Design of a modified charcoal production kiln for thermal therapy and evaluation of the charcoal characteristics from this kiln

A modified charcoal kiln was developed for both thermal therapy and charcoal production. The design of a modified kiln for thermal therapy focused on safety and cleanliness, plus the production of good quality charcoal. Two entrances in the kiln were designed for convenient charcoal production and thermal therapy. A barrier wall designed for noxious gases was installed between the adjoining charcoal kilns for safe thermal therapy. Additionally, a fine dust collector was installed to remove the fine dust generated during charcoal production. To verify the safety of the kiln, fine dust and harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and radon (Rn), were measured after the charring process. The quality of the charcoal produced in the thermal therapy kiln was also examined. To evaluate charcoal quality, some physical properties and results from a proximate analysis were evaluated using Korean standards. The measurements of harmful substances and fine dust in the modified charcoal kiln met the criterion of the Ministry of Environment Clean Air Conservation Act in Korea. In addition, there were no noticeable differences in the monthly charcoal characteristics prepared from the thermal therapy kiln, and the charcoal characteristics also met the reference values of the Korea Forest Service.