Leah touches on the principle involved in charcoal burning engines when she
says that the charcoal manufactured was suitable for the gas producer fitted
to cars and trucks.
As I recall conversations with an ex-truckdriver the charcoal was used
somehow to produce a gas which was used to replace petrol as a fuel. Excuse
the senior moment but I cannot recall how the gas was produced but I do
remember the driver telling me the gas producer often broke down, usually
outside a pub and wouldn't start up again until almost knock off time. A
coincidence of course!!
John
----- Original Message -----
From: <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 30, 2003 9:45 AM
Subject: CHARCOAL BURNING ENGINES circa WWII


There is one example in Victoria of a kiln which produced the charcoal to
be used instead of petrol. It was patented by a Tasmanian Academic Ernest
Kurth and used during World War II. Below is an extract of the history from
the registration document. I don't know if there are any others in
Australia. It is currently proposed to be listed in the State Heritage
Register

The Kurth Kiln, Gembrook, was constructed by the Forests Commission of
Victoria in 1941-42 to produce charcoal for use as a substitute fuel
source. Petrol shortages during World War Two created a demand for
charcoal suitable for gas producer units fitted to cars and trucks. The
design of the kiln was based on the work of Ernest Kurth, Professor of
Chemistry at the University of Tasmania. Professor Kurth had been
investigating the pyrolysis of timber and kiln design since 1940.
Conventional kilns worked on a fixed cycle and could not produce charcoal
continuously. His work resulted in the construction of a prototype
continuously burning kiln in Tasmania in 1941. The Gembrook kiln was based
on Kurth's design, and was the only one of its kind ever built in Victoria.
The kiln's design facilitated continuous loading of timber at the top and
recovery of charcoal at the bottom. An intricate water-cooling system
separated the production and discharge chambers, and cooled the charcoal
before removal.

The Gembrook site for the Kurth Kiln was chosen for its ready access to
wood and water, and because the sloping land was suited to working the top
loaded kiln. It was the only commercially sized charcoal kiln in Victoria
which could operate continuously. The kiln was in full production by
mid-1942, but transport difficulties, structural problems and oversupply of
charcoal by private operators meant the kiln was used only intermittently
during 1943, and was shut down soon after.

Dr Leah McKenzie
Manager, Heritage Strategic Projects
Heritage Victoria
22/80 Collins Street
Melbourne VIC 3000
9655 9745
www.heritage.vic.gov.au

**********************************************************************
Any personal or sensitive information contained in this email and
attachments must be handled in accordance with the Victorian Information
Privacy Act 2000, the Health Records Act 2001 or the Privacy Act 1988
(Commonwealth), as applicable.

This email, including all attachments, is confidential.  If you are not the
intended recipient, you must not disclose, distribute, copy or use the
information contained in this email or attachments.  Any confidentiality or
privilege is not waived or lost because this email has been sent to you in
error.  If you have received it in error, please let us know by reply
email, delete it from your system and destroy any copies.
**********************************************************************

=