April 2000 Gasification Archive

For more information to help people develop better stoves for cooking with biomass fuels in developing regions, please see our web site: http://www.bioenergylists.org

From larcon at sni.net Sun Apr 2 12:35:54 2000
From: larcon at sni.net (Ronal W. Larson)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:31 2004
Subject: FW Don O'Neal on Stove design
Message-ID: <v01540b01b50d18980730@[204.131.233.18]>

Stovers:

Alex English has just reported that several photos are now
available at his web site from New List Member Don O'Neal. I have added a
few thoughts in answer to his questions and hope others will also.

> Ron - here are the photos I told you I'd send. This is a
> top loader with a hinged plancha but with a refractory firebox liner. I'm
> rethinking things since getting info from your group. I'd still like to
>stay with a
> castable stove in order to produce a repeatable part in a central
>production area.

(RWL): This seems like a good idea. Our problem on this list has
been finding a low-cost, readily available castable material that will
stand up under high temperatures. I am starting work on two concrete
blocks.

> I'll be using the info from Dean on wood ash insulation and a elbow type
>firebox. It seems
> though that since the ashes are the insulation the elbow only has to
>provide structure with minimum mass.

(RWL): Ashes do indeed seem ideal - being widely available. I'm
not sure that the elbow has to provide structure though. Couldn't the
materials holding the ash in be that which provides the structure?

>I am having
> problems deciding on a plancha with pot holes or just a flat plate that is
> inefficient but cleaner pots etc
> Don.

(RWL): There has been no agreement on this list about this issue.
I guess the answer is in how much "cost" there is for fuel. Others might
argue that you can keep the pots clean if your combustion is complete
before the exhaust gases reach the pot.

I hope others will chime in.

Your questions are good ones

Ron

Ronal W. Larson, PhD
21547 Mountsfield Dr.
Golden, CO 80401, USA
303/526-9629; FAX same with warning
larcon@sni.net

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From Reedtb2 at cs.com Sun Apr 2 20:43:55 2000
From: Reedtb2 at cs.com (Reedtb2@cs.com)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:31 2004
Subject: Stove materials
Message-ID: <da.27f6eef.26194327@cs.com>

Dear Stovers:

Good debate on materials for stoves. Agree on mud and concrete.

<< Paul Hait swears by stainless - and stainless
is clearly a wonderful material (being highly reflective and long-lived) -
if available at reasonable cost.

But seldom available at reasonable cost and hard to machine and weld. Also,
while it appears reflective if polished, the reflectivity is only about 0.5
compared to aluminum with 0.9 and silver close to 1.0. Compare your wire's
silver spoons with her stainless ones. So, use aluminum stove where it can
stand the temperature.

A number of us have made charcoal-making
stoves out of old cans, that seem to stand up fairly well - but I know of
no life testing. Dean Still's base Rocket stove can be made the same >>

I have been amazed by the long life of tin cans in our turbo stoves.
Probably I have made 20-30 runs using the 1 lb coffee can as a magazine in
the 1 quart tomato can burner section with no sign of deterioration.
(Pyrolytic gasification only requires < 700 C.) On the other hand, after
the pyrolytic gasification inverted downdraft stoves on wood become charcoal
updraft gasifiers with temperatures > 900 C. Cans burn out in a few runs.
Use welded muffler pipe.

4. Ceramics. Many stoves are made of (low-) fired ceramics - at least as
the innermost material. Ceramics offer wonderful possibilities because
clay is widely available and pottery is generally very cheap in developing
countries. (Today, Dean offered some more ideas from Approvecho, including
using a syrup as a binder. In Uzbekistan, I saw a wheat paste "glue" being
used as a binder in one part of their decorating process. I'm sure many
natural ingredients available locally could have some beneficial effects.
But most clays have some ability to be fired and turn stronger; anything
organic will burn out in that process.)

I haven't used ceramics for stoves, though I use them all the time for other
high temperature applications. Ron's wife is a potter, so I bow to his
experience here. However, in my observation only quartz can stand the
thermal shock typically present in stoves.

Reflective aluminum foil is also an excellent insulator if wound in 3-4
layers not touching the hottest parts. (MP aluminum about 650 C - we melted
our first trial when wound on the pyrolysis tube. Second set is still doing
fine.)

Or should we be talking about a light weight fibrous insulator
material as is being used in modern US pottery kilns. Maybe the cost can
come down enough to make this the best choice.
Anyone want to take this side of the argument?

I have been continually disappointed that there is very little discussion of
insulation in the stove group. Fibrous insulation (even maybe fiberglas) can
make a great difference in both performance and safety to the user (keeps
outside cool). Consult any book on combustion. Stove makers seem to be
unnecessarily resistant to high tech materials, even though they are often
relatively inexpensive (rock wool insulation).

I hope this subject will continue with more viewpoints.

Yours truly, TOM REED CPC/BEF
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From jpmanley at midcoast.com Mon Apr 3 04:15:40 2000
From: jpmanley at midcoast.com (Pat Manley)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Stove materials
Message-ID: <200004030815.EAA28579@dns.midcoast.com>

I do not know if it is appropriate for other applications or not, but when I
build wood fired bakeovens, I use vermiculite, which is mica that has been
broken into smaller pieces, then super heated, causing it to puff up, and
hold alot of air. It is a very loose material, and either needs a binder to
hold it together, or something else to contain it.
I also use what we call mineral wool, which may also be the "rock wool"
mentioned below (available thru most refractory warehouses), which comes in
2ft x 4ft sheets, from 1 inch thick up to 4 inches thick.
Ceramic fiber is also very good, and easy to use, and comes in rolls 1-2
inches thick, and backed with aluminum foil.
Vermiculite is the least expensive, then mineral wool, then ceramic fiber.
Vermiculite can also be used to make a lower grade refractory brick, or
casting, when mixed w/sand and cement.
Hope this is of some help.
Also,would someone send me the url for Alex English's web site?
Best, Patrick

>
>Reflective aluminum foil is also an excellent insulator if wound in 3-4
>layers not touching the hottest parts. (MP aluminum about 650 C - we melted
>our first trial when wound on the pyrolysis tube. Second set is still doing
>fine.)
>
>Or should we be talking about a light weight fibrous insulator
>material as is being used in modern US pottery kilns. Maybe the cost can
>come down enough to make this the best choice.
> Anyone want to take this side of the argument?
>
>I have been continually disappointed that there is very little discussion of
>insulation in the stove group. Fibrous insulation (even maybe fiberglas) can
>make a great difference in both performance and safety to the user (keeps
>outside cool). Consult any book on combustion. Stove makers seem to be
>unnecessarily resistant to high tech materials, even though they are often
>relatively inexpensive (rock wool insulation).
>
>I hope this subject will continue with more viewpoints.
>
>Yours truly, TOM REED CPC/BEF
>The Stoves List is Sponsored by
>Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
>Stoves Webpage, Charcoal, Activated Carbon
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>
J Patrick Manley
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Washington Maine
04574
207 845 2440

From elk at net2000ke.com Tue Apr 4 05:08:21 2000
From: elk at net2000ke.com (KARSTAD)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: The sawdust carboniser
Message-ID: <200004040905.MAA29104@net2000ke.com>

Stovers (& charcoalers);

I'm still plugging away at the sawdust carboniser.

One of our quieter list members, Dick Boyt, has sent me a letter packed with
ideas & it's provided the missing link to a concept I've been toying with-
thanks Dick!

W. ref. to drying up to 50% moisture out of the raw sawdust in preparation
to carbonising:

I'm taking his advice and buildng a second metal jacket around the 8 m. high
carboniser chimney (made of old 200 l drums) that will extend to within 1 m.
of the top of the chimney. The jacket will be open at the top and be spaced
7 cm away from the inner chimney. The bottom will be closed except for a 25
cm dia. hole in the side (right at the bottom).

This 25 cm aperture will lead to a pipe connected to a drying bin with an
area in the region of 6 to 8 m. sq. (this is where 'gut feel' engineering
comes in...). Sawdust around 15 cm deep will be placed in the mesh-bottomed
drier and air will be sucked tdown through the mass and up the gap between
the chimney & it's new outer skin by convection while the carboniser is in
operation.

Dick's idea does not use hot air to dry the sawdust, but it does use hot air
to drive the convection, creating the air-flow of fresh air down through
the sawdust in the drying bin. As Nairobi is normally quite a dry place, I
expect the rate of drying to be quite good once the drier dimensions and
depth of sawdust is optimised.

I've started cutting the drums that will be used for the outer skin- with an
additional segment welded as an expansion strip. I've just realised that
riveted galvanised sheet metal would probably be cheaper to use, but too
late....

Maybe I could use the hot flue gasses exiting the chimney as a venturi if I
had the right design... sugestions anyone?

On the waste charcoal front, I'm importing a rebuilt roller briquetter
(found in a New Jersey scrapyard via the internet). This will hopefully
replace all five extruders that we've been using to densify the vendors
waste charcoal. The briquetter costs $18,000, though the price of a new one
is over $50,000. We are committed now!

VWB production using the existing extruders is currently matching demand at
75 tons per month with little marketing input. A scheme to sell charcoal to
the Maasai pastoralists who will in turn supply game lodges is being put
together- reversing the usual flows of charcoal from bush to city. Game
lodges in and around the popular Kenyan wildlife parks are responsible for
large-scale & environmentally damaging dead wood collection that the
authorities are now discouraging. Wood is used primarily for water heating &
cooking- applications that the slow-burning Vendors Wate Briquette is well
suited.

- back to work now-

rgds;

elk
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From mheat at mha-net.org Thu Apr 6 08:21:52 2000
From: mheat at mha-net.org (Norbert Senf)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: big top down burn
Message-ID: <4.2.2.20000406071559.00c09420@127.0.0.1>

Chris Prior, a New York state fireplace restoration specialist and top-down
burn evangelist, recently alerted me to some cool photos from his annual
giant top-down bonfire:
http://www.chimneypro.com/nyguild/chimneystock99/topdown.html

Best ....... Norbert
----------------------------------------
Norbert Senf---------- mheat@mha-net.org-nospam
Masonry Stove Builders (remove -nospam)
RR 5, Shawville------- www.mha-net.org/msb/
Quebec J0X 2Y0-------- fax:-----819.647.6082
---------------------- voice:---819.647.5092

From Reedtb2 at cs.com Fri Apr 7 09:12:04 2000
From: Reedtb2 at cs.com (Reedtb2@cs.com)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: High temperature insulations
Message-ID: <76.2c5311e.261f3881@cs.com>

Dear Ron et al:

If this was covered recently, accept my apologies. Email is hot and heavy
here.

