[Stoves] Testing Fire Biscuits/Fire Biscuit Cutter
frank
frank at compostlab.com
Sun Sep 10 13:23:29 CDT 2006
Just wondering.
We have a Leco C/N analyzer where you put a small ground sample (less
than 2 grams) in a boat, heat under O2 and convert all the carbon to
CO2. We measure the CO2 to determine the total carbon in the material.
Can this CO2 measurement be directly used to measure the max BTU or
calories available from the material? And what is that factor? and what
units are preferred? Working with these units are new to me.
If one was to crumble up a newspaper into a ball and light it there
would be complete combustion in a short time but if one was to make a
biscuit of a pack of newspaper the flame would be much slower with,
perhaps, incomplete combustion. The material is the same and has the
same percent carbon so it must be the particle density (closeness of the
carbon) thats makes the difference. That is, how much O2 can surround
the carbon. So if measurements of total carbon of the material was made
(percent carbon) and a density of the biscuit was made using the sand
flow procedure can one determine from experience the best carbon/density
ratio to use and use that value to determine how to make the best
biscuit from a wide range of materials?
Example: An oak log may be 80 % carbon by weight and have a density of
0.7 g/cc (wild guesses!) or a carbon of 0.56 g per cc and burns slowly.
But if ground to a sawdust and pressed into a brick with a density that
works best of 0.4 g/cc the carbon would be 0.32 g/cc. So using any
material to make the biscuits, if the percent carbon is known the
optimum density of the biscuit can be calculated to achieve the 0.32 g
carbon per cc. One can tel how much to press the biscuit to make the
specific volume calculated. This might help in determining what types of
materials can be used to make the biscuits. Or if a material of a lower
carbon density should be added to spread the carbon out, etc.
Then we have stacking. If the biscuits were like round sticks they burn
faster than if stacked into a large block. So now we add bulk density to
the pile and knowing the biscuit density (from sand flow) determine the
air porosity around the biscuits. Once we determine the optimum we can
change the shape of the biscuit so when stacked in any manor they will
have this percent air porosity between the biscuits. Perhaps ball shaped
with a known uniformity coeff. Egg shaped or star shaped or shaped like
coffee cups - any shape that when tossed into a pile will always have
the same, optimum air space around the particles
Back to testing compost.
Frank
psanders at ilstu.edu wrote:
>Robert sent some good comments that I am forwarding on to the Stoves
>List Serve.
>
>Paul
>
>Quoting Robert Taylor <rt at ms1.hinet.net>:
>
>
>
>>What if you made the slab in a box with removable sides, let it
>>drain/dry to a suitable consistency, took the sides off the box,
>>perhaps let it dry some more, and then cut the slab with a cheesewire
>>arrangement, or a blade (such as the tip of a shovel)? Cut in two
>>directions for cubes, cut in one direction for sticks (after breaking
>>apart the layers).
>>
>>Just a thought
>>
>>Robert Taylor
>>
>>
>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul S. Anderson" <psanders at ilstu.edu>
>>To: "lannych" <lannych at bellsouth.net>
>>Cc: "'STOVES'" <STOVES at listserv.repp.org>
>>Sent: Friday, September 08, 2006 10:21 AM
>>Subject: Re: [Stoves] Fire Biscuits/Fire Biscuit Cutter
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>Dear Lanny and all,
>>>
>>>LANNY STRIKES AGAIN!!!!!!!!!
>>>
>>>Slick!!! Simple!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!!
>>>
>>>Two main notes:
>>>
>>>1. This layered mass of fuel could probably also be cut into
>>>squares, thereby
>>>eliminating the "waste" of the odd shapes outside of the circles. But
>>>there is
>>>a certain value of pressing down on the circular cutter and being able
>>>to rotate
>>>it, helping to make the cut. Whatever the way it is cut, Lanny's
>>>creation of a
>>>sawdust-and-newspaper briquette/buscuit is indeed one of the
>>>simplest of ways
>>>we have seen for making fuels from readily available waste materials in at
>>>least many societies.
>>>
>>>2. A stove already exists that can utilize the "fire biscuits."
>>>Without doubt,
>>>the T-LUD gasifiers can utilize this uniform biomass fuel. The fuel
>>>units might
>>>need to be cut in sizes smaller than the full-sized biscuits, but that is no
>>>different than making smaller versions of other "processed" fuels
>>>like Richard
>>>Stanley's briquettes or segmenting the dung patties into appropriate
>>>sizes for
>>>specific stoves.
