See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/361953398

Study of ecological charcoal production from agricultural waste

Article in E3S Web of Conferences · July 2022

DOI: 10.1051/e3sconf/202235403007

CITATIONS READS

0 337

6 authors, including:

Djousse K. Boris Merlain Henri Grisseur Djoukeng

60 PUBLICATIONS 165 CITATIONS

Université de Dschang
36 PUBLICATIONS 25 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
SEE PROFILE

Daniel Ayuk Mbi Egbe Brillant Djomsi

Institute of Polymeric Materials and Testing Johannes Kepler University Linz Austr… National Advanced School of Engineering Cameroon
159 PUBLICATIONS 4,152 CITATIONS 9 PUBLICATIONS 3 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Djousse K. Boris Merlain on 27 July 2022.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

E3S Web of Conferences 354, 03007 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202235403007
Energy2021-Conference

Study of ecological charcoal production from agricultural

waste
Nadia H. D. Djoukouo1*, Boris M. K. Djousse1, Henri G. Djoukeng1, Daniel A. M. Egbe2,3,4, Brillant D. Wembe5, and
Fabrice C. Kouonang1
1Agricultural Engineering Department, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, University of Dschang, P.O.Box 222
Dschang, Cameroon
2Energieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität, Altenbergerstr. 69, 4040 Linz, Austria
3Department of Chemistry, Material Science, Innovation and Modelling Research Focus Area, North-West University, Mafikeng.

Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2745, South Africa.

4College of Science and Technology, University of Rwanda, KN 7 Ave, P.O. Box 3900, Kigali, Rwanda.
5Mechanical Engineering Department, National Advanced School of Engineering, University of Yaounde, P.O.Box 8390 Yaounde,

Cameroon

Abstract Wood fuel is undoubtedly the main source of energy for cooking in sub-Saharan Africa as it
represents more than three quarter of household energy consumption. The exploitation of wood for fuel
purposes contributes to forest degradation. It is becoming urgent to diversify domestic energy sources.
Substituting other forms of energy with traditional ones is extremely difficult due to low income of the
population and culinary habits. In this context, ecological charcoal seems to be an attractive alternative to
wood energy. Agricultural waste was collected, dried to a moisture content of less than 10%. Waste was
pyrolysed and the resulting carbonaceous material mixed with a binder and extruded to form briquettes.
Three binders were tested: starch, clay and arabic gum. The pyrolysis of biomass generated three by-
products: a solid (biochar), liquid and gaseous product. This process took 3 hours 45 minutes to convert
1tonne of waste into 390 kg of biochar and 133 liters of pyrolyser oil. After testing, biochar/binder ratios
of 27/1.1, 27/2.7 and 27/2.1 for starch, gum arabic and clay, respectively, at a compaction pressure of 7.8
bar were validated.

