Chapter 12 - Recovery of by-products from hardwood carbonization
in FAO Simple Technologies for Charcoal Making, FAO FORESTRY PAPER 41 FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 1987

Recovery of chemicals from the vapours given off when hardwood is converted to charcoal was once a flourishing industry. However, as soon as petrochemicals appeared on the scene, wood as a source of methanol, acetic acid, speciality tars and preservatives became uneconomic. Wherever charcoal is made the possibility of recovering by-products is discussed. Present high costs of petroleum are advanced as an argument. Unfortunately the price of wood rises correspondingly removing most of the price advantage. Although the outlook for recovery of by-product chemicals from wood distillation does not appear promising, there are possibilities of recovering tars and using the wood gas as fuel to assist in making the carbonization process more efficient. The economics, however, appear to be rather marginal but, since recovery of by-products does reduce atmospheric pollution from wood carbonization, the combined benefit makes it worthwhile having a close look at the possibilities in this direction.

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