>>>
>>> As an example, it is quite likely that the "Hanson fire biscuits" could
>>>also be produced in long (30 cm ~ 12 inch) "fire rods" or "fire sticks" that
>>>could be highly appropriate for use in a Rocket-elbow stove. (At least
>>>that is
>>>worth testing to see what thickness/widths will stay together for
>>>that type of
>>>stove.
>>>
>>> For the T-LUD cookstoves, the biscuit sizes would be nice if about
>>>one-inch
>>>cubes (about 2x2x2 up to 3x3x3 cm). No matter that the cubes are not
>>>perfect in
>>>shape. When I made some out of dung, they looked a lot like "tablettes".
>>>
>>>So, Lanny, can you please tell us the inside tricks to do the job like
>>>you have
>>>done it.
>>>
>>>A. What mistakes should we avoid (too much or too little water, etc)?
>>>
>>>B.How much sawdust, by thickness or by handfulls or how measured?
>>>
>>>C. How many varieties (particle sizes, hardwood vs softwood, etc)
>>>of sawdust
>>>have you tried, and is there any indication that some are better or
>>>worse than
>>>others?
>>>
>>>D. What about single sheets of newspaper vs 2 or more sheets between the
>>>sawdust layers? From experience with Richard Stanley's briquettes I
>>>know that
>>>2 or more layers of paper will greatly facilitate the cross-sectional
>>>partition/separation of layers in the briquettes. So, if the stack is
>>>3 inches
>>>high and there are double-layers of paper only at the 1 and 3 inch
>>>levels, the
>>>biscuits/tablettes could be easily separated into 3 units with each one
>>>being 1
>>>inch thick.
>>>
>>>E. How dry is the optimum material at the time of cutting? How much
>>>drying is
>>>needed afterwards?
>>>
>>>F. And what about use of any pressure to help push the layers together?
>>>
>>>G. And any other observations, please.
>>>
>>>As soon as I have you reply, I will start making some. In part I want to
>>>compare there with Jeff's fireballs, another of the new technologies to make
>>>appropriate fuels from common wastes.
>>>
>>>With sincere appreciation for your experimentation and imagination about new
>>>tricks with old stuff.
>>>
>>>Paul
>>>
>>>--
>>>Paul S. Anderson, Ph.D., Geography professor - Emeritus
>>>Telephone: USA-309-452-7072 (residence and office)
>>>Internet site: www.ilstu.edu/~psanders
>>>For my gasifier stoves info, go to:
>>>http://bioenergylists.org/contributors#Paul_Anderson
>>>
>>>
>>>Quoting lannych <lannych at bellsouth.net>:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Fire Biscuits/Fire Biscuit Cutter
>>>>
>>>>Dear Stove Friends,
>>>>
>>>>Check out my new Fire Biscuit Cutter.
>>>>
>>>>It chops Fire Biscuits out of news paper/junk mail layered with sawdust.
>>>>
>>>>I am pleased with my new invention and I laughed when after
>>>>chopping down, a
>>>>biscuit popped out of the top.
>>>>
>>>>It is easy to use and there is no grinding, mashing, mixing, loading in, of
>>>>the paper just layer the paper and sawdust, soak it for 2-3 days,
>>>>dump it on
>>>>plywood, on concrete (to back up impact) an start chopping.
>>>>
>>>>Now I need a biscuit-burning stove!
>>>>
>>>>See the photos at Tom Miles Bioenergy List: Biomass Cooking Stove website
>>>>
>>>>http://bioenergylists.org/en/firebiscuit
>>>>
>>>>Lanny Henson <http://www.bioenergylists.org/>
>>>>
>>>>_______________________________________________
>>>>Stoves mailing list
>>>>Stoves at listserv.repp.org
>>>>http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_listserv.repp.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>----------------------------------------------------------------
>>>This message was sent using Illinois State University Webmail.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>Stoves mailing list
>>>Stoves at listserv.repp.org
>>>http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_listserv.repp.org
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------
>This message was sent using Illinois State University Webmail.
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Stoves mailing list
>Stoves at listserv.repp.org
>http://listserv.repp.org/mailman/listinfo/stoves_listserv.repp.org
>
>
>
>
>
--
Frank Shields
Soil Control Lab
42 Hangar way
Watsonville, CA 95076
(831) 724-5422 tel
(831) 724-3188 fax
frank at compostlab.com
www.compostlab.com
More information about the Stoves
mailing list