Dear Richard, When the TLUD has proper fuels it can burn very cleanly. So expertize will become more and more necessary to help design processed fuels that emit 90% less CO and PM in practice. Maybe we can make the focus of the next Summer Stove Camp "How to Make/Find Clean Burning Fuels for TLUDs"?
All Best, Dean On Fri, Jan 7, 2011 at 2:47 PM, Richard Stanley <[email protected]>wrote: > Otto, > Having introduced the briquettes with the godfather of the technology-- Dr > Ben Bryant( U. Washington, Seattle, Washington) -- in Haiti in 2001, and > subsequently having worked with several Haitian groups online to date, I > have to say that the resources are there in-country. They are even more > plentiful now with all the foreign aid packaging/paper and general waste > generated as a result. > > Emergency relief, for all its obvious and good intentions not > withstanding...I'm sure that we all agree that Haiti's solution in the long > run, lies in meaningful employment, not aid handouts. It is key to focus > on that aspect and not more distribution of pre packaged solutions that > determines long term stability of not only the environment but the > population and the politics as well. > > Having said that, ex president Clinton's observed "one cent solution" is > apparently turning out to be a good deal more costly than that, eh? > > That the producers are using trash (as opposed to agro residues and > carboniferous commercial processing wastes) is an assured invitation for > 1), substantial cost in sorting and/or 2), lots of smoke and stink and other > things one does not want in a fire, esp., in a cookstove. > > Your notes about the briquettes thermal performance though, suggest a much > deeper problem in the way the project was planned and organised in the first > place. > > Let me back up a bit here for some explanation of my reasoning: > There are two levels of briquetting: > The first is the quick-fix operation which sees an easy and quick entry, > with a great photo op and a big development splash in the media.. > Usually too, there is a great focus on the pressing and the type of press > used but really pressing has little to do with quality of the final product > at least in comparison to the processing of the biomass that preceeds it. > But processing is not the sexy part for big splash development: Seeing > briquettes pop out of the mold is ! > Now quick fix briquetting will usually continue as long as the media is > there and/or political / donor / private sector subsides are there to > support production. It gains lots of attention because of the very NOTION > of the idea, (or the name of the donor involved), but not necessarily > because of its substance in terms of practical self sustaining impact in the > long run...In-depth thinking of the conseqences of the aid is not a > priority.. It is where, several months into a project, and generally months > even years after training, one learns about poor quality briquettes and cost > issues, frankly. > > Briquetting at level 202 is a different story: > It involves careful attention to the would be producer and their awareness > of what it is they will be doing--for whom and for what. Ie., what impact > it will have, not only on their environment but -of far more immediate > consequence-what impact the project will have on their own economic and > socal survival. > The planning of such a project also focuses first on the marketability of > the product..the more ususal production costing, pricing, packaging, the > barriers and opportunities present in the market place. > Planning also has lots to do with assessment of resources & agoresidue > management, (which is to say something much beyond just use of paper). It > includes selection and pretesting, chopping, moistening, partially > decomposing-- then recombining with same or other biomass-- to create unique > fuels-- tailored to the local marketplace. Some for example may have aromas > traditionally used for health or just ambiance. In most all cases they will > be blended according to the cooking needs of the local market.. > > And of course there is lots of thought about how the briquettes will be > used: What about the stove ( or for that matter, no stove three stone or > other burning "appliance") . What (if any) modifications would have to be > made to optimise performance. > > Thats briquetting 202 and you only find that kind of skill where the > product is being privately produced and the seller depends up on the sale of > it and their sustained local credibility for their living..Its basically the > typical marketplace and/or local community environment you find in most of > the third world. In using the term private enterprise, I use it loosely to > include conventional private enterprise as well as community or specific > interest group-based enterprises. All of these can work equally well --as > long as they are not subsidised or externally steam-rolled by politics or > institutional interests and left alone to be working in direct response to > their local market. The market too can also be an institution, a clinic, a > hospital school or the literal commercial market, as along as the same > acountability , at risk -- at reward elements are at play. > With now abou 15 years in the game are really quite confident that > biquettes can work and work quite well under a wide variety of resource > conditions, cultures and applications. Therefore where briquettes are > "discovered to smoke or not provide much heat" or "cost too much" the > question therefore has to be asked, "where and how were they trained, under > what specific circumstances"? > > By comparison to our wood, much less pellet fuel ...A well made briquette > is in fact, be a designer fuel: It is offers far greater variability of > content and application. I therefore wonder really, who is dealing in > something more inferior here... > > As to moisture content, agreed that we are not in Norway but we know a bit > about seasoning wood too. (Maybe many of your cousins, like many other good > Scandanavians taught us about that, here in the pacific northwest ! The > briquette is dried to ambient moisture, whatever that is. It is both highly > permeable and porus, in comparison to wood. It can be bone dried from > ambient moisture in a few minutes