[Stoves] RE [Gasification] Stoves using wood and charcoal at the same time

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Paul

A couple of comments:

>However, I see no advantage to mixing cold biomass with cold charcoal as
the
>input fuel to go into any stove or gasifier device.

The advantages I can think of are that carbon per kg contains more heat than
other fuels.  It also might be a left-over fuel and it is a good use of it.


>...it seems that the input charcoal would sort of "sit there"
>while pyrolysis processes on the input biomass converts it into charcoal

I think this presumes that there is not combustion of the carbon from the
charcoal which is definitely going on or else you would get 50% charcoal
yield, which does not happen.  I think some of it will burn.

>Crispin's Maputo Ceramic Stove (MCS) that is designed for charcoal 
>burning seems like the best charcoal stove, but I have not seen it in 
>operation nor seen the emissions test results.

The emissions of CO (which are the most important to me) are about 1/2 of a
JIKO, roughly, when operating at good power.  Choked they are significantly
less because a well made JIKO produces nearly pure CO when it is choked.  I
choked my meter trying to measure it and when it hit 95% CO/CO2 I quit and
have to run the machine for an hour breathing clean air to try to get the
cell working again!

So, give yourself a space of 2 inches above the char for a viable CO flame
and it does wonders.

Regards
Crispin in Matsapha