make your own activated charcoal

"The very best activated charcoal (Iodine number 1200) is made by passing steam or C2 over coconut shell
charcoal at about !00C" That is probably beyone your capability" #owever$ you could make a tall verticlal kiln %rom
a &0 gal drum$ %ill it with chacoal and light it at the bottom through a one inch diameter hole" Control %iring rate by
partly plugging this hole"
'ut in a grate o% e(panded steel about 1 inch %rom the bottom" The combustion o% the bottom layer would create
heat and C2 which might make a good activated charcoal" )et the charcoal mass get to about !00 C
(bright red heat) %or about 1*2 hour" Then plug up the bottom air hole and cool" "
#arry+s suggestions are good too,
"-y addition to your &0 gallon steel drum kiln would be internal
insulation" .n inch or three o% /0wool in an industrial situation" "
with his suggestion o% water"
#ere are my suggestions"
Take a &0 gal drum and put the holes like Tom suggested$ make a hole on the side right near the bottom o% the
drum so that a 1" metal pipe will snugly slid through" Then take a 11 gal drum and make a hole about the same
si2e but a &*3" higher %rom the bottom than you did with the &0 gal drum" I% you put the &0 gal drum down inside
the 11$ the two holes would line up" 4ust %or %un$ go ahead and make sure that is the case" I% &*3" is not right then
%igure the right amount necessary"
5ou are going to need two peices o% steel screen appro(imately 1! 1*2" inches in diameter" 6ind 1 or 7 rocks$ 1"1"
to 2" in diameter" 8pace them e9ually around in the bottom o% the &0 gal drum" )ay one o% your screens down in
the bottom" It will be supported by the rocks" The hole you made in the side o% the drum will now be below the
screen" :ow put charcoal on top o% the screen %illing it up about 10 inches %rom the screen" .s this burns$ it will be
your heat source %or activation" :e(t you need about 20 %eet o% &*! copper tubing" .t the top o% the char directly
above the hole near the bottom o% the drum$ punch a hole in the &0 gal drum so that the copper tube will slid
through$ yes you guessed it$ snugly" :ow you will also need to punch a hole in the 11gal drum the same number o%
inches above its hole"
.gain$ i% you put the &0 gal drum inside the 11$ the holes would line up" )ets go ahead and punch all the rest o%
these matching holes we need" .bout &" above that hole punch (or drill) a hole in the &0 gal drum that a 1*2" steel
pipe will %it through snugly" 4ust like be%ore$ make a matching hole in the 11gal drum"
:e(t get two pieces o% 1*3 steel rod 20" long$ i% you can+t %ind steel rod you can use coat hangers$ it will ;ust take
more o% them" <ith steel rod$ take a steel punch and use it to make a hole (;ust big enough %or the 1*3 rod to slide
through) in the side o% the &0 gal drum about 1&" %rom the bottom" -ake another hole in the &0 gal drum on the
other side e(actly opposite o% that one (1!0 degrees)" :ow slide the 1*3 rod all the way through" It will leave a an
inch or so hanging out on each side"
:ow make another hole =0 degrees around the drum and 1*3" higher" -ake your opposing hole again and slide the
other rod through this hole" This is your upper grate support" I% you use coat hanger use 3 or more coat hangers
and make your holes with a nail" >end the coat hangers down on the outside o% the drum so they can+t be pulled
back through" They will likely have to be replaced every time you activated but they are cheap"
:ow go ahead and put the &0 gal drum down inside the 11" Insert a 10011" long piece o% 1" pipe with a valve on
one end and the other end open into the bottom holes lined up in the drums" :e(t take the copper tubing leaving
both ends open and roll the tubing into a spiral" I% you bought it new then it came in a coil" I% so$ take the center
and tighten up the center o% the coil so it %orms a spiral like the eye on an electric stove" :ow lay spiral down %lat
on top o% the char and push the outside end o% the tubing out throught the hole and through the hole that lines up
on the 11 gal drum" 'ush out about 3 %eet o% tubing outside the 11 gal drum" Inside the drum bend the end o% the
tube at the center o% the spiral up so that it points toward the top o% the drum" This will be your steam coil" The
char shrinks down as it burns and the copper coil will %all down with it so don+t try to support it ;ust let the coil have
plenty o% %ree movement"
:ow you need a water vessel" This can be any container that you can
stick a tube in the bottom and seal around it with bathroom caulk" It
needs to hold about & gallons" . 1 gallon container will be %ine" Take
