Using the CharBoss to reduce hazardous fuels and create biochar

For inclusion with the Place-Based Biochar panel led by Kelpie Wilson:

The CharBoss® (Air Curtain Burners, Inc.) is one method for disposing of roadside woody biomass that is normally open burned.  The CharBoss® creates biochar continuously by using shaker panels and a conveyor belt to move coals into a quench pan. The air curtain over the firebox reduces smoke, particulates, and some greenhouse gas emissions.  This unit is mobile and could be used for cleaning up residues from natural disasters, agricultural wood, harvest operations, forest thinning, or salvage logging.   The U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station and many partners have been gathering data on production rate, biochar properties, and the logistics of using the CharBoss®.  Optimum crew size for this equipment is three, which includes an excavator driver and two laborers.  One laborer directs wood placement in the firebox and the other shovels biochar from the quench pan.  Mixed sizes of residues burn the fastest and result in the greatest biochar production, but material up to 3m long can be added.  We have found that large boles (>30 cm in diameter) should be cut into smaller lengths and placed perpendicular to the sides.  Process rate is about 1 ton of biomass/hour with 17-30% returned as biochar.  Biochar C content ranges from 75-92%, depending on feedstock type and conditions.
Keywords: place-based, in-woods, continuous, biochar production