SEOUL, 18 Oct 2017:
The annual haze from wildfires during the dry season may soon disappear – because the waste wood and foliage that fuel such air pollution will become far too valuable as a cash-generating renewable resource.
This could be possible with the widespread use of new wood charcoal processing technology developed at the Chungnam National University in South Korea – which grinds all such pulp into fine grains, then bonded with natural resin glues, before being carbonised in an oven.
The result is wood charcoal with negligible emissions and the bits for burning can be shaped in any size or form for convenience and aesthetic value.
The final products were displayed during the two-day Innopolis Tech Fair 2017 in Daejeon, a major technology research hub located about an hour south of Seoul.
The 3-step production process – grinding, bonding, carbonising – was refined recently and the university is now ready to offer it out on a commercial arrangement.
What makes the process especially interesting is its capability to transform any form of pulp into eco-friendly wood charcoal at relatively low cost – because most of the source raw material is now largely thrown away as waste.
From bamboo to hardwood – or even discarded oil palm bunches and shells – only slight modifications are needed to the grinder. Adjustments are subsequently made to the amount of resin glue needed in the bonding and thereafter, further customisation is a snap.
What makes this wood charcoal creation process extra attractive is the potential for oil palm and grain mills to install the necessary equipment to literally generate own power for their plants – and possibly even sell off the excess electricity.
Given the amount of pulp now wasted by agrarian economies like Malaysia and other Asean nations, this new wood charcoal creation process could even produce enough to replace coal as a fuel source.
After thousands of years as a fuel source, and falling by the wayside due to its polluting traits, the humble wood charcoal could see a renaissance as a clean renewable energy resource, while also reducing wastage.
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