[Stoves] The future of biomass stoves. was...Fwd: [stove and LF Annals] Historical watershed

[Julien Winter]

Dear Musungu and all;

I have seen biogas production in Bangladesh.  There has been a fair amount
of effort to develop the technology.  The original digesters were made from
brick and cement, which is a plentiful local product (though not as
gas-tight as plastic vessels).  This is an important technology, not just
for biogas, but for human waste management and soil fertility.  However,
after a couple of decades of work, it is still only a very small proportion
of Bangladeshi energy production.

Biogas and digested sludge production can be synergistic with biochar
production from TLUD cookstoves, because the biochar can be used as a
biofilm support material for digester bacteria, as an adsorbent filter for
digester effluent, and as an adjunct to digester sludge.

What we need for the future is not one solution -- LPG stoves -- but a
diversity of solutions that optimize the use of resources available.
Biodiversity ecologists, economists, and investment portfolio managers
argue that with diversity we get greater efficiency, better recycling, and
resilience against disturbances.

Ecologists will also tell you that that many ecosystems are dominated by a
few species.  For example, in cool humid regions of Canada, black spruce is
a dominant tree.  In grazed pasture of NE America, bluegrass is the most
common grass, and white clover the dominant legume.

Similarly, the stove world has its dominant species.  At the moment it is
local traditional stoves.  In the future, with big business investments, it
could be the LPG stove.   On this view, TLUD stoves and biogas are
subordinate species.  Even so, as subordinates, they pay a role -- they
fill a niche -- and they can gain in dominance when the 'habitat' changes
in a way that the LPG stoves can't adapt.

The 'energy ladder' is a theoretical concept.  Reality is much more complex.

Cheers,
Julien.

-- 
Julien Winter
Cobourg, ON, CANADA
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