[Stoves] The Akha TLUD - Biochar Project in Bangladesh.

Paul Olivier paul.olivier at esrla.com
Tue Mar 7 03:30:58 CST 2017


Please take me off this list.
Thanks.

On Tue, Mar 7, 2017 at 4:29 PM, Michael Hayes <voglerlake at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Folks,
>
> I can offer a few files which can, hopefully, give a general reader some
> background information on marine tank based cultivation of macroalgae and
> potentially microalgae.
>
> I found an analysis of Bangladesh's macroalgae industry which has the date
> of 2005 yet it also seems to be very recently updated by the authors.
>
> In brief, this analysis shows the Bangladesh has a good potential for
> offshore macroalgae cultivation.
>
> https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47378683_Seaweed_
> cultivation_in_Bangladesh_Problems_and_potentials
>
> The use of photobioreactor can provide the operator with full
> environmental control, however, the obvious problem is bringing the cost
> down at the materials/components level and the operating and harvesting
> energy and labor levels respectively.
>
> On the issue of production energy, the marine environment offers multiple
> energy conversion options. For brevity's sake, I'll skip past the many
> different types of energy conversion that can be applied and move directly
> to the idea concerning utilizing off the shelf equipment for offshore
> bioreactor components.
>
> The use of capped off high-density polyethylene (HDPE) culverts, as the
> primary tank structure, has multiple benefits, such as:
>
> 1) HDPE has low to no biofouling
>
> 2) HDPE is food grade
> plastic
>
> 3) HDPE can be made with post-consumer plastic coupled with the bio crude
> oil generated through the pyrolytic production of biochar.
>
> Although pyrolysis derived crude oil has never been, to the best of my
> knowledge, utilized to produce HDPE, I believe that is simply due to the
> fact that such bio crude oil feedstock is still a rather rare commodity.
>
> Below is a link to one of many manufacturers of high-density polyethylene
> dual wall culverts.
>
> http://www.ads-pipe.com/en/product.asp?page=MEGA_GREEN
>
> This next link shows what the saltwater aquarium enthusiast community uses
> as a macroalgae bioreactor. My work is focused upon scaling up this type
> fully enclosed mariculture. As a final note, please notice in the video
> clip how some macroalgae can tolerate very dense cultivation. I am
> predicting that a 40 foot long 5 foot diameter marine based and marine
> energized photobioreactor would become full of macroalgae, particularly
> brown algae, within 30 to 40 days.
>
> https://youtu.be/UvrWqqaMiyM
>
> I've recently submitted a concept paper to ARPA-E on this work, as it
> relates to the production of bioenergy, which may offer further
> information.
>
> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Y8zdiWE7cbqTGklAfWWE0MAi-
> 27A4ZBE9iABM8PyFOc/edit?usp=drivesdk
>
> I would like to thank Ron for keeping this marine biomass-for-biochar (aka
> Blue Biochar) effort in mind. Please let me know if you would like more
> information about the Blue Biochar effort.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Michael
>
> On Monday, March 6, 2017, Ronal W. Larson <rongretlarson at comcast.net>
> wrote:
>
>> Julien:  cc list and others
>>
>> Nice work.  Thanks for your involvement.
>>
>> There may be an opportunity to use ocean biomass for your cook stoves.
>> Michael Hayes (cc’d) has a long analytical history on combining ocean
>> biomass and biochar.  Bangladesh could be the ideal lead country in this
>> aspect of shortages for both biomass stoves and biochar.
>>
>> See few inserts below.
>>
>>
>> On Mar 6, 2017, at 9:49 AM, Julien Winter <winter.julien at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Folks;
>>
>> Thanks for all your comments.
>>
>> Bangladesh has some challenges with its population density, and pending
>> sea-level rise.
>>
>> However, it is great place for making collegial partnerships.  People
>> tend to work and cooperate together much more than they do in North
>> America.  This applies to the university educated professionals in the
>> cities, and farmers in the countryside.  If you have a GOOD IDEA, people