by hanging alongside the stove exterior > wall or near it, before insertion== something many are finding very good > results with, in fact..The measure of dryness is again something one also > learns pretty much onsite, in Briquetting 202.. > > One cent solutions may come and go...but the quality of a truely embedded > process is worth its weight in gold. > > I would warmly invite you to the next briquette producers workshop like the > one we just hosted in Arusha Tanzania, to see for yourself what I am talking > about. We can send you a report of that conference if you or anybody reading > this is interested...The task for us now is not how to improve their own > skills ( I doubt if we could) but rather how to get these real producer and > trainers to communicate with each other. Hang on and enjoy the ride, as we > have lots to learn from the real producers and users and trainers, in the > process. > > All the best Otto, > Sorry to sound like a preacher on this, especially to someone who could > just as easily preach to me through his own unique experience . > > Richard Stanley > www.legacyfound.org > > > > > > > > > On Jan 7, 2011, at 12:29 AM, Otto Formo wrote: > > > Dear all and Richard, > > I was told that Nataniel in World Stove manage to get hold of some > pellets from Georgia and shipped to Haiti?! > > Thats a total different story, here we are talking about a disaster sone > and the forestcover on Haiti is close to 2% of its originally. > > The need of suitable biomass fuel for households was also in an emergency > phase, and still are, I belive............... > > > > What I also have heard from Haiti, is that Clinton`s "One Cent Solution" > briquettes or pucks has not been a success story due to the fact of its low > energy content and diffyculty to ignite. > > Iam not surprised, because I have allways been wondering how you can add > water into a biomass and later sundry it to become an efficient fuel. > > In the cold winters of Norway we can realy FEEL the difference of good > and bad firewood, either dry, 10% density or raw, from the heat transfer of > the stove. > > > > About Jean`s question: > > This is in AFRICA and costs is not an issue here and the agriwaste are > avaiable according to my knowledge of english as my second or even third > language. > > To Jean`s further question about.....or both?: > > I would just say like Paal: > > Stoves and fuel are linked together........... > > Just like the Mbawula and charcoal in Zambia. > > > > Why give the people of the developing world a "second hand" solution, > when it can be "solved permanently"? > > > > Look at the cellphone industry............... > > > > We are going to Sweden, after our visit to Washington next week, to see a > GEK gasifier to be assembled at the University of Uppsdala and find out how > it works on pellets. > > > > Otto > > > >> From: Richard Stanley [[email protected]] > >> Sent: 2011-01-06 23:40:06 MET > >> To: Discussion of biomass cooking stoves [ > [email protected]] > >> Subject: Re: [Stoves] When to choose fuel saving stoves over briquettes? > >> > >> Jean, > >> Perhaps they could get a donor to import pellets like they attempted in > Haiti eh ? > >> > >> Less facetiously, do you mean to say that there is no agricultural > residues: leaves, stalks, grasses, straws, fronds fens water based weeds > etc, chaff husks etc. available ? As well are you saying that there are no > bio-wastes from commercial processing of biomass: viz., sawdust, paper, > cartonboard. If that is so, then you must be descibing a refugee situation > because there could be little chance of sustained habitation otherwise. > >> The needs of one human being in the tropica and at up to say 1500 meters > can easily be met by 300 grams of such wastes or combinations of same.. 300 > grams is abou one armful of loosely gathered collection of such material at > ambient moisture content. Out theirya Applciations manual lays out a > series of sustainable offtakes ( after soild amendment, tilth and even > animal feed requirements are taken into consideration ---according to > various land forms and land use patterns, from rural farmland, forest land, > dry savannah, to even the urban setting... > >> I would kindly ask where you are intending to set up the briquetting > activity..Perhaps we or the hundreds we know of may know of someone who is > already there producing briquettes who can train and equip your group. They > ill also be best able to tell you whether or not it is feasible, with what > resources.. > >> > >> Kind regards, > >> > >> Richard Stanley > >> www.legacyfound.org > >> NW Obamaland > >> > >> On Jan 6, 2011, at 12:15 PM, Jean Kim Chaix wrote: > >> > >>> Hi, stovers. > >>> Question: a community in Africa, where woodfuel is in short supply, is > considering starting a briquette program. (The area does have access to ag > waste for briquette-making.) If cost is not an issue, should the community > invest in briquette making technology or try distributing high efficiency > cookstoves? Or both? > >>> Thanks in advance. > >>> > >>> -- > >>> J. Kim Chaix > >>> CEO & Founder > >>> > >>> Green Spaces NYC > >>> 394 Broadway, 5th fl. > >>> New York, NY 10013 > >>> USA > >>> (+1) 917.378.8670 > >>> http://charcoalproject.org > >>> > >>> _______________________________________________ > >>> Stoves mailing list > >>> > >>> to Send a Message to the list, use the email address > >>> Stoves mailing list > >>> > >>> to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page > >>> > http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org > >>> > >>> for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web > site: > >>> http://www.bioenergylists.org/ > >>> [email protected] > >>> > http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org > >> > > > _______________________________________________ > Stoves mailing list > > to Send a Message to the list, use the email address > Stoves mailing list > > to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page > > http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org > > for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site: > http://www.bioenergylists.org/ > [email protected] > > http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org >
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