I have experimented with mixtures of vermiculite (exploded mica, cheap,
available as soil amendment in our harware store, often used for packing
popcorn) and water glass (very inexpensive) and made what appears to be an
easily formed, high temperature (> 1000 C??) insulation. I hope someone will
pick up this ball and try it out.

Gretchen could do this very easily in her pottery kilns.

TOM REED

In a message dated 3/11/00 7:33:57 AM Mountain Standard Time, larcon@sni.net
writes:

<<
Topic #1. What is needed (and what were previously shipped in from
Russia) are the highly-insulating, light-weight bricks that are used
exclusively in US gas and electric kilns. My requests to this list are for
leads on the details of how these are produced - and whether anyone has
seen them produced locally in any developing country environment. If they
could economically replace the heavy bricks or clay normally used in wood
stoves, we could make a major contribution to both sectors of society - and
save a lot of wood now used to unproductively heat up a lot of mass (as
Dean Still has often reminded us).
>>
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From tmiles at teleport.com Fri Apr 7 22:53:14 2000
From: tmiles at teleport.com (Tom Miles)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Cooking with Corn - as a fuel
Message-ID: <4.3.2.20000407195512.00aa7da0@mail.teleport.com>

Have a look at www.snowflame.com to see a grill and stove heated by burning
corn. They're not cheap at $1000-$1500. But they advertise cooking for an
hour (2 lb grain) for ) $0.15 at $4.00 per bushel.

Tom
Thomas R Miles Tel: 503-292-0107
Technical Consultants, Inc. Fax: 503-292-2919
1470 SW Woodward Way Mobile:503-780-8185
Portland, OR 97225 USA Email: tmiles@teleport.com

From mheat at mha-net.org Sat Apr 8 09:27:09 2000
From: mheat at mha-net.org (Norbert Senf)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Cooking with Corn - as a fuel
In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.20000407195512.00aa7da0@mail.teleport.com>
Message-ID: <4.2.2.20000408082440.00b51890@127.0.0.1>

At 07:57 PM 2000-04-07 -0700, Tom Miles wrote:
>Have a look at www.snowflame.com to see a grill and stove heated by
>burning corn. They're not cheap at $1000-$1500. But they advertise cooking
>for an hour (2 lb grain) for ) $0.15 at $4.00 per bushel.

Haven't been able to find the source again, but I recall reading a
Scientific American article about 20 years ago that compared energy inputs
of primitive and modern (fossil fuel based) agriculture. I could be
mistaken, but these days it apparently it takes 2 BTU's of petroleum to
make 1 BTU of corn.

Norbert
----------------------------------------
Norbert Senf---------- mheat@mha-net.org-nospam
Masonry Stove Builders (remove -nospam)
RR 5, Shawville------- www.mha-net.org/msb/
Quebec J0X 2Y0-------- fax:-----819.647.6082
---------------------- voice:---819.647.5092

From rbaumgardner at austin.rr.com Sat Apr 8 12:54:20 2000
From: rbaumgardner at austin.rr.com (Ruthann Baumgardner)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Briquette Technology
Message-ID: <200004081654.JAA26005@secure.crest.net>

Stoves-

I am looking for a charcoal briquette manufcaturing = machine that has a
daily production of at least 40 tons / day. I need to = get in contact
with the manufactures of this technology, would you have any leads?

Best Regards,
Stephen
rbaum@austin.rr.com

From pdg at del2.vsnl.net.in Mon Apr 10 02:35:45 2000
From: pdg at del2.vsnl.net.in (P D Grover)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Briquette Technology
Message-ID: <004f01bfa2b9$804de020$8a6236ca@cms.pdgdel2.vsnl.net.in>

10th April, 2000

Dear Ruthann Baumgardner,

You need a two roll machine to produce briquettes
of this magnitude. However, this machine require other pre-treatment and
post-treatment equipment. In India these machines are manufactured in Calcutta
by a number of manufacturers who had developed these for briquetting of Coke /
Coal fines and iron one.

Also these machines are available in Germany, USA
and Japan but are comparatively more costly. I can dig out the addresses once I
know about your specific requirement, that is size, shape and end use of these
briquettes.

With regards.

Professor P.D. Grover
(Ex. Head Chem. Eng. Dept. and Dean IIT
Delhi)
Chief Technical Advisor
<FONT
size=2>****************************************************
CMS Energy Systems (P) Ltd.
44, Community Centre
East of Kailash
New Delhi - 110 065 (India)

Tele: 623 5026, 8840
Fax : 91-11-621 8273 Attn: P.D. Grover
<FONT
size=2>****************************************************
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 solid 2px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">
-----Original Message-----From:
Ruthann Baumgardner <<A
href="mailto:rbaumgardner@austin.rr.com">rbaumgardner@austin.rr.com>To:
Stoves@crest.org <<A
href="mailto:Stoves@crest.org">Stoves@crest.org>Date:
Sunday, April 09, 2000 8:57 AMSubject: Briquette
TechnologyStoves- I am looking for a charcoal briquette
manufcaturing =achine that has a daily production of at least 40 tons / day.
I need to =et in contact with the manufactures of this technology, would you
have any leads? Best Regards, Stephen
<3d.htm>rbaum@austin.rr.<3d.htm>com

From pdg at del2.vsnl.net.in Mon Apr 10 02:43:27 2000
From: pdg at del2.vsnl.net.in (P D Grover)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Briquette Technology
Message-ID: <006401bfa2ba$1a98c6e0$8a6236ca@cms.pdgdel2.vsnl.net.in>

10th April, 2000

Dear Ruthann Baumgardner,

With regards.

From bhatta at ait.ac.th Mon Apr 10 08:22:07 2000
From: bhatta at ait.ac.th (Prof. S.C. Bhattacharya)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: AIT: Gasifier stove
In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.20000407195512.00aa7da0@mail.teleport.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.10.10004101851460.3703-100000@alphaserv.ait.ac.th>

We have developed, within the framework of a regional programme sponsored
by Sida, the following renewable energy devices/systems:

a) A biomass gasifier stove
b) A hybrid solar-biomass powered dryer

The gasifier stove is targeted for cottage industries or institutional
kitchens. It can operate continuously for several hours with one
batchload of sized fuelwood or biomass briquette pieces. It can be
loaded while operating and can be run 24-hours a day if needed. After
initial start-up, it shows no smoking; also initial emission studies
show that the stove produces very little carbon monoxide. The efficiency
of the stove has been measured to be about 27% with a two-pot design. ( We
are now trying to construct the stove using more practical materials
rather the steel and ceramic fiber insulation.

The hybrid dryer is powered by solar energy from a flat plate collector
and a biomass gasifier stove as described above. For controlling
temperature of the drier, the output of the stove is controlled
automatically by using a mechanical thermostatic control device that
does not require any electricity.

We are organizing a demontration of the AIT gasifier stove and hybrid
(alongwith one or two more renewable energy devices) at the Asian
Institute of Technology on 24 April 2000 (for any one who is ready turns
up on that day).

List members are invited to visit our website (which is still under
construction):

www.retsasia.ait.ac.th

Images > Phase II> briquetting will lead to a page showing three images.
Click on the lowermost picture to see an enlarged view of the AIT gasifier
stove, a two pot model.

The Video section of the website has only one video clipping at present -
that of the basic gasifier stove. You can notice that although there is
quite a lot of smoking during start up, there is no visible smoke after
ignition. The stove consists of a vertical hopper which can be easily
loaded when necessary from the top by removing a cover seating on a water
seal. The gasifier section is located at the bottom of the hopper. The gas
from the gasifier part burns in the adjacent vertical combustion chamber
which is provided with holes for combustion air. (For the time being, the
video can be watched only through INTERNET EXPLORER - a NETSCAPE version
will be added later).

Images>Phase II > Drying will lead to a page showing two images. Click on
the lower image to get an enlarged view of the hybrid dryer.

Let me have your comments- through the list or directly.

S.C. Bhattacharya

-------------------------------------------------------------------
S. C. Bhattacharya Voice : (66-2) 524 5403 (Off)
Professor 524 5913 (Res)
Energy Program
Asian Institute of Technology Fax : (66-2) 524 5439
PO Box 4, Klong Luang 516 2126
Pathumthani 12120 ICQ : 18690996
Thailand e-mail: bhatta@ait.ac.th
-------------------------------------------------------------------

From karve at wmi.co.in Tue Apr 11 07:12:27 2000
From: karve at wmi.co.in (karve)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: [Fwd: NREC-2000]
Message-ID: <38F3086D.EDDDF70B@wmi.co.in>

Friends,
I am forwarding the announcement of another conference in India
which will take place shortly after BFCS-2000. This gives all of you one
more reason to come to India in November!
Regards,
Priyadarshini Karve.

To: karve <karve@wmi.co.in>
Subject: NREC-2000
From: Rangan Banerjee <rangan@me.iitb.ernet.in>
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2000 13:56:41 +0530 (IST)
Delivered-To: karve@wmi.co.in
In-Reply-To: <37B4DB4A.F3DBF4EC@wmi.co.in>

Enclosing Text of Announcement of National Renewable Energy Conference
2000. Please circulate to anyone interested.

NREC 2000
Announcement / Call for Papers.

--------------------------------------------------------------
If you do not want to read through this mail, do look up
http://www.me.iitb.ernet.in/nrec2k
--------------------------------------------------------------

National Renewable Energy Conference 2000
Solar Energy Society of India

''RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGY FOR THE NEW MILLENIUM''

November 30 - December 2, 2000

Organised by
Energy Systems Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

Invitation to NREC - 2000 - The Solar Energy Society of India
and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay take great
pleasure in inviting you to participate in the first annual
conference of the new millenium. The theme of the conference
is 'Renewable Energy Technology for the New Millenium'. This
conference will bring together researchers, manufacturers,
end-users for discussions on all aspects of renewable energy.

