Dear all,
The following is of interest to Stovers, Gasification specialists,
Biochar enthusiasts, and all concerned with issues of dry biomass as
energy sources, both in the developed and developing societies.
The following is actually 3 related messages in simple E-mail format.
(The same contents in Word documents are available from
[email protected].) All this information plus updates will
eventually be at the Biomass Energy Foundation (BEF) website at
www.woodgas.com (currently being restructured)
Three messages below:
A. Announcing eight BEF Camps worldwide
B. Specifics about the first camp in February (indoors in Illinois USA)
C. BEF statement about its intentions and structures of its BEF Camps.
General discussion can go to the different Listservs, but please send
specific inquires to Dr. Paul S. Anderson [email protected]
Feel free to forward this message on to others and/or include any or
all of this information in your newsletters, etc.
Thanks,
Paul S. Anderson, also known to some of you as
Doc, Dr. TLUD, and Professor
++++++++++++++++++++++++
A. Announcing eight BEF Camps worldwide:
The Biomass Energy Foundation (BEF) announces
BEF Stove & CHAB Camps in 2011
(CHAB = Combined Heat And Biochar).
(Document date 2010-12-22) (Subject to changes.)
1. The five-day BEF Camps feature hands-on experience plus theory &
instruction on gasifiers of numerous types, but focusing on pyrolytic
top-lit updraft (TLUD) technology for cookstoves (and larger devices
for thermal energy and biochar at the CHAB Camps).
2. At least eight (8) BEF Camps are being planned, including one on
each inhabited continent, and one each in Spanish and Portuguese. The
schedule (subject to alteration) is:
**USA---Set dates: February 7 ? 11 at Chip Energy,
Goodfield, Illinois ? Indoors ? See separate details below. Contents
include the latest TLUD stoves; Chip Energy Biomass furnaces;
Strategy; CHAB production.
**Each of the following is during one week between March and September
(not listed in order): (ALL include TLUD stoves)
**India (hosts & locations being discussed) ? institutional
stoves, cottage industry thermal energy, fuel issues
**Australia, with Dr. Paul Taylor (biochar expert) near the
Gold Coast ? Biochar prod & characterization
**Uganda at CREEC at Makerere Univ in Kampala ? cookstoves,
fuel issues, PEMS emissions testing
**Mozambique with ECPF or WWF in Pemba, TLUDs for reduction
of deforestation ? In Portuguese
**USA at NESFI in Belchertown, Massachusetts ? both CHAB and
Stoves, include policy and research
**Europe (hosts and locations being discussed) ? CHAB,
residential heating, European issues.
**Honduras---Set dates: September 26 ? 30 at Zamorano Univ,
Latest TLUD & institutional stoves; Emissions measurement via PEMS,
Totally in Spanish
**Other prospects: Brazil, Andean region, China, Southeast
Asia, West Africa, .Western North America, etc. BEF will consider
additional locations that provide strong local support. Contact:
[email protected]
3. Every BEF Camp has at least two ?content leaders? certified by the
BEF for presentation of its state-of-the-art core curriculum, ensuring
substantial experience, dialog and cutting-edge challenges for all
participants. BEF will be training and certifying in 2011 additional
expert ?content leaders? authorized to conduct as many official BEF
Gasifier Stove Camps and BEF CHAB Camps as needed anywhere in the world.
4. Each BEF Camp has a local coordinator for facilities, materials
and interaction for inclusion of special topics of interest to stove
and CHAB enthusiasts in that regional area. Each BEF Camp has
sufficient differences and updates to merit repeat attendance.
5. BEF Camp sizes are limited to 15 to 30 participants (subject to
change in special circumstances.) Costs/fees (including materials)
are expected to be between US$250 and $500, depending on specific
arrangements for each camp. (Excludes transportation, lodging, and
most dinners.) BEF Camps may have sponsors that alter costs, content,
and selection of participants.
For further information about BEF Gasifier Stove Camps or BEF CHAB
Camps, contact:
Dr. Paul S. Anderson Email: [email protected] (+1-309-452-7072) and
Dr. Hugh S. McLaughlin Email: [email protected] (+1-978-448-6414).
The Biomass Energy Foundation (BEF) is a Not-For-Profit entity registered
in America as a 501.c.3 organization to which donations (such as
sponsorships of BEF Camps) are tax deductible in the USA.
(The BEF website www.woodgas.com is currently being restructured.)
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
B. Specifics about the first BEF Camp in February (indoors in Illinois USA)
The Biomass Energy Foundation (BEF) announces
BEF Stove & CHAB Camp at
Chip Energy in Goodfield, Illinois
7 ? 11 January 2011
(CHAB = Combined Heat And Biochar). (Document date 2010-12-22)
(Subject to changes.)
1. What: This initial five-day BEF Camp features hands-on experience
plus theory and instruction on gasifiers of numerous types, but
focusing on pyrolytic top-lit updraft (TLUD) technology for cookstoves
(and larger devices for thermal energy and biochar at the CHAB Camps).
Attendance is limited to 20 persons; Inquire to
[email protected] .
2. Location: In Goodfield, Illinois, (midway between Peoria and
Bloomington/Normal at Exit 117 on Interstate I-74), at the premises of
Chip Energy, Inc., on 7 ? 11 January 2011.
[ Note: The BEF is planning at least seven other BEF Camps around the
world in 2011.]
3. Facilities: Inside the industrial building of Paul Wever
Construction Equipment (www.pwce.com), allowing the BEF Camp to use a
30 W x 50 L x 25 H (feet) heated bay with worktables, meeting space,
and an exhaust system to permit indoor ignition of stoves and larger
gasifiers. There is no shortage of materials and tools, including an
emissions analyzer.
