[Stoves] Jatropha and its future

Wed Aug 17 21:01:30 CDT 2011

Dear Crispin,

   I will be certain to drop in to see you the next time I am passing 
through, ~ which isn't actually that often.
The last time I was in the Waterloo area I was attending a meeting at 
RTI, the fast pyrolysis company located there -- talking about Biochar, 
of course.

  I would like to do some emissions tests, but I don't have the Jatropha 
(that was only in MA).  It works with wood pellets too, of course (it 
was designed for pellets).  I'd like to try other fuels too (maybe 
Switchgrass pellets?). ~ What I am really wanting to try are (used, 
dried) "Soap Nut" berries (from the Sapindus Mukorossi 
<http://www.sapindusmukorossi.com/> tree -- other species are also found 
in different parts of the country), which are apparently ubiquitous in 
Nepal - generally Soapnuts are mostly found on the Western Part of 
Nepal. http://www.forestrynepal.org/resources/trees/sapindus-mukorossi

   Soapnuts are known as 'Rithha' in Nepali, and they are used 
traditionally as soap over there for washing wool garments.
They are actually among the list of herbs and minerals in Ayurveda. They 
are a popular ingredient in Ayurvedic shampoos and cleansers and are 
used in Ayurvedic medicine as a treatment for eczema, psoriasis, and for 
"removing freckles". Soap nuts also have gentle insecticidal properties 
and are traditionally used for removing lice.

  If the planting of (both edible and non-edible) nut trees** could be 
promoted not only for their agricultural (income-producing) value but 
also for their energy (fuels) value [for stoves] ~ they might even 
become more valuable standing than if they are cut down. This could 
possibly then become a powerful incentive for promoting reforestation 
and afforestation since people could end up making more money planting 
and caring for the trees (and harvesting the fruits and nuts from them) 
than by chopping them down to make whole-wood fuels (like "cooking 
charcoal").

**Note: Nut trees are some of the best carbon sequestering trees. 
Agroforestry systems with Fruit and Nut trees for food can produce a lot 
of calories. Someone once told me that an acre of apple trees can 
produce "20 million calories". A million calories can easily produce 
enough calories (on ~1/10 of an acre) for 1 person for a year. (== 2740 
calories/day, which is actually higher than the "2,000 calorie diet" 
that is typically recommended by nutritionists.)

  P.S. The biggest problem with the J-nuts was starting the fire at the 
top. I had to spend some time crushing and opening up a handful of nuts 
to place on top so that the oils would be released and it would light 
easier.  (I also 'cheated' and soaked the top layer of crushed J-nuts in 
97% IPA before throwing a match on. I don't know how easy [or clean] it 
is to start the stove without the IPA. I suspect that in places like 
Africa and Nepal IPA isn't quite as easy to come by.)

   Lloyd Helferty, Engineering Technologist
   Principal, Biochar Consulting (Canada)
   www.biochar-consulting.ca
   603-48 Suncrest Blvd, Thornhill, ON, Canada
   905-707-8754; 647-886-8754 (cell)
      Skype: lloyd.helferty
   Steering Committee member, Canadian Biochar Initiative
   President, Co-founder&  CBI Liaison, Biochar-Ontario
     Advisory Committee Member, IBI
   http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1404717
   http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42237506675
   http://groups.google.com/group/biochar-ontario
   http://www.meetup.com/biocharontario/
   http://grassrootsintelligence.blogspot.com
    www.biochar.ca

Biochar Offsets Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2446475
"Necessity may be the mother of invention, but innovators need to address problems before they become absolute necessities..."

On 2011-08-16 6:32 PM, Crispin Pemberton-Pigott wrote:
>
> Dear Lloyd
>
> That is great news. If you are passing through Waterloo please stop in 
> so we can do a couple of emission tests.
>
> I was working on the weekend to burn one of the worst fuels I have 
> seen so far -- a 100mm diameter high density sawdust log with no hole 
> in the centre. Eventually I got it working well and boiled 5.2 litres 
> in 16 minutes. I used a 130mm long piece standing up on end in a 
> Vesto. I also tried drilling a 1 inch hole through the centre but to 
> burn that it needs to be in 'gasifier mode'. That means starting with 
> a higher primary air flow then closing it. Not as convenient but possible.
>
> Regards
>
> Crispin
>
> *From:*stoves-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org 
> [mailto:stoves-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] *On Behalf Of *Lloyd 
> Helferty
> *Sent:* 16 August 2011 14:31
> *To:* Discussion of biomass cooking stoves
> *Subject:* Re: [Stoves] Jatropha and its future
>
> Christina (And Jan),
>
>   Just to let you (and everyone) know, I was able to successfully 
> use/burn whole Jatropha nuts in a natural draft Top-Lit- UpDraft 
> (TLUD) stove (made out of tin cans) at the recent CHAB Camp hosted by 
> the Biomass Energy Foundation in Belchertown, MA.  I did it outdoors 
> on a windy day.
>   While I did not intentionally inhale the smoke, I do not believe 
> that the smoke of the J-nuts was any more toxic than other types of 
> smoke.  Hugh McLaughlin actually explained that the smoke from a 
> Jatropha fire was likely just as toxic as from any other fire -- smoke 
> of any kind tends to be something one should not breathe [hence the 
> warning on cigarette boxes].
>  My little natural draft TLUD produced very little smoke once the 
> secondary airflow was adjusted properly and pyrolyzing the Jatropha 
> nuts, although when it was left unattended it did start smoking a 
> little bit at the end of the burn as the stove attempted to burn 
> through the resulting biochar.  (Although if this were running 
> indoors, I would probably be more worried about the CO being produced 
> than any toxicity that might arise from the J-nuts.)
>
>    Lloyd Helferty, Engineering Technologist
>
>
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