The energy sector needs to meet the increased requirements
for the growing Indian economy. The constraints of our
limited fossil fuel reserves and the concern about adverse
environmental impacts provide an opportunity for renewable
energy technology to play a crucial role in the new millenium.
Barring a few exceptions, renewable energy technology has
not been successful in penetrating the market and achieving
widespread acceptance. This year, in addition to contributed
papers, it is planned to have overview lectures by national and
international experts on different renewable energy technologies.
These overview lectures will take stock of achievements and
failures, identify barriers and chart out road maps for the
future.

Conference Topics

The technical programme will cover all aspects of renewable
energy and includes:

* Solar Thermal
* Solar Photovoltaics
* Solar Passive Architecture
* Biomass Gasification
* Improved Chulhas / Biomass Combustion
* Wind Energy
* Mini- and Micro-hydel / Other Renewables
* Biogas / Energy from Waste
* Cogeneration
* Industrial Application of Renewables
* Renewables for Power Generation / Heating / Cooling
* Hybrid Renewable Systems
* Energy Storage
* Renewables - Economics, Environmental Impacts, Policies
and Planning.

Call for Papers

Authors are invited to submit three copies of their manuscripts
to the Organising Secretary by June 30, 2000. The manuscript
should clearly bring out the purpose of the work, approach,
results and conclusion. It must have the following:

Title, Author(s) name(s) with complete address for communication
including e-mail, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main Text,
Conclusion, Nomenclature and References.

The references should be arranged alphabetically and should be
cited in the text by author's name and year. The total number
of pages of the manuscript should not exceed 10 pages (Paper
size: A4, Line spacing: double, Font size: 12 point Times Roman
or comparable).

Authors are also requested to submit a separate abstract
(not exceeding one A4 size page) along with the manuscript.
After a review, papers may be selected for oral or interactive
poster presentation. Authors will be notified of the acceptance
of their manuscripts and guidelines for preparing the final
paper on mat sheets by September 01, 2000. The final paper on
mat sheets must be submitted by October 15, 2000.

Proceedings
Papers to be presented in the conference will be reviewed to
ensure high academic standards. The proceedings will be published
after the conference by a reputed publisher and will contain
only those papers that are presented in the conference. Papers
not presented in the conference will not be included in
the proceedings. The proceedings will be sent to registered
participants after the conference. A souvenir containing invited
talks and abstracts of technical papers will be published and
would be available to participants during the conference.

Student Presentation Award
An award will be given to the best paper presented by a student
in the conference. The paper will have to go through the review
process and should have the student as author or co-author. The
paper must be presented by the student.

Solar Design competition -
It is planned to have a student design competition (like
Yantriki) where a solar powered model will compete in a
pre-defined race. Further details will be available soon at
the website.

NREC Trade Show
The trade show will focus on Renewable Energy and Energy
Efficiency. It provides an opportunity for national /
international companies to showcase their new products,
technologies, systems, ideas. Along with the trade show,
there will be special manufacturer and end-user meets, with
participation from government officials and researchers to
discuss the barriers to adoption and enabling policies.
For further details regarding participation, contact the
Organising Secretary or look up the website.

Accomodation / Travel
Limited accommodation will be available on Campus on
first-cum-first-served basis to the participants. Limited travel
support may be available for a few participants.

Registration
Before After
October 15,2000 October 15,2000
SESI Members Rs. 1000 Rs. 1500
Non- members Rs. 2000 Rs. 2500
SESI Student members Rs. 500 Rs. 500
Students Rs. 750 Rs. 750
Delegates from other US$ 200 US$ 300
countries

Please send your registration fee by demand draft to the
Organising Secretary. The draft should be payable to The
Registrar, IIT Bombay, A/c-NREC-2000.

Special Meetings
A number of special meetings are planned during the
conference. The proposed themes of meetings are :
* Meeting of Regional Test Centres for
Solar Thermal Devices of MNES.
* Meeting of manufacturers of renewable energy devices
and beneficiaries.
* Meeting of NGOs involved in the use of renewable energy.
* Meeting on manpower and training requirements of renewable
energy. The conference organisers welcome suggestions for
other special meetings to be held during the conference.

Post Conference Tours
Sight - seeing tours to Elephanta caves, a heritage walk ,city
and suburban tours will be organised, depending on the interest
of participants. Tours to 100 kW Solar PV system (Lonavala)
and / or 1,00,000 lpd Solar water heating system (Hindustan
Spinning Weaving Mills, Mumbai) are also planned. The details
will be intimated to the interested participants.

Award for Industry
The conference proposes to institute a special award for the
most innovative application of renewable technology in an
industry/commercial establishment.

Important Deadlines
Last Date for Receipt of Full Manuscript June 30, 2000
Intimation of Paper Acceptance (latest by) September 01, 2000
Completed Mats to be submitted by October 15, 2000

Please fill up the enclosed feedback form and send it to the
Organising Secretary to help us plan the conference better.

National Steering Committee
Chairman - Dr. A. Ramachandran, President, Solar Energy Society
of India (SESI)
Co-Chairman - Prof. S.C. Sahasrabuddhe, Director, IIT Bombay
Mr. Ashok Basak, Chairman , Maharashtra State Electricity Board.
Dr. V. Bakthavatsalam, Managing Director , IREDA.
Prof. V.G. Bhide, Pune University.
Dr. Pramod Deo, Energy Secretary, Govt. of Maharashtra.
Prof. H.P. Garg , IIT Delhi
Dr. Ajay Mathur, Dean, Tata Energy Research Institute.
Mr. K.K. Nohria, Chairman & Managing Director, Crompton Greaves.
Prof. Jyoti Parikh, Senior Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of
Development Research.
Mr. Ashwin Shroff, Chairman & Managing Director, Excel Industries.
Dr. E.V.R. Sastry, Advisor, MNES.
Prof. S.P. Sukhatme, Chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board.
Mr. Girish Tanti, Managing Dircetor, Suzlon (India) Limited.
Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Organising Secretary

Local Organising Committee
Prof. Rangan Banerjee
Prof. Anuraddha Ganesh
Prof. B.G. Fernandes
Prof. U.N. Gaitonde
Prof. J.K. Nayak
Prof. P.P. Parikh
Prof. M.V. Rane
Prof. G.K. Sharma

Contact :
URL: http://www.me.iitb.ernet.in/nrec2k
Email: nrec2k@me.iitb.ernet.in

Prof. Rangan Banerjee
Organising Secretary , NREC - 2000
Energy Systems Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Powai, Mumbai - 400 076, India
Direct : (+91-22) 576 7883
EPABX : (+91-22) 578 2545 Extn. 7883, 7388
Fax : (+91-22) 579 6875 / 578 3480
_________________________________

NREC 2000
November 30 - December 2, 2000

I would like to
[ ] present a paper
[ ] participate in the exhibition
[ ] organise/participate in a special meeting/workshop
[ ] attend conference

Do you have any specific suggestions regarding events/sessions
which we should include in NREC 2000?

_______________________________________________________________

Name :
Organisation:
Address :

Phone no :
Fax :
e-mail :

Accomodation required : Guest house / Hotel
Duration : From _________ to __________

Signature :

Date :

begin:vcard
n:Karve;Priyadarshini
tel;fax:-
tel;home:91 020 5423258
tel;work:91 020 5442217/4390348/4392284
x-mozilla-html:FALSE
url:http://members.tripod.com/ARTI_India/index.html
org:Appropriate Rural Technology Institue (ARTI)
version:2.1
email;internet:karve@wmi.co.in
title:Member
note:ARTI is an NGO undertaking research projects to study, develop, standardise, implement, commercialise and popularise innovative appropriate rural technologies with special emphasis on making traditional rural enterprises more profitable and generating new employment opportunities through introduction of novel business possibilities in rural areas.
adr;quoted-printable:;;2nd Floor, Maninee Apartments,=0D=0AOpposite Pure Foods Co., Dhayarigaon,;Pune,;Maharashtra;411 041;India
fn:Dr. Priyadarshini Karve
end:vcard

From Reedtb2 at cs.com Tue Apr 11 09:06:54 2000
From: Reedtb2 at cs.com (Reedtb2@cs.com)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Briquette Technology
Message-ID: <6a.1c338bc.26247d48@cs.com>

Dear Stoves, Gasification:

Most wood is 2/3 air, 1/3 cell wall. Most other biomass is less dense. Nut
shells are denser.

It requires pressures of 10,000 psi (68 megapascals) to break down wood cell
walls. The machines are expensive. The mechanical energy required is about
2% of the thermal energy of the biomass product, so it is high payoff.
However, the machines cost typically $100,000 and a plant might cost 1/2
million, so it isn't a backyard operation. (The machines were initially
developed for pelletizing food and alfalfa, so could justify the cost.)

It is my belief that if biomass is to play a major role in renewable energy,
densification (including pelletizing, cubing and log making) will need to be
implemented on a large scale. Most biomass in its natural state is too low
in density to store/ship/feed. Once densified, it is 2/3 as dense as coal
and takes its rightful place as a clean renewable fuel.

Prof. Grover's letter below probably refers to a different technology, pillow
briquetting, which requires much lower pressures, since the charcoal etc.
fines are already "dense".

We'll soon need all the forms of energy we can get as the oil runs out....

Yours truly, TOM REED CPC/BEF

In a message dated 4/10/00 12:47:17 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
pdg@del2.vsnl.net.in writes:
<<
10th April, 2000

Dear Ruthann Baumgardner,

You need a two roll machine to produce briquettes of this magnitude.
However, this machine require other pre-treatment and post-treatment
equipment. In India these machines are manufactured in Calcutta by a number
of manufacturers who had developed these for briquetting of Coke / Coal fines
and iron one.

Also these machines are available in Germany, USA and Japan but are
comparatively more costly. I can dig out the addresses once I know about your
specific requirement, that is size, shape and end use of these briquettes.

With regards.

