A process for the production of
charcoal comprising the steps of: a) feeding
biomass, in particular wood chips, into a
pyrolysis unit, in which the wood chips are pyrolyzed into a full
stream comprising
solid, liquid and gaseous material, b) feeding the full
stream and a gasifying agent into an oxidation unit, wherein the full
stream is oxidized at least partially and transported pneumatically, c) feeding the partially oxidized full stream from the oxidation unit into a reduction unit arranged essentially vertically, the material outlet of the oxidation unit being connected to the reduction unit, with the cross-section of the reduction unit increasing as the distance from the material outlet of the oxidation unit increases, the flow rate of the full stream in the reduction unit being adapted to the material of the full stream and to the shape of the flow cross-section of the reduction unit in such a way that a stable
fixed bed kept in suspension is formed in the reduction unit, d) removing the raw
charcoal from the reduction unit via an overflow, e) separating gaseous components in a hot gas filter and collecting the
charcoal, and f)
quenching the collected charcoal with water.