a ! %oot piece o% rubber tubing$ punch a hole in the bottom o% the water
vessel and seal the tube in place with silicone caulk(or any good
sealant like a9uarium sealer)" Take the other end and hook it to a
valve (needle valve are best but even a old %aucet valve will work)"
.%ter the sealant has dried$ %ill the vessel with & gallons and it up
about 7 %eet o%% the ground" :ow open the valve slowly and ad;ust
until it takes about 1 minutes %or a 9uart to %low out" )eave the valve
in this position$ it has now been set" Take a clamp or a pair o% vice
grips and pinch o%% the rubber hose above the valve and %ill the vessell
back to & gallons o% water" )eave the top o%% otherwise you will create
a vacumn and the water will not %low" I% you don+t have a valve you can
use another clamp as your metering valve" #ook the open end o% the
valve to the copper tube coming out the side o% the 11 gal drum"
:ow you might want to sprinkle a little kerosene or diesel %uel down on
the char ne(t to the hole you made " This will help you light it"
?on+t use gasoline" Its vapors could make a nasty e(plosion in a
con%ined space" Take the other screen and lay it down on your upper
screen support"
:ow take a metal 1 gal container (see i% you can get a stainless steel
one" Coconut oil "popcorn butter" %or theaters$ %ood contaoiners$ use
stainless steel" -ake sure you get the top so it will seal") and make a
hole on the side near the bottom so 1*2" pipe will slid through snugly"
Take a 10 penny nail and make 1*!" holes e9ually spaced about every 2
inches around the bottom o% the 1 gal container" -ake another row two
inches up o%% set so that the holes are still the same distance apart"
Continue this process until your last set o% holes are 2" inches %rom
top"-ake sure the top is on the container and set it down in the drum on
the middle o% the screen" 5ou need a 12013" 1*2" pipe with a valve on
one end and open on the other" 'ush the open end o% the pipe through the
hole in the 11gal drum and on through the &0 gal drum$ and into the 1
gal container as they should line up" Take some damp clay and push
around the pipe openings to seal it o%%" 5ou are almost %inished"
6ill around the 1 gal container with char but do not go above the top"
:ow put the top on the &0 gal drum" The top needs to be sealed as tight
as you can make it" 6or a worse case$ put some paper strips over the
edges and weight the top down with heavy rocks" The top should have a
20&" opening" )eave this open" :ow you need a stack" This can be an
piece o% pipe & to 3 inches in diameter$ &03 %eet long that you can set
over the plug opening" -ake sure it %its down %lush on the top"
6inally $ %ill around between the &0 and 11 gal drums with char %rom
with one o% your previous carboni2ation runs$ as it makes a %airly good
insulator" The &0 gal drum may not last very long but it should give
you several batches"
6irst close the top valve" )ighting the unit re9uires pushing a small
piece o% kerosene soaked cloth through the 1" pipe out inside the drum
under the screen and ne(t pushing a hot coal through the pipe" :ow use
a piece o% tubing to blow air into the bottom chamber" .s the char
begins to burn and produce smoke$ give it a %ew minutes until the
e(haust is very hot" :e(t open the air valve mid way up the drums"
<ait %or about 11 minutes then take o%% the clamp and let the water
%low" The bottom valve should stay open all the way until the water is
gone" Then close both valves" 5ou should have been running since
ignition %or about an hour and hal% to two hours" 6ill the water vessel
completely %ull and open the valve all the way" 5ou should get a big
cloud o% steam coming out" Continue until no more visible steam is
escaping" Take o%% the stack and cool the top with water until it is
cool enough to remove$ then soak the char around the 1 gal container
with water" It will not hurt it and it will insure that it doesn+t
catch %ire and you lose all your hard work"
.%ter it has been soaked well$ then you can take it out and let it dry"
8egregate it into top middle and bottom" To test each segment$ take 11
ml o% mineral oil in a small bottle put a thermometer in the mineral
oil$ take 1 gram o% your carbon dry in an oven %or one hour then then
let it come to room temperature"'ut it in the bottle with the oil and
shake gently" I% the temperature rises two or three degrees you
probably have a &000@00 m2*g" 301$degrees$ @0001000m2*g" 5ou will
probably get about 10 pounds o% low to medium 9uality activated carbon"
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