Professor P.D. Grover

(Ex. Head Chem. Eng. Dept. and Dean IIT Delhi)

Chief Technical Advisor
>>
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Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
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From bhatta at ait.ac.th Wed Apr 12 12:40:22 2000
From: bhatta at ait.ac.th (Prof. S.C. Bhattacharya)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: AIT: Gasifier stove (fwd)
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.10.10004121450390.23453-100000@alphaserv.ait.ac.th>

Although I have received some enquiry about our gasifier stove, it is not
clear whether you could watch the video clipping.

Look forward to receiving comments and suggestions reparding further
applications.

S.C. Bhattacharya

_________________________________________________________________

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 19:21:59 +0700 (GMT+0700)
From: Prof. S.C. Bhattacharya <bhatta@ait.ac.th>
To: stoves@crest.org
Subject: AIT: Gasifier stove

We have developed, within the framework of a regional programme sponsored
by Sida, the following renewable energy devices/systems:

a) A biomass gasifier stove
b) A hybrid solar-biomass powered dryer

List members are invited to visit our website (which is still under
construction):

www.retsasia.ait.ac.th

Images > Phase II> briquetting will lead to a page showing three images.
Click on the lowermost picture to see an enlarged view of the AIT gasifier
stove, a two pot model.

Images>Phase II > Drying will lead to a page showing two images. Click on
the lower image to get an enlarged view of the hybrid dryer.

Let me have your comments- through the list or directly.

S.C. Bhattacharya

From bhatta at ait.ac.th Thu Apr 13 01:41:24 2000
From: bhatta at ait.ac.th (Prof. S.C. Bhattacharya)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: AIT Gasifier stove
In-Reply-To: <200004130058.RAA19688@secure.crest.net>
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.10.10004131237020.25459-100000@alphaserv.ait.ac.th>

Sorry that some of you have problem regarding downloading the video
clipping. It is of two minute duration.

For the photographs, in the home page (www.retsasia.ait.ac.th), please
click on "image". Then click on briquetting under phaseII for the
gasifier stove. Click on drying under phase II for the hybrid dryer.

S.C. Bhattacharya
-------------------------------------------------------------------
S. C. Bhattacharya Voice : (66-2) 524 5403 (Off)
Professor 524 5913 (Res)
Energy Program
Asian Institute of Technology Fax : (66-2) 524 5439
PO Box 4, Klong Luang 516 2126
Pathumthani 12120 ICQ : 18690996
Thailand e-mail: bhatta@ait.ac.th
-------------------------------------------------------------------

On Thu, 13 Apr 2000, Jim Bland wrote:

> Dear Prof Bhattacharya,
>
> I tried to download your video, but gave up after downloading 25 Mb in 3
> hours, with no sign of how much longer it would take.
>
> It would help if the size of the file were shown next to the hyperlink. How
> big is it, anyway?
>
> Regards,
>
> Jim
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Prof. S.C. Bhattacharya <bhatta@ait.ac.th>
> To: <stoves@crest.org>; <gasification@crest.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 5:53 PM
> Subject: GAS-L: AIT: Gasifier stove (fwd)
>
>
> >
> > Although I have received some enquiry about our gasifier stove, it is not
> > clear whether you could watch the video clipping.
> >
> > Look forward to receiving comments and suggestions reparding further
> > applications.
> >
> > S.C. Bhattacharya
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> >
> > ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> > Date: Mon, 10 Apr 2000 19:21:59 +0700 (GMT+0700)
> > From: Prof. S.C. Bhattacharya <bhatta@ait.ac.th>
> > To: stoves@crest.org
> > Subject: AIT: Gasifier stove
> >
> >
> > We have developed, within the framework of a regional programme sponsored
> > by Sida, the following renewable energy devices/systems:
> >
> > a) A biomass gasifier stove
> > b) A hybrid solar-biomass powered dryer
> >
> >
> > The gasifier stove is targeted for cottage industries or institutional
> > kitchens. It can operate continuously for several hours with one
> > batchload of sized fuelwood or biomass briquette pieces. It can be
> > loaded while operating and can be run 24-hours a day if needed. After
> > initial start-up, it shows no smoking; also initial emission studies
> > show that the stove produces very little carbon monoxide. The efficiency
> > of the stove has been measured to be about 27% with a two-pot design. ( We
> > are now trying to construct the stove using more practical materials
> > rather the steel and ceramic fiber insulation.
> >
> > The hybrid dryer is powered by solar energy from a flat plate collector
> > and a biomass gasifier stove as described above. For controlling
> > temperature of the drier, the output of the stove is controlled
> > automatically by using a mechanical thermostatic control device that
> > does not require any electricity.
> >
> > We are organizing a demontration of the AIT gasifier stove and hybrid
> > (alongwith one or two more renewable energy devices) at the Asian
> > Institute of Technology on 24 April 2000 (for any one who is ready turns
> > up on that day).
> >
> > List members are invited to visit our website (which is still under
> > construction):
> >
> > www.retsasia.ait.ac.th
> >
> > Images > Phase II> briquetting will lead to a page showing three images.
> > Click on the lowermost picture to see an enlarged view of the AIT gasifier
> > stove, a two pot model.
> >
> > The Video section of the website has only one video clipping at present -
> > that of the basic gasifier stove. You can notice that although there is
> > quite a lot of smoking during start up, there is no visible smoke after
> > ignition. The stove consists of a vertical hopper which can be easily
> > loaded when necessary from the top by removing a cover seating on a water
> > seal. The gasifier section is located at the bottom of the hopper. The gas
> > from the gasifier part burns in the adjacent vertical combustion chamber
> > which is provided with holes for combustion air. (For the time being, the
> > video can be watched only through INTERNET EXPLORER - a NETSCAPE version
> > will be added later).
> >
> > Images>Phase II > Drying will lead to a page showing two images. Click on
> > the lower image to get an enlarged view of the hybrid dryer.
> >
> > Let me have your comments- through the list or directly.
> >
> > S.C. Bhattacharya
> >
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------
> > S. C. Bhattacharya Voice : (66-2) 524 5403 (Off)
> > Professor 524 5913 (Res)
> > Energy Program
> > Asian Institute of Technology Fax : (66-2) 524 5439
> > PO Box 4, Klong Luang 516 2126
> > Pathumthani 12120 ICQ : 18690996
> > Thailand e-mail: bhatta@ait.ac.th
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > The Gasification List is sponsored by
> > USDOE BioPower Program http://www.eren.doe.gov/biopower/
> > and PRM Energy Systems http://www.prmenergy.com
> > Other Sponsors, Archives and Information
> > http://www.crest.org/renewables/gasification-list-archive
> > http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/gasref.shtml
> > http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
> > http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml
> >
>
> The Gasification List is sponsored by
> USDOE BioPower Program http://www.eren.doe.gov/biopower/
> and PRM Energy Systems http://www.prmenergy.com
> Other Sponsors, Archives and Information
> http://www.crest.org/renewables/gasification-list-archive
> http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/gasref.shtml
> http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
> http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml
>

From VHarris001 at aol.com Sat Apr 15 18:11:08 2000
From: VHarris001 at aol.com (VHarris001@aol.com)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: GAS-L: Cheap charcoal gasifiers
Message-ID: <ae.3c6784a.262a42d9@aol.com>

In a message dated 04/15/2000 12:51:55 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
andrew.heggie@dtn.ntl.com writes:

> > (Doug Williams said) I'd like to suggest that it be kept in mind, that we
cannot impose our
> >ideals on rural populations in far away places. Our choice of
technologies
>
> This is the point Vernon made.
> >is not simple or cheap, but it can be reliable if the gas making phenomena
> >is understood.

Hi everyone,

Doug Williams' point about not imposing our ideals on rural populations in
far away places is well taken. While I'm unsure as to Doug's particular
philosophy regarding technology as it relates to poor or low-tech
civilizations, I generally have no philosophical inclination either way. I
live in the USA in an Amish community where high-tech and low-tech coexist
"relatively" peacefully. While I, like Tom Reed, appreciate all that
technology has brought me, I respect that others have no such appreciation.
I personally find no compelling reason to introduce technology -certainly not
just for technology's sake, and I very much doubt that many do.

I, like Tom Reed, believe technology can be very beneficial, particularly at
the large scale - IF it actually results in a low cost per delivered unit
(more likely in urban than rural settings). However, as I've noted below, I
believe a technology can (and sometimes does) facilitate the transfer of
wealth away from the poor. This is particularly so when that technology is
in the hands of a monopolist regulated by a corrupt regime (as one will note
is frequently the case in poor communities).

My view on technology and third-world society is generally more practical
than philosophical. Even though I have little training in economics, I try
to view most situations from an economic point of view - I can at least
understand some of the driving forces behind "needs" and "possessions" and
trade.

Much of the world is so desperately poor that (I believe) interventions by
the "haves" on behalf of the "have-nots," while well intended and temporarily
helpful, are mostly futile and may in fact be detrimental - with one
exception. That one exception is that if the "haves" are willing to make the
long term investment necessary to insure that their intervention is
successful. I suspect this frequently requires more commitment than the
"haves" find themselves willing to give.

For example, giving a high-tech cookstove (or gasifier) to a poor community
helps in both conserving fuel (thus reducing the overall cost of fuel) and
reducing exposure to smoke. However, as I mentioned to Andrew, when that
poor community finds that there is no chicken to put in the pot, the stove is
soon traded for a chicken. The poor community is fed another day but now has
no cookstove.

The overall economic condition of the very poor is such that they cannot
afford to keep the cookstove. I think that the very poor could never keep
possession of the relatively high value cookstove until they are economically
stable enough to have afforded the cookstove in the first place. That is, of
course, unless the "haves" are willing to intervene long enough (provide the
chickens) that the community becomes financially stable enough that they are
not forced to trade away the stove.

My considered opinion is that ANY item of value given to anyone becomes an
item of trade or commerce (somewhat akin to giving them money). If the item
of value I gave was not the item most needed by the person I gave it to, then
should the opportunity present itself and the need be great enough, the item
will be traded away for that most needed. Additionally, the poor are
frequently so desperate for the item most needed that they have a poor
bargaining position. This in turn means that, in desperation, they trade the
high value item they possess for a low value item they are more in need of.
Thus, the rich get richer (trading up through bargaining position) and the
poor get poorer (trading down out of necessity).

