[Stoves] Char from Corn cobs ??

Tue Jan 21 19:34:36 CST 2020

Yes, cobs burn better on a grate.  My colleagues in two regions of Uganda
tell me most cooks pile the cobs on the ground to burn them.  A charcoal
stove can act as a grate without introducing new hardware.  We have tested
this idea with women in Kasese, Uganda and received positive feedback.  Here
is the report
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8zNcWsuiuj3N0pyd0UwVFNvZFdOMjZleE9HeThEeGRsdlpF/view?usp=sharing>.
We are expanding this test to more cooks.

I hope to soon have a WBT comparing cobs in a charcoal cookstove with cobs
in three-stone.

On Tue, Jan 21, 2020 at 8:03 PM Crispin Pemberton-Pigott <
crispinpigott at outlook.com> wrote:

> Yes I understand that. Charcoal has very little value as a fertilizer too,
> but it provides aeration and hold moisture moderating growing conditions.
>
> It also has little value as a fuel because of its low mass and high ash
> content. It may be that it would fail an ash content maximum in a national
> standard.
>
> It's main merit is that is already collected and has no other significant
> use.  When surveying biomass fuel use on Lombok Island I observed a major
> use of corn cobs to be salt making. They burn well in bulk. They tend to
> char completely and then burn as char. That means there is gas production
> initially and a hot char fire afterwards. It's a pretty clean burn. They do
> better with a grate.
>
> Regards
> Crispin
>
>
> *From:* info at sun24.solar
> *Sent:* January 21, 2020 7:33 PM
> *To:* stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org
> *Reply to:* stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org
> *Subject:* Re: [Stoves] Char from Corn cobs ??
>
> Hi Crispin,
>
> Cobs have little fertilizer value, especially compared to stover.  I don't
> know about plowing over, probably depends on the farm.
>
> Kevin
>
>
> On Tue, Jan 21, 2020 at 7:28 PM Crispin Pemberton-Pigott <
> crispinpigott at outlook.com> wrote:
>
>> Dear Kevin
>>
>> Are they left to rot in the fields, because that is fertilizer.
>>
>> Perhaps they are ploughed under. That helps hold moisture.
>>
>> Crispin
>> *From:* info at sun24.solar
>> *Sent:* January 21, 2020 7:14 PM
>> *To:* stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org
>> *Reply to:* stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org
>> *Subject:* Re: [Stoves] Char from Corn cobs ??
>>
>> Here is a photo essay
>> <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fiaafrica.com%2Fa-day-in-rural-south-africa-photo-essay%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cb3f980b3ce574ff6210908d79ed2c015%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637152500318916388&sdata=R%2BUwErHu3AOUTZFtZLNRj76Ew4U3hCaBBdAI7wtsqpo%3D&reserved=0>
>> on South African families collecting and burning maize cobs as cooking
>> fuel.  But I've been emailing off list Abraham Abyslo in Nigeria, a member
>> of this list.  Nobody in his area burns cobs, though maize is grown in
>> abundance.  The cobs are left to rot.  It seems to vary by country and area
>> within the country.
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jan 21, 2020 at 7:02 PM Crispin Pemberton-Pigott <
>> crispinpigott at outlook.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Dear Neil
>>>
>>> You have highlighted th the main two attributes: high burn rate due to a
>>> high surface to volume area, and a weak structure.
>>>
>>> To make a useful fuel outside the (literally) immediate place isn't
>>> production it has to be densified unless there is a use for powdered char.
>>> The reason I mentioned the new Ugandan charcoal standard is because it has
>>> a requirement for the production of fines when bag is dropped. Charred cobs
>>> will never pass such a test.
>>>
>>> The reason they have the requirement is that the fines do not burn well.
>>> At all.  So selling a bag of charcoal briquettes is going to be cheating
>>> the customer if it is 10% fines.
>>>
>>> Regards
>>> Crispin
>>> *From:* neiltm at uwclub.net
>>> *Sent:* January 21, 2020 5:04 PM
>>> *To:* stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org
>>> *Reply to:* stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org
>>> *Subject:* Re: [Stoves] Char from Corn cobs ??
>>>
>>> On 21 Jan 2020 at 8:25, Cookswell Jikos wrote:
>>>
>>> > Corn cob charcoal itself is pretty awesome - it burns super fast and
>>> > hot which makes it good for blending with regular charcoal or quick
>>> > cooking of things like tea or rice.
>>>
>>> I have burned a few and then burned the char, not exclusively but mixed
>>> in with other 'fines' and generally friable char saved from TLUD and
>>> rocket stoves mostly, and I can identify with the above statement when
>>> comparing my home made char with more substantial commercial 'lumpwood'
>>> charcoal.
>>> I also find that wood that has half rotted, but when dry makes a very
>>> friable char, much as the corn cobs do, and does indeed burn super fast
>>> and hot, lighting exteremely quickly, which is also true of the wood
>>> itself in the TLUD.
>>>
>>> With my small cast iron pot bellied BBQ with the addition of my computer
>>> fan 'turbo', I can have a fire to cook on in about a minute from
>>> lighting
>>> with a couple of sheets of newspaper under the grate, and with enough
>>> fuel in a single charge, a fire that lasts long enough to cook chicken
>>> pieces - about 40 mins.
>>>
>>> I introduced the fan when I experienced inadequate draft because of the
>>> density of the layer of fine char impeding air flow, but apart from
>>> starting the fire, mostly it is not necessary once going, although
>>> sometimes useful in short bursts as another way to vary the heat, and if
>>> I reload during a long cook.
>>>
>>> I can appreciate though that this type of char might be difficult to
>>> transport and sell without degredation and would presumably need the
>>> sort
>>> of charcoal stove that can burn pellet char which I imagine is more
>>> structurally robust but have no experience of.  But used at source I
>>> find
>>> it excellent and easy, and makes for a very controllable heat.
>>>
>>> Neil Taylor in England
>>>
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