[Stoves] Charcoal from waste - home cooking or other markets? (Re: Crispin, Anand Karve)

[Nikhil Desai]

Moderator: I changed the subject line. This is in response to Crispin's
comment about Anand Karve's work.
---------------

Crispin: "That is what is so inspiring about AD Karve?s work on charring
waste biomass to produce a high quality fuel. He even produced the extruder
and the Sarai stove to go with it. That is a museum quality piece of work -
to be studied... "

I take your word for it, but I also had this suspicion a few years ago that
what Anand Karve was proposing in terms of converting waste biomass for
charcoal was worth more attention, not primarily as a fuel choice issue but
as a waste management issue. In dry regions such as much of India, leaf and
tree waste along with other open biomass waste is a major problem in
municipal waste management. Why, just driving by Gandhinagar - the capital
of Gujarat state where I lived - a few months ago I saw huge piles of leaf
waste in numerous parks that have been created by the state government to
make the city "green". All those leaves will be burned in the open,
contributing to air pollution (not reported in peer-reviewed literature so
it must not exist) that damages biota health here and now. On the other
hand, such burning will release organic aerosols that supposedly cool the
atmosphere, so it is most definitely "green" for the "global environment"
advocates.

Open organic waste - including leaves, tree debris, food waste - is a huge
headache for local governments. On the other hand, urban trees have
multiple benefits including air filtering
<https://www.accessscience.com/content/urban-tree-leaves-remove-fine-particulate-air-pollution/BR0116141>,
favorable changes in ambient temperatures (thus impacting building energy
demand; I did some work for Cinncinnati Gas and Electric climate options
20+ years ago), and I also happen to like urban forestry, gardening, food
production (if land, water, and air quality so permit).

A new paradigm of urban/peri-urban biomass production, utilization, and
waste management needs to emerge, and energy analysts have much to offer.

Unless they leave the field to WHO and EPA.

The question is, do Indian customers care to advance to cleaner charcoal or
convenient LPG?

As I mentioned in the previous post, the commercial potential may not lie
in household cooking but in water heating (peri-urban, rural) and
commercial/institutional cooking and heating (water/space).

****

Crispin: "But he is promoting charcoal consumption -  very offensive to
some. Shall we forgive him too? :)"

Asking forgiveness from sinners of cooked science? You must be joking, Mr.
Pemberton-Pigott.

I note your emoticon, but this is no laughing matter. I think it's time to
stop blaming direct use of solid fuels for presumed envionmental ills.

It's the process that matters. Converting primary solid fuels into an
energy service can be "dirty process" or "clean (or cleaner) process."

Extending Kirk Smith et al (AREE 2000 on India) to all processes of solid
fuel transformation, not just final combustion, and counting all emissions,
could well show that investments at all steps of the fuel cycle can deliver
small-scale direct use of solid fuels at a lower emission rates than the
"traditional" processes (unprocessed solid fuels with relatively
uncontrolled combustion and no emissions capture or ventilation).

I will send you and Ron an e-mail about solid fuels and "dirty fuels"; you
decide if it would add rancor or value to this List. I too prefer gas,
electricity, and solar (thermal or soon enough, induction cooking via PV).
There are markets for those. But until the 3 billion people we bleed our
hearts and research funds on get to that nirvana, reducing the PICs and the
drudgery of cooking should be the prime goals of research on solid fuels
use. Banning solid fuels should be limited to some areas and some users.

Nikhil
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