>> are please to listen, and get involved.  There are leading farmers who are
>> eager to experiment with biochar.  If you want to help them adapt and
>> develop it, great.  You do have to be on guard for unscrupulous business
>> people.
>>
>> What does exist in the countryside is something called "NGO fatigue."
>> Outside people coming in with an ill suited idea that they try to impose.
>> Then they go away.  Villagers see what they can get for free from foreign
>> NGOs, so you may be greeted with enthusiasm, but you may not be taken
>> seriously.
>>
>> I am fortunate, because a local NGO, called the Christian Commission for
>> Development in Bangladesh (CCDB), took an early interest in biochar, and
>> invited me to explain it in 2013.  Out of that was born the Bangladesh
>> Biochar Initiative.
>>
>> CCDB was founded in 1972, and has a network of compounds ("campuses")
>> across the country.  They have a very competent staff specializing in
>> extension education, micro businesses, and rural development.  I helped one
>> of their staff, Mahbubul Islam, design the Akha stove, we developed the
>> TLUD-biochar ecology viewpoint, and proposed the Users Groups methodology
>> for deployment.  When CCDB got funding from ICCO - Netherlands, CCDB staff
>> made it happen.  They knew precisely what to do.  Research partnerships are
>> being formed with agronomists in universities to experiment with biochar.
>>
>> Because of my place in time, it happened to be me that introduced the
>> idea of TLUDs and biochar to Bangladesh.  However, as the ideas take root,
>> they are taking over.  They have big dreams for developing biochar
>> technologies.
>>
>> At this point, we need to look into densifying biomass.  Methods of
>> various degrees of sophistication could be found.  Compressing wet biomass
>> into briquettes is likely a good fit for the countryside.
>>
>> *[RWL:  A few years ago I experimented with hand-compression of wet soggy
>> material into a “turdlike” shape, at the end an Aprovecho event.  Art
>> Donnelly (being cc’d) reported they pyrolyzed well.  All the
>> Bangladeshi stove users (or husbands) need is a pail;  no need for a press
>> - which I felt was slower.  I found starting each “turd” with the left hand
>> and finishing with the right hand - allowed quite a few each minute.  I got
>> into a rhythm (can’t now describe it) and recall that handling each
>> large “pellet” twice seemed to get a more dense final product.*
>> * I hope Richard Stanley (c’d - on this list from the beginning) can
>> chime in.  Much knowledge on how to get the biomass ready for compression.*
>>
>>
>> We should see if it is feasible to developing pellets as a renewable,
>> commercial fuel.  There is lots of rice straw.  Rice straw has been
>> pelleted in other parts of Asia.  I am searching the research literature to
>> see if the high mineral content (ca. 20%) has posed a problem for abrasion
>> of equipment, lower heating value, and ash in the stove.
>>
>> *RWL:  I am cc’ing Paul Olivier who I believe should have had
>> considerable abrasion experience in Viet Nam on both rice straw and
>> rice husks (with TLUDs).*
>>
>>
>> Co-firing leaves and wood in TLUDs may extend the TLUD season.  The
>> Biochar Users Groups should experiment with that.  I expect that the leaves
>> will burn to ash before the center of wood pieces has pyrolyzed.
>>
>> *[RWL:   I’ll bet the other way.  Groups all over the world can (and
>> should) do this experiment (if the data is not already available).  Anyone
>> have it?*
>>
>> *Ron*
>>
>>
>> Thanks again for all your comments.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Julien.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Julien Winter
>> Cobourg, ON, CANADA
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>>
>>
>
> --
> *Michael Hayes*
>
> *The Cascadia Marine and Limnology Laboratory*
>
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-- 
Paul A. Olivier PhD
26/5 Phu Dong Thien Vuong
Dalat
Vietnam

Louisiana telephone: 1-337-447-4124 (rings Vietnam)
Mobile: 090-694-1573 (in Vietnam)
Skype address: Xpolivier
http://www.epwt.net/
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