<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Lloyd,<div><br></div><div> Thanks for considering us but we are not really into a mass production activity. Rather we are focussing on production by the masses in the form of hundreds of small entrepreneur / producer teams catering to their own local markets. <div><br></div><div>It could be that you are seeing this as a way to go for larger small business teams catering to the more urban areas too but I'm not convinced of the real demand for it, given the plethora of cheap natural gas and petroleum there, unless the government has decided to put its foot down ...</div><div><br></div><div>But here are some numbers to banter around for comparisons sake: </div><div>The 12 to 15 (150 gram, hollow core, wet process biomass briquettes made by any of the 20 odd hand presses out in circulation now, --even with a good 5 to 8 kw hammer mill to speed up material preparation--- will cost the family of say five persons, about 15% of the briquette producer's daily wage. </div><div><br></div><div>Just out of curiosity, how does that compute in comparison to local solid fuel costs , if indeed such is the predominant fuel type in use ? </div><div><br></div><div>Richard Stanley</div><div><br><div><div>On Nov 7, 2010, at 12:49 AM, Lloyd Helferty wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">
<div bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
Harry,<br>
<br>
Might I recommend someone who is a briquetting expert? (although <i><b>not</b></i>
a biochar expert)<br>
(It's not easy to find <b>both</b>, although I'm quite open to
learning to become an expert in both... -- right now I know a lot
more from the biochar side than from the briquetting side, but <b>I
do wish to support both</b>.)<br>
<br>
Roger Samson from <i><b>REAP Canada</b></i> knows all about
briquetting and cubing, including (probably) all the companies.<br>
He is also a "stove" expert.<br><div style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; "><span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.reap-canada.com/links.htm">http://www.reap-canada.com/</a></div>
<br>
Another option might be to contact<b> Richard Stanley</b>, the
Director of the "Legacy Foundation" in Ashland, OR<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.legacyfound.org/">www.legacyfound.org</a><br>
They have developed a micro-enterprise-based briquetting technology
which converts things like non-productive agricultural residues into
"economic and environmentally sound heating and cooking fuel for
families and communities in developing countries"... and can even be
used in the USA -- for things like yard wastes and junk mail.<br>
<br>
P.S. I have a possible alternate project for you, if you are
interested. I know someone in <b>Mexico</b> who would really like
to start a <b>"drylands feedstock" ethanol industry</b> in Mexico
using <i><b>Agave**</b></i> as the feedstock.<br>
We would like to announce that "a major project will be going
ahead" ... He wants to make the announcement sometime before COP16
in Cancun.<br>
He claims he can produce >500 tonnes of biomass per hectare
(after year 3), equivalent to 50+ tonnes of dry-bone biomass with
75% cellulose content. Each hectare could produce 25+ tonnes of
biochar AFTER yielding up to 10,000 gallons of ethanol per hectare
per year (5,000 gallons of distilled ethanol and 5,000 gallons of
cellulosic ethanol).<br>
<br>
** One hectare of agave produces <b>3X more sugars than sugarcane</b>,
4X more cellulose than the fastest growing eucalyptus and 5X more
biomass than the GMO poplar tree designed in the USA for cellulosic
biofuels production.<br>
<br>
Note: Every year ~3 million tonnes of agave leaves are left in the
field to rot (the tequila industry in Mexico doesn't use the leaves
for tequila production, although they have a higher sugar content
than sugarcane). Around 10% of the total plant weight is formed of
sugars. (~20-30% of agave stem's weight is sugars (fructans), which
is why they use it to make Tequila and many other liquors. Of
course, there is no reason why it can not also be used to produce
liquid biofuels - and the leftover "bagasse" could be used to make
Biochar.)<br>
<br>
Note some advantages of Agave:<br>
• Thrives on dry land/ "marginal land". Most efficient use of
soil, <b>water</b>* and light.<br>
* thrives with only 190mm of rain per year<br>
• Massive production. <b>Year-around</b> harvesting.<br>
• Very high yields with <b>very low or no inputs</b><br>
• Very high quality biomass and <b>sugars</b><br>
• <b>Very low cost</b> of production. Not a commodity, so
prices are not volatile<br>
• Very versatile: biofuels, bioproducts, chemicals<br>
