The proposal is to combine a biochar making drum with a boiler to utilize some of the lost heat of biochar burn off to split wood for more charcoal making. A hollow ring top and bottom with a circle of vertical pipes side by side connecting them, making a shape like the walls of a 55 gallon steel drum, open top and bottom. stack it full of dry sticks and light it up. It burns off and then dump it with a latch on the bottom grate, quench the pile of live charcoal with water, and refill for another run. A downcomer would have to be off to the side outside the heated interior. And maybe an extra steam/water separation tank that the steam and water flows into off the top ring.
Don't know if it'd be practical. Maybe just a yarrow type boiler would be better and rake the pile of coals out when it builds up, so they aren't wasted by turning to ash. then throw in a heap of fresh dry sticks and light it up again. A special grate that would pull the fire out would help make that easy. But I do like the idea of using steam truck to haul wood in from all around the place and use steam again to process the wood, pulling charcoal off the process at every step to use in soil development for nutrient dense food production.
