Yield From Forest Harvesting Operations for the Production of Charcoal in the State of Minas Gerais

The charcoal is a renewable natural resource, produced from wood by the process of carbonization and with great energetic importance. However, there is still little research and use of new technologies to optimize the use of wood in the production of charcoal. Therefore, the present work was aimed at analyzing the yield from forest harvesting operations for the production of charcoal. The research was developed at Vallourec e Mannesmann Florestal, a company located at Itapoã farm, municipality of Paraopeba, Minas Gerais. To this end, the harvest and timber transport operations in the short log system, the carbonization, and the properties of the charcoal produced were assessed. To this end, data was collected from eighteen 9-hour shifts for the Harvester, fifty-four 9-hour shifts for the forwarder, and 36 carbonization cycles. The equipment was analyzed working with three different log lengths—2.1 m, 3.7 m, and 5.0 m. The results demonstrate, during the cutting and processing, that the yield by cutting longer logs is higher. Likewise, at forwarding, the operation’s yield increases according to log length for thick and thin logs. Finally, concerning carbonization, the yield at the furnace loading stage was higher as the length of the log used increased, however, upon unloading the furnace, it was when it decreased.