• <b>World-wide</b> geographical distribution***<br>
<br>
*** By running a pilot project in Mexico and learning how this
industry might work, in time what it learned in Mexico could
probably eventually be translated to the rest of the "Drylands"
around the world.<br>
Note also that Drylands cover about <b>40% of the Earth's surface</b>
today (>60 million square Km is "dryland", with >25 million
square Km of "semiarid" land; equivalent to ~20% of US territory and
>75% of Mexico) and this will likely expand as the Global Climate
changes (whether this change is natural or not). These drylands
already support over 2 billion people.<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72"> Lloyd Helferty, Engineering Technologist
Principal, Biochar Consulting (Canada)
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.biochar-consulting.ca/">www.biochar-consulting.ca</a>
603-48 Suncrest Blvd, Thornhill, ON, Canada
905-707-8754; 647-886-8754 (cell)
Skype: lloyd.helferty
Steering Committee member, Canadian Biochar Initiative
President, Co-founder & CBI Liaison, Biochar-Ontario
Advisory Committee Member, IBI
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1404717">http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1404717</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42237506675">http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42237506675</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://groups.google.com/group/biochar-ontario">http://groups.google.com/group/biochar-ontario</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.meetup.com/biocharontario/">http://www.meetup.com/biocharontario/</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://grassrootsintelligence.blogspot.com/">http://grassrootsintelligence.blogspot.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.biochar.ca/">www.biochar.ca</a>
Biochar Offsets Group: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2446475">http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2446475</a></pre>
<br>
On 11/2/2010 1:39 PM, Erin Rasmussen wrote:
<blockquote cite="mid:001c01cb7ab4$dbb6bfc0$93243f40$@com" type="cite">
<pre wrap="">The International Institute for Ecological Agriculture (IIEA) and Project
Gaia
invite you to attend the
The Appropriate-scale Alcohol Fuel Production Seminar:
Global Solutions for Cooking, Refrigeration, Electricity and Transport
Monday, November 29 - Thursday, December 2, 2010
Embassy Suites, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
(See the announcement:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.bioenergylists.org/content/appropriate-scale-alcohol-fuel">http://www.bioenergylists.org/content/appropriate-scale-alcohol-fuel</a> )
The International Institute for Ecological Agriculture (IIEA) and Project
Gaia cordially invite you to attend a seminar focused on the global
production and use of appropriate-scale alcohol fuel. Alcohol fuels offer an
abundant supply of energy for cooking, heating, refrigeration, electricity
and transportation needs.
Worldwide, over three billion people lack access to modern forms of energy
and cook with traditional stoves that burn polluting fuels. Illnesses
resulting from indoor air pollution claim almost 2 million lives worldwide
each year. In many parts of the world pneumonia in infants and small
children is the primary cause of death, and evidence links kitchen smoke to
chronic bronchitis in women, low birth-weight in children, active TB, and
many other ailments. Clean-burning stoves and alcohol fuels can dramatically
change these statistics.
During the 3½ day educational seminar, participants will gain an in-depth
understanding of ways to:
* Provide pollution-free energy for safe indoor cooking and other uses
* Stabilize domestic fuel production costs to less than 30 cents/liter
(USD)
* Curb deforestation, black carbon emissions and global warming—while
earning carbon credits
* Integrate domestic food and energy production
* Identify high-value, high-yield crops for all climates to produce
sustainable energy and increase soil fertility
* Create and encourage permanent local jobs
* Learn about micro distillery manufacturing investment and distribution
opportunities and how to couple stoves with distilleries
Registration for this unique program is limited and “invitation only”. The
seminar is ideally suited to the information needs of government and NGO
officials, energy, agriculture, public health, economic and environmental
policy makers, secondary and university educators, labor leaders, motor
fleet and facility supervisors, climate policy experts, infrastructure
investment bankers, waste water treatment managers and domestic food
production professionals.
