[Stoves] Last? Alternative to Charcoal

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Friends

This is an interesting exchange. Note that the viability of the proposal is
tied to the local cost of LPG. Where the cost of LPG is subsidised, it has
the effect of rendering the viability of the alternative (rice hull
gasification) less attractive.

 

The adoption rate will be determined by the bottom line.

Regards

Crispin

 

 

 

Ron,

Today I met a mycologist from Saigon who wants to make large quantities of
rice hull biochar. His plan is to load this biochar with plant nutrients and
AM fungal spores. When I asked what he planned to do with the syngas he
would be generating, I immediately saw that he had no thought this through.
His intention (like that of so many people) was simply to make biochar.

 

Today I sent him an email that read as follows:

It was so good meeting you again.
Here is a YouTube video of my gasifier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnM5Itk7wlQ

I can design for your research and biochar production center gasifiers of
any size. But the ideal would be to use syngas (gasifier gas) in the place
of bottled gas. When we replace bottled gas with syngas, we, no doubt, can
get the highest possible value for the syngas. Making electricity from
syngas would cost as much as $100,000 US in gasifier, gas filtration and
other equipment. And such a costly venture would make relatively little
money. How can you compete with cheap hydroelectric or cheap coal? But since
syngas can provide the same high-quality heat as bottled gas, there is a
fairly unlimited market before you. Very large quantities of biochar could
be generated as a by-product of burning syngas in the place of bottled gas.

So the ideal would be to find several small businesses in Saigon that are
now burning bottled gas. You could show them how to eliminate the use of
bottled gas by means of small-scale gasification. They would get their gas
for virtually nothing compared to what they are spending now, and you could
set up a business arrangement with each producer where you could get their
biochar for free. It's a big win for both sides.

 

Also please confirm to me in writing what you were saying today about AM
fungi not growing in a liquid medium such as we see in hydroponics and
aquaponics.

Thanks.

Paul Olivier

 

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