[Stoves] Charcoal Rocket Stove

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Dr Tom

I want to disagree slightly with your "red herring" comment.  I was in 
agreement with this until recently when a lot more charcoal from 
non-traditional sources became available.

Yes, it was about forests and inefficient conversion and better wood stoves 
and alla that.

Bu-u-ut.... now we have bullrushes compacted into 'wood' and charcoaled, we 
have sugar cane leaves made into custom shapes exacly suited to highly 
efficient stoves.  This is a major change in the stove industry because it 
means we are looking at using a very nice fuel in the longer term, freed 
from the need to cut trees to get it.

There are many losses in the forest all of which could be charcoaled, 
especially using the retort systems that nearly eliminate the negative 
emissions.  Obviously burning the gases for some useful purpose like 
kiln-drying wood would be a good use.  Agreed.

But charcoal, like paraffin, is here permanently as part of the fuel supply. 
Paraffin?  Yes, because it can be made from all sorts of bio-oils. 
Bio-paraffin.  Just like bio-diesel.

Best regards
Crispin



>So, while charcoal is easier to use, efficiency, economy and
>environmental cleanliness favor clean combustion of wood in WoodGas
>stoves or other improved stoves.  *Charcoal is a red herring* *fuel *in
>the larger overall view of biomass fuels (unless you are using the
>energy from the volatiles for other purposes).