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GREENHOUSE GASES FROM SMALL-SCALE COMBUSTION DEVICES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, CHARCOAL-MAKING KILNS IN THAILAND
Citation:
Smith, K. R., D. Pennise, P. Khummongkol, V. Chaiwong, K. Ritgeen, J. Zhang, W. Panyathanya, R. A. Rasmussen, AND M. Khalil. GREENHOUSE GASES FROM SMALL-SCALE COMBUSTION DEVICES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, CHARCOAL-MAKING KILNS IN THAILAND. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-99/109 (NTIS PB2000-102245 A05).
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Description:
The report gives results of measurements of airborne emissions, during typical operating conditions, from charcoal-making kilns commonly used in the developing world. The kilns tested were of five types: brick beehive, mud beehive, earth mound, rice husk mound, and single (oil) drum. These experiments were carried out in Thailand, a nation that produces about 7.2 million tons of charcoal per year of the estimated 26-100 million tons globally. Emission factors for the production of charcoal were determined for: (1) the direct greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O); (2) the indirect greenhouse gases carbon monoxide (CO) and total non-methane hydrocarbons (TNMHCs); and (3) total suspended particulates (TSPs). Charcoal production efficiency (yield) and charcoal and fuelwood composition were determined as well. As is generally known to be the case for charcoal making, the conversion of wood carbon to charcoal carbon was fairly inefficient, ranging from a low of 48% for the earth mound kilns to a high of 57% for the more efficient brick beehive kilns. Average emission factors, expressed as grams of pollutant per kilogram of charcoal produced for the five kiln types, were 970-1600 for CO2, 13-58 for CH4, 110-340 for CO, 9-95 for TNMHCs, 0.017-0.084 for N2O, and 0.7-4.2 for TSPs.