The concerned people cannot afford modern energy

1 Introduction sources, which means that they will soon no longer be
able to cook their food. Deforestation accentuates the
Energy is the key to development in Africa. It is on advance of the desert and climate change. Every year,
energy that the continent will build its industrialisation more than 3.4 million hectares of forest are destroyed
[1]. This is also mentioned in the Sustainable in Africa [4]. The exclusive use of firewood as
Development Goals, in particular SDG 7, which aims domestic fuel has many consequences. Hence the
to: "Ensure access to reliable, sustainable and modern search for a substitute for wood energy is an extreme
energy services for all at an affordable cost" [2]. But priority. A possibility is the recovery of waste. Indeed,
unfortunately, two billion people around the world still the residues from agriculture can be transformed and
rely on wood for their domestic energy needs. The use used for energy purposes [5]. This solution consists of
of traditional biomass predominates in Africa, where it recovering the organic fraction of agricultural residues,
is burned directly, either for cooking and lighting in the household waste or any other renewable biomass and
residential sector or to a lesser extent in the industrial transforming it into green charcoal briquettes. Results
sector [3]. Over the decades, the heavy reliance on from previous work have shown that pyrolysis would
traditional wood and charcoal has led to a massive be an effective technique to transform this type of
depletion of forest resources, exacerbated by a growing biomass into potential energy sources [6]. According to
population, with disastrous economic, social and health the dictionary of Environment and Sustainable
consequences for rural and poor populations [4]. Development "Green coal is a coal produced from
Moreover, this practice contributes to the proliferation biodegradable carbon-rich residues, mainly from
of clandestine wood cutting activities, making charcoal agricultural, forestry or household waste. It comes in
one of the major causes of deforestation. Wood is the form of briquettes or balls of the size of traditional
becoming increasingly difficult to find and alternative charcoal pieces and could be used in most of the stoves
energy sources are quite expensive. For example, in used in the South" [2]. Green charcoal can be used as a
Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon, wood is supplied substitute for charcoal, firewood for domestic cooking
from forests that are now more than 600 kilometres or even heat production in industries [7].
away, whereas 30 years ago it was just 40 kilometres Carbonisation is the thermochemical decomposition of
away. The forest is retreating as the trees are cut down. a material at high temperature and in the absence or

1 Corresponding author: nadiahillary@yahoo.com

© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
E3S Web of Conferences 354, 03007 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202235403007
Energy2021-Conference

lack of oxygen [8]. Three products are obtained, and economical analysis was carried out based on the
the solid fraction is the one used in this study [9]. results obtained.
Unlike complete combustion, carbonisation requires
lower processing temperatures and induces a lower
level of atmospheric pollutants [10]. It aims to produce 2 Materials and methods
coal, i.e. a carbon-rich product. Generally, the heat for This study was conducted at the Agricultural
the reaction is provided by the carbonised material Engineering Research Unit of the Faculty of
itself. In the field of charcoal production from Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences, University of
household waste, several carbonisation systems are Dschang (West Cameroon). The agricultural waste
used: traditional carbonisation, improved used in this work was collected from farms around the
carbonisation, retort carbonisation and hydrothermal Bamboutos Mountains.
carbonisation.
There are a number of carbonisation techniques. The
most important are: partial combustion carbonisation, 2.1 Raw materials
injection of hot gases into the load and closed or retort
carbonisation. The raw materials used in this study were agricultural
In partial combustion furnaces, the energy for waste (grasses and agricultural residues). The latter are
carbonisation is provided by burning part of the charge sorted and dried in the sun. High moisture content
inside the reactor, which reduces charcoal yields. Not makes the carbonisation yield low. Large raw materials
all condensable products and gases are usually have to be shredded into small pieces to facilitate
recovered. The conversion of biomass to charcoal in carbonisation.
this way is poor, as more than 50% of the initial energy
is lost. In addition, the disadvantage of this method is
that it does not allow the carbonisation of straw, reeds,
cotton stalks as well as biomass of small granulometry
such as rice husk, coffee parchment and sawdust
because of the poor heat transfer in the load to be
carbonised and the difficulties in controlling air inlets
which can lead to the total ignition of the load.
In hot gas contact carbonisation, the energy for
Fig. 1: Biomass used.
carbonisation is provided by hot gases from an external
furnace in direct contact with the feedstock. This This waste is then fed into the pyrolyser. Heating is
method has a good production efficiency of around 30- carried out with the help of biomass. A slow pyrolysis
35% but the cost of the installation is still quite high. It in the absence of oxygen is carried out.
should also be noted that the operation of these reactors
is difficult to control without suitable instrumentation.
2.2 Clean coal production
In retort carbonisers, the charge is placed in an
enclosed chamber, and the energy for carbonisation The green coal was produced by carbonisation in a
from an external furnace is transmitted through the batch type carboniser equipped with a gas recirculator.
walls of the chamber. The furnace can be fuelled by It operates in the temperature range of 400°C to 600°C
any fuel. Once the carbonisation process has started, and in an oxygen-free or oxygen-poor environment. In
pyrolysis gases can be injected into the furnace to this study a batch pyrolyser was used. These are simple
sustain the pyrolysis. The advantage of these reactors is furnaces built from 60 litre metal drums. It is placed in
that they can carbonise plant material of small particle a square tank with a double wall in which a continuous
size and have a production efficiency of around 35%. layer of 5 cm of clay is placed. Various adaptations
This project is part of a research programme whose have been made to allow its malleability and
medium-term objective is to make available to efficiency. These include the sealing, which is ensured
agricultural producers a process for the energy by a gasket and a clamp, a hinged lid and chimney,
recovery of agricultural waste. The main objective is to welded handles to make it easier to move the kiln, and
set up a protocol for transforming agricultural residues feet at the base of the kiln to ensure its stability and to
into ecological charcoal that can be used in farm regulate the air flow in the combustion chamber.
heating systems and in cooking. The heat for the pyrolysis was generated by the
First, the agricultural residues with the highest biomass. The pyrolyser was equipped with a gas
potential to be transformed into charcoal were circulator, which led the pyrolysis gases to the
identified. Then, preliminary tests were carried out to combustion chamber, thus maintaining the reaction.
identify the optimal conditions for pyrolysis. This pyrolyser was developed as described in reference
Combustion tests were carried out to evaluate different [11].
mixtures of powdered coal and binder. Finally, techno- The process of producing green charcoal involved 4
main steps: waste collection, pyrolysis, briquetting and
drying

