[Stoves] Air pollution in cities

Wed Nov 22 18:31:15 CST 2017

Lots of good news - Tom,

I am wondering if the testing procedures for the quality program the 
Pellet Inst. uses could be used here to help make adjustments in 
formulation and state pellet qualities would be helpful. Their standards 
may not need be met but just to provide numbers to constituents of 
importance. I built a tumbler for the durability test at the old lab. I 
might also suggest additional tests beyond what the Pellet Inst. list 
due to the much more variable biomass used in your projects.

Regards

Frank

Gabilan laboratory

https://pellet.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/understanding%20the%20quality%20mark.pdf

On 11/22/17 3:10 PM, Tom Miles wrote:
>
> Crispin,
>
> Thanks. The pellets they have selected for carbonizing are 8-12 mm. We 
> have done a lot of densification and we understand the issues related 
> to densifying crop residues. We’ll see how long the dies last. The 
> pellets I saw had corn stover blended in with the rice straw. The corn 
> stalks could act as a binder and lubricant. If I recall the intended 
> working radius for each pellet plant is about 50 km. Delivered cost of 
> the pellets to the biochar plant is USD$70/ton.
>
> It’s interesting to learn about the Hebei project. The handling and 
> processing infrastructure for one project should help another. Some 
> successful biochar producers are supplying different fiber and char 
> products to different markets.
>
> Tom
>
> *From:* Stoves [mailto:stoves-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] *On 
> Behalf Of *Crispin Pemberton-Pigott
> *Sent:* Wednesday, November 22, 2017 1:01 PM
> *To:* Discussion of biomass cooking stoves 
> <stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org>
> *Cc:* 'Biochar' <biochar at yahoogroups.com>
> *Subject:* Re: [Stoves] Air pollution in cities
>
> Thanks Tom
>
> I know my posts don’t go to the biochar list so you can post it on if 
> it is relevant.
>
> The pelleting of agriwastes is mechanically difficult because of the 
> ash in the material and contamination from dirt. The trend is to make 
> relatively large pellets that are square in cross-section. The energy 
> input is really high even at low density so the ‘moving parts’ are 
> difficult to keep together. The subsidy /was/ about $50 per ton and 
> the limitation of the system is that the transport radius is defined 
> by the subsidy, if you boil it down. It is something like 150 km. When 
> the distribution radius is small, the factories can’t be too large.
>
> Perhaps a dual approach would yield the best overall system 
> performance when agriwastes are digested before being pelleted. Who 
> tries, wins.
>
> The Hebei Clean Air Project ($500m) is implementing 51 measures with a 
> large ($80m) component of improved stoves. I have yet to see a really 
> improved ‘wood briquette’ stove, only coal stoves. Some basic research 
> is needed to fill that gap.
>
> At least some of the H-CAP items attempt to ‘do something’ with the 
> agriwastes from fields because it is a major contributor to poor air 
> quality in Beijing in October. The smoke is similar in content and 
> concentration to the illegal Indonesian peat burning to create 
> biodiesel plantations that affects Singapore air.
>
> At this time, it seems likely that some form of crossdraft stove, 
> perhaps similar to the Fyro-stove layout, will be able to burn these 
> large ‘pellets’ (briquettes). The heat applied to the pyrolysation has 
> to be greatly reduced compared with the successful coal gasifiers.
>
> Regards
>
> Crispin
>
> Crispin,
>
> Thanks for your comments. The agricultural science that we have seen 
> is done at a high level. It is also done in collaboration with expert 
> institutions around the world. In just our limited view we are 
> interacting with a large department of soil and crop scientists at a 
> “key university” for biochar. They are collaborating with some large 
> corporations. They have really been innovative compared to how others 
> around the world are thinking about the conversion and use of biochar. 
> The people we are working with have been at it for at least 10 years, 
> so it hasn’t happened overnight.
>
> The business model is unique and there clearly are subsidies. There 
> are multiple objectives, but a main driver is to reduce the open field 
> burning. Improving soil health, reducing effects of pollution, 
> increasing yield and sequestering carbon are other targets. There are 
> many local challenges to deal with, like arsenic and cadmium. 
>    National, county, and local governments are involved organizing 
> supporting policy and funding businesses.
>
> They are moving very quickly to scale. The scale is not surprising. 
> You can get to the current stated capacities with only 25 plants each 
> processing 30,000 tons of residue per year at about 4 tons per hour. 
> They have engineered one processing scheme and have cloned it. 
> Meanwhile they are working on incremental improvements. Whether each 
> plant is actually producing 8,000 hours per year may be debatable but 
> that’s also true of our small North American biomass plants. Field 
> testing in300 locations is impressive. There is a whole educational 
> program at each level.
>
> I haven’t seen their pelleting operations, but I have seen other 
> stationary systems with Chinese equipment and know their typical 
> limitations. The pellets are not very dense which should offset some 
> of the wear issues associated with crop residues.
>
> This is still evolving. It will be interesting to see where they are 
> in a year’s time.
>
> Tom
>
>
>
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-- 
Frank Shields
444 Main Street Apt. 4205
Watsonville, CA  95076

(831) 246-0417 cell
franke at cruzio.com

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