How To Make Coconut Charcoal By Using 3 Methods
Coconut shells can be a good raw material for making charcoal. Then, coconut charcoal can also be used in various fields, and getting it is not a difficult task, especially if you live in a coastal area. If you want to use coconut shells, you can find out how to make coconut charcoal.
There are 3 methods you can choose to make coconut charcoal. You can use all of these methods depending on the completeness of the equipment or the level of difficulty. The following are 3 methods in how to make coconut charcoal that you can try:
1. By Using The Drum Method
This is the most common method for making coconut charcoal. It’s easy, you can put the coconut shell into the drum and leave a small space in the middle. The main reason why you need to leave a small space in the center of the drum is that it works during carbonization.
With optimal carbonization, smoke circulates freely and limits the oxygen supply to coconut shells, resulting in high-quality coconut charcoal. You can put fire on one coconut shell for another to start the carbonization.
Then, close the opening tightly until the carbonization process is complete. Afterward, you can cool the drum along with the coconut charcoal. Lastly, extract coconut charcoal and pack it after 8 hours of cooling.
2. Making Use Of The Pit Method
How to make coconut charcoal is by making use of the pit method. This is the oldest method of producing coconut charcoal. It is because the method is easy and you need minimal capital. Unfortunately, if you use this method, you cannot produce coconut charcoal in large quantities.
To make coconut charcoal with this method, you can place the coconut shell in the hole. Then, light the fire in the hole. Usually, you put a small dry fuel in to make the fire stronger. After that, place a layer of leaves and soil after 8 inches over the rest of the raw materials.
You can open the hole in 2 days or less to get maximum coconut charcoal results. So, when you want to make coconut charcoal in large quantities, do this method repeatedly.
3. By Using A Carbonization Machine
Making coconut charcoal can also use a carbonization machine. However, before carbonizing coconut shells make sure you have pre-treatment equipment for your raw materials, such as crushers and dryers. The crusher is useful for crushing coconut shells so that they have a very small size, under 50 mm.
Meanwhile, drying serves to reduce moisture in the coconut shell. Then, you can put it in the coconut shell for the heated carbonization process. You need to do this so that the pyrolysis process takes place. During this process, the coconut shell is carbonized into charcoal.
Those are 3 methods in how to make coconut charcoal, which you can follow. Choose one of the 3 methods that you can practice easily and practically. This is because each method has different stapes and equipment. And now, you are ready to take full advantage of coconut shells.