New charcoal key to energy conservation

By Kevin Schumacher

An improved way of making charcoal may be able to meet 20 to 30 percent of the United State's energy demand, claims one University of Hawai‘i at Manoa professor.

Professor Michael Antal of the UHM's Hawai'i Natural Energy Institute has developed a new system for creating charcoal, called flash carbonization.

Antal notes that people are consuming resources that took millions of years to develop and will eventually be depleted. However, nature has a way to exchange or redistribute those carbon-based reservoirs between Earth's different systems. This environmental energy sequence is called the carbon cycle.

"The problem is that mankind, as far as its energy needs go, sits outside the carbon cycle," Antal said.

One form of carbon that is produced naturally and continually is charcoal.

"Making charcoal is a 20,000-year-old technology," said Milton Staackmann, assistant specialist for the energy institute. According to Staackmann, UHM's new flash carbonization system is cheaper than the present method of making charcoal, which still uses the concepts from the days of early man.

Antal said that the patented process can help put the human race back in the carbon cycle by using what the sun and nature is constantly replenishing.This renewable source is called biomass.

Biomass is plant material, vegetation, or agricultural waste used as a fuel or energy source. Through heating and elevated pressure, flash carbonization turns biomass into charcoal, a highly pure form of carbon.

Antal said the charcoal's quality is tested by "burning the material in pure oxygen and measuring the amount of carbon dioxide and water that is produced."

The process, with the help of a catalytic afterburner, leaves little waste. The process was patented a couple of years ago, but the first commercial-scale flash carbonization unit only began initial tests six months ago. The apparatus passes Hawai'i's emissions test, which is more stringent than the EPA's requirements.

Staackmann also said that the current reactor, located on the northern part of campus, "will be handling all of the green wastes of the university - grass clippings, tree trimmings, coconut shells - you name it."

The university has already begun using the machine for its green waste and has licensed the technology to Pacific Carbon and Graphite LLC, which can set up units in eight states. The state of Hawai'i is also among the licensees.

Carbon is a building block for animal life, and plants thrive in soil that is rich in carbon. A vivid example is present in the Brazilian Amazon delta, a region that is normally considered to have poor soil.

An article in Science Magazine describes an ancient civilization that used charcoal to farm. Archeological findings show that the people of the Amazon were able to maintain farming for more than 2,000 years. Even to this day, the area is used for thick papaya orchards.

Beyond uses in agriculture, charcoal is helpful in air and water filtration. Hawaii's water is filtered by charcoal. Antal showed a lump of active coal that is advertised as being able to clean water in bathtubs and toilets. It also claims to freshen air in refrigerators.

Charcoal also has medicinal purposes, such as cleansing the intestinal tract. It is also commonly used in power plants to create steam, which propels turbines for generators. Antal also said that some carbonized biomass has conductive properties, which can be used in fuel cells.

The carbonization process is restricted to primarily biomass, but Antal's team can also use shredded tires. "It is a potential feedstock and the disposal of these tires is a big problem for the state," he said.

Future developments may lead to clean and efficient landfill reduction. Although UHM has given generous support, Antal said, "We are constantly challenged to raise money to support the work."

In Antal's 30 years of research, he said only several million dollars has gone into research, compared to the billions spent on research for petroleum expansion. Despite limited funding, the technology is still promising.

"I get email virtually everyday with inquiries about licensing," Antal said. In addition, Antal had a meeting recently with the vice president of the electric utilities on Kaua'i. "They are considering forming a partnership with us."

Savings from the $200,000 device will soon be apparent. Staackmann said, "Instead of spending about $10,000 a year to haul away the green wastes away from the university, we'll be making enough charcoal that could be worth up to $100,000 a year."

In the midst of rising petroleum prices and continuing arguments on global warming, new fuel alternatives and technologies are becoming evermore attractive. However, Antal notes that energy efficiency is the key. "If people were to conserve energy then the renewable resource could meet most or perhaps all of the energy demands," he said.

Antal said that changing our daily routine would be the biggest improvement towards energy conservation. He said, "I cannot imagine anything more wasteful with energy than electric clothes dryers."