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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Dear Richard <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>></span>Interesting argument but I feel that you leave out one very critical element in your assessment: <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I agree I left out an analysis of biomass fuel processing. Thanks for covering that base.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>></span>Your assumption that the fuel ( as charcoal ) has to be transported is, I assume, based on the fact that one cannot go around making charcoal in the cities. <span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>That plus people usually make charcoal in fields and it has to be transported to somewhere else to be used. I was really referring to the trucking of urban fuel. It is apparently worth trucking charcoal 600 km in Mozambique, and I believe the same for Dakar in Senegal as some of the wood and charcoal is from Kaolack.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>></span>The issue of transport does not figure into the equation for the biomass briquette producer because of lower energy densities, although the difference is hardly 50%, when comparing well made agro residue briquettes to lump charcoal. <span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I am very interested to know what you mean when you said hardly 50%. 50% of what compared with what? If you have charcoal at 4-6% moisture and maybe 27 MJ/kg, what do you get from a leafy/grassy briquette and what from a sawdust/mechanical paper (etc). I have heard from several people who write to ask about drying the briquettes to move them more quickly. I figured the stove with horns on the side for drying them is an elegant (good and simple) solution: to apply waste heat coming through the stove body for drying. That will elevate the energy per kg. But what is the actual heat yielded by an average not-elegant stove. I was figuring on more like 15 MJ. That is where I got the 50% of heat per unit mass.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal>The issue of transport does not figure into the equation mainly because few would tend to attempt widespread distribution to distant markets, <span style='color:#1F497D'>…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Agreed. Where I made an investigation into distribution from a large producer (the super-max prison in Bloemfontein) it was still only as far as the edge of town.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>></span>Small is not only beautiful but logically linmited by common sense. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>And always was.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Where a charcoal form of heat is preferred, the local producer will just sweep up the waste crumbs and dust (15 to 20% generally) that accrues just from the handling of the charcoal (just from the truck to the retailer(s) and on to the customer.<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal>Charcoal is of course here to stay though, but even if the cost of lump charcoal goes up, the wastes tend to remain just that. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>This being up a point: what happens where there is little to no dust left over anymore? That is a resource that is rapidly going to become commoditized and enter the fuel supply chain. Isn’t Chardust processing about 7 tons a day? Pretty soon it will be like paper – you will have to pay to get it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Still, that adds value to the waste stream and someone gets a job out of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Regards<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Crispin<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div></div></body></html>