4. Content: The BEF ?content leaders? are Dr. Hugh McLaughlin and
Dr. Paul Anderson (?Dr. TLUD?), with expected participation by Dr.
Thomas Reed and other members of the BEF Board of Directors. The core
content of the BEF Camps (begun in 2010) will provide the initial
hands-on activities to understand and appreciate the finer points of
Top-Lit UpDraft (TLUD) pyrolytic gasification. Also:
5. Each participant will have ample time to pursue specific
interests, including the making or use of stoves and CHAB devices for
specific purposes, such as:
a. Residential cookstoves, including the combustion device and the
stove structure. Dr. Anderson?s collection of stove types will be
available for use and comparisons.
b. Institutional cookstoves, in 55-gallon drums or in alternative
structures.
c. Biomass furnaces: Mr. Paul Wever, co-founder (with Anderson) of
Chip Energy, Inc. (www.chipenergy.com) will discuss and demonstrate
capabilities and options for the Chip Energy Biomass Furnace (200,000
Btu/hr plus biochar) and also the Biomass Grill/Stove.
d. Fuels issues. Chip Energy has a collection of over 50
samples of fuels, ranging from llama dung to briquettes and chips and
pellets. Jatropha-seed stoves will be featured.
6. Lodging (not included): A full range of hotels/motels is
available 20 miles away (via car-pool) in the Bloomington-Normal
community. An additional option being explored is a 5-night
?home-stay? (a bedroom and use of a bathroom) with selected
cooperating local residents (requesting a $100 tax-deductible donation
to one of several worthy charities.)
7. Meals: Four breakfasts, five lunches, and one dinner (prepared by
participants on the cookstoves) are included in the registration fee.
Participants have the option to eat together for the other three
dinners and have discussions into the evening hours.
8. Fee: From Monday morning to Friday after lunch, the fee is US$400
per person, with possible reductions if sponsors/donors are
forthcoming. (Direct any questions about fees and housing to Dr. Paul
S. Anderson at [email protected] 309-452-7072 Skype:
paultlud )
The Biomass Energy Foundation (BEF) is a Not-For-Profit entity registered
in America as a 501.c.3 organization to which donations (such as
sponsorships of BEF Camps) are tax deductible in the USA.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
C. BEF statement about its intentions and structures of its BEF Camps.
BEF Camps with Gasifier Stoves and CHAB Themes
The Biomass Energy Foundation (BEF) is launching around the world in
2011 its instructional five-day events called ?BEF Camps?. Each BEF
Camp is a structured learning experience, where the technical
foundation, practical skills and fabrication methods of constructing
biomass-fueled devices are taught.
As the Chinese Proverb notes, ?Give a man a fish and you feed him for
a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.? BEF feels
the same applies to gasifier stoves: Provide one stove or only one
stove design limits the consumer to that unit. Instead, teach the
principles of micro-gasification and the people everywhere can produce
stoves appropriate to their unique needs and circumstances, such as
fuels, foods, and cultural-economic situations. BEF aspires to teach
how and why biomass-fueled devices function and how to apply these
design principles to a broad range of circumstances, initiating a
sequence of knowledge exchanges that reaches across peoples, cultures
and situations.
A typical BEF Camp starts with a social gathering Sunday evening,
followed by two days of structured learning, building and burning.
Typical days are divided between discussing combustion concepts,
learning fabrication techniques while building small prototype devices
that demonstrate the concepts, and operating the devices on both
supplied and locally available fuels. Evenings are either social
gatherings (including one meal prepared on the stoves) or additional
time to fabricate and operate biomass-burning devices, collaborating
in small groups of 2 to 5, and learning from insights and experiences
of fellow participants.
The final two and one half days feature focused applications of the
acquired skills to individual circumstances dictated by personal
interests, unique fuels or culturally specific opportunities (often
pre-announced for each camp). The instructors work in conjunction
with small groups of ?makers and testers?, with supplies available to
prototype concepts and verify designs.
BEF Gasifier Stove Camp focuses on the theory and operation of Top Lit
UpDraft (TLUD) gasifying stoves, based on the pioneering work of Dr.
Tom Reed, Mr. Paal Wendelbo, and Dr. Paul Anderson. Covered in depth
are the underlying concepts of two-stage combustion
?separated-in-space,? primary and secondary air supplies, and tuning
of the performance of specific designs. Building on the foundation of
a clean and fuel-flexible source of heat, the fundamentals of heat
transfer to cooking applications and designs of ?culturally compatible
cooking environments? are covered. Group projects are generally
directed to the utilization of unique biomass fuels (seeds, dung,
grain hulls and agricultural residues) or adapting stove designs to
locally available materials and construction resources.
BEF CHAB Camp addresses the broader challenge of ?Combined Heat And
Biochar?, where devices strive to generate useful heat, perhaps for
cooking but also for other heating applications, and concurrently
produce biochar. Compared to typical biomass ash, biochar has residual
value as an additive to soil or use as charcoal, thereby greatly
improving the attractiveness and economics of consuming biomass. The
multiple challenges of clean useable heat and effective biochar shape
the camp activities.
For further information about BEF Gasifier Stove Camps or BEF CHAB
Camps, contact:
Dr. Paul S. Anderson Email: [email protected] (+1-309-452-7072) and
Dr. Hugh S. McLaughlin Email: [email protected] (+1-978-448-6414).
The Biomass Energy Foundation (BEF) is a Not-For-Profit entity registered
in America as a 501.c.3 organization to which donations (such as
sponsorships of BEF Camps) are tax deductible in the USA.
(The BEF website at www.woodgas.com is currently being restructured.)
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