Otto/Paal, I am envious indeed !
There are lots of choices for solid fuels, but yours takes the cake for practicality: Indeed where you are close to a reliable source of the required biomass and you have the Peko-pe to use, its a winner and we will be first in line to promote your idea, really. Kind regards, Richard Harbor of heat and humidity, but also, of a great humanity, Tanzania On Dec 1, 2011, at 10:45 PM, Otto Formo wrote: > Dear Crispin and Richard, nice to see you are commited, still. > We are just back from Zambia where we have introduced the use of maiz kobs as > fuel in the Natural draft gasifier unit, Peko Pe to small scale farmers, > growing maize on subsistance basis using conservation technics, including the > use of biochar. > The cobs was working perfectly in the Peko Pe and gave very suitable biochar > to be used as a soil improvement remedie. > The farmers and their spouses was very happy to be able to produce their own > biochar while cooking on their own produced maize cobs from the previous > harvest. > > Bags of maize cobs can easily be ferried into peri- and urban areas to > replace charcoal as well, involving the excisting charcoal business and > transport links of to day and create jobs for all and everybody. > > The prices of both charcoal and electricity has reach new picks everyday and > the low production of hydropwer has forced ZEZCO to annonce powercuts all > over the country. > The prepaid system for electricity has also forced a lot of medium income > households to use charcoal to replace electricity for cooking. > > As a whole the society will benefit from the change from charcoal to any type > of dry biomass, processed or unprocessed, like maize cobs. > The cobs was burning for about half an hour in the 6 l units and was glowing > in the Mbawulla for another two hours. > > Thanks for your attention. > > Good luck, Richard. > > Otto > > > >> From: Crispin Pemberton-Pigott [[email protected]] >> Sent: 2011-12-01 22:05:29 MET >> To: 'Discussion of biomass cooking stoves' [[email protected]] >> Subject: Re: [Stoves] HEDON Newsletter (30/11/2011) >> >> Dear Richard >> >> >> >>> Interesting argument but I feel that you leave out one very critical >> element in your assessment: >> >> >> >> I agree I left out an analysis of biomass fuel processing. Thanks for >> covering that base. >> >> >> >>> Your assumption that the fuel ( as charcoal ) has to be transported is, I >> assume, based on the fact that one cannot go around making charcoal in the >> cities. >> >> >> >> That plus people usually make charcoal in fields and it has to be >> transported to somewhere else to be used. I was really referring to the >> trucking of urban fuel. It is apparently worth trucking charcoal 600 km in >> Mozambique, and I believe the same for Dakar in Senegal as some of the wood >> and charcoal is from Kaolack. >> >> >> >>> The issue of transport does not figure into the equation for the biomass >> briquette producer because of lower energy densities, although the >> difference is hardly 50%, when comparing well made agro residue briquettes >> to lump charcoal. >> >> >> >> I am very interested to know what you mean when you said hardly 50%. 50% of >> what compared with what? If you have charcoal at 4-6% moisture and maybe 27 >> MJ/kg, what do you get from a leafy/grassy briquette and what from a >> sawdust/mechanical paper (etc). I have heard from several people who write >> to ask about drying the briquettes to move them more quickly. I figured the >> stove with horns on the side for drying them is an elegant (good and simple) >> solution: to apply waste heat coming through the stove body for drying. That >> will elevate the energy per kg. But what is the actual heat yielded by an >> average not-elegant stove. I was figuring on more like 15 MJ. That is where >> I got the 50% of heat per unit mass. >> >> >> >> The issue of transport does not figure into the equation mainly because few >> would tend to attempt widespread distribution to distant markets, . >> >> >> >> Agreed. Where I made an investigation into distribution from a large >> producer (the super-max prison in Bloemfontein) it was still only as far as >> the edge of town. >> >> >> >>> Small is not only beautiful but logically linmited by common sense. >> >> >> >> And always was. >> >> >> >> Where a charcoal form of heat is preferred, the local producer will just >> sweep up the waste crumbs and dust (15 to 20% generally) that accrues just >> from the handling of the charcoal (just from the truck to the retailer(s) >> and on to the customer. >> >> >> >> >> >> Charcoal is of course here to stay though, but even if the cost of lump >> charcoal goes up, the wastes tend to remain just that. >> >> >> >> This being up a point: what happens where there is little to no dust left >> over anymore? That is a resource that is rapidly going to become >> commoditized and enter the fuel supply chain. Isn't Chardust processing >> about 7 tons a day? Pretty soon it will be like paper - you will have to pay >> to get it. >> >> >> >> Still, that adds value to the waste stream and someone gets a job out of it. >> >> >> >> Regards >> >> Crispin >> >> >> > _______________________________________________ > Stoves mailing list > > to Send a Message to the list, use the email address > [email protected] > > 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/ > _______________________________________________ Stoves mailing list to Send a Message to the list, use the email address [email protected] 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/
