[Stoves] Combining stoves, bioliquidfuels, and Biochar - Possible for all together?

Fri Aug 10 16:24:31 CDT 2012

List: 

1. A short time ago, I sent in a brief announcement (below) about Harry Stokes. Without committing him, I think he supports the following as a new way to obtain and promote this list's emphasis: improved biomass stoves for developing countries. 

2. The following idea naturally follows from last week's successful Biochar conference in Sonoma. This conference has been discussed some on the sister Biochar lists, but not here, although there were several persons presenting there on stoves. Presumably most stoves list members interested in Biochar already know all about that other list - but for others, I recommend a look at this site (save it - it doesn't pop up in Google searches) 
http://2012.biochar.us.com/299/2012-us-biochar-conference-presentations 

3. For many at the conference, I think the most important new Biochar material related to a new company, that had not presented previously at Biochar meetings (probably because they are better known as a biofuels company). But they advertise a fuel they call N100 - which means 100 Percent as much carbon negativity as carbon neutrality. I think the main buzz was because they are well funded by some very big players. This and a bit more (I recommend the 14 minute video by corporate founder Mike Cheiky) on the company (shorthand CPB) are at: 
www.coolplanetbiofuels.com 

4. There was no discussion at the Sonoma meeting nor is there any discussion at the CPB web site of using their biofuel product for our list interest: rural biomass cookstoves. Emphasizing their bioliquids also for stoves could be a big winner - along the lines of what Harry Stokes has been doing. The big difference from Stokes' work is that char and carbon negativity automatically follow with use of the CPB fuels - not possible with any other bioliquidfuel I am aware of. I emphasize "automatic" - the char is a left-over but can contain half the initial carbon (30% char by weight is being stated). Surprisingly, there is very little release of CO2 during production, and some or much is exothermic. 

5. The CPB website gives plenty of reasons they can be successful - but none related to stoves. My reasons for thinking that their's could be a successful approach for stove use are: 
a. The CPB biofuel is already being planned to be produced in developing countries. Rather than importing fossil kerosene, LPG, propane, etc with inevitably rising prices - the CPB fuels will be least cost at the point of manufacture, near to the stove users. Maybe even able to use a biofuel for cooking that is slightly substandard for engines. 
b. Char-making stoves have many positive attributes (that I have been promoting for 17 + years), but a bioliquids fuel approach can probably always be cleaner, more adjustable (turn-down ratio), be adaptable to multiple pots and will not be batch-limited. 
c. Char-making stoves will hopefully soon be eligible for carbon credits, but dealing with small single family or even village scale auditing violates all we know about existing credit hurdles. A large entity (CPB or someone they sell equipment to) will already be well equipped to work for carbon neutral credits; adding carbon negative credits from their co-product Biochar will be easier than for any other industry group I can think of . 
d. Cooks in developing countries are already choosing liquid fuel stoves - when they can be afforded. There are existing supply chains for fuel and stoves. LPG fuels are already in short supply. 
e. I think it possible for the barter system that Nat Mulcahy (WorldStoves) has developed to also work here. A wood gatherer can exchange the raw materials for a bioliquid - and (a guess?) do less wood gathering than at present. This time savings will be complemented by time savings while cooking with a liquid fuel. And health issues. The same firm supplying the CPB carbon-negative biofuel can also supply a (hopefully) low cost (and probably pre-primed) Biochar with the same barter exchange of ag wastes, etc. 
f. Char-making stoves work best in a rural environment. But the majority of potential users of any future carbon negative biofuel are now living in cities - where the price competition for a carbon negative form of cooking is easiest 
g. Lastly and most important to me - I have argued strongly on this list for a total prohibition of charcoal-using stoves because they are so wasteful. This approach could help in policing the presently largely illegal production of char. Since CPB will be precharging their char for ag purposes, it would be incredibly stupid to burn that char. Char for ag use is likely to look more different as well as just being too small for cooking. 

6. What should be the impact of the above on other stove types discussed on this list? 
a. I think this biofuels approach might help as a backup for solar cookers. Biomass supply will always be insufficient if we get serious about excess atmospheric carbon - so a combined solar-liquids approach could be a least cost approach. 
b. Of course, I hope a biofuel stove kills all use of fossil fuels for cooking or heating - because of my perceived need to get quickly to 350 ppm. My hope would be that coal use in Ulan Bataa, for instance, might prove to be more expensive than the use of wood from northern Mongolia, since the biofuel being moved is so energy dense, easily stored, cleaner, etc. 
The use of existing propane, natural gas, kerosene, etc stoves will be killed only if the CPB fuels are cheaper - and this seems likely eventually if not right now (according to the CPB website). 
c. I think liquid-fueled stoves are likely to prove much better in all regards to all present wood-burning (including Rocket stoves) re cost, air quality, efficiency, etc, if the assumptions above hold (on time spent looking for fuel, etc). This needs more analysis. 
d. Cooking using methane from biodigesters might be a close call. Those stoves are not generating the char that I find so important, but putting char in digesters for "conditioning" seems very promising. The main difference could be in the perception of the time being used each way . 
e. As to char-making stoves, the improvement is not so obvious for rural cooks having plenty of wood, time, and need for char. Regardless, it is better to have multiple options and there will be many countries or parts of countries, that wouldn't see internal generation of a carbon negative biofuel for a long time. A huge market therefore remains for char-making stoves. And something may not be correct in this initial review of what looks like a promising addition to our list topic - cooking with biomass. 

7. So this is to request your reaction to pushing this different way to promote Biochar production and use in family cooking in developing countries. I will forward your thoughts to CPB. There could be companies formed around this idea and I hope there are. I won't be doing so. For me, the basic question is whether more Biochar might be put in the ground if cooking were done with liquids made from biomass, rather than cooking with that same biomass in any other type of stove. 

Ron 

----- Original Message -----
From: rongretlarson at comcast.net 
To: "Discussion of biomass" <stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org> 
Cc: hstokes at projectgaia.com 
Sent: Friday, August 10, 2012 12:26:24 PM 
Subject: [Stoves] Award for Harry Stokes 

List: 

For a different reason that I will write on soon, I was searching some (excellent) stove material on Harry's web site, and found notice of his winning a prestigious bioenergy 2012 award. See 
http://www.projectgaia.com/blog/2012/06/06/pgi-executive-director-harry-stokes-selected-as-2012-world-bioenergy-award-winner/ 

I first met Harry at the (first in 2000?) stove conference in Pune, India. Harry's specialty - almost alone - is in pushing liquid fuels (mostly ethanol and methanol) for cooking in developing countries. He is, of course, emphasizing those fuels from biomass rather than fossil sources. Look at his web site for some of the projects now underway. 

Congratulations to a well-deserving winner. 

Ron 

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