Study of Some Wood-charcoal Characters Produced from Some Tree Species of Duhok Province

Abstract

This investigation was done in the laboratory of college of agricultural engineering sciences – University of Duhok to study some wood-charcoal quality produced from some local wood species in Kurdistan region Iraq. In market, the quality of wood charcoal produced from tree species is varied due to divers’ anatomical structure and carbonizing temperature process. As a consequence, understanding the factors controlling the quality of wood charcoal is an important issue for both producers (sellers) and consumers (buyers). In most charcoal factories, wood charcoal are produced without determining of their quality whereas each quality of wood charcoal has its own properties, price and uses. The quality of charcoal made from some selected local wood species (Quercus aegilops, Salix alba, Malus domestica, and Populus alba) were evaluated. The woods species were collected from Zaxo district of Duhok province and were transformed into wood-charcoal using a steel kiln for pyrolysis. The analysis of physical and chemicals such moisture content percentage [MCP] , volatile matter percentage [VMP] , ash content percentage [ACP] and fixed carbon percentage [FCP], of the produced wood-charcoal were proximately resolved using the (ASTM D3176 – 15) method. The results showed, for the first time on all around the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the quality of wood charcoal produced from these wood species. The highest value off moisture content (2.375%) was with Malus domisteca as compared with Populus alba which was (1.000%), highest volatile matter (21.125%) was with Quercus aegilpops compared with Populus alba (4.125%), high ash content recorded (4.875%) with Quercus aegilpops compared with Salix alba (2.250%) and the fixed carbon was greater value in Populus alba which was (92.125%) compared with Quercus aegilpops (72.875%). In addition, these species present significant divergence in term of good quality of wood charcoal and the (populous alba) gave the superior quality of wood charcoal from the rest wood species. Therefore, the results of this study have a high assessment for managers of Kurdistan governmental and private charcoal factories as a suggestion which wood species is suitable in order to achieve better quality of wood charcoal.