2
E3S Web of Conferences 354, 03007 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202235403007
Energy2021-Conference

market. A meal was prepared with each of the three

fuels. The chosen dish was rice with tomato sauce. The
meals were always prepared with the same amount of
food. i.e. 0.5 litre of oil, 1.5 kg of fish, 1.2 kg of
vegetables, 1.5 kg of rice, and 3.5 litres of water. For
all measurements, we used a precision balance with an
error of ±0.01g.
The cooking was done outdoors in the shade with an
oven and an aluminium pot. The starting time for
cooking was always the same (11:30 am).
During the experiment, measurements of fuel, feed and
cooking time were taken. Based on the loss in weight
between the starting and ending quantities, the amount
Fig. 2: Pyrolyser used. of water evaporated during cooking was calculated.
At the end of the experiment, the calorific value of the
2.2.1 Addition of binder best burning green charcoal and the comparable wood
charcoal was determined using a calorimeter bomb.
To ensure the adhesion between the biochar particles This is measured in order to get an idea of the energy
and the strength of the briquettes a binder was added. content of fuels formed from agricultural waste. This
For this study, three types of binder were tested. These will allow recommendations to be made on the sales
were cassava starch (a), arabic gum (b) and clay (c). price in comparison with wood charcoal.
For each type of binder, powdered charcoal to binder
ratios of 27/1.1 (~4%); 27/2.1 (~7%) and 27/2.7 (~9%)
were tested. 3 Results and discussion
Thermochemical treatment for the production of green
charcoal, known as carbonisation, is a technique that
can be implemented by industry at different scales. It
has been shown to be a versatile treatment for the
transformation of different types of agricultural
materials (woody residues, grassy biomass).
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 3 Different binders used.
3.1 Pyrolysis balance
2.2.2 Compacting and drying The overall pyrolysis balance was evaluated (Fig. 5). In
general, the yields of pyrolysis products are consistent
After the addition of the various binders, the bio-filler-
with the stated results [12].
binder mixture was fed into an extruder. For all
mixtures formed, the compaction pressure of 7.8 bar
was maintained. A human powered extruder was used
(Figure 4).

Fig. 4: Manual extruder.

Once in briquette form, the coal was sun-dried to a

moisture content of 8-10 %. Fig. 5: Pyrolysis products 1.

