Significance of the capability to produce charcoal from chicken litter is that the process will reduce a serious waste disposal problem. Presently chicken litter is used as a fertilizer which is offensive to neighbors because of the odor.
Things You'll Need
- Grinder mill
- Pellet mill
- Rotating kiln
- Rotating kiln with steam injector
- Cooling chamber
- Rotating washer
- Product dryer
- Sieves
- Product storage silos with bagging attachments
- One molar hydrochloric acid
- Bags for finished products
Instructions
Reduce chicken litter into particles less than 1 millimeter in size using a grinder mill.
Use a pellet mill to produce 4.76 mm by 4.76 mm cylindrical pellets. Less than 25 percent moisture content of the milled litter is required for producing pellets that don't fall apart. Chicken litter is usually within this range when it is hauled from the poultry farm.
Heat the pellets in a rotating kiln at 700 degrees centigrade for one hour to produce char. Heat the char in a second rotating kiln at 800 degrees centigrade for 45 minutes in the presence of steam to develop porosity. This last heat stage is called the activation step.
Cool the activated carbon to less than 100 degrees centigrade in a cooling chamber before further processing.
Acid wash the cooled carbon in a rotating drum with 0.1 molar hydrochloric acid (HCL) to remove inorganic materials. HCL is used in a 45:1 ratio of volume of acid to initial weight of carbon. Rinse with water to neutralize the acid.
Dry the material in a rotating drier heated by natural gas or electricity. Separate the pellets from the fines or dust using a sieve. Bag fines and pellets separately because the fines are sold in powder charcoal markets.