title: Emissions and Char Quality of Flame-Curtain "Kon Tiki" Kilns for Farmer-Scale Charcoal/Biochar Production.
abstract: Pyrolysis of organic waste or woody materials yields charcoal, a stable carbonaceous product that can be used for cooking or mixed into soil, in the latter case often termed "biochar". Traditional kiln technologies for charcoal production are slow and without treatment of the pyrolysis gases, resulting in emissions of gases (mainly methane and carbon monoxide) and aerosols that are both toxic and contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. In retort kilns pyrolysis gases are led back to a combustion chamber. This can reduce emissions substantially, but is costly and consumes a considerable amount of valuable ignition material such as wood during start-up. To overcome these problems, a novel type of technology, the Kon-Tiki flame curtain pyrolysis, is proposed. This technology combines the simplicity of the traditional kiln with the combustion of pyrolysis gases in the flame curtain (similar to retort kilns), also avoiding use of external fuel for start-up.
  
  
  
  A field study in Nepal using various feedstocks showed char yields of 22 ± 5% on a dry weight basis and 40 ± 11% on a C basis. Biochars with high C contents (76 ± 9%; n = 57), average surface areas (11 to 215 m(2) g(-1)), low EPA16-PAHs (2.3 to 6.6 mg kg(-1)) and high CECs (43 to 217 cmolc/kg)(average for all feedstocks, mainly woody shrubs) were obtained, in compliance with the European Biochar Certificate (EBC).
  
  
  
  Mean emission factors for the flame curtain kilns were (g kg(-1) biochar for all feedstocks); CO2 = 4300 ± 1700, CO = 54 ± 35, non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) = 6 ± 3, CH4 = 30 ± 60, aerosols (PM10) = 11 ± 15, total products of incomplete combustion (PIC) = 100 ± 83 and NOx = 0.4 ± 0.3. The flame curtain kilns emitted statistically significantly (p<0.05) lower amounts of CO, PIC and NOx than retort and traditional kilns, and higher amounts of CO2.
  
  
  
  With benefits such as high quality biochar, low emission, no need for start-up fuel, fast pyrolysis time and, importantly, easy and cheap construction and operation the flame curtain technology represent a promising possibility for sustainable rural biochar production.
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Oslo, Norway.|Institute for Environmental Sciences (IMV), University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Ås, Norway.
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cornelissen
authors.affiliation: Institute for Environmental Sciences (IMV), University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Ås, Norway.|Nepal Agroforestry Foundation (NAF), Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Naba Raj
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Pandit
authors.affiliation: Ithaka Institute for Carbon Strategies, Ancienne Eglise 9, Arbaz, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Nepal Agroforestry Foundation (NAF), Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Bishnu Hari
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Pandit
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Economics and Technology Management, Norwegian University of Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sparrevik
authors.affiliation: Ithaka Institute for Carbon Strategies, Ancienne Eglise 9, Arbaz, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hans Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D002606:Charcoal; D000067565:Farmers; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis; D008697:Methane; D009390:Nepal; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D005740:Gases; D012987:Soil; C540010:biochar; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D002606:Charcoal; D002248:Carbon Monoxide; D008697:Methane