Researchers develop improved natural draft charcoal retort
July 17, 2025
  • Read Ecopy
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
MAGAZINE
  • ‌
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • International
  • Opinion
  • Op Sindoor
  • More
    • Analysis
    • Sports
    • Defence
    • RSS in News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Special Report
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • G20
    • Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav
    • Vocal4Local
    • Web Stories
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Law
    • Health
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
Organiser
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • International Edition
  • RSS in News
  • Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
Home Bharat

Researchers develop improved natural draft charcoal retort

by WEB DESK
Jan 8, 2022, 01:00 pm IST
in Bharat, Assam, Sci & Tech
IIT Guwahati researchers with novel improved natural draft charcoal retort (Photo Credit: India Science Wire)

IIT Guwahati researchers with novel improved natural draft charcoal retort (Photo Credit: India Science Wire)

FacebookTwitterWhatsAppTelegramEmail

Researchers from IIT Guwahati have chosen various biomasses as the input feedstock for the charcoal making process.

 

New Delhi: Charcoal is widely used as fuel for domestic and industrial heating applications. While most of the developed countries are producing industrial charcoal through the retort system, it was not available for Indian charcoal producers because of technological barriers and the need for higher capital investment.

Now, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, have developed a novel improved natural draft charcoal retort (INDCR) to address the technological and capital investment challenges of Indian charcoal makers.

“This innovative reactor is proven to produce high-quality charcoal from a wide range of feedstock and is designed to use its feedstock as heating fuel. The newly developed reactor is portable to agricultural fields, and it is proven to convert all the agricultural waste to charcoal without the noxious gas emissions”, Dr Senthilmurugan Subbiah, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, said.

Dr Arun Kumar Chandrasekaran and Dr Senthilmurugan Subbiah, Professors in the Department of Chemical Engineering, IIT Guwahati, who were the lead innovators of the INDCR system, have filed an Indian patent for the design of this innovative reactor. The reactor’s technical detail and its performance have been published in the Energy & Fuels Journal.

Researchers from IIT Guwahati have chosen various biomasses such as Prosopis juliflora, Casuarina equisetifolia, Bambusoideae, Biomass briquettes, Wood pellets, and Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) briquettes from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) as the input feedstock for charcoal making process.

Good quality charcoal depends on its end-user. Hence, the retort reactor has been developed to be capable of producing charcoal in higher mass yield (34%-42%), versatile quality of fixed carbon (76%-88%), higher energy content (6400-7200 kcal/kg), minimal noxious emission (2.65 kg of CO2/kg of charcoal), and lesser carbonization time (4 hours), say researchers.

Further, the reactor can control the process at any point in time during operation. It is user-friendly in terms of loading biomass/feedstock and unloading charcoal. Upon attainment of 270°C and upward, the volatile gases produced in the wood chamber, which are mainly low molecular weight organic volatile compounds, are redirected back into the combustion chamber for complete burnout and liberated as complete combustion products.

The retort system operates environmentally friendly with very low emissions of Carbon Monoxide, Carbon Dioxide, Hydrocarbons, and particulate matter. Further, the charcoal produced from the retort reactor was used as a fuel in barbeque & blast furnace heating applications and as a sorbent in pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.

The developed charcoal retort reactor was installed and tested at Paramakudi, Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu, with the fabrication help of M/s. Optima Heat Technologies, Tamil Nadu. The pilot-scale mobile charcoal production unit is 125 kg of input loading capacity with the two-phase model of operation. The demonstration of the whole research consumed two years, with more than 60 field trials having been carried out to ensure consistent yield and quality of charcoal.

Speaking about the technology transfer agreement between IIT Guwahati and Sanron Fuel Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, and Samkitec Resources, Hyderabad, Dr Subbiah said, “This technology transfer will enable further research and development to design a higher capacity reactor for producing an industrial-grade charcoal irrespective of any input loading feedstock with a higher mass & energy yield and lower emissions.”

(India Science Wire)

 

ShareTweetSendShareSend
✮ Subscribe Organiser YouTube Channel. ✮
✮ Join Organiser's WhatsApp channel for Nationalist views beyond the news. ✮
Previous News

Country’s first open rock museum inaugurated in Hyderabad

Next News

Abusing Bharat Mata is Hurting Sentiments & Would Attract Offence Under Section 295A IPC, Says Madras High Court

Related News

'Sarzameen', 'Khalifa' and a pattern of anti-national narratives by Prithviraj?

Pro-Islamist Prithviraj in Sarzameen releasing soon, next in Khalifa; Bollywood in dock for promoting anti-nationals

Representative image

Military escalation by China around Taiwan signals dangerous global ambitions: French strategic report

Telangana: Waqf Board stalls Rs 140 Cr temple ghat road by denying NOC; Congress faces heat over minority appeasement

Rani Abbakka Chowta: The unsung queen who defied the Portuguese Empire

Islamic vendors caught contaminating food

Urine Jihad Exposed: Islamic vendors caught contaminating food, targeting Hindus

Telangana BJP State President N Ramchander Rao - Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka (Left to Right)

Telangana BJP President slaps Rs 25 Cr legal notice on Dy CM Bhatti Vikramarka over Rohith Vemula allegation

Load More

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

'Sarzameen', 'Khalifa' and a pattern of anti-national narratives by Prithviraj?

Pro-Islamist Prithviraj in Sarzameen releasing soon, next in Khalifa; Bollywood in dock for promoting anti-nationals

Representative image

Military escalation by China around Taiwan signals dangerous global ambitions: French strategic report

Telangana: Waqf Board stalls Rs 140 Cr temple ghat road by denying NOC; Congress faces heat over minority appeasement

Rani Abbakka Chowta: The unsung queen who defied the Portuguese Empire

Islamic vendors caught contaminating food

Urine Jihad Exposed: Islamic vendors caught contaminating food, targeting Hindus

Telangana BJP State President N Ramchander Rao - Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka (Left to Right)

Telangana BJP President slaps Rs 25 Cr legal notice on Dy CM Bhatti Vikramarka over Rohith Vemula allegation

A representative image

Three Prime Ministers in Three Days: The curdling political thunder in Thailand

India Becomes BRICS Chair for 2026: PM Modi Vows ‘Humanity First’ Agenda to Empower Global South

Humanity First, Terrorism Last: India’s BRICS presidency to champion global south priorities

The Farce of Kashmir Martyrs Day and Omar Abdullah: Anarchy in the veil of legacy and political desperation

Tamil women plucking tea leaves in Southern India, Kerala (Representative image, Istock)

PM Dhan-Dhaanya Krishi Yojana: Everything you should know about the Rs 24,000 crore rural upliftment plan

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation
  • Delivery and Shipping

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

  • Home
  • Search Organiser
  • Bharat
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chhattisgarh
    • Jharkhand
    • Maharashtra
    • View All States
  • World
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • North America
    • South America
    • Europe
    • Australia
    • Global Commons
  • Editorial
  • Operation Sindoor
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • Entertainment
  • More ..
    • Sci & Tech
    • Vocal4Local
    • Special Report
    • Education
    • Employment
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Politics
    • Law
    • Economy
    • Obituary
    • Podcast
  • Subscribe Magazine
  • Read Ecopy
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Policies & Terms
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Refund and Cancellation
    • Terms of Use

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies