[Stoves] Second article on clean cooking forum

Sat Nov 4 10:20:40 CDT 2017

Dear Anil

“Government of India (GOI) is pushing very aggressively for liquid petroleum gas
(LPG) as a rural household fuel. With 90% of it being imported, local renewable
sources outlined in this article will be a better choice. Not only will it save foreign
exchange, but will provide large scale employment in rural areas.”

I think your point is well made. LPG is not safer than ethanol, and can be burned just as cleanly (if the device is properly designed).

You are using an alcohol mixed with water in high proportion. Are you heating the water to release the ethanol and leaving the water behind? If not, do know if this has been tried?

An approach taken by several manufacturers is to use a solid, porous sponge as a retaining mechanism. I happen to have worked with a version of this. It definitely works as an accident preventing mechanism. The only problem I found was that designers felt that ‘alcohol is a clean fuel’ and didn’t put much effort into the combustor to see that it really was clean-burning.

Similarly there is a methanol stove producer in Africa that developed a vastly superior version of his product by using a contextual development test. That product went from an under-powered and smelly burner to a powerful and extremely clean one and is now in production.

At some point in the past I was approached by a sugar mill looking for ways to use about 100 different types of alcohol that were distilled from their ethanol plant. Surely you also have access to these dregs? I never had a chance to work with the dregs so I don’t know what lovelies came from a good or bad flame. Maybe you have some experience with that.

Regards
Crispin

From: Stoves [mailto:stoves-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of nari phaltan
Sent: 4-Nov-17 07:47
To: Discussion of biomass cooking stoves <stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org>
Subject: [Stoves] Second article on clean cooking forum

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Your feedback and comments are welcome.

Anil

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