Even in urban settings where the electric grid powers most cook stoves (and
thus there is no mass production wood stove making), the poor not only can't
afford to purchase the electricity but wood stoves also aren't readily
available, putting them out of economic reach as well. Thus the poor find
themselves trading their assets - again at a deep discount - to obtain needed
electric power, an expensive stove or chicken. The rich continue to get
richer and the poor continue to get poorer.

I think the only way to stop this flow of assets away from the poor is to
increase the wealth of the poor, in essence to make them permanently more
wealthy. I suspect that in order for someone to keep an item of value, they
must already possess sufficient assets both to afford to purchase and
maintain the item of value. This permanent increase in wealth is the essence
of what is required from the "haves" in order to sustain the "have nots."
Lack of willingness to persevere with this long term commitment is why most
projects are doomed to fail. An unsupported high tech wood stove project is
similarly likely to fail - because using less wood and a smoke-free
environment are of little concern to those who have no chicken.

You realize of course that elevating the wealth of the poor is a monumental
task. Consider that - of the things the poor do have - it is the least or
worst of EVERYTHING. The poor have the least arable land, the least
rainfall, the worst housing, the feeblest beast of burden, the most
inappropriate tools, the least productive seed, the least nutritious food,
the poorest health. Everything they own is virtually incapable of enduring
the more intense use needed to support even a modest increase in productivity
or output.

To compound the problem even further, "the poor" is a moving target. The
reasonably affluent today can be poor tomorrow and slowly build back their
affluence over time - even without third-party intervention. Assisting the
poor is an incredibly difficult and complex task. Even one small aspect of
helping may be problematic. Consider that just the act of dumping high-tech
cook stoves into any community - poor or otherwise - puts the existing stove
makers out of business.

That is why Andrew and many others are "right on" in the quest for cheap
charcoal gasifiers (and stoves). If the item is cheap enough that it can be
built or bought by the community, then when there is no chicken, the item has
insufficient value to be traded away. True, someone goes hungry, but at
least the next time there is a chicken available there will still be an
efficient stove to cook the chicken on, and dinner can be enjoyed without
breathing all that smoke.

I don't consider myself a "do-gooder," but I respect those who are. I
suspect some have been trying to help the poorest of the poor since the dawn
of man. I don't yet see the light at the end of the tunnel. Nevertheless,
keep up the good work everyone - persevere.

Vernon Harris
VHarris001
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From elk at net2000ke.com Tue Apr 18 02:43:50 2000
From: elk at net2000ke.com (KARSTAD)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: How does this machine work?
Message-ID: <200004180642.JAA03291@net2000ke.com>

Well- the roller-drum compacter that I found in a New Jersey scrapyard has
arrived her in Nairobi finally. We are in the process of shifting it's 2720
kg bulk ino the briquetting house- slowly.

As this machine did not come with a feed system, and it's not immediately
clear to me what is required, I'm appealing for advice from those of you who
have experience with drum-roller briquetters (compacters).

What I've got here is specifically; a HUTT 8" dia by 4" face briquetter
model KA 12, type K26/100 that produces 2" long by 3/4 inch wide oval
briquettes.

Impulsive as always, I've bought the machine before I know anything about it
other than it's a massively solid industrial briquetter of some
sort..........

help?

Rgds;

From tmiles at teleport.com Tue Apr 18 13:00:36 2000
From: tmiles at teleport.com (Tom Miles)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: How does this machine work?
In-Reply-To: <200004180642.JAA03291@net2000ke.com>
Message-ID: <4.3.2.20000418095229.020ce780@mail.teleport.com>

Elk

You have a "pillow" maker. We've experimented with roll compaction for a
variety of materials over the years but I don't know the Hutt machine.
You'll need a 15% MC (or less) feed, finely ground. You'll probably have to
preheat the material and may need a binder. While low in horsepower roll
compactors only give you instantaneous pressure. They do make a nice
product in the 30-35 lb/ft3 range.

The principal binding mechanism in compaction or briquetting is sometimes
called "paper bonding": put two sheets of paper together, wet them, let
them dry and try to separate them. Also called hydrogen bonding, the heat
and pressure in a press allows fibers to bind together as they dry. For
this you need residence time, like you get in the die of an extrusion
briquetter. Roll compaction is often assisted by some form of "glue" often
up to 30% starch.

Tom Miles

At 09:38 AM 4/18/00 +0300, KARSTAD wrote:
>Well- the roller-drum compacter that I found in a New Jersey scrapyard has
>arrived her in Nairobi finally. We are in the process of shifting it's 2720
>kg bulk ino the briquetting house- slowly.
>
>As this machine did not come with a feed system, and it's not immediately
>clear to me what is required, I'm appealing for advice from those of you who
>have experience with drum-roller briquetters (compacters).
>
>What I've got here is specifically; a HUTT 8" dia by 4" face briquetter
>model KA 12, type K26/100 that produces 2" long by 3/4 inch wide oval
>briquettes.
>
>Impulsive as always, I've bought the machine before I know anything about it
>other than it's a massively solid industrial briquetter of some
>sort..........
>
>help?
>
>Rgds;
>
>
>elk
>The Stoves List is Sponsored by
>Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
>Stoves Webpage, Charcoal, Activated Carbon
>http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Stoves.html
>http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml
>Other Sponsors, Archive and Information
>http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/stoves-list-archive/
>http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
>For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
>http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Chamber.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com
Technical Consultants, Inc. Tel (503) 292-0107/646-1198
1470 SW Woodward Way Fax (503) 292-2919/646-4406
Portland, Oregon, USA 97225

From elk at net2000ke.com Thu Apr 20 02:03:29 2000
From: elk at net2000ke.com (Elsen Karstad)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Hydraulic Ram Extrusion
Message-ID: <003b01bfaa8e$1370c9e0$ac41cac3@preferrc>

Stovers;

I've not yet commissioned the 'pillow' making briquetter
recently rec'd- should take another week. I am continuing with a third type of
charcoal powder briquetter though:

It's a hydraulic ram extrusion briquetter I'm building- I'm
converting my old fish-press to make briquettes. Instead of the big 1m. wide X
2.5 m long cylindrical screened cylinder that I used to ram (dewater) the cooked
fish in, I'm installing a 1.8 m long 22 cm dia steel pipe. The exit end of this
pipe will be a cluster of 30 pipes 2.5cm dia by 15 cm long that will be
the dies forming the cylindrical extruded briquettes.

The pipe will swivel to a vertical position for loading and be
returned horizontal for ramming- the wooden piston fixed to the end of the
horizontal hydraulic ram (a simple ram like those used by dump-trucks...'tipper
lorries') will be retracted clear of the pipe to facilitate swivelling to the
vertical loading position. I don't envision huge pressures in the pipe, but it's
made of 4.5 mm steel, so should withstand the expected working
pressure.

The inputted material will be the usual screened vendors waste
charcoal powder mixed to around 20% moisture content. Clay as binder. I
reckon a 50 kg load (dry basis) will fit easily & one cycle will take
between 5 & 7 minutes. This should amount to over 2500 kg production per 8
hour working shift.

...........if it all goes to plan! The best thing about
this system, other than the fact that I'm utilising surplus machinery at hand,
and the high rate of output, is that there should be little of no maintenance
compared to the screw extruders with their high rate of wear.

I'll keep you updated.

elk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsen
L. Karstad , P.O. Box 24371 Nairobi Kenya<A
href="mailto:elk@net2000ke.com">elk@net2000ke.com
tel/fax (+ 254 2) 884437

From larcon at sni.net Sun Apr 23 22:26:45 2000
From: larcon at sni.net (Ronal W. Larson)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: your help for information
Message-ID: <v01540b01b52954ddace8@[204.131.233.34]>

Stovers:
Anyone able to help here?

Ron

>
>Dear Sirs :
>
>We are working on making sawdust briquettes of 77 mm round and 300 mm long
>, and we plan to make them with a piston press. We need urgent your help
>about the following things :
>
>
>1. Which temperature do we have to reach in order to use under pressure
>resin as a binder and for how long ?
>2. How much time do we have to preheated sawdust to destroy “elasticity”?
>3. Do you know which is the better and cheapest way to do point 1 and 2 ?
>4. Does form of the briquettes has something for duration , flame or
>others ? We don’t know which will be better between 77 mm round with 300
>mm long or 72x72 mm with 300 mm long .
>5. We have made some samples but we get only almost 2 hours of duration .
>Do you know how may we get more duration Take note we use dried sawdust (
>lower to 8% ) ( we mix 640 grams of sawdust , 80 grams of oil of
>paraffin and 320 grams of liquid paraffin.
>6. Do you know which pressure do we have to use with a piston press to get :
> Round 77 mm by 300 mm long, pressed by the round face ?
> The same than before but press by the long face ( 300 mm ) ?
>7. How may we get information about extrusion machine and mix process
>from Sayan Panpinij ?
>8. How may we find in the webb or buy a copy of the book “ Work from waste
>“ Jon Vogler and of “ Understanding Non-fuel uses of wood waste “
>
>We will appreciate to have your answers as soon as possible because we
>have been making tests for a long time
>
>
>Carlos Posada S.
>e-mail : cposada@multiphone.net.co
> kw_mark@hotmail.com
>Fax : ( 571 ) 2122500 or (571 ) 3107964
>Bogota - Colombia
>

Ronal W. Larson, PhD
21547 Mountsfield Dr.
Golden, CO 80401, USA
303/526-9629; FAX same with warning
larcon@sni.net

From costaeec at kcnet.com Mon Apr 24 11:56:03 2000
From: costaeec at kcnet.com (Jim Dunham)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: your help for information
Message-ID: <003801bfae0d$f09ea580$4465f0d1@default>

Carlos,

Thanks for your inquiry, but I am not sure we can help.

We have many types of new & used briquetting equipment, but nothing of the
size you specify. We have several machines which make a continuous extrusion
75mm diameter. The log or briquette can be cut off or broken off at any
length. Capacity is 800 kg per hour.

