Charcoal production environmental performance
Riga Technical University, Faculty of Power and Electrical Engineering, Institute of Energy Systems and Environment, Āzenes st. 12/1-616, LV1048 Riga, Latvia; *Correspondence: krista.klavina@rtu.lv
Abstract:
Charcoal is a well-known material obtained through thermal conversion of different types of biomass in an anoxic environment. The greatest share of the overall charcoal amount is produced in inefficient batch pyrolysis chambers. Thus contribution in an in-depth charcoal production process research for process optimization is of great importance. In this study an industrial experiment of charcoal production in a continuous up-to-date retort is performed. The selected industrial object has a high level of automation and process control. The retort is connected to a continuous monitoring system that records and stores the process parameter values. Apart from the process control parameter measurements attention has to be paid to the charcoal production plant pollution as this industry often gets contradictory attention towards its environmental performance. The air pollution is evaluated by air quality measurements at the production facility site. The obtained experimental results from an industrial facility with a state-of-the-art technology give an opportunity to evaluate the potential of the charcoal industry to be a sustainable player in the renewable energy market.
Key words:
emissions., industrial experiment, production, sustainable energy