Traditional coconut shell charcoal production involves rapidly cooling the charcoal with water after carbonization is complete. This is done to quickly lower the temperature inside the kiln so it can be used again. However, water cooling causes several quality issues with the charcoal. It leads to cracking in the kiln walls over time due to expansion and contraction from temperature changes. Water cooling also results in charcoal with lower thickness and physical properties that make it more prone to shattering during activation. The charcoal can also resorb contaminants from the water. A better cooling method is needed to address these issues and problems with transporting water over long distances.

1. Presence of Water
During Manufacturing
Of
Coconut Shell Charcoal
By Jerome Pun

2. By Jerome Pun

3. Traditional Cooling Process
 Using water to rapidly cool coconut shell charcoal (CSC) is widespread in the
charcoal processing industry
By Jerome Pun

4. How to bring down temperature fast?
For years, CSC manufacturers or small scale home-based CSC processors in
the villages face dilemma in bringing down temperature of burning charcoal
once carbonization is complete By Jerome Pun

5. Natural Cooling vs. Water Cooling?
Natural Cooling
(Resulting in Overburnt)
Water Cooling
By Jerome Pun

6. Does it make $$ ense?
Natural Cooling normally requires > 24 hours to bring down red
hot charcoal to room temperature!!
Letting burning charcoal cool down naturally inside the kiln
does not make much economic sense for manufacturers as the
kilns need to be turned over fast enough to make way for the
next carbonization batch.
By Jerome Pun

7. Cheap, Fast and Easy!!
Most traditional charcoal producers rapidly cool
by pouring water onto red burning charcoal!
Factories are run 24/7!
Temperature inside the kiln > 300˚C !!
By Jerome Pun

8. Frequent Break Down
Most of the traditional kilns are brick walled. Over time cracks and leakages
tend to form all over as temperature rises and falls - make control of air intake
into the kilns almost impossible, resulting in over-burning of charcoal!
Substances Expand When Heated and Contract When Cooled
By Jerome Pun

9. Quality Issues
 Studies have found CSC produced in the traditional methods tends to have
thickness lower than that produced under a well controlled kiln
 Pouring of water creates irreversible impact on some of the physical properties
of charcoal vital for the production of activated carbon
 There is evidence that CSC with a high moisture content tends to shatter and
produce fine when heated in activation process By Jerome Pun

10. Contamination
 CSC can resorb tars and pyroligneous acids dissolved in water. The resorbed acids
make the CSC corrosive and lead to rotting of packaging – a problem during logistic
management
 Water facilitates contaminants and impurities to be attached to the CSC. Some of the
undesirable contaminants cannot be easily gotten rid off by simple sieving!
By Jerome Pun

11. Transporting Water?
Large amount of CSC has to be transported from regions of production to
where the activated carbon factories are located. Very often, CSC has to be
hauled thousands of kilometers across ocean (in freight containers) from one
continent to another!
It would be silly to pay freight charges to transport water!
By Jerome Pun

12. Jerome Pun
@sleepundercoco
There are solutions to
problems faced during
Cooling!
• Coconut fibre is easily burned down to ash inside the kiln and yet it can be preserved and converted
into char by deploying a unique cooling technique during carbonization.