FW: [Biochar] Natural Graphite

by (updated on )







 

 

Doc / Dr TLUD / Paul S. Anderson, PhD — Website:  
www.drtlud.com

         Email:  psanders@ilstu.edu       Skype:   paultlud

         Phone:  Office: 309-452-7072    Mobile & WhatsApp: 309-531-4434

Exec. Dir. of Juntos Energy Solutions NFP    Go to:
www.JuntosNFP.org 

Inventor of RoCC kilns and author of Biochar white paper :  See 
www.woodgas.energy/resources  

Author of “A Capitalist Carol” (free digital copies at
www.capitalism21.org)

         with pages 88 – 94 about solving the world crisis for clean cookstoves.

 

From: main@Biochar.groups.io <main@Biochar.groups.io&gt;
On Behalf Of Paul S Anderson via groups.io

Sent: Friday, December 31, 2021 12:38 PM

To: main@Biochar.groups.io

Subject: Re: [Biochar] Natural Graphite

 

[This message came from an external source. If suspicious, report to
abuse@ilstu.edu]

Aaron,

 

It is great to know of your activities.   You are using TLUDs that are barrel size (generally larger than most work for the cookstove efforts), plus using pellets, plus using MUCH forced air, and a central column for the secondary air instead
of a ring (annulus) of secondary air.    So you have a rather distinctive combination and you are getting distinctive results.    Such experimentation is the essence of TLUD progress.   You do not need to model it if you can actually do it in the desired scale 
and have the results instead of some modeled expectation that should then be checked.   And now you can draw it (model it) to help explain it to others and to study further the known outcomes.

 

I can relate to doing the experiments on your driveway in front of your house.   And big flames are exciting, especially at night!!.

 

Until you can replicate that special substance that you have shown, it is hard to determine what it is and if it has “value” beyond the experience.

 

One recommendation is to stop using gasoline for ignition.  Far better with kerosene, charcoal lighter, alcohol (especially the jel type), and fatwood, etc.   An inexperienced “helper” could cause real damage with gasoline.

 

And the big challenge is to make it “practical” with some usage for replication.   ^^^^^^^   I just wrote that line and then received your post  in which you wrote:   

“I want to provide TLUD stoves to homeless groups in the winter , here in the USA.  I would like to provide them with cheap wood fuel source they burn for heat in exchange for returning the biochar.  Could it be made safe enough? Legal
egough? Never indoor burning!”

 

The biochar is the key.   Do not burn the biomass all the way to ash.   But to promote this for assisting the homeless  can raise some questions that relate to social policy, economics, and social justice, being quite different than the
science of pyrolysis.

 

Best wishes,

 

Paul

 

 

 

 

Doc / Dr TLUD / Paul S. Anderson, PhD — Website:  
www.drtlud.com

         Email:  psanders@ilstu.edu       Skype:   paultlud

         Phone:  Office: 309-452-7072    Mobile & WhatsApp: 309-531-4434

Exec. Dir. of Juntos Energy Solutions NFP    Go to:
www.JuntosNFP.org 

Inventor of RoCC kilns and author of Biochar white paper :  See 

www.woodgas.energy/resources  

Author of “A Capitalist Carol” (free digital copies at

www.capitalism21.org)

         with pages 88 – 94 about solving the world crisis for clean cookstoves.

 

From: main@Biochar.groups.io <main@Biochar.groups.io>
On Behalf Of Teel, Wayne via groups.io

Sent: Friday, December 31, 2021 6:37 AM

To: main@Biochar.groups.io

Subject: Re: [Biochar] Natural Graphite

 

[This message came from an external source. If suspicious, report to
abuse@ilstu.edu]

Aaron,

 

Fascinating video and info.  Thanks.  The question that arose while looking at your videos was whether or not humidity levels impact the flame patterns observed?  Perhaps there is some variability in the water content of the fuel?  Also,
I was wondering if you ever tried something like hog waste (ground up woody debris from street trees, Christmas trees and the like) which are far less uniform than pellets?  We have had good luck with using hog waste that is sundried – much better heat production
and consistency – as opposed to air dried.  By sundried I mean spreading out the fuel on a dry surface in a single layer and letting the sun reduce water content in the chips.  Moister wood leads to harder starting and smokier burns.  We are just using a simple
TLUD modified from Paul Anderson’s designs with no forced air supplement.

 

Wayne

 

From: main@Biochar.groups.io <main@Biochar.groups.io>
On Behalf Of aaron w

Sent: Friday, December 31, 2021 6:08 AM

To: main@Biochar.groups.io

Subject: Re: [Biochar] Natural Graphite

 

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Thank you so much for the response, Paul.

 

     I will continue to attempt to recreate the experiment and reproduce the melted substance.  I’ll document as much as possible.  I’ve made 3 more attempts since and I learned what doesn’t work.

 

Here is what I do know.

 

     There are two types of flames possible when lighting a TLUD.  There is a standard blue and yellow flame and there are pink/purple/blue flames you can get on much rarer occasions.  

