[Stoves] Retted Switchgrass Fireball Test

['AJH']

On Sat, 2 Sep 2006 15:50:45 -0700, Tom Miles wrote:

>A hazard of higher temperatures from char combustion when burning straw is
>the potential to melt ash constituents in the straw or corrode the metal
>parts with alkali salts. This could be partially offset by combined firing
>with wood or paper.   

As always everything is interrelated, so two steps forward and one
step back! I've definitively seen and increase of hard depositions on
the surfaces of my pellet stove since burning grain.

The alternative approach would be to use an indirect method to perform
the low temperature pyrolysis, such as the sort of thing Yuri proposed
and AD Karve followed up with the baggasse to charcoal maker. I've had
good results from this and I think Frans Peeters is on a similar
trail. Would keeping the pyrolysis temperature below 400C cut the
production of alkali salts or prevent their fusion with metal
surfaces? The trouble with this is I've not had a lot of success
burning the charred grain :-(.

AJH