Feature: Saving trees through charcoal briquetting

By Joelyn G. Baluyut

Tuesday 24th of July 2012

A Department of Environment and Natural Resources official said charcoal briquetting (CB) can help save trees and protect the environment.

A charcoal briquette is a solid fuel derived from carbonized leaves, twigs, stem and other farm and urban waste and compacted into briquettes.”

“It reduces pressure in cutting and using wood from the natural forest for charcoal production," said Gregorio Santos Jr. of the DENR-Ecosystem Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERBD)

A ton of charcoal briquettes produced from biodegradable wastes could preserve 88 trees which are 10cm in diameter.

Santos added, “It put abandoned biomass which is biodegradable and agro-forestry wastes into good use.”

The use of charcoal briquettes can reduce wood charcoal consumption of poultry farms, households and domestic enterprises which is about 590 ton/year or an equivalent of 26,970 cubic m fuel wood.

Shifting to charcoal not only puts forest wastes into good use but also helps mitigate carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere and lessens the depletion of the country’s forest resources.

Its environmental impact is when a CB had produced a 79,200 kg/year or 79.20 ton/year, a total of 6,790 trees are saved per year, and for 10 years, 69,697. And 153,331.2 kg are carbon sequestered per year, which is 1,533,312 kg for 10 years.

CB reduces pollution, especially carbon dioxide due to the conservation of our forest resources.

It utilizes and resource recovery of agroforestry and other biodegradable wastes. It also leads to the production of environment friendly, economically and socially acceptable biofuel.

Briquettes can be produced with a density of 1.2 g/cubic cm from loose biomass. When burned, it emits a steady heat with low clean flame. It is easy to ignite and burns completely in at least 50 minutes. (CLJD/JGB-PIA3)