CONDENSATION OF WOOD VINEGAR IN CHARCOAL 

 BURNING IN JAPAN 



By Dr. SHOZABURO MMURA, Forest Expert 



The annual output of charcoal in Japan may be put at 1,000,000,000 

 kilos in round numbers. So enormous a production makes it possible to 

 undertake dry distillation of wood without any fear of the shortage of 

 material. 



As the charcoal kiln in Japan differs somewhat from the one adopted 

 in Europe termed " Meiler," and being provided with a fixed chimney, it 

 enables the burner to collect the smoke into a condenser. Crude wood 

 vineger thus obtained is in nature very much like to that produced by 

 the dry distillation of wood and can be made into calcium acetate. In 

 this way, the production of calcium acetate can be easily effected in this 

 country as a secondary product of the charcoal industry. The collection 

 of wood vinegar in Japanese charcoal kilns, was first conceived by the 

 late Dr. Moriya in 1895; The author of this paper who followed Dr. 

 Moriya in his work in 1898, went on to make successive trials and it is 

 a great pleasure to state that the extraction of wood vinegar is now 

 carried out extensively in different parts of the country. 



I. Installation used for the Extraction of wood vinegar 



Charcoal kilns in Japan are mostly erected on remote upland district 

 where the water supply so much needed for the condensation of the 

 vapour is not available. Air cooling, though defective in principle, must 

 not be altogether rejected. Japanese kilns are simple in their construction, 

 and naturally any change therein will influence the quality of the products 

 obtained, the percentage of the charcoal, the time of carbonization, etc., 

 but these have not be affected by the condensation of wood vinegar as well. 

 Iron pipes, so commonly used in condensation should be substituted by 

 earthen ones to prevent the objectionable coloring of calcium acetate due 

 to formation of acetate of iron. 



