[Stoves] Char from Corn cobs ??

Tue Jan 21 10:18:28 CST 2020

Dear Kevin

Everyone knows they burn well.  I think corn cobs in Africa are used as fuel in co-firing manner. I doubt anyone burns them to get rid of “the problem”.  It is also good fertilizer.  It is possible (though I have no experience of it) that they are used as a toilet paper substitute in the same manner as they were in N America not that many decades ago.

I like the idea of charcoaling them after sizing to perhaps 40mm long, which can be accomplished with very simple tooling.

There is a new Ugandan charcoal fuel standard and unfortunately corn cob char would not meet the requirements for strength. It would have to be crushed then briquetted.  It is likely that the passing of similar standards in other countries will similarly require “transportable” or “tradable” fuel.  As it emerges, a charred cob is not very strong.

Regards
Crispin

From: Stoves <stoves-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org> On Behalf Of K McLean
Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2020 10:07
To: Discussion of biomass cooking stoves <stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org>
Subject: Re: [Stoves] Char from Corn cobs ??

Hi Teddy,

Where do your customers collect their cobs?  As Christa points out, smallholders usually burn their cobs themselves.  Commercial maize farms are successful in Kenya, though.  Do commercial farmers leave the cobs in the field as waste - as I have read?

There is a factory in Eldoret that uses cobs to produce chemicals.  Bio-Corn appears to be closing down, though.  It consumed 60,000 tonnes of cobs per year.  I have contacted Bio-Corn to determine its sources of cobs.  My guess is that its sources are commercial farms.   This is from an article<https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.standardmedia.co.ke%2Fbusiness%2Farticle%2F2001251825%2Fcompany-to-make-chemicals-from-maize-cobs&data=02%7C01%7C%7C7be4162569ba465b835308d79e83e5e7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637152161665846805&sdata=zfBFDZRI5oTCuQqdOaZUIlgVzTnr3OcBR7Rv2p8WyjU%3D&reserved=0> announcing the opening of the factory:
"[T]he factory is expected to be a major boost to maize farmers who can now earn from the cobs, which often end up as waste or domestic fuel."

Sun24 is looking at more efficient ways to burn cobs.  Your Cookswell KCJ (Kenya Ceramic Jiko) would work well.  Smallholders already burning cobs can increase efficiency by burning them in charcoal jikos like the KCJ.

Maize cobs may be an underutilized, renewable cooking fuel source.  And a source for char.

Kevin
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