These presses are designed to use the naturally occurring resin or lignin as
a binder. The required temperature is achieved automatically by the pressure
and friction within the forming die.
No additional heating is required and no preheating is required.

Shape, size, or form of the briquette has little to do with burn
characteristics, but density does. In general, the denser, the hotter and
longer the burn. 8% is dryer than necessary. 10-12% is fine.

Since we don't know what you are using your product for, we can't comment on
your mixture, but no oil, paraffin, wax, or any other additive is needed to
make the log or briquette. Since you specified 300mm length, it doesn't
sound like a traditional fireplace log. Those additives are normally used
for decorative type fireplace logs, where ease of lighting and length of
burn are critical. The additives will provide that, but will add greatly to
the cost and drastically lower the BTU's.

Sorry we can't be of more help, but If you wish to provide more details of
your project, we will be glad to get you more specific information.

-----Original Message-----

From: Ronal W. Larson <larcon@sni.net>
To: stoves@crest.org <stoves@crest.org>
Cc: cposada <cposada@Multiphone.net.co>
Date: Sunday, April 23, 2000 9:29 PM
Subject: your help for information

>Stovers:
> Anyone able to help here?
>
>Ron
>
>>
>>Dear Sirs :
>>
>>We are working on making sawdust briquettes of 77 mm round and 300 mm long
>>, and we plan to make them with a piston press. We need urgent your help
>>about the following things :
>>
>>
>>1. Which temperature do we have to reach in order to use under pressure
>>resin as a binder and for how long ?
>>2. How much time do we have to preheated sawdust to destroy “elasticity”?
>>3. Do you know which is the better and cheapest way to do point 1 and 2 ?
>>4. Does form of the briquettes has something for duration , flame or
>>others ? We don’t know which will be better between 77 mm round with 300
>>mm long or 72x72 mm with 300 mm long .
>>5. We have made some samples but we get only almost 2 hours of duration .
>>Do you know how may we get more duration Take note we use dried sawdust (
>>lower to 8% ) ( we mix 640 grams of sawdust , 80 grams of oil of
>>paraffin and 320 grams of liquid paraffin.
>>6. Do you know which pressure do we have to use with a piston press to get
:
>> Round 77 mm by 300 mm long, pressed by the round face ?
>> The same than before but press by the long face ( 300 mm ) ?
>>7. How may we get information about extrusion machine and mix process
>>from Sayan Panpinij ?
>>8. How may we find in the webb or buy a copy of the book “ Work from waste
>>“ Jon Vogler and of “ Understanding Non-fuel uses of wood waste “
>>
>>We will appreciate to have your answers as soon as possible because we
>>have been making tests for a long time
>>
>>
>>Carlos Posada S.
>>e-mail : cposada@multiphone.net.co
>> kw_mark@hotmail.com
>>Fax : ( 571 ) 2122500 or (571 ) 3107964
>>Bogota - Colombia
>>
>
>Ronal W. Larson, PhD
>21547 Mountsfield Dr.
>Golden, CO 80401, USA
>303/526-9629; FAX same with warning
>larcon@sni.net
>
>
>The Stoves List is Sponsored by
>Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
>Stoves Webpage, Charcoal, Activated Carbon
>http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Stoves.html
>http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml
>Other Sponsors, Archive and Information
>http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/stoves-list-archive/
>http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
>For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
>http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Chamber.htm
>

From larcon at sni.net Wed Apr 26 09:51:40 2000
From: larcon at sni.net (Ronal W. Larson)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Non-member submission on charcoal making
Message-ID: <v01540b01b52c976ae40b@[204.131.233.29]>

Stovers: Anyone able to help?

Perry: The usual forms of charcoal making are highly polluting (because
the gases are usually vented rather than being flared) and so most on this
list would be unlikely to want to encourage traditional charcoal making.

Going back in our records you will find considerable discussion of
clean charcoal-making small stoves (which have been expanded to larger
sizes), but these have two aspects which probaly discourage your intended
application. First, we generally are interested in the considerable energy
in the flared gases, and second the input (batch) wood has to be quite dry.

Although it involves moving a lot more mass for a better time and
place, this is the only way I see to solve both those problems - in order
to have a good economic proposition.

Good luck.

Ron

>Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 13:03:10 +0100
>To: stoves@crest.org
>From: Perry Davis <Perry@compactorsdirect.demon.co.uk>
>Subject: Charcoal
>MIME-Version: 1.0
>X-Mailer: Turnpike (32) Trial Version 4.01 <EvQY42lFLfKG1bSq1ek9o6ZVKr>
>
>Hi,
>
>I'm not a list member but hope you can point me in the right direction.
>I'm looking for a mobile kiln (on a trailer) for making charcoal that
>can be used by a tree surgeon. Is there anyone making such a device?
>
>Many Thanks
>--
>Perry Davis
>

Ronal W. Larson, PhD
21547 Mountsfield Dr.
Golden, CO 80401, USA
303/526-9629; FAX same with warning
larcon@sni.net

From heat-win at cwcom.net Wed Apr 26 11:01:00 2000
From: heat-win at cwcom.net (T J Stubbing)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Non-member submission on charcoal making
In-Reply-To: <v01540b01b52c976ae40b@[204.131.233.29]>
Message-ID: <39070805.B64E081B@cwcom.net>

"Ronal W. Larson" wrote:

> Stovers: Anyone able to help?

Yes! In Cumbria, UK, "a mobile kiln (on a trailer) for making charcoal that
can be used by a tree surgeon" will be ready to be demonstrated to potential
users by the end of May.

Its around 1 tonne moist wood weight capacity design is based on that of an
already successful, small airless dryer/charcoal maker which is able to produce
a high yield of cooled charcoal in 4 to 6 hours depending on the thickness of
the wood pieces, around 50 mm maximum thickness giving the shortest conversion
time.

The small unit is wood stove heated and 12 volt battery powered, as will be the
mobile unit. At present the polluting pyrolysis gases are, and in the new
machine will be, simply burnt in the stove to get rid of them cleanly but it is
intended to produce multi-chamber units with which the heat generated by
burning the gases being produced during the charcoal making stage in one
chamber can be used to pre-dry the wood in an adjoining chamber or chambers,
thus saving fuelwood.

Perry is welcome to contact me by e-mail or at 01584 890 827 to learn more.

Regards,

Thomas J Stubbing

> Perry: The usual forms of charcoal making are highly polluting (because
> the gases are usually vented rather than being flared) and so most on this
> list would be unlikely to want to encourage traditional charcoal making.
>
> Going back in our records you will find considerable discussion of
> clean charcoal-making small stoves (which have been expanded to larger
> sizes), but these have two aspects which probaly discourage your intended
> application. First, we generally are interested in the considerable energy
> in the flared gases, and second the input (batch) wood has to be quite dry.
>
> Although it involves moving a lot more mass for a better time and
> place, this is the only way I see to solve both those problems - in order
> to have a good economic proposition.
>
> Good luck.
>
> Ron
>
> >Date: Wed, 26 Apr 2000 13:03:10 +0100
> >To: stoves@crest.org
> >From: Perry Davis <Perry@compactorsdirect.demon.co.uk>
> >Subject: Charcoal
> >MIME-Version: 1.0
> >X-Mailer: Turnpike (32) Trial Version 4.01 <EvQY42lFLfKG1bSq1ek9o6ZVKr>
> >
> >Hi,
> >
> >I'm not a list member but hope you can point me in the right direction.
> >I'm looking for a mobile kiln (on a trailer) for making charcoal that
> >can be used by a tree surgeon. Is there anyone making such a device?
> >
> >Many Thanks
> >--
> >Perry Davis
> >
>
> Ronal W. Larson, PhD
> 21547 Mountsfield Dr.
> Golden, CO 80401, USA
> 303/526-9629; FAX same with warning
> larcon@sni.net
>
> The Stoves List is Sponsored by
> Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
> Stoves Webpage, Charcoal, Activated Carbon
> http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Stoves.html
> http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml
> Other Sponsors, Archive and Information
> http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/stoves-list-archive/
> http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
> For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
> http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Chamber.htm

From elk at net2000ke.com Wed Apr 26 11:29:37 2000
From: elk at net2000ke.com (Elsen Karstad)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Hutt roller compactor - Briquetting in Nairobi
Message-ID: <004101bfaf94$27e80180$dd41cac3@preferrc>

Stovers;

I tested the Hutt roller face briquetter today, and it does
work. Compaction seems in line with what I am used to dealing with via the low
pressure screw extruders I've made & have been operating for the past year.
I'll see how well they hold together after air/sun drying.

A simple gravity feed, with some manual agitation seems to
work O.K. for trial purposes. The moisture content is 22% on the first test. No
binder is added- clay content in this waste is high enough as-is. Ash is in the
region of 30%.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that though the briquettes are indeed roughly
2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide, they are a mere 3/8 inch thick! Precisely 1
cm. This is not close enough to the standard dimensions of a charcoal
briquette to be marketable. I had, until now, assumed that the thickness would
be in line with width- bringing the overall size into an acceptable range. Not
so. I'm making something more the size of a suppository than a briquette........
This machine was obviously used for other purposes than what I bought it
for.

Now- to salvage the situation, what are my options? Can I tool
the dimples deeper?

Or maybe I can obtain obtain new rollers of the same size but
with fewer and larger 'cups' to produce larger briquettes? Are the cup sizes
'fixed' as determined by roller diameter? I'd be happy enough with ONE row of
dimples on each, as the output is certainly fast enough for my manual system of
offloading.

If none of the above are possible, then I've three options
remaining;

-Try to obtain 16" inch dia or so rollers with
correspondingly large (4" X 1.5") oval cups, which would involve major
works on the drive units (if at all possible).

-Look for a market for mini-briquettes (any
ideas?).

-Mothball the machine as a non-starter. I HATE giving up....
though I admit that buying a used machine sight unseen WAS a bit of a
gamble!

Advice anyone?