 

     When I have Blue/Yellow flames for the duration of the burn a large amount of glowing coals can be found when I dump out the biochar for cooling.  A biochar yield of 12 ~ 20% is expected.

 

     When I get Pink/Purple/Blue flames There are usually almost no glowing coals when dumping out the biochar.  The Biochar yield is expected between 27% – 35%. 

 

     So far, the only other WOOD stoves I have seen produce the PPB (Pink/Purple/Blue) flames were made by Alex English.  Some rice husk TLUD stoves often have pink flames. Some wood gasifiers for making engines run on woodgas produce PPB
flames that gives the most horsepower and are considered ideal fuel, but PPB flames are not created everytime they burn a fuel load.

 

     I believe it is not the pre mixing that is responsible for the PPB flames and it is related to how the flame front is operating.   My theory is that my stoves create enough back up pressure of wood gasses that the gasses are being
pushed below the flame front and igniting there instead of hot glowing charcoal.  Somehow this is a more complete form of combustion?  However, my stoves do not burn PPB every time I light them.  

 

     How the pellets are ignited have a lot to do with the flame colors, imo.  I light my pellets with gasoline 95% of the time. (Increased chance of flashback and preheated pellets?) Since my stove openings are excessively restricted they
require taller chimneys to create enough draw to ignite the pellets.  I sometimes get flashback of the flame down the chimney.

 

     So far, I’m the only person I know who is experimenting with screens that are used for containing the flames at the top of the chimney while all the oxygen is mixed thoroughly with the gasses all the way up the chimney before igniting.

It’s produces the very bluest laminar flames I have ever seen from burning wood.  These flames are often non luminous.  The screen increases the chances of  Flashbacks.

 

Bluest Flames

 

 

Here’s the point.

 

     Melting biochar using hot coals and a couple of atmospheres of pressure is impossible no matter how many CFM your blower is.  Melting biochar at 4500c without melting your stove is impossible, though carbon is a good insulator.  Achieving
the 10 bar pressure required to melt carbon in a TLUD is not feasible.

 

     The only way this temperature and pressure could be achieved in a TLUD is from what I call the  “flashback”.  This is what happens when the screen holding my flame at the top of the tall chimney gets too hot and ignites the gasses
inside the chimney and they rapidly burn down to the oxygen source in an sometimes explosive manner.  The combination of the air pressure and extreme heat created by that kind of flash, MIGHT be hot enough to to cause carbon to melt.  This would act like a
fire piston.  A fire piston uses air pressure to ignite char cloth to make an ember.  It uses air at normal air temperature and condenses the heat in that air enough to ignite the carbon cloth. A flashback could condense heat and provide enough psi to melt
the carbon?

 

***Flashbacks can be deadly***  

 

     I believe the flashback might be one way to change your wood gasses from burning  blue and yellow into pink/purple/blue by igniting more actual flames at the flame front than glowing coals.  It probably adds a quick increase of temperature
into the wood pellets which helps the wood pellets burn and create enough heat to release more hydrocarbons and sustain itself and use all available oxygen before the solid carbon can oxidize and combust.  My theory might be wrong about the how,  but glowing
coals seem to be missing.

 

 

This is the documentation that I do have for further study.

 

 

     Here’s a video of a flashback from the same burn that created the shiny molten stuff.  Secondary air at 100%.  Blower at 25% power.  The blower provides primary and secondary air. It took a lot of attempts to learn how to keep the
gasses lit while adding that much air.

 

 

     This is later during the same burn when I finally got the blower’s full power going into the stove. Secondary air 100%.  Secret! Turn off the secondary air then add the blower air and then open the secondary air to keep the flames
lit when using a screen.

 

 

 

     This video is from the end of that same burn and damage can be seen on the outer chamber.  I had a copper pipe in between chambers to act as a spacer. (Catalyst?)

 

 

 

 

     Here is a video of a future attempt burn where I ended up with an entire load of extremely hot glowing coals. 13% yield.  Side note ~ The char reignited itself a week later when I peed on it.  Chemical reaction? Secondary air at 25%. 
Blower at 100%.

 

 

 

     This is what the blower looks like during the day.  Blower at 100% 

 

 

 

     Here is an example of the PPB Flames with adjustable Secondary air.

 

 

 

Here is the stove burning with blue and yellow flame. 

 

 

 

     This shows how that stove is built.  To add the blower I cut a 4″ hole in the side as seen in the other videos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aaron Wingle

PyroMan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From:
main@Biochar.groups.io <main@Biochar.groups.io> on behalf of Paul S Anderson <psanders@ilstu.edu>

Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2021 8:35 PM

To: main@Biochar.groups.io <main@Biochar.groups.io>

Subject: Re: [Biochar] Natural Graphite

 

Aaron,

 

Be sure to post whatever answers you receive.    If nothing is conclusive, you should replicate the experiment yourself.   