From ancient times to the present, people have never stopped exploring how to make charcoal from wood. From primitive kiln pits, to traditional charcoal kilns, to modern machines, the production of charcoal has become cleaner and more efficient. Today, the use of charcoal making machines has become the mainstream method of producing charcoal, which not only improves production efficiency, but also significantly reduces the impact on the environment. This article will take you to explore how to make wood charcoal through this cutting-edge production method.

Preparation Before Making Charcoal from Wood

Factory Site Selection & Construction

Machine Procurement & Installation

Operation Team Employment

Raw Material Supply

Site Selection

Geographic Location: Choose a location with convenient transportation, close to raw material supply and market.
Environmental Conditions: Consider local climate, geological conditions and environmental protection requirements.
Laws & Regulations: Ensure that the site selection complies with local land use planning and environmental protection laws and regulations.

Infrastructure Construction

Land Acquisition: Purchase or lease land and handle relevant procedures.
Factory Layout: Design and build production plants, warehouses and office facilities.
Public Facilities: Build infrastructure such as water/electricity/gas supply, roads and sewage.

Machine Selection

Charcoal Machine: Select wood charcoal machine from different production modes, such as batch or continuous.
Auxiliary Equipment: Purchase raw material processing equipment, biogas condensation equipment and charcoal briquette machines, etc.
Environmental Facilities: Adopt waste gas treatment equipment, water treatment equipment and other facilities.

Machine Installation

Installation & Commissioning: Hire professional technicians to install, commission and trial production of equipment.
Operation Training: Provide equipment operation, maintenance and safety training to operators.

Recruitment Plan: Develop a recruitment plan and recruit required personnel through various channels.
Position Setting: Planning operators, technical engineers, business managers and management teams and other positions.
Salary & Benefits: Provide reasonable salary and benefits according to local market levels and economic conditions.
Skill Training: Provide professional skills training for new employees to ensure that they are competent for the job.

Wood Collection

Legal Source: Ensure wood source is legal and complies with forest management and environmental regulations.
Collection Plan: You can directly recycle or purchase waste wood, such as forest waste, sawdust, wood chips, used furniture, etc.
Supplier Selection: Select reliable wood suppliers to ensure wood quality and supply stability.

Supply Chain Management

Inventory Management: Establish a wood and wood charcoal inventory management system to optimize inventory levels.
Logistics Management: Arrange an efficient logistics and transportation system to ensure that wood is in place and wood charcoal is shipped in time.

How to Make Charcoal from Wood: Breaking Down the Stages

01Pretreatment of Wood

Before charcoal production, pretreatment of wood is necessary, including drying, crushing and screening:

Drying: Remove excess moisture from the outside of the wood through a dryer. The best moisture content is 15%.
Crushing: Crusher the wood into a size suitable for subsequent processing. The best size is 8mm-12mm.
Screening: Remove particles that are too small or too small in the wood through a drum screen. This avoids dust blocking the pipeline.

02Pyrolysis of Wood

The process involves a controlled reduction reaction of wood in an oxygen-deficient state in a closed container. Lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose in the wood undergo the following reactions in charcoal machine:

The moisture inside the wood is released at a lower temperature to reduce the moisture content of the wood.
As the temperature rises to about 250°C, the lignin in the wood begins to undergo demethylation reactions, and when further heated to 280°C, these reactions release heat and accelerate.
At a high temperature of about 450°C, the aromatic ring compounds generated in the previous stage begin complex reactions such as pyrolysis, dehydrogenation, condensation and hydrogenation.

These cross-cutting chemical changes cause the wood to gradually transform into charcoal, releasing gaseous and liquid byproducts.

03Recovery of Combustible Gas

The gaseous byproduct formed by the reaction is combustible gas. Its main components are CO, H₂, CH₄, etc. These gases with high combustion performance first enter the cooling and dust removal system. The pure combustible gas re-enters the combustion chamber for use as a heat source.

04Condensation of Wood Vinegar & Tar

When wood decomposes in a high-temperature pyrolysis reaction, the volatile substances generated are cooled through a condenser. During the condensation process, the lighter volatiles condense into wood vinegar. Meanwhile, the heavier volatiles condense into tar. After collecting these liquid byproducts, producers can sell them directly.

05Collection of Wood Charcoal

After the pyrolysis reaction completes, the screw conveyor discharges the high-temperature charcoal. A water cooling mechanism is provided in the screw conveyor to reduce the temperature of the charcoal through water circulation. The cooled charcoal is transported to the storage or packaging area.

Strategies for Getting High-quality Charcoal Made from Wood

Wood Quality Control

Choose the wood species suitable for making charcoal, such as oak, beech, hazel, etc. These woods usually have high carbon content and low ash content. Keep the wood in a dry environment during transportation and storage to control the humidity of the wood and prevent mildew.

Key Data Measurement

Strictly control the key indicators of wood size, moisture content, fluidity, etc. before production. Regularly test and analyze the parameters of finished charcoal, such as carbon content, ash content, calorific value, etc. Ensure that the measured data meets the optimal reaction conditions.

Reaction Parameter Adjustment

Real-time monitoring of the core parameters of the wood pyrolysis process, such as reaction temperature, reaction time, and combustible gas air volume. Timely adjust various parameters to ensure the stability of the biomass pyrolysis plant operation. This ensures the consistency of charcoal quality.

Wood Charcoal Protection

Collect charcoal after cooling down to prevent spontaneous combustion. Charcoal is not in contact with dust when it is discharged from the carbonization furnace to reduce the impurity content. The storage area of wood charcoal is well ventilated to prevent charcoal from absorbing moisture or mildew.

Obtain “How to Make Wood Charcoal” Solution from Beston Group

In summary, the modern wood charcoal production process can not only maximize the quality of charcoal. It can also achieve efficient use of resources. If you are more interested in how to make wood charcoal or need professional equipment support, please contact Beston Group. We will provide you with the best wood to charcoal solution to help you achieve the goal of efficient and environmentally friendly charcoal production. You can follow us on Facebook to get more information about making charcoal from wood.