How to Make Coconut Shell Charcoal

Coconut charcoal on a white background. Coconut coal cubes for hookah close-up.

The first thing to do, of course, is to prepare the main ingredient, namely coconut shell.

Equipment and facilities

After that, also prepare some of the necessary tools and facilities, namely:

Author’s room (charcoal). The author’s chamber is used for pyrolysis, namely incomplete combustion of coconut shells so that the combustion stops until the formation of carbon or charcoal molecules. The combustion chamber can be in the form of a hole in the ground, a cooking kitchen, a cooking drum, and a cooking tool.
Hole in the ground. In soil where groundwater is not shallow, it can be excavated as a combustion chamber. If the soil condition is strong enough or compacted, the walls and floor of the pit do not need to be reinforced with cement and bricks. If the soil structure is not strong, for example, it is prone to landslides because it contains a lot of sand, then the walls and floors need to be reinforced with cement and bricks. This hole can be made in a number of ways.
Writing kitchen. The writing kitchen is a room that has the same shape as the writing hole. The kitchen is made above if it is not possible to dig a hole because the groundwater is too shallow.
Kiln. Kiln is a special tool for pyrolysis or combustion. A simple kiln made from used drums. Pyrolysis takes place in the drum by limiting the supply of air to the material being burned. Air supply is provided through air holes in the drum body. At the start of combustion, the air outlet is closed as soon as all the material is burned to reduce the oxygen supply. The heat from the previous combustion under oxygen deprivation conditions is sufficient for pyrolysis.

How to Make Coconut Shell Charcoal

A. How to make

In general, shell charcoal can be made in two ways, namely using a drum and using a hole in the ground. Before being burned, the raw material for coconut shell is dried first, so that the combustion is faster without rising smoke. Clean the shell of coir, sand, and other debris. Then, cut the shell 2.5 cm x 2.5 cm so that it fills the drum or hole more and cooks evenly.

Burning

Using Holes and Crafting Kitchens

Burning can be done in one of the following ways.

The writing pit or kitchen is filled with shells as high as 30 cm, then burned.
When this layer of shell begins to burn, on top of the layer that is being burned, a new shell is added as much as the previous layer. This is done continuously until the room is completely filled.
After that, the hole or the combustion chamber is closed tightly. If using a combustion pit, above the cover can be added soil so that the cover becomes tighter.
In the center of the hole or the writing kitchen, place a wooden or bamboo block (diameter 15-20 cm) perpendicularly, then fill the shell hole until it is full.
After that, the block of wood or bamboo is pulled out slowly and carefully so that a small hole is formed in the center of the hole or kitchen. Into the small hole, insert coir or leaves that have been moistened with kerosene, then burned. The shell will burn from the bottom, and slowly creep up.
As soon as all the shells are burned, the pit or the kiln is tightly closed. To release smoke, the lid must be opened 2 times a day. This writing process takes between 5 to 7 days.

Burning Using a Kiln

The kiln is filled with the shell as tightly and tightly as possible. The kiln made from used drums can be filled with about 90 kg of shell.
The air holes in the first and second rows from above are then closed. After that, in the bottom of the “first fire screen”, put flammable materials, such as dry leaves and coir that have been moistened with kerosene, and burned. Then the kiln is closed.
As soon as the shell at the bottom of the kiln caught fire and the fire started to spread to the top of the third open hole, the third hole was sealed shut. Meanwhile, leave the second row hole open. And so on until the hole in the first row (top).
During combustion, the volume of charcoal will be reduced, therefore the shell can be added to fill the volume of the cooking space.

B. Sorting and Packaging

When finished burning, the charcoal is burned again. Charcoal that has not been completely burned is burned again. Charcoal that has been burned completely then sieved with woven wire (hole size 0.6-1.0 cm) to separate it from soil, dust and gravel. Before packaging, the charcoal is left in the open air for 12 to 15 days. After that, the charcoal is packed in plastic bags or burlap sacks.