[Stoves] Energy content cow dung

Tue Feb 12 22:47:58 CST 2013

Hi All,

We were surprised when we burned dung and found that it seemed to be a
pretty good fuel, even relatively clean.

Check out:

http://bioenergylists.org/stovesdoc/apro/dung/Aprodung.htm

Dean

On Tue, Feb 12, 2013 at 7:26 PM, Kevin <kchisholm at ca.inter.net> wrote:

> **
> Dear Ron
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> *From:* rongretlarson at comcast.net
> *To:* Discussion of biomass cooking stoves<stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org>
> *Cc:* Kaji Sanu <fost at ntc.net.np> ; Kavita Mary and Francis<fmkavita at yahoo.com>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, February 12, 2013 8:17 PM
> *Subject:* Re: [Stoves] Energy content cow dung
>
> List, Richard, etal
>
>    I started this note off thinking I would try to prove that dung should
> not be used for cooking at all.  In googling,  I found nothing (repeat
> nothing) good to be said about using dung for cooking - except that it was
> sometimes necessary because there was nothing else.    The alternative of
> course is the tremendous value of dung to improve soils.    My guess is
> that almost everywhere, that something can/should be planted for long term
> alternative fuel supply not using dung.
>
> *# About 6 years ago, I introduced the concept of "Washing Dung." The
> idea was to simply slurry the dung with water, and "filter off the 'wash
> water." This can be done very easily. I forsee major benefits as follows:*
> *1: The washing would remove the soluble salts, including chlorides, ,
> and as such would virtually eliminate the potential for dioxin formation.*
> *2: Soluble nitrates, proteins, hormones and micro-nutrients would be
> removed in forms that were most available to plants. *
> *3: Salts interfere with combustion, and their removal would permit
> better combustion of the filter cake.*
> *4: Since the animals have digested the cellulostic fractions of the feed
> and rejected the lignin fraction to the manure, the filter cake would have
> a higher heating value per pound than wood or the original feed materials.
> *
> **
> *The "Wash Water" would be a "Manure Tea", and as such, would be an
> excellent fertilizer. The filter cake could be briquetted and *
> *a: Be used as a much easier burning and very much safer fuel*
> *or *
> *b: The filter cake could be charred, where the char was more valuable to
> the user than the fuel value. *
> **
>
>  We have had recent discussion of Jatropha seeds for instance.
>
>    But after looking at a lot of web material, an Australian site popped
> up for improved cooking using a TLUD with dung.  Many years ago I tried
> using dung in Ethiopia with a TLUD and had zero success - so I was
> impressed.  The site is
>
> https://www.engineeringforchange.org/news/2011/10/09/cooking_in_adelaide_with_experimental_dung_burning_stoves.html
> *# The washed dung, if briquetted and crumbled, to give void space, could
> turn out to be a very good fuel for a TLUD stove.*
>
>   It probably is necessary to only view what they call Blog #4, but there
> are three earlier - some showing the conversion of the dung into a fuel
> shape.   I could not tell from blog #4 what their eventual fuel shape was,
> but maybe "cubes" of 4-5 cm size,  if their starter material was typical.
> I doubt that it was in the form of "patties"   I liked all I could tell
> about their TLUD, but think it could perhaps be improved with primary air
> control.
>
>    The saved char certainly has more value for soil improvement than the
> ash, if ash from typical non-TLUD stoves is ever saved/used.
>
> *# The major advantage of "Dung Washing" is that all the leached
> nutrients are in a form that is more readily available to plants than they
> would be after burning.*
>
>  But it is not clear to me that their input dung wouldn't have been better
> used for composting with wood char being used (from the beginning - not
> added) with the raw dung.
>
> *# As I understand it, wood is the preferred fuel, and dung is only used
> as a fuel when wood is unavailable or unaffordable. *
>
> Not sure but there seemed to be enough efficiency improvement with the
> TLUD over the three stone, that they need not use more dung - and can still
> retain a good bit of the dung's soil-nutritional value.
>
> *# with dung washing, most of the nutritional benefits of manure would
> probably report to the wash water.*
>
>  In this note I am trying to emphasize using dung to replace fertilizer -
> a topic I know little about, except I couldn't find a single place where
> dung use is recommended for cooking.
>
> *# Anyone who has made "Manure Tea" would likely confirm its benefits as
> an organic fertilizer.
>
> *  Contacting these clever Australian students would probably lead now to
> even more information on the dung-stove-soil nutrition topic.
>
> *# Perhaps they would be interested in dung washing, and developing a
> stove that burned teh filter cake. By virtually eliminating teh dioxins in
> teh smoke from an "unwashed dung fire", tehy would be bringing a great
> health benefit to the "Washed Dung stove users."*
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Kevin
>
> Ron
>
>  ------------------------------
>  *From: *"Richard Stanley" <rstanley at legacyfound.org>
> *To: *"Discussion of biomass cooking stoves" <
> stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org>
> *Cc: *"Kaji Sanu" <fost at ntc.net.np>, "Kavita Mary and Francis" <
> fmkavita at yahoo.com>
> *Sent: *Tuesday, February 12, 2013 2:37:52 PM
> *Subject: *Re: [Stoves] Energy content cow dung
>
> Dear Sarabagya,
>
> I have ccy'd your request to our good friends, and briquette trainers'
> researchers, Mary and Francis Kavita who are based in Kenya. They have
> trained Masaai in making nice smelling, clean burring dung blend fuel
> briquettes ot in Masaailand a couple of years ago. ( They have also
> developed similar blends for elephant dung blends in same and neighboring
> regions in Kenya.
>
> I also ccy it to Sanu Kaji of the Foundation for Sustainable Technologies
> (FoST) in Thamel /Kathmandu as he is the resident expert in briquette
> making there in you country (…and probably regionally as well).  Finally
> wanted to touch base also  with Mzee Bob out there in Northern  Masaailand,
>  it may also be useful to you as well in that you are looking at dung
> burning now. As a replacement for wood (which was probably far more
> obtainable when you began your work there), it made little sense to go to
> the trouble to making briquettes-- but now ??
>
> I'd trust Mary and Francis skills implicitly: We trained then in 2001 and
> they have been all over the nation and region in fact,  training others on
> their own steam under their own business since that time.  We had some
> camel dung blends they made, tested at the Kenya Industrial Research&
> Development Institute (KIRDI) for a potential project up in Somaliland a
> couple of years ago.
>
> All the best (ukinaweza saida huyu jamaa,  Francis, ilikua  mzuri , asante
> sana)
>
> Richard Stanley(mzee pia)
> www.legacyfound.org
>
>
>
>
> This may or may not be useful to you buOn Feb 11, 2013, at 6:49 AM,
> Sarbagya Tuladhar wrote:
>
> Hi Bob,
>
> Really interesting on the work regarding the Maasai stove for cow dung.
> Can you provide me more information on the stove ? Dung burning for fuel is
> a major problem here in South Nepal and we are exploring on ways to combat
> them.
>
> Cheers
>
> Sarbagya Tuladhar
> Nepal
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On 11/02/2013, at 12:13 AM, rbtvl at aol.com wrote:
>
> > Some of the Maasai burn cow dung in their three stone fires and now burn
> it in our stove and report it is okay and they use less just like the wood
> burning folks.  I want to do some analysis and need a reasonable estimate
> of energy per mass of some average dung.  Googling I got about 75% of the
> energy density in hard wood fuel. Please send me info or sources on this.
> Don't need to bore the whole list so use my email.  Thanks
> > Bob.  Maasai Stoves and Solar.
> > Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone provided by Airtel Tanzania.
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