Cottage Scale Eco-Friendly Process For High Quality Biochar Production

Author: Dr. Dineth S. Samarawickrama

Affiliation: Senior Scientist, National Science and Technology Commission, Sri Lanka

Journal: Vijoriya International Journal for Research & Innovation
ISSN: 3107-9806
Volume: 1 | Issue: 1 | Year: 2025 (July–December)
Pages: 63–69
Published on: October 8, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.65595/QZOC7369

Abstract

Biochar is generally produced through pyrolyzing of organic feedstocks in limited oxygen atmosphere. Though high demand for biochar, due to the hazardous smoke generation, cottage scale biochar production is still not popularized. Cottage scale operators produce biochar through primitive traditional techniques, resulting in high smoke emission and lower quality products. Coconut shell charcoal is the major biochar variety in Sri Lanka, mostly used as a raw material for activated charcoal. Large-scale producers use additional firewood kilns to secondary burn the generated smoke from biochar production. The retort technique is one of the suitable methods; however, it is not adopted by cottage scale producers due to its capital intensiveness. This study introduces a cottage scale LP-Gas fired kiln to produce high quality biochar material with less moisture content, compared with traditional methods. The proximate analysis of coconut shell charcoal showed high fixed carbon (86.43%) and gross calorific value (7654.7 kcal/kg). This novel process emits less smoke, can fill the gaps in eco-friendly charcoal production, and produces high quality biochar from semi-dried materials and feedstocks of different densities, such as twigs, leaves, and flowers. The low-density biochar can enable novel applications. Introduction of this process is expected to gain social and societal benefits.

Keywords: Biochar, domestic-scale production, high-quality biochar, fixed carbon

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Cite this Article:

Samarawickrama, D. S. (2025, October 8). Cottage scale eco-friendly process for high quality biochar production. Vijoriya International Journal for Research & Innovation, 1(1), 63–69. https://doi.org/10.65595/QZOC7369