[Stoves] personal pollution monitors (Andrew)

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Andrew

"I imagine smaller fires simply don't reach the temperatures to
burn out the "black carbon" particulates, also because they don't have cyclonic combustors with fans to mix the powdered fuel and air there is less fly ash."

‎I was a bit taken aback by this idea. The lowest PM I have measured with wood pellets as a fuel definitely didn't have a fan. Huh. 

I tell you what: this coming year I will have a crack at burning pellets in a crossdraft gasifier fashion and see if it is possible to get a good burn without a fan. My perception/ idea is that the BC is not always 'burned out' but is not formed in the first place if the gasification process is 'good'. To achieve this it is not necessary to create a high energy content gas, but a burnable gas with carbon already divided as much as possible, preferably CO.  

The bark retention info is interesting, to think that they think that far ahead is good.

Regards 
Crispin