<FONT color=#000000
size=2>elk~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsen L. Karstad , P.O. Box
24371 Nairobi Kenya<A
href="mailto:elk@net2000ke.com">elk@net2000ke.com
tel/fax (+ 254 2) 884437

From andrew.heggie at dtn.ntl.com Wed Apr 26 18:26:58 2000
From: andrew.heggie at dtn.ntl.com (Andrew Heggie)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Hutt roller compactor - Briquetting in Nairobi
In-Reply-To: <004101bfaf94$27e80180$dd41cac3@preferrc>
Message-ID: <tupegsgtui5b29ap47vr1mbj51a5g8chmh@4ax.com>

On Wed, 26 Apr 2000 18:27:08 +0300, ELK wrote:

>The bad news is that though the briquettes are indeed roughly 2 inches long and 3/4 inch wide, they are a mere 3/8 inch thick! Precisely 1 cm. This is not close enough to the standard dimensions of a charcoal briquette to be marketable. I had, until now,
Dog biscuit??

>
>Now- to salvage the situation, what are my options? Can I tool the dimples deeper?
>
>Or maybe I can obtain obtain new rollers of the same size but with fewer and larger 'cups' to produce larger briquettes? Are the cup sizes 'fixed' as determined by roller diameter? I'd be happy enough with ONE row of dimples on each, as the output is certainly fast enough for my manual system of offloading.
I have spoken with Joe Walton at CRE (was the nationalised Coal
Research Establishment). They have an extrusion roller for experiments
on coal dust briquettes. He commented your small diameter roller would
have low torque requirements, their device is >2ft diameter. He also
said it was quite difficult to get the moisture content and mixture
right. If the cohesion drops below the adhesion the briquettes do not
drop from the rollers.
>
>If none of the above are possible, then I've three options remaining;
>
>-Try to obtain 16" inch dia or so rollers with correspondingly large (4" X 1.5") oval cups, which would involve major works on the drive units (if at all possible).
Needs more torque.
>-Look for a market for mini-briquettes (any ideas?).
You could at least try them in a Jico, what size are the Pyromid
briquettes?
>
>-Mothball the machine as a non-starter. I HATE giving up.... though I admit that buying a used machine sight unseen WAS a bit of a gamble!
I know you will not take this option.

Sorry I cannot do better than this.
AJH

From Reedtb2 at cs.com Fri Apr 28 10:08:48 2000
From: Reedtb2 at cs.com (Reedtb2@cs.com)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Wet wood for charcoal making
Message-ID: <92.41e64da.263af549@cs.com>

Dear Ron et al:

I have always heard that dry wood was necessary for gasification and
preferable for charcoal making.

However, last year I had a bet with English that I could burn moderately wet
wood in the top down (inverted downdraft) gasifier stove. I prepared samples
of 0, 10, 20and 25% MC (wet basis) wood and ran them. The dry wood produced
18% charcoal and the wetter the wood the less charcoal produced with 25%
producing 12.1% charcoal.

I presume the mechanism is that after the first layer pyrolyses, the time
required to jump down to the next lower layer is enhanced ( and more charcoal
burns) at the moisture content of that layer increases.

As a consequence the air fuel ratio for producing the gas increases with
wetter wood and the energy content of the gas decreases. However, the stove
performed quite well in all cases and the wetter wood burned surprisingly
well.

Tom Reed

In a message dated 4/26/00 9:05:23 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
heat-win@cwcom.net writes:

<< Going back in our records you will find considerable discussion of
> clean charcoal-making small stoves (which have been expanded to larger
> sizes), but these have two aspects which probaly discourage your intended
> application. First, we generally are interested in the considerable energy
> in the flared gases, and second the input (batch) wood has to be quite dry.
> >>
The Stoves List is Sponsored by
Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
Stoves Webpage, Charcoal, Activated Carbon
http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Stoves.html
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml
Other Sponsors, Archive and Information
http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/stoves-list-archive/
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Chamber.htm

From larcon at sni.net Fri Apr 28 10:58:06 2000
From: larcon at sni.net (Ronal W. Larson)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Forwarding Senf message
Message-ID: <v01540b01b52dfb776dab@[204.131.233.27]>

Stovers: Stoves list member Norbert Senf's message got bounced because of
the large number of addressees below. Sounds like some of us will find
this web site to be educational.

Ron

>Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2000 08:24:51 -0400
>To: ovencrft@nbn.com, Albie Barden <mwhcoinc@ctel.net>,
> english@adan.kingston.net, Andrew Mason <andrew@masonsmasonry.com>,
> yelobkrd@pacbell.net, "Bev Marois" <bmarois@sover.net>,
> minaska@aol.com, bdhoward@ix.netcom.com, buckley@rumford.com,
> keystone@gatewest.net, CHIMNEYS-L@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM,
> cives@cmhc-schl.gc.ca, clark@BIA.org, OlWorldMas@aol.com,
> wagons@sover.net, fpedit@ix.netcom.com, mtcconst@yelmtel.com,
> chimneysweep@281.com, dave@rmgstone.com, jaasmadr@vt.edu,
> wilkenfp@eot.com, dfugler@cmhc-schl.gc.ca, mrichard@alaska.net,
> thermas@ncia.net, ermared@ns.sympatico.ca, Biofire@aol.com,
> fsotero@gbis.com, Fschu@Erols.com, ghart@inlink.com,
> glhedin@cp.duluth.mn.us, George Gough <gough@sympatico.ca>,
> alive@inforamp.net, tuliaha@smtp.adiglobal.com, fireston@jeffnet.org,
> janeandtim@hotmail.com, Jerry Frisch <frischro@premier1.net>,
> Jim Brewer <jbrewer@magic-sweep.com>, <jimhouck@omni-test.com>,
> John Crouch <crouchpa@ix.netcom.com>,
> John Lagamba <staywarm@tempcast.com>, fishermason@hotmail.com,
> John Gulland <John@gulland.ca>, jfstraube@golden.net,
> blackmagik@ns.sympatico.ca, pyromas@cam.org, mg@powerweb.net,
> gimme@coredcs.com, markprice@videotron.ca, MPearson52@aol.com,
> wildacres@mcdowell.main.nc.us, hansn@midcoast.com, olenych@dmcom.net,
> odrerup@cmhc-schl.gc.ca, Pat Manley <jpmanley@midcoast.com>,
> Paul Tiegs <paultiegs@omni-test.com>,
> Christopher Prior <priorfire@worldnet.att.net>, rathinfo@rath-usa.com,
> touchstone@saltspring.com, Rick Curkeet <RCurkeet@itsqs.com>,
> Rod Zander <nehearth@bigfoot.com>, radiant@wtpprod1.wtp.net,
> Skip Hayden <skip.hayden@cc2smtp.nrcan.gc.ca>, sacketts@NET-LINK.NET,
> Steve Bushway <ridgehook@mindspring.com>,
> Steve Cohan <hotrock@rockisland.com>, ronald@radiantfiregrates.com,
> tex@idirect.com, Brickstove@aol.com, csubasic@aol.com,
> <bphette@yancey.main.nc.us>, LeeLani@aol.com,
> Mike Van Buren <vanburen@hearthassociation.org>, dobrypivo@aol.com,
> alexnic@MICROSOFT.com, Anna Nulty <nultyanna@infonie.fr>,
> Bobdiddley@aol.com, deborah@ca.ibm.com, Eileen Nulty <nulty@ibm.net>,
> Eric Fletcher <chesley@netcom.ca>, bakery@littlestream.com,
> agb@magma.ca, lcorbett@wajax.com, fibre@freenet.carleton.ca,
> mcbenfey@istar.ca, pruppell@wqsb.qc.ca,
> Phillip Van Horn <PVANHORN@saltspring.com>, tom.nulty@sympatico.ca,
> stoves@crest.org, greenbuilding@crest.org
>From: Norbert Senf <mheat@mha-net.org>
>Subject: Photo report on 2000 MHA meeting
>Mime-Version: 1.0
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
>Hello Everyone:
>
>The Masonry Heater Association recently held a very successful annual
>meeting at Wildacres Retreat in North Carolina.
>Check out the action, including bricks-and-mud sessions on pizza oven
>building and clearances to combustibles testing, at
>http://mha-net.org/docs/v8n2/wildac00.htm
>
>Best ........ Norbert
>----------------------------------------
>Norbert Senf---------- mheat@mha-net.org-nospam
>Masonry Stove Builders (remove -nospam)
>RR 5, Shawville------- www.mha-net.org/msb/
>Quebec J0X 2Y0-------- fax:-----819.647.6082
>---------------------- voice:---819.647.5092
>
>
>
>

Ronal W. Larson, PhD
21547 Mountsfield Dr.
Golden, CO 80401, USA
303/526-9629; FAX same with warning
larcon@sni.net

From larcon at sni.net Fri Apr 28 14:19:50 2000
From: larcon at sni.net (Ronal W. Larson)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Wet wood for charcoal making
Message-ID: <v01540b0cb52f7797e54c@[204.131.233.44]>

Tom: Thanks for this added piece of information. My experience has been
that the controllability of charcoal-making stoves at low power levels
became more difficult. Were your tests done at a high or low power level?
Did you notice any greater difficulty in control?

Can we presume that 30% or moisture would not work? That is what I was
thinking of - with freshly cut wood appropriate for the portable unit
being explored.

Thanks in advance. Ron

>Dear Ron et al:
>
>I have always heard that dry wood was necessary for gasification and
>preferable for charcoal making.
>
>However, last year I had a bet with English that I could burn moderately wet
>wood in the top down (inverted downdraft) gasifier stove. I prepared samples
>of 0, 10, 20and 25% MC (wet basis) wood and ran them. The dry wood produced
>18% charcoal and the wetter the wood the less charcoal produced with 25%
>producing 12.1% charcoal.
>
>I presume the mechanism is that after the first layer pyrolyses, the time
>required to jump down to the next lower layer is enhanced ( and more charcoal
>burns) at the moisture content of that layer increases.
>
>As a consequence the air fuel ratio for producing the gas increases with
>wetter wood and the energy content of the gas decreases. However, the stove
>performed quite well in all cases and the wetter wood burned surprisingly
>well.
>
>Tom Reed
>
>In a message dated 4/26/00 9:05:23 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
>heat-win@cwcom.net writes:
>
><< Going back in our records you will find considerable discussion of
> > clean charcoal-making small stoves (which have been expanded to larger
> > sizes), but these have two aspects which probaly discourage your intended
> > application. First, we generally are interested in the considerable energy
> > in the flared gases, and second the input (batch) wood has to be quite dry.
> > >>
>The Stoves List is Sponsored by
>Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
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Ronal W. Larson, PhD
21547 Mountsfield Dr.
Golden, CO 80401, USA
303/526-9629; FAX same with warning
larcon@sni.net

From Reedtb2 at cs.com Sat Apr 29 09:30:09 2000
From: Reedtb2 at cs.com (Reedtb2@cs.com)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Torrefied Wood (TW)
Message-ID: <f.3230ded.263c3db9@cs.com>

Dear Jim et al:

The French know most about this, so the following is off the top of my head
and I applaud your effort to assemble better data on your site. Run it by me
if you like.

