[Stoves] camel dung???

Richard Stanley rstanley at legacyfound.org
Tue Dec 13 10:27:29 CST 2011


Kevin thanks for that. 

I will pass it on to Francis and staff of the camps…duly citing you.
We tested some halophytes for he Seaphire  company working in Eritrea, in2005. They wanted to use near (red sea) shore scrub brush and I do recall same color of flame in the samples we made up.  Flame coloration tests were common in an undergrad mineralogy course I once took. 

Perfect; Thanks ! 

Be in touch as we proceed, Kevin,

 Richard 
Back in NW Obamaland
  

On Dec 12, 2011, at 7:40 PM, Kevin wrote:

> Dear Richard
> 
> Thanks for your reply!!
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Stanley" <rstanley at legacyfound.org>
> To: "Kevin" <kchisholm at ca.inter.net>
> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 11:22 PM
> Subject: Re: [Stoves] camel dung???
> 
> 
> Kevin,
> Francis kavita related this to me first hand from his direct experience in the Mara.
> I do not know if they are preserving the recanted water for anything, frankly. I suspect it is just dumped.
> 
> # This is a shame... it should behave as an excellent fertilizer. It is, after all, a "manure tea."
> 
> Washed cow dung would retain the fibrous faction and tend to lessen the pasty fines along with very , likely the odors normally associated with the dung.
> 
> # Would not the washwater take away the solubles, pastyness, and odors, and generally leave behind the fibrous material?
> 
> I have not seen photos of them burning, much less witnessed it directly, so I cannot comment on dioxin issue just yet. Francis was satisfied that it gave a "clean heat" without the putrid smoke normally associated with burning dung.
> 
> # OK!! Chances are that he had a relkatively "dioxin free fuel".
> 
> In that the Masaai invited him back for production training, says volumes about it's utility though.
> 
> # Yes, indeed!! That speaks volumes for his helpfulness and tehir appreciation of his work.
> 
> If dioxins are an issue, how does one test for them in the field, untrained as trainer is likely to be in chemistry?
> 
> #OK... Simple! Copper reacts with halogens, to give a distinctively green flame.
> The basic procedure is to contact the gas in question with red hot copper, and if it turns green, halogens are present. Simply hold a fine copper wire in a flame to be tested, and look for a bright greenish coloration to develop.
> Basically, Dioxins are a (CHOCl) compound. If Chlorine is present in the presence of a carbohydrate and heat, dioxins will form, because of teh extreme affinity of Chlorine for C and H.
> 
> You mention driftwood. Can you suggest any other similar odors we could look for in rural inland Africa? That'd be, most helpful.
> 
> # It is hard to describe, but the closest I could be is to say that it is a somewhat sweetish and distinctive smell, that is very different from the smell of smoke from a normal wood fire. You could probably make "synthetic driftwood" by soaking wood chips in 3% salt water, and drying them. When dry, you could set fire to tehm, and waft a small bit of the smoke away, so that you could sniff it.
> 
> # Anything else I can do, please let me know.
> 
> Best wishes,
> 
> Kevin
> 
> 
> Thanks Kevin,
> Richard
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On Dec 12, 2011, at 7:59, "Kevin" <kchisholm at ca.inter.net> wrote:
> 
>> OFF LIST
>> 
>> Dear Richard
>> 
>> Do you know of anyone actually washing dung?
>> 
>> Do they use the washings for agricultural benefit?
>> 
>> How does the washed solid fraction behave as part of a "fuel shape package?"
>> 
>> Can you notice a significant difference in burning characteristics of the washed vs. unwashed dung?
>> 
>> Most importantly.... do the gases from unwashed dung fuel fires  smell like a driftwood fire? If yes, then, there is likely dioxins. If the WASHED DUNG products of combustion do not smell like a driftwood fire, then, dioxins are probably absent.
>> 
>> BTW.... I got lots of miles out of your "Holy Shit Briquettes" comment!! :-)
>> 
>> Best wishes,
>> 
>> Kevin
>> 
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Stanley" <rstanley at legacyfound.org>
>> To: "Discussion of biomass cooking stoves" <stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org>
>> Sent: Monday, December 12, 2011 11:11 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Stoves] camel dung???
>> 
>> 
>>> Otto / Paal,
>>> We just got back from Tanzania and a initial look at some information and the staff working in some refugees camps up in Somalia.
>>> In terms of resrources, it would appear at first glance that nothing is available for  briquettes or for that matter  the  PekoPe.
>>> What we find is wood slivers; ≤pencil- thin sticks-- twigs really, as fall off form the wood bundles the refugees are hauling in,  plus the usual char bits left over from charcoal handling---and possibly,  camel dung.
>>> 
> 
> 
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