Creating Char from 55 Gal drum
Items:
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- I used a Torch set up.
Process:
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Roughly torched out a section of the barrel.
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Metal bung included with barrel. (Remove to drain the water)
Might increase airflow through the barrel if removed. Problem would be nothing to hold the water + Biology in the barrel for cooldown phase.
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After getting the fire going, should add more logs to increase the char harvested.
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The whole unit heated up pretty quickly and also noticed that the burn coming from the Unit was mainly clear (85% of the burn time)
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Once the biomass has reached the carbonized level you are looking for, Start pouring water onto the logs to remove the heat.
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As you are cooling down the process, you can mix in some Biology and Plants into the water and also add some in while you are letting the char soak.
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This will allow the biology to infiltrate the material.
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Practice will help you know when you are at the proper level, this batch could have easily gone longer to carbonize the bigger logs.
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It's not much currently, but is a simple system that works to create char.
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Cheap and readily available to alot of people.
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Note: It does put out a decent amount of heat and you could adjust the airflow that enters the barrel by pivoting the open section or rotating the barrel depending on the wind direction and speed. Best to keep it away from items that could warp or be damaged by high heat.
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Not all logs were exposed to enough heat to fully #carbonize.
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Those will be removed and added to the next round.
Removal
- Removal of material from the barrel is simple and efficient with the shape of the barrel.
With efficiency in mind:
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Simply place a tarp down.
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Roll barrel until contents pour out onto tarp.
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Harvest material from the tarp.
Special thanks to Henry for the suggestion.
8.2.25
2nd Run
•Created another batch of #Biochar. Produced approx 1/2 barrel of char from branches collected from a fallen tree in a field.
•After the burn phase was completed, a soak was performed with #Biofert1
In addition with #KelpExtract.
•Soaked for approx 1 hour 30 minutes before draining the barrel.