By "roasting" wood and other biomass at about 250 C (?) one removes physical
water, plus some water and CO2 of constitution and produces a fuel with ~25
MJ/kg (?) rather than the typical 18 MJ of 10% moisture fuel. This is better
for storing, shipping and burning biomass.

The roasted wood has a chocolate color and ignites instantly with a match. I
believe the origins come from charcoal making in piles where the outer few
pieces haven't gone all the way to charcoal, but are great cooking wood.
They are sometimes called "brands".
I became interested in Torrefied wood about 1980 and have followed its
fortunes out of the corner of my eye. (Does anyone know the derivation of
"torrified"? - sounds like vacuumified rather than roastedified.)

I believe a plant operated for a while in Spain, but the poor economics of
all biomass in a period of low oil costs may have shut it down.

~~~~~

However, even better than roasting the wood would be roasting followed by
densification to pellets or briquettes while it is in its hot, weak state.
Should reduce the energy for briquetting by a factor of 2-5. (See our 1981
paper.)

Keep me posted....

Yours truly, TOM REED BEF/CPC

In a message dated 4/28/00 1:38:33 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
arcate@email.msn.com writes:

<<
Hello Everyone:

I request your assistance in compiling a bibliography of papers and other
references about biomass torrefaction, torrefied wood (TW) etc. to publish
on my web site www.techtp.com

Work on biomass torrefaction has been done in different locations, different
time periods and for different reasons. Through the web we can "concentrate"
people and know-how to apply "old technology" to new uses (e.g., TW for
co-firing with coal at utility PC power plants as well as for regional
applications in the 2nd and 3rd world).

The TW bibliography will help convince those allocating development funds
that TW is a viable bioenergy option, and true to Transnational Technology's
goals indicate the "width" of the concept internationally.

Thank You.

Jim Arcate
Transnational Technology
www.techtp.com

>>
The Stoves List is Sponsored by
Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
Stoves Webpage, Charcoal, Activated Carbon
http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Stoves.html
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml
Other Sponsors, Archive and Information
http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/stoves-list-archive/
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Chamber.htm

From andrew.heggie at dtn.ntl.com Sat Apr 29 10:29:23 2000
From: andrew.heggie at dtn.ntl.com (Andrew Heggie)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Torrefied Wood (TW)
In-Reply-To: <f.3230ded.263c3db9@cs.com>
Message-ID: <c5rlgs0llnvnbbb7qitjf3s7skv0j07pai@4ax.com>

On Sat, 29 Apr 2000 09:29:29 EDT, you wrote:

>The roasted wood has a chocolate color and ignites instantly with a match. I
>believe the origins come from charcoal making in piles where the outer few
>pieces haven't gone all the way to charcoal, but are great cooking wood.
>They are sometimes called "brands".
>From "brown ends"?
>I became interested in Torrefied wood about 1980 and have followed its
>fortunes out of the corner of my eye. (Does anyone know the derivation of
>"torrified"? - sounds like vacuumified rather than roastedified.)
>From torrid-> weather so hot and dry as to scorch the land (Chambers
encycyclopedic english dictionary)?
>
>I believe a plant operated for a while in Spain, but the poor economics of
>all biomass in a period of low oil costs may have shut it down.
I fear this remains the case, I have demonstrated clean use of biomass
and charcoal making for a couple of years now, commercialisation
remains a problem in the face of cheap fossil fuels. In UK biomass to
fuel or power only runs with vast subsidy in the form of levies on
traditional fuel and avoidance of disposal costs.
AJH
The Stoves List is Sponsored by
Pyromid Inc. http://www.pyromid.net
Stoves Webpage, Charcoal, Activated Carbon
http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Stoves.html
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/carbon.shtml
Other Sponsors, Archive and Information
http://solstice.crest.org/renewables/stoves-list-archive/
http://www.crest.org/renewables/biomass-info/
For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
http://www.ikweb.com/enuff/public_html/Chamber.htm

From larcon at sni.net Sun Apr 30 11:05:32 2000
From: larcon at sni.net (Ronal W. Larson)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:32 2004
Subject: Forwarding: Arcate on Torrefied Wood (TW)
Message-ID: <v01540b01b531f037838e@[204.131.233.14]>

Stovers: The following message is from Jim Arcate
<arcate@email.msn.com>, who is back again as a list member:
Ron

Hello Everyone:

I request your assistance in compiling a bibliography of papers and other
references about biomass torrefaction, torrefied wood (TW) etc. to publish
on my web site www.techtp.com

Work on biomass torrefaction has been done in different locations, different
time periods and for different reasons. Through the web we can "concentrate"
people and know-how to apply "old technology" to new uses (e.g., TW for
co-firing with coal at utility PC power plants as well as for regional
applications in the 2nd and 3rd world).

The TW bibliography will help convince those allocating development funds
that TW is a viable bioenergy option, and true to Transnational Technology's
goals indicate the "width" of the concept internationally.

Thank You.

Jim Arcate
Transnational Technology
www.techtp.com

From larcon at sni.net Sun Apr 30 11:08:36 2000
From: larcon at sni.net (Ronal W. Larson)
Date: Tue Aug 31 21:36:33 2004
Subject: Forwarding Arcate (#2) on Torrefied Wood (TW)
Message-ID: <v01540b02b531f129bc89@[204.131.233.14]>

Stovers: Jim is again on the list, so this is my last forwrading of his
messages. Ron

Dear Tom Reed et al:

The French paper "Charcoal production and pyrolysis technologies". REUR
Technical Series No. 20, 1991, p.101 - 114, publ. by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is on
my web site at http://www.techtp.com/torrefied%20wood.htm

The French also have a patent US 4,787,917: Method for producing torrefied
wood, product obtained thereby, and application to the production of energy
Leclerc de Bussy; Jacques (80290 Poix de Picardie, Bussy, FR) Issued
November 29, 1988

Abstract

New product consisting of wood which is torrefied between 250.degree. and
280.degree. C. in a non oxidizing atmosphere, in the form of sticks of
uniform length: 15 mm for example and having a diameter comprised between 5
and 20 mm, which are not disbarked. The preparation of the method comprised
the obtention by culture of rectilinear ligneous rejections, the cutting,
drying and torrefaction thereof preferably in a vertical reactor where the
material to be torrefied is traversed by a gas stream circulating at high
speed. See http://www.techtp.com/patents.htm

Pentananunt, R. ,Rahman, A.N.M.M. and Bhattacharya, S.C.
(1990), Upgrading of biomass by means of torrefaction, Energy, Vol.15,
No.12, pp.1175-1179.

Fonseca Felfli, F, Luengo, C.A., Bezzon G. and Beaton Soler, P. (1998),
Bench unit for biomass residues torrefaction, Biomass for Energy and
Industry, Proceedings of the International Conference, W¸rzburg, Germany,
8-11 June 1998, Ed. by Kopetz, Weber, Palz, Chartier and Ferrero,
C.A.R.M.E.N., Rimpar Germany, 1998, p.1593-1595.

Fonseca Felfli, F, Luengo, C.A., Bezzon G., Beaton Soler, P. and Suros Mora,
W.(1998), A numerical model for biomass torrefaction, Biomass for Energy and
Industry, Proceedings of the International Conference, W¸rzburg, Germany,
8-11 June 1998, Ed. by Kopetz, Weber, Palz, Chartier and Ferrero,
C.A.R.M.E.N., Rimpar Germany, 1998, p.1596-1599.

==============

Tom Reed said "However, even better than roasting the wood would be roasting
followed by densification to pellets or briquettes while it is in its hot,
weak state. Should reduce the energy for briquetting by a factor of 2-5.
(See our 1981 paper.)

Where is this paper ? on line ?

We could also produce the briquettes first (e.g., from "preheated" sawdust &
bark) and then torrefy the briquettes. Which is "better" ? Please see page
66 of Section
7.4 of Carbonization & Torrefaction of Briquettes at
http://www.rwedp.org/acrobat/rm23.pdf

RWEDP Report No. 23 REGIONAL WOOD ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN ASIA
GCP/RAS/154/NET Proceedings OF THE INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON BIOMASS
BRIQUETTING NEW DELHI, INDIA (3- 6 APRIL 1995).

best regards to all,

Jim Arcate
Transnational Technology
www.techtp.com

----- Original Message -----
From: <Reedtb2@cs.com>
To: <arcate@email.msn.com>; <gasification@crest.org>; <stoves@crest.org>
Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2000 3:29 AM
Subject: Re: Torrefied Wood (TW)

Dear Jim et al:

The French know most about this, so the following is off the top of my head
and I applaud your effort to assemble better data on your site. Run it by
me if you like.

The roasted wood has a chocolate color and ignites instantly with a match.
I believe the origins come from charcoal making in piles where the outer few
pieces haven't gone all the way to charcoal, but are great cooking wood.
They are sometimes called "brands".
I became interested in Torrefied wood about 1980 and have followed its
fortunes out of the corner of my eye. (Does anyone know the derivation of
"torrified"? - sounds like vacuumified rather than roastedified.)

I believe a plant operated for a while in Spain, but the poor economics of
all biomass in a period of low oil costs may have shut it down.

Keep me posted....

Yours truly, TOM REED BEF/CPC

BioEnergy Lists: Improved Biomass Cooking Stoves

April 2000 Biomass Cooking Stoves Archive