Seminar Registration is $700.00 USD per participant
To book your room reservation, please use (
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/A/ATLLXES-IEG-2010">http://embassysuites.hilton.com/en/es/groups/personalized/A/ATLLXES-IEG-2010</a>
1128/index.jhtml?WT.mc_id=POG ) or call 404-261-7733
Group Name: The Intl’ Institute for Ecological Agriculture - Group Code: IEG
For program details, venue logistics or to register, please contact:
Tom Harvey/ IIEA: +01 (530) 257-3533 at <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:thcommunications@gmail.com">thcommunications@gmail.com</a> Brady
Luceno/ Project Gaia: +1 (717) 334-5594 at <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:bluceno@projectgaia.com">bluceno@projectgaia.com</a>
Find IIEA at <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.permaculture.com/">www.permaculture.com</a> and Project Gaia at <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.projectgaia.com/">www.projectgaia.com</a>
-----Original Message-----
From: Harry Stokes [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:hstokesoffice@gmail.com">mailto:hstokesoffice@gmail.com</a>]
Sent: Saturday, October 23, 2010 6:31 PM
To: 'Tom Miles'
Cc: Joe Obueh (PG); 'Brady Luceno'; 'Gulce Askin'
Subject: Announcement of the IIEA-Project Gaia Appropriate Scale Alcohol
Fuel Production Seminar -- Global Solution for Cooking, etc.
Dear Tom,
Would you kindly put the attached announcement of the Atlanta seminar on the
Bioenergy Listserv? That would be terrific if you would.
The announcement is the first attachment. The second attachment is provided
to show you what types of topics will be covered by David Blume of IIEA.
David is author of the best-selling book "Alcohol Can Be a Gas" which is a
great read, and also a technical storehouse of knowledge. Not only is the
book really fun to read, it is also the most valuable resource on small
scale distillation--and maybe distillation science in general--that I have
ever encountered. It is a great achievement.
If you know of anywhere else we should announce this, please let us know.
David Blume and a core team of developers are raising capital for a business
that will essentially mass produce small, efficient, simple but highly
engineered micro distilleries. These distilleries will be produced for
maybe half the cost or less of a large distillery, on a unit cost basis, and
the economics of ethanol production from these plants, especially
considering the value of co-products, will be enormously good.
We hope to put these micro distilleries to use in Africa and Haiti. We are
being inundated with interest in the idea. A number of West Africans are
already signed up for the Atlanta seminar. We would like to draw in some
people from Central America as well.
David and his team are raising investment capital for the plant, and are
putting out a private placement offer for purchase of shares in the
business. They have a detailed prospectus that could go out to seriously
interested investors.
Would you be interested? Or do you know others who might be? If you are or
do, I will send you a one-page prospectus introduction and information on
how to contact Blume Distillation LLC. This is not for the Listserv, but
just for you and people you would pass it on to one-on-one.
Best wishes,
Harry
P.S. We are looking for a briquetting and biochar expert for the Haiti
project, and I was in touch with Lloyd Helferty, some time back. This would
have to be a group or business that would be able to come in and piggyback
on what we are doing, without needing to draw resources from us--e.g. a team
member that could pull their own weight.
</pre>
<pre wrap=""><fieldset class="mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
_______________________________________________
Stoves mailing list
to Send a Message to the list, use the email address
Stoves mailing list
to UNSUBSCRIBE or Change your List Settings use the web page
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org">http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org</a>
for more Biomass Cooking Stoves, News and Information see our web site:
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.bioenergylists.org/">http://www.bioenergylists.org/</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Stoves@lists.bioenergylists.org">Stoves@lists.bioenergylists.org</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org">http://lists.bioenergylists.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_lists.bioenergylists.org</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
</div>
</blockquote></div><br></div></div></body></html>