Charcoal

Charcoal is a fuel used extensively in the world, for various purposes.
In the developing world, charcoal is primarily used as cooking fuel in urban areas, and in the developed countries charcoal is used in metallurgical industries and as a barbecue fuel.

Man's use of charcoal extends back as far as human history itself. It was first used more than 30,000 years ago to make some of the earliest cave paintings. The charcoal production process has been known since the Bronze Age, and was vital to metallurgy until the discovery of the conversion of coal to coke at the beginning of the 18th century.
In more recent times, charcoal has remained a technologically important material, primarily as a result of its adsorptive properties.

The demand for charcoal is fairly large and it is increasing rapidly. Worlwide consumption is estimated at 40,5 million tonnes annually, with 19,8 million tonnes just for Africa ( FAO statistics).

Charcoal production involves thermal decomposition of wood, and can be carried out in open pits, kilns or retorts. Charcoal production in open pits and kiln takes place with a more or less controlled air supply, allowing for heat supply by burning part of the wood.
In retorts, charcoal is produced in the absence of air, implying that heat supply must come from another source. The feedstock used for getting charcoal is wood waste from wood processing industry (the wood of low quality that otherwise could not be used), and the refuse after forest cutting.

The traditional production in open pits or kilns as carried out in rural areas is inefficient. Weight efficiencies of 10-15% are not uncommon, i.e. 7-10 kg of wood to produce one kg of charcoal. The efficiency of the modern retort systemsis more than double and can reach 30% with significant reduction of overall emissions.

In Croatia, the official records recognize only one industrial charcoal producer – Belišće d.d and several other small to medium scale producers, who employ traditional charcoal production techniques in brick- and concrete-kilns.
There are also around 400 micro-scale producers located in forest areas in different parts of Croatia. They take a charcoal production for a part of family tradition, secondary activity, seasonal work. Micro-scale producers produce charcoal in brick-kilns, and in some cases in charcoal pits.