Patent ID: 8202400

Claim:
A method of manufacturing charcoal comprising: obtaining a supply of material comprising particles of wood; obtaining an apparatus comprising: chamber walls and a floor defining a chamber, a material inlet, a trough wall located within said chamber, and extending upwards from said floor to a top edge of said trough wall, said trough wall and a first one of said chamber walls defining a trough within said chamber such that said trough is defined on one side of said trough wall and a primary combustion space is defined on the other side of said trough wall, a first air inlet in said first chamber wall for providing a first flow of air, a second air inlet located within a second one of said chamber walls defining said chamber for supplying a second flow of air into said primary combustion space, and a fluid fuel burner connected to said chamber for producing heat within said primary combustion space, said fluid fuel burner being connected to a fuel supply and an air supply; igniting said fluid fuel burner to increase the temperature within said chamber to at least 850° C. (1562° F.); feeding said material through said material inlet to maintain a height of a pile comprising particulate material within said trough; providing the second flow of air from said second air inlet into the primary combustion space adjacent to said pile to cause mixing of air with flammable components given off by said particulate material and combustion of said flammable components to generate heat within said primary combustion space, so that said particulate material is irradiated by said heat to cause further flammable components to be given off by said particulate material; providing the first flow of air from said first air inlet through a layer of said pile, such that within said layer flammable components given off by said particulate material are combusted within said pile; and removing charcoal material from said pile such that particulate material within said pile moves past said first flow of air.