[Bioconversion] Holistic-Fuel

[Jeff Davis]

Dear List,

This study of the charcoal fireball has been a stimulating adventure. It 
started in the fall of 2005 while scanning the archives. Looks like we have 
John Tatom and Tom Reed to blame for this.

After some luck with charcoal someone mentioned paper. I have lost track who 
but I think it was a stove lister. The paper fireball is quite intriguing, I 
must say. It gave me inspiration to start to study pulp fiber and paper. 
Interesting how parallel the world of paper is to our biomass fuel.

Interwoven between fuel, stoves and gasification is sustainability! That is 
the driving force behind the title of this e-mail, Holistic Fuel.

So what about this goofy idea of holistic fuel/fireballs? Well, paper sticks 
together because of interlocking particles called fiber and hydrogen bonding. 
I also theorize that charcoal dust could be mixed in with the fibers. 

This is an odd process that I hope can unify many odd potential fuels like 
switchgrass, algae, waste vegetables, paper waste, etc. Oh, algae is also a 
reported binder. I do not see this as a large scale process, more as a 
process for the individual or small farm. It is not meant to replace another 
process but to add one more option to the list.

Allow me to give an overview of the process as I see it at this point in time. 
Lets use switchgrass as an example. Let it go dormant as long as possible. 
Mow and wind row it. We are in no hurry to collect it at this point, like 
hay. This is called retting, gleaned from paper making. This should do three 
things: 1. leach nutrients back into the soil. 2. Easier to pulp. 3. Burn 
better (Roger Samson). I would not use the term biodegrade here. My reason is 
that this retting process is a beneficiation technique, not degrading. In the 
spring, after the snow is off, would be the time I would harvest it. I plan 
to start with just a forked high-lift, like they use in Russia. But you can 
use your preferred method. One can collect a lot with just a hay fork and 
wagon.

Kind of nice not having to worry about keeping your fuel dry or how to store 
it (to a point). Sometimes lazy is best. Next we load the hollander beater 
with switchgrass and water. The hollander is home built, I think it is 
doable. I plan on building a small one first. Check out my web page for some 
work on how much power is needed.

Now we end up with pulp and what I would like to name “bio-tea”, named after 
manure-tea. My hope is to use it as fertilizer. First we return something, to 
the soil, with retting and now with bio-tea. Not sure if this could be used 
in a digester and I doubt that it could be used to make alcohol, any ideas? 

Next comes the fireballing agglomeration part. The formation of fireballs with 
charcoal dust is quite different from  fireballing wet pulp. By far the most 
documentation is on the balling of dust. One starts with a rotating drum, 
disc or cone. Add dust, next a spray of water and the balling agglomerations 
begins. A lot has been written about this but balling agglomerations with wet 
feed stock has only been hinted to, in my readings. I have found it to be 
more difficult. But balling agglomerations is more art than science, most has 
been learned empirically! Also a lot of progress has been made on the science 
end.

One way to look at wet feed stock balling agglomerating  is as an opposite to 
dust balling. In pulp balling your feedstock is wet and you add dust to help 
create or keep the formation of balls. I did this by adding dry sawdust.

If the moisture is just right it will ball but the window seems vary small, in 
regards to just pulp in the balling agglomerator.

The third way that I was able to produce fireballs with wet pulp was by 
crumbling the pulp into the agglomerator. At this point in time I believe 
that this method would be the most repeatable, also the driest. It appears 
there is no nucleus formation/growth as in dust balling. I think of this as a 
two stage agglomerator. The first stage meters the size of the pellet and the 
rolling gives it shape and structure/density.

At  this  point the green ball is wet and must be dried somewhat, if any 
quantity is going to be made and they will be piled.

Looking forward to balling algae. It should prove easier to macerate. This 
would lead one to believe that the fireballing of algae would have low energy 
requirement. If algae prove successful and has good combustion qualities, 
fireballs could find a home on the small farm or homestead. Most small farm 
land, were I live, is a hodge-podge of dry and wet soil. In the areas of a 
field that is dry (good drainage) plant switchgrass or ag products. The wet 
areas would make good subjects for algae ponds. An algae pond is natures 
bio-reactor/solar collector.

Today we are blind to the fact that land has varying features. We tend to plow 
right over (figure of speech) the wet areas. If we could learn to read the 
land better we would do a better job of working it.

After our new species of fuel is burned the ash/char would be spread on the 
fields. It could also be possible to mix it with bio-tea. Now we have 
returned something to the field three times via retting, bio-tea and 
ash/char. I think Tesla would approve (hint: #3). 

Alcohol connection: Seems like I have read that alcohol can be made out of 
paper. If so, maybe it would be possible to make it from this pulp and 
possibly make fireballs out of the left over mash. If the pulp was from 
eatable stock the fireballs could be feed to animals. But I will have to look 
into this.


-- 
Jeff Davis
Somewhere 20 miles south of Lake Erie, USA
http://www.velocity.net/~jeff0124