The objective of the present work was to evaluate the performance of rectangular kilns in the carbonization process involving two carbonization routines. The routines analyzed the influence of air inlets and external combustion chambers on the carbonization process in four rectangular kilns equipped with thermo pairs for following temperature and mass and energy balance of the system as well. The firewood used in carbonization was the A08 clone, Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus urophylla hybrid, at 7 years of age and 3 meters of wood length. Eight carbonizations were made for each routine. According to the results, it was verified that routine 2, which uses external combustion chambers, was more efficient for the carbonization control; Kiln instrumentation is a viable technique, but it requires adjustments for a precise characterization of the carbonization phenomenon. For mass and energy balance, it was verified that production losses were greater than profits for high moisture content firewood.
Charcoal production; Rectangular kilns; Wood carbonization
