[Stoves] Burning coal in cookstoves

[Dean Still]

Dear Tom,

Damon Ogle and I find ourselves reminding each other that "Speculation is
Useless" when we try to figure out reality by talking. Doing the experiment
saves a lot of time (and ego involvement). Frequently the results were not
predicted...

I am very interested in coal burning because coal is used a lot in China.
The factory where we are making wood and charcoal burning stoves (and stove
parts) in China sells 2 million coal burning stoves and ceramic combustion
chambers per year. We are going to be starting a series of experiments after
ETHOS to try to learn how to burn coal more cleanly and I am enjoying this
discussion. If we find anything useful, maybe cleaner coal burning stoves
can be made in China. Can't hurt, the air on the East Coast of China is
pretty thick!

Maybe Stove Camp 2008 should be about burning coal? 

We will have the Chinese stoves at ETHOS, by the way.

All Best,

Dean

-----Original Message-----
From: stoves-bounces at listserv.repp.org
[mailto:stoves-bounces at listserv.repp.org] On Behalf Of Thomas Reed
Sent: Friday, December 28, 2007 7:38 AM
To: Discussion of biomass cooking stoves; Paul Anderson; Robb Walt
Subject: Re: [Stoves] Burning coal in cookstoves

Dear Paul and Aul:

In 1998 Robb Walt (President of Community Power Corporation) asked me 
the same question about burning coal in our WoodGas (Turbo) cookstove.  
My opinion was that because coal had very low volatiles compared to 
biomass that it would not work. 

WRONG!  At least for Coors Western Coal. 

This being Christmas time, you should have found a lump of coal in your 
stocking, but I had to go find coal aat eh Coors company here in 
Golden.  I got a few lumps off the coal train and ground them to walnut 
size and fired up the stove, using wood pellets for "tinder", since coal 
is notoriously hard to light.

The coal burned longer than any biomass I had tested and left a large of 
amount of coke behind unburned (could be useful for sequestration).  In 
a trip to India we demonstrated a different coal at Mukunda's  
Combustion-Gasification-Pyrolysis lab in Bangalore.  I ran it again a 
few weeks ago in a different pyrolyser with the same results.  Good 
clean flame, long burning.

So for practical reasons we can keep coal on the table, particularly if 
the resulting coke can be sequestered.

And I have learned that *it is better to try one simple little test than 
to talk about a subject forever.

*Yours truly,

TOM REED      BEF






Paul S. Anderson wrote:
> Dear Philip and Crispin and John Davies and all,
>
> Granted there are many types/qualities of coal, so emissions will vary
> considerably.
>
> Is there some "quality coal" (probably low in sulfur and some other stuff)
that
> could possibly become an acceptable cookstove fuel (as lump coal or in
> briquette form)?  Or is coal simply always going to be "nasty" as a
cookstove
> fuel?
>
> How can some of these "nasties" be eliminated?
> Which ones disappear if the fire is hot enough (as in the inside of the
vertical
> holes in the briquettes)?
> Which ones can be scrubbed or filtered out, and can any
filtering/scrubbing be
> possible in small devices for cookstoves or small-home heating?
>
> Paul
>   
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