Any new small charcoal retorts out there?

[Stere]

Says:

 

Anheizung mit Scheitholz
oder Gas

Heating with logs
or gas

 

 suitable for   Hobbygärtner - hobby garderner

 

Niedrige Anschaffungskosten  - Low acquisition costs

 

 

It  does look expensive.....

 

Think expense is a big issue with retorts over ring kilns,  a calc need to be done if the increase yeild justifies the  more expensive investment?

 

esp as parts will wear out ....

 

Suppose higher efficiency is also being environmentally friendly...

Edited November 27, 2021 by Stere

[openspaceman]

48 minutes ago, Stere said:

Suppose higher efficiency is also being environmentally friendly...

Kilns can be more efficient than retorts as they need no support fuel. The reason ring kilns are so bad is that until right at the end of the burn the offgas cannot be flared. Then it tends to be carbon monoxide burning but earlier in the cycle CO2, Hydrogen, methane and a lot of other organic vapours are driven off. These latter and methane are bad for the atmosphere.

[Stere]

The retorts market the higher yeild as the selling point though?

 

 

Don't think they  flare the offgas?

[openspaceman]

1 hour ago, Stere said:

The retorts market the higher yeild as the selling point though?

 

 

Don't think they  flare the offgas?

 

They do,  see the line "By clever design" the offgas is led back under the vessel into the fire, Beau's design does this as do the various models based on the south african two vessel retort (which was brought into the country by an estate in Kent) which itself was developed from the Lurgi coal gasifiers of the pre war years. Any excess offgas is carried over and flared in the stack.

 

The thing is it means around 70% of the heat is wasted.

 

If you want to make biochar from woodchip holistically then a biomass burner with a chip stoker (like and auger) can be configured to NOT burn out the char by cutting primary air once the fire chamber is up to temperature and speeding up the de ashing system to remove the hot char. This reduces the yield of char a bit but does mean you can continue to enjoy the benefit of wood heat, albeit the heat output is reduced because the char no longer contributes.

 

The biggest retorts seem to be based on the Lambiotte retorts though they in fact are run as kilns as the fire is in direct contact with the logs. The biggest one I know of does 27,000 tonne a year and the char is used in an industrial process. This achieves 27% yield of the dry matter.

 

I have had my own ideas for producing biochar from fresh arb waste and simultaneously heating a building and recently see that Pyreg , who make a carboniser for turning sewage sludge into fertiliser, have entered the market with a similar idea to mine but with some parts (including heat recovery) missing.

 

 

[Woodworks]

Just been up to see Robin and Geoff who spent the day fitting out the first batch of Dartmoor Dragon retorts out with insulation.

 

They have given me their first prototype so I can give demos and make more charcoal if need be 

 

For those interested best to contact them for pricing but I am happy to chat about all the other aspects 🙂

The Exeter Retort - The cleaner and more efficient method of producing biochar and barbeque charcoal.

WWW.EXETERCHARCOAL.CO.UK

---

Exeter Retort produces pure clean burning charcoal and biochar.

 

[Stubby]

31 minutes ago, Woodworks said:

Just been up to see Robin and Geoff who spent the day fitting out the first batch of Dartmoor Dragon retorts out with insulation.

 

They have given me their first prototype so I can give demos and make more charcoal if need be 

 

For those interested best to contact them for pricing but I am happy to chat about all the other aspects 🙂

The Exeter Retort - The cleaner and more efficient method of producing biochar and barbeque charcoal.

WWW.EXETERCHARCOAL.CO.UK

---

Exeter Retort produces pure clean burning charcoal and biochar.

 

There is a tree in the back ground for the ivy thread 😄

[TreeFan]

Reanimating this thread to ask how the Dartmoor Dragon is working out @Woodworks? Have disappeared down a retort rabbit hole this morning, and while I don’t have the cash for one, I’m trawling t’internet for small retorts that might be good for individuals / communities with more wood than they can handle. So other suggestions for cheaper / smaller also very welcome.