date-created: '2008-08-05'
date-updated: '2025-09-18'
manifest-author:
    name: Appropedia
    email: admin@appropedia.org
title: 'Corn Cob Charcoal Crusher'
description: "MIT's D-lab developed a method to turn agricultural wastes into affordable smokeless fuels, such as sugarcane charcoal and corn cob charcoal. This agricultural waste charcoal has the potential to combat deforestation and reduce the dangerous effects of indoor cooking fires. One limiting factor in the adoption of this technology is the need for a charcoal crusher. Burning carbonized cobs produces less smoke than regular biomass fuels, but the carbonized cobs produce a hazardous level of carbon monoxide. D-lab developed a device to turn charcoal powder into a dense compact briquette that burns safely, but it is difficult to crush the carbonized cobs into a charcoal powder without inhaling dangerous amounts of charcoal dust."
keywords:
    - biofuel
    - charcoal
    - corn
    - cob
    - waste
project-link: 'https://www.appropedia.org/Corn_Cob_Charcoal_Crusher'
contact:
    name: 'Joshua Cholobesa'
    social:
        platform: Appropedia
        user-handle: 'Joshua Cholobesa'
version: 101
made: false
image: 'https://www.appropedia.org/w/images/0/0a/Carbonizedcorncobs.jpg'
variant-of:
    title: 'Corn cob charcoal crusher'
    web: 'https://www.appropedia.org/Corn_cob_charcoal_crusher'
license:
    documentation: CC-BY-SA-3.0
licensor:
    name: 'Joshua Cholobesa'
    affliation: 'Massachusetts Institute of Technology'
    contact: 'https://www.appropedia.org/Joshua_Cholobesa'
documentation-home: 'https://www.appropedia.org/Corn_Cob_Charcoal_Crusher'
documentation-language: en