ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Improving Quality and Yield Production
of Coconut Shell Charcoal Through a Modified
Pyrolysis Reactor with Tar Scrubber
to Reduce Smoke Pollution
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1
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Medan, Indonesia
2
Research Centre for Chemistry, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Tangerang Selatan, Banten, Indonesia
Submission date: 2019-05-10
Final revision date: 2019-07-06
Acceptance date: 2019-07-09
Online publication date: 2020-01-23
Publication date: 2020-02-13
Corresponding author
Saharman Gea
Department of Chemisitry, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Jl Bioteknologi No 1, 20155, Medan, Indonesia
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2020;29(2):1815-1824
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ABSTRACT
The two main problems faced by the conventional coconut shell charcoal industry are low charcoal
yield and smoke pollution. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to modify the pyrolysis reactor
equipped with tar scrubbers as a solution to the problem of smoke pollution and yield, and improve the
quality of charcoal. A reactor of the size 2.4 x 1.2 x 1.2 m and the heat coming out of the rocket stove
can be blown from the bottom, thus it can propagate evenly through a perforated plate. The reactor
was designed with circulating pipes as places for channeling non-condensable gases to be used as fuel.
Produced charcoal yield rose from 23% to 28% and the quality of charcoal fulfilled SNI requirements
and those of the Republic of Indonesia Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The morphology
of charcoal and mineral composition in SEM-EDX showed an increase in the composition of carbon
elements by 83.63%. The FTIR spectrum results decrease in the broad intensity of O-H and the charcoal
structure produced was amorphous. The total pore volume was 0.07336 cc/g and the pore surface area
was 12.716 m2/g. This modified reactor with tar scrubber produces better yield, and minimal smoke
pollution compared to traditional combustion of charcoal.