2.3 Combustion and controlled cooking tests It has been found that the carbonisation of agricultural
waste generates three types of products. These are
The combustion tests were carried out on all types of powdered charcoal (biochar), a condensable fraction
coal produced, i.e. a total of 12 samples. After these (pyrolysis oil and water) and a non-condensable
tests, the sample with the best combustion was taken fraction (gas). This result corroborates with results
from the coals of the three types of binders and used obtained from previous works ([7], [13], [14]). This
for the controlled cooking tests. study showed that the pyrolysis time influences the
For these tests an improved stove, a single pot, the quantities of pyrolysis products.
same dishes and quantity of food were considered. The
control fuel was charcoal purchased on the local

3
E3S Web of Conferences 354, 03007 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202235403007
Energy2021-Conference

on different aspects. These were the amount of fuel, the

cooking time and the amount of fuel used to heat the
same amount of food.
It has been found that the combustion of green coal
takes place in three distinct phases:
The first phase is the cold start. It is loaded with 1.2 kg
of charcoal and 1.4 kg of eco-coal. The pot is placed on
the tripod, which allows the mass of food to be
acquired independently of the mass of the pot. A total
of 8.2 kg of food (2 rounds of cooking) is poured into
the pot. This phase lasted about 5 minutes followed by
the hot start phase which takes place between the fifth
Fig. 6: Pyrolysis products 2. and sixteenth minute. During the simmering phase, the
Indeed, when pyrolysis lasts 198 minutes (pyrolysis 1), food was now boiling and the aim was to keep it
an increase in pyrolysis oil yields of 7% is observed. boiling until a mass of 5.21 kg was reached.
This increase may be due to the absence of secondary
degradation reactions that transform the condensable 3.3.1 Amount of fuel
fraction into a non-condensable fraction. According to
reference [15], during pyrolysis, the final equilibrium is The amount of fuel at the beginning of the test was not
strongly dependent on the temperature and heating rate. the same for each type of coal. This initial inequality
On the other hand, when the reaction lasts 225 min was due to the weight of the different coals and the
(pyrolysis 2), an increase of 13% of the solid fraction capacity of the firebox.
(char) and a decrease of 9% of the condensable fraction Let (C) be the charcoal, (A), (G) and (Ar), ecological
are observed. This results in 390 kg of char, 134 kg of charcoal with starch, arabic gum and clay, respectively.
pyrolysis oil, gas and water per tonne of waste to be
pyrolysed. Table 1. Amount of fuel tested.
The powdered charcoal was collected and mixed cold Designations C A G Ar
with either cassava starch, arabic gum or clay, and in Quantity of fuel 1,2 1,4 1,4 1,4
each of the following ratios: 27/1.1 (~4%); 27/2.1 for the starters
(kg)
(~7%) and 27/2.7 (~9%). For each of the mixtures, 5.2
Amount of fuel 0 0 0 0
litres of water was used. 9 charcoal samples were added (kg)
produced. They were then placed in the sun for two Quantity of fuel 0,95 1 1,1 1,1
days with an average of 6 hours of sunlight per day. used (kg)
After drying, it was found that charcoal with 4% and Remaining fuel 0,25 0,4 0,3 0,3
7% arabic gum had a crumbly appearance. At 4% it (kg)
crumbled completely when trying to lift. The same was Surplus - 16%
observed for the 4% clay coal. consumption of
green coal

3.2 Combustion test It was found that about 16% more biochar is needed
Combustion tests were carried out with each of the 6 coal than charcoal to cook the same meal. This result
samples, the coal with starch as a binder showed a longer differs from the work of [16] when they showed that
ignition time and more smoke as the percentage of starch about 21% more biochar is needed to cook the same
increased. For the coal with 9% clay as binder, great ignition amount of food. Other authors such as [17] claim that
difficulties were observed, followed by interrupted around 30% more biochar is needed compared to
combustion. Therefore, the clay charcoal dosages of 27/2.1 charcoal.
(a), starch charcoal 27/1.1 (b), and arabic gum charcoal The quality of the binder and the differences in
27/2.7 (c) were selected as they showed the best combustion
composition have an influence. That is, the amount of
(short ignition time, high burn time, less smoke).
fuel is reduced with the type of binder. Of the biochar
tested, the one with starch is the closest to charcoal.

