Wood is relatively energy-inefficient fuel, compared with other fuels. Such surveys can be carried out only on a light sample basis because consumption is dispersed very widely and thinly. The most notable type is the Argentine half orange Kiln, which has been adopted by the Malawi Charcoal Project. The trade of charcoal in many African countries is primarily informal and it is characterized by a high turnover rate. Charcoal is considered quite a bit less dense than water and one set of tables gives the density as circa 400 kg.m-3 . The question of how to respond to this massive dependence on wood for fuel in developing countries needs to be approached with some caution. Present wood consumption and future requirements in Tanzania. One type is the truncated pyramid kiln, which is used in Chad mainly in the informal sectors. wood. Tree growing approaches stay ineffective, as planting and maintenance costs must be taken into account, when competing with open access resources. It is reported from one large town in the Sahel that while until recently nobody used to haul fuelwood more than 50 kilometres, now it is common to go 100 kilometres. Very little of it passes through commercial channels, or moves through transport systems which maintain records. In the savanna region in Nigeria, for example, although fuelwood is transported by road for distances of up to 100 km, a more normal limit on supply distance is less than 50 km. Where is Martha Elliott Bill Elliott ex-wife today? And, Timber trends study, Thailand: Detailed description of surveys and results, FO:DP/THA/69/017 Project Working Document, Rome, FAO. This article provides a quick reference for common values of specific energy and energy density. Instead of equitable revenue-sharing along the entire value chain, revenue circulates in a loop between traders and consumers reaping off up to 80% of the value chain profits. Wood fuels account for two thirds of all energy other than human and animal energy used in Africa, for nearly one third in Asia, for one fifth in Latin America, and for 6 percent in the Near East. Nonetheless, earth mound kilns are typically more efficient than earth pit kilns. The gross calorific value of charcoal is linked to the amount of fixed carbon and depends strongly on the carbonization temperature varying from 27 to 33 MJ/kg. Interim Report of the National Commission on Agriculture on Production Forestry Manmade Forests. Energy density is the amount of energy that can be stored in a given mass of a substance or system. 1962. The production process does not contaminate soil or air. In an area of central India, for example, destructive cutting of the forests was halted and sustained fuelwood production built up, by devising a control system which could be implemented by the local people within the framework of their established tribal customs and practices (Chakravarti, 1976). Another important means of extending the wood-based fuel base is through transforming wood into charcoal. The success of some self-help schemes to create fuelwood plantations (e.g., in China, India and the Republic of Korea) seems to be largely attributable to success in involving the people concerned. Given that most of its use does lie outside the monetary economy, it is not surprising that, over most of the range of income prevailing in developing countries, fuelwood use appears relatively insensitive to change in income. Furthermore, evidence-based analyses of the charcoal value chain provide the opportunity to demonstrate the regional added value of charcoal production and thus help to sensitise policy makers for a source of energy hitherto neglected & left to the informal sector. 1975. Pyrolysis is initiated by heating a pile of wood under controlled conditions in a closed space such as a charcoal kiln with a very limited supply of air triggering endothermic and exothermic reactions. 8 minutes video on "Introducing a Sustainable Charcoal in Cambodia" by GERES. Although estimates vary widely, total use of cow dung for fuel in parts of Asia, the Near Fast and Africa may be in the order of 400 million tons wet weight. Report No. Charcoal burns more cleanly than wood or dried biomass, producing higher temperatures and it is cheaper to transport and store. HENDERSON, P.D. In a recent survey in India, it was found that villages located inside or adjoining the forest meet their total fuel requirements from the forest (fuelwood and other vegetative ma serial). Rome, FAO. The shortage of gatherable organic fuel weighs disproportionately heavily on the poorest. It is estimated that charcoal production generates between 200-350 person days of employment per Terajoule of energy, compared to 10 person days per Terajoule for kerosene. See: www.fao.org, Industrial charcoal making. After the kiln has cooled down charcoal can be harvested. A case study will then showcase SPWS examples from around the world. More information about production and marketing of briquettes can also be found here on energypedia. MATHUR, R.S. They have an efficiency of up to 30 % and are suitable for semi-industrial production of charcoal. Source: FAO estimates of wood fuel; UN Statistical Yearbook, 1973. In monetized fuel markets, where price becomes a paramount factor, wood eventually becomes less competitive because of its low efficiency and high delivery costs. Pit kilns are labor intensive since a pit must be dug into the ground. Despite the growing scarcity of wood, charcoal generally remains underpriced by more than 20% to 50%, as only the opportunity cost of labour and capital required for charcoal production and transport are reflected. Lorentz and Grundfos will highlight their SPWS solutions available in the market as well as their applicability in the humanitarian context. the study initiated by the Forest Governance Learning Group (FGLG) for Malawi: a policy note prepared by Worldbank staff for decision makers in Tanzania summarizing the fundamental characteristics of charcoal use in the country and presenting policy options along the entire value chain of charcoal production and consumption (2010): Pyrolysis consists of heating wood or other substances, in the absence of oxygen, with external energy. Roads are lined with charcoal bags for sale in the center of the cities, both on the city outskirts and in the proximity of the production areas.Charcoal trading is a key segment in the supply/demand chain, and the dealers are the key actors in this regard. This publication by Practical Action Consulting prepared for PISCES shares information on different acacia species, and gives helpful advice during all stages of production up to methods of processing the wood into charcoal. The best known industrial processes are slow pyrolysis and supra-carbonization. In addition to these critical areas, there are many where wood could be the rational choice over other available sources of energy. Improvement of fuelwood cooking stoves and economy in fuelwood consumption. Similarly, the erodable slopes laid bare by fuelwood cutting might better be replanted with an income-generating tree crop than with fuelwood species. The burning of animal dung and crop residues might more appropriately be prevented by use of biogas plants, which convert organic matter to a usable form of energy, methane, and at the same time produce organic fertilizers as a byproduct. These furnaces industrially produce renewable energy, namely a charcoal whose fixed carbon content is > 82% because the technology makes it possible to control the carbonization temperature at the heart of the furnace; "MAGE" technology requires 30% less wood than traditional methods to obtain the same amount of charcoal, and kilns make it possible to recover industrial and forest wood waste; This technology, unlike pyrolysis for example, does not need external energy input to cook the wood; The furnace is filled with pre-cut woods chips in 10*5*5 cm, which avoids breaking the pieces of charcoal after charring, increasing productivity by +30%; The wood is inflamed from the top and it will ignite to the bottom thanks to the air circulation; the air vents located under the furnace are then closed once all the wood is on fire ; A complete carbonization cycle lasts between 20 and 24 hours, depending on the moisture content of the wood; Carbonization is broken down into 3 phases: endothermy, then exothermic and finally again endothermy; Furnaces work 10 years and are 100% recyclable; The fixed carbon quality obtained preserves the health of consumers (colorectal cancer); A factory of 10 furnaces can be installed on a site of only 10,764 sq m; it generates about 40,000 carbon credits over the year; This page was last modified on 24 July 2019, at 08:45.