Abstract:
The wood of small leaf acacia (Acacia auriculiformis) is a type of wood used as raw material for charcoal production in South Kalimantan. This species has a very promising potential for heat and charcoal because it includes biomass from fast-growing wood, is easy to obtain, and the price is relatively cheap. On the other hand, the production of charcoal in South
Kalimantan is generally done conventionally using the stockpiling method. This method tends to take a longer carbonization time (1.5-2 months), the process is not controlled, and the charcoal quality is relatively low. The carbonization method by taking into account the temperature and duration of carbonization can improve the quality of charcoal. This study aims to determine the appropriate temperature and duration of carbonization to produce good quality charcoal. The pieces of wood were charred at temperatures of 400, 500, and 600°C for 2, 3, and 4 hours. Charcoal quality was analyzed following the procedure of SNI 01-1683-1989 covering moisture content, ash content, volatile matter content, fixed carbon content, and yield and calorific value according to ASTM (1998). The results showed that the highest quality charcoal was produced from wood-burning at 600°C for 2 hours. In this setting, the yield of charcoal is 17.29%; water content 1.73%; volatile matter content 30.09%; ash content 0.87%; fixed carbon content of 67.32%; and calorific value of 7,944.24%.