3.3.2 Cooking time

(a) Arabic gum charcoal at 27/2.7 Table 2. Cooking times.

(b) Starch charcoal at 27/1.1 Design C A G Ar Exce
(c) Clay charcoal at 27/2.1 ations ss
time
Fig. 7: Formulated ecological coal. gree
n
3.3 Controlled cooking tests coal/
char
The three types of eco-friendly charcoal were subjected coal
to a controlled kitchen test. The results were analysed Switch- 00:13± 00:15±0 00:16± 00:16± 15-

4
E3S Web of Conferences 354, 03007 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202235403007
Energy2021-Conference

on time 0.001 .001 0.0014 0.0008 23% pyrolysis oils can be used as biocides because during
(h) pyrolysis, the molecules and biocidal substances active
Simmer 01:36± 01:41±0 01:49±0 01:52±0 5- in certain biomasses are transferred to the oil during
ing 0.006 .0017 .0038 .0016 17% pyrolysis. The use of the oil is, therefore, promising,
time (h)
especially in organic farming.
Total 02:02 02:13 02:23 02:31 9-
cooking 23%
time (h) 4 Conclusion
The total firing time is longer (9 - 23%). with biochar The experiments carried out on the manufacture of
than with charcoal. The ignition time is longer (15 - charcoal briquettes from agricultural residues aimed to
23%). with biochar than with charcoal. This time is identify the influence of the type of binder and the
higher with charcoal from clay binder. This indicates a quantities of binder required for the production of
particular ignition stress of the briquettes. The improved quality ecological charcoal.
simmering time is also higher than with charcoal. This The experiments show a 20% higher efficiency of
result is corroborated by the work of [16]. Indeed, he charcoal compared to biochar. This difference in
states that one of the difficulties in using this coal is the consumption is partly due to the lower LHV (by 4%) of
difficulty of ignition. He then points out that this can ecochar compared to charcoal. Between the different
be improved. types of formulated biochar, a difference was observed.
The cassava starch-based biochar has the best
combustion and the highest LHV among the
3.3.3 Amount of biochar used to heat the
manufactured biochar, and is, therefore, an excellent
same amount of food
alternative to the use of firewood. The pricing of
The amount of food at the beginning of the experiment briquettes on the market will have to take into account
is the same for all tests. Although the cooking time and these LHV data.
the amount of fuel used differed from test to test, we
made sure that the weight of food at the end of the
cooking process was the same.
References
1. KfW Development Bank. Africa's Renewable
Table 3. Amount of food used. Energy Transition, Building Access, Resilience
Designations C A G Ar and Prosperity, p 8 (2020)
Amount of fuel 0,95 1 1,1 1,1
(kg) 2. Dictionary of the Environment and Sustainable
Weight of food 8,2 8,2 8,2 8,2 Development, p 180-182 (2017)
at start (kg) 3. Rim Berahab. Renewable Energy in Africa: Issues,
Weight of food 5,22 5,22 5,22 5,22 Challenges and Opportunities. Policy Center for
at the end of the New South, Policy Paper, p 36 (2019)
cooking (kg)
Quantity of 2,98 2,98 2,98 2,98 4. Ecowas Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy
water evaporated Efficiency. ECOWAS Bioenergy Policy and
(kg) Implementation Plan, p 9 (2017)
5. Climate Initiatives. Green Coal Production Guide.
These results contradict the statement in reference [16] Global Environment Facility (SGP/GEF), 4C
that there is no difference between starch and clay flour Morocco and UNDP Morocco Microfinance
briquettes, so the binders used have no influence on the Programme, p 58 (2021)
combustible qualities of the biochar.
6. Godbout S., J. H. Palacios, P. Brassard, D. Zegan,
O. Solomatnikova, J-P. Larouche, L. Belzile, A.
3.3.4 Techno-economics Patry, S. Elcadhi, P. Seers, E. Le Rouxet, F.
Pelletier. Réduire La Facture Énergétique Et
Calculation of the Lower Heating Value (LHV) of the L'empreinte Écologique Du Chauffage En Serres
charcoal (LHVcb) and the ecological starch charcoal Par La Valorisation De Biomasses Et De Résidus
(LHVce ) used shows that LHVcb is 28,200 kJ/kg Agricoles. Quebec, Canada, p 3, (2017)
compared to 27,100 kJ/kg for LHV ce . In other words,
7. Sami Zellagui. Pyrolysis and combustion of
96 % of the PCI of charcoal. The selling price of
pulverized solids under strong thermal gradients:
ecochar will, therefore, have to take into account its
Characterization of devolatilization, particulate
LHV and the surplus consumption (16%) compared to
matter generated and modelling. Other. University
wood. Assuming that a kg of wood charcoal costs
of Haute Alsace - Mulhouse, French, p 215, (2016)
about 300 CFA francs, 1 kg of ecological charcoal
should cost 252 CFA francs to be equivalent to wood 8. Allaire SE, Lange SF, Auclair IK, Quinche M,
charcoal. Greffard. Report: Analysis of the properties of
Particular emphasis could be placed on other pyrolysis biochars. CRMR-2015-SA-3. Centre for Research
products. Indeed, the potential of pyrolysis co- on Renewable Materials, Laval University,
products, such as pyrolysis oils and non-condensed Quebec, Canada, p 63, (2015)
gases, is enormous. According to reference [6],

