Emissions and char quality of flame-curtain \"Kon Tiki\" kilns for farmer-scale charcoal/biochar production

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 often used for charcoal production are slow and without treatment of the pyrolysis gases, . This resultings in emissions of gases (mainly methane and carbon monoxide) and aerosols that are both toxic and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, the most important being methane, carbon monoxide and aerosols. In rRetort kilns where pyrolysis gases are led back to a combustion chamber. This are faster and can reduce emissions substantially, but isare 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 pyrolysisrocess, is proposed. This technology combines the simplicity of the traditional kiln with the combustion of pyrolysis gases in the flame cur...