TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: A tinder is included as part of the material sealed within the container to facilitate ignition. The gas released from the container is externally recovered and burned in an external combustor. The gas released from the container is delivered at elevated temperature to a catalytic afterburner (preferably the gas released from the container is delivered at elevated temperature and pressure to a steam or gas turbine or gas engine to generate power).The process further involves (f) reducing pressure, if necessary, to attain to atmospheric pressure in the container by the release of gas from the container, and (g) removing the hot charcoal or carbonized charcoal without its exposure to sufficient air or oxygen to cause its combustion. The biomass material is moist or dry. The container is vertically positioned so that the proximal end is at the top and the distal end is at the bottom. Preferred Reactor: The reactor further comprises an exterior burner communicating with the valved gas exit. The housing is vertically positioned so that the proximal end is at the top and the distal end is at the bottom. EXAMPLE - A load of macadamia nut shells (3.16 kg, and 13.8 wt.% moisture content on a moist basis) was placed into the canister of a laboratory-scale Flash Carbonization reactor (FC). The canister was loaded into the FC reactor, and pressurized with air to 300 psig. Air delivery was initiated (0.132 kg/minute) and subsequently the ignition heater was turned on. The biomass was ignited and the pressure in the FC reactor rose to about 330 psi during air delivery. The FC reactor exhaust valve was opened slightly more, and the pressure fell to 300 psi where it remained for the duration of the run. The oxygen content of the effluent gas fell quickly from its usual value (21%) to 0.8% after 11 minutes of air delivery. The oxygen content of the effluent remained below about 2% for the duration of the run. Airflow was halted 31 minutes after the ignition heater was energized. The charcoal yield was 37.0 wt.%, the fixed-carbon yield was 33.5 wt.%, and the ash content of the charcoal was 1.5 wt%. Following the procedure of US6790317, the macadamia nut shell charcoal yield was 34.5 wt.% and the fixed-carbon yield was 30.9 wt.%. Thus the test ignition procedure provides a significant improvement in both the charcoal yield and the fixed-carbon yield of macadamia nut shells. Also, in the above reference the reaction time was 51 minutes for a canister containing only 1.1 kg of macadamia nut shell material. Thus a reduction in reaction time of about 40% was realized according to the new ignition procedure, without consideration of the much larger amount of macadamia nut shell carbonized in this example.