5
E3S Web of Conferences 354, 03007 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202235403007
Energy2021-Conference

9. Kassargy Chantal, 2018. Contribution to the study

of energy recovery from plastic residues by
catalytic cracking. Ecole nationale supérieure
Mines-Télécom Atlantique Bretagne-Pays de la
Loire - IMT Atlantique. PhD thesis, p 83-98, 145-
153.
10. Chen Dezhen ; Yin Lijie ; Wang Huan ; He
Pinjing. Reprint of: Pyrolysis technologies for
municipal solid waste: A review. Waste
Managemant 37, p 116-136, (2015)
11. Djousse, K.B.M., Allaire, S.E., Munson, A.D.
Quality of Biochars Made from Eucalyptus Tree
Bark and Corncob Using a Pilot-Scale Retort Kiln.
Waste and Biomass Valorization.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-017-9884-2, p 5,
(2017)
12. Daoud Mounir. Valorisation of agricultural waste:
production of activated carbon and renewable
energy, USTHB, p 160, (2019)
13. A. Dufour, Y. Le Brech, G. Mauviel. Pyrolysis,
liquefaction and gasification of biomass.
Laboratoire Réactions et Génie des Procédés,
ENSIC, Nancy, p 21, (2018)
14. Eibner Simon. Flash pyrolysis of lignocellulosic
biomass: how to catalyse deoxygenation during
primary and secondary mechanisms. International
Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering
(2iE, Ouagadougou), L'Ecole Nationale Supérieure
de Chimie de Montpellier, p 220, (2015)
15. Langlois Simon. Production of activated carbon by
recovery of pyrolysis gases. Université du Québec,
Ph.D. in lignocellulosic materials science and
engineering, p 18, (2019)
16. Promotion de l'Electrification Rurale et de
l'Approvisionnement Durable en Combustibles
Domestiques (PERACOD). Tests de cuisine
comparés Charbon de bois et Biocharbon
Agglomération par " Rotor Press " 2 liants : l'argile
et la farine. Gtz, Antenne de Saint Louis, Sénégal,
p 6, (2015).
17. Mathilde Laval. Le charbon vert, espoirs et réalités
d’une alternative énergétique séduisante, Agence
Française de développement, p 40, (2014)

6
View publication stats