Carbonisation new process

There was a need of a furnace able to transform the timber and deforestation wastes in better conditions than the traditional carbonisation method since the output was only from 5 to 15%. The purpose was to obtain a carbon up to 82% of fixed carbon. That is why the furnace had to be able to reach high temperature without causing damages to the equipment or to the workers. It should not contaminate either the earth or the air by the smokes.

In 1985 was built the first generation of the «Mage » furnace installed in south of France to work with the pine wood at the industrial scale.

The sales of the charcoal were made through the big stores, cobber industry and exportation to the Middle East until 1992.

In 1989 we obtained in the USA the patent with the number 4,875,853.

Until 1994 many market studies were made in Africa, huge consumers of charcoal but the economic situation forced us to go with the Governor of the Aquitaine to South America in countries like Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. We were helped in these missions by the UNIDO, the European commission and Ubifrance.

In 1995, we established a transfert of technology with an argentine entreprise. To be economic, a plant needs 10 furnaces with the accessories and will produce 20.000 m3 of charcoal per year, needing 27.000 m3 of wood. The transformation in ships gives 40.000 m3 of material ready to be burned. The dimensions of the ships are 10 cm X 5cm X 5 cm.

Since then, we exported and installed the first plant in Chile and the first unit in Argentina.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

Generalities

The vegetal coal is the solid residual living after the carbonisation in controlled conditions, within a closed space.

In most countries, his production is artisanal in the earth or in concrete furnaces. The coal maker experience coming from generation to generation is the only mean of process control. This give a product acceptable by the local market, the quality is variable but lower than the one established by the European norms, the importing market.

Objectives

To produce through the supra carbonisation «  MAGE » system a high quality coal corresponding to the  Afnor norm NF B 55-101and DIN 51749 with the ultimate goal to export it in Europe or other demanding markets.

To take advantage, in rational ways of wood abundance including timber wastes.

Using an effective ecological criterion avoiding any contamination of the ambient environment.

Providing commercialisation to the producer.

Offer

Peridown Corporation SA offers high quality vegetal charcoal supra-carbonisation « MAGE » factories with the last generation technology that produced very high quality charcoal with both light and heavy wood.

Peridown Corp. SA can buy a part or the complete production of those factories.

A technical aid for the reforestation can by insured.

Services

Installation of the equipment described

Collaboration to the start up

Collaboration to the factory workers training

Transportation of the equipment up to the nearest port from the factory.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM

The supra-carbonisation « MAGE » system is achieved in metal fixed furnaces with internal heat fountain used to dry and heat the wood. A little part of this wood will be burnt to initiate the combustion.

Lighting on the upper part of the furnace

Progress of the carbonisation front in the descending direction

Discontinuous carbonisation process, inverted extraction and forced convection

One piece construction, the furnace operation does not require any dismounting or remounting between one production cycle to the other

Universal. It is able to carbonise any wood species whatever its weight ant its chemical composition

enforced security given to the workers due to the absence of mobiles elements, the automatic loading, the no contact with the fire during the manipulations, the monitoring of the temperatures by thermocouples, the easy control of the entries of fresh air and the exit of the gazes

 The advantages of the system

It is supplied with pre dimensioned wood  (chips of 10 x 5 x 5 cm)

Total elimination of the soil contamination due to the total destruction by the heat of the pyroligneous liquids

Reduction of the atmospheric emissions: combustion and  carbonisation gas can be burnt in a cresset

Low coal dust or residue production.

High charcoal quality abundant in fixed carbon, more than à 82%.

Possibilities in function of the quality of raw materials to obtain other  quantity of fixed carbon for industrials utilities

Reduction of the time of the cycles (20/30 hours) by the capacity to spray rapidly the combustion and to speed the cool process.

MAGE FURNACE DESCRIPTION

The furnace is made of a 250 cm diameter and 420 cm vertical metal cylinder that retrieves the hot gas at the bottom of the furnace (inversed extraction) and sends it in the atmosphere after it was burnt. A high chimney fixed in the inside is used to light it up and to exercise control during the carbonisation stage (direct extraction).

A cover on the upper side allows loading the raw material. A door in the lower side allows the unloading of the vegetal charcoal by its own weight in extinguishers.

Regulators allow the dosages of the enterring air are incorporated in the lower part. Proper diffusion of fresh air is insured through plates and special steel distributors in the inside.

SYNTHESIS OF THE PROCESS

Raw material preparation

Every timber that arrives in the factory must have 25% humidity at the most and must at the very maximum be 10 X 5 x 5 cm. For trunks exceeding a diameter of 25 cm a splitting machine will be needed. One person supplies the machine that cuts the wood (chip machine) directed by a worker.  The chips coming out of this machine are bought to the storage area.

With a frontal loader the pre cut timber is bought to the hopper T1. The latter through the conveyor belt C2 supplies the screen that will separate the sawdust etc.., facilitating a visual control of the raw material. The screen sends it in a container installed on the ground level T2 from where it will be sent by the conveyor belt C3 to the mobile hopper T3 located on the main tower. This hopper T3 is related to the distributor C4 that rotates around the tower and thus, provides each of the 10 furnaces arranged like a crown. The maximum high at the upper part of the elevated hopper is 720 cm.

The content of the load is 1, 6 m3/min, about 10 minutes will be necessary to load up a furnace.  

Firing stage

Once the furnace is filled up, the operator lights up the wood with any combustible, gets down and shuts the upper furnace cover and lets at the same time all the air conducts opened. Once, the operator notice an homogeneous operation of the front of combustion from top to the bottom, it is considered that the firing stage is over and that the combustion cycle has started.

Combustion stage

This stage consists of the propagation of the fire from the pieces of wood to the totality of the load. From 20 to 110 °C the wood absorbs the heat and humidity is rejected in form of water stream.

Temperature is above 100 °C until the wood is totally eliminated and the structure of the wood is modificated. Thus CO, CO2, acetic acid and methanol are created. The energy for this stage comes from the partial combustion of the wood, endothermic reaction.