Where can I get simple biochar equipment in the UK?

[Geoff Beacon]

Obviously I want it to be environmentally friendly
(e.g. no methane releases) equipment that is easy
to use. As second best, where can I get plans so
that I can get some made?

Thanks

Geoff Beacon
--
Geoff Beacon
geoff...@sent.com

[Ken Calvert]

Geoff, how big an operation do you plan? For small scale the cheapest kiln
is an old oil drum with a 200mm slot cut in the side. Its called the
'Tongan' kiln. Then the cost of labour/time becomes the major factor. On
the island of Tonga, one man can work with a dozen of these kilns making
charcol for the BBQ market. However, with a larger kiln one man with a
chainsaw can make a lot more money. ATB Ken C.

[Nando M. Breiter]

Depending on the size of your operation, you can generally find companies who manufacture pyrolysis equipment for other industries throughout the world. See http://biochar.info/biochar.biochar-companies.cfml for a list of companies we've located to date that may specialize in biochar.

At small scale, a variety of home made approaches can suffice. A few of these are documented at http://biochar.info/biochar.biochar-production-methods.cfml

Low temperature pyrolysis, under about 450 C, tends to support increased CEC capacity and preserves nutrients in the feedstock, hence it is probably indicated for feedstocks with high nutrient value, like chicken manure. Higher temperatures, up to about 550 C gives you a different pore size, I believe larger. So ideally, you should be able to vary the process temperature to get best results.

Nando

--
CarbonZero Project
CP 234
6934 Bioggio
Switzerland

+41 (0)91 608 2402
+41 (0)76 303 4477

[LocalCharcoal]

Geoff,

A potentially easier way to get your hands on some biochar is to
volunteer to help one of the local charcoal makers operating near you
in the UK. They usually appreciate a hand and will return your
efforts with either bags of BBQ charcoal, or ideally the smaller
charcoal fines which they struggle to find a market for. Saves you
investing in equipment and helps support a niche, rural traditional
craft to continue.

You can look up your nearest woodcollier at http://www.localcharcoal.co.uk/
through the Find My Local Charcoal link on left hand side.

Cheers

Eric
in...@localcharcoal.co.uk

>   geoffbea...@sent.com

[ro...@hpbiochar.com]

I've dealt with the folks at Carbon Gold across the pond.  They make several kilns that may interest you.  

Another person you may contact is Russell Burnett with Applied Gaia.  He helped me out with some plans to build a "roo" kiln last year and was great to work with.