Using biochar heat for other uses

Just curious. Has anyone thought about how to use the heat from making the biochar for something else? Any heat differential is possibly a source of electricity.

Kathryn Skinner wrote:Just curious. Has anyone thought about how to use the heat from making the biochar for something else? Any heat differential is possibly a source of electricity.

I've googled it, and I think it'd be technically possible...but you'd be talking about like enough power to change a cell phone, or maybe run a string of LED lights...not much more. So, if that was a scenario that'd be useful, it'd be worth exploring.

I've been making lots of biochar at a nearby sawmilling yard. I went by to talk with the owner the other day and his main bottleneck has become the time it takes for rough-sawn boards to air dry enough that he can send them for dressing and treatment. So we're now contemplating building a retort that will be powered by a BIG batchbox and then take the exhaust from the process and blow it into a container to make a simple kiln.

Which leads to the obvious question: what is the biggest batchbox that has been built and proven to work reliably? What sort of thermal output does it provide? I'm seriously thinking about a 300 mm (12-inch) system.

Using the heat as either heat or for drying makes a lot more sense than converting it to electricity from an efficacy standpoint. Drying lumber (while making biochar of the scraps?) or maybe drying inputs for your next char? I like it!

My 55 gallon barrel has a shelf on it, around the chimney.  It's really hot, as you can imagine.   I use the shelf as a place to put wood just before it goes into the barrel. It dries out the wood nearly perfectly before it goes in, and that makes the burn more efficient.  Sometimes it gets char marks on it or even occasionally starts burning.  That's how I use the heat that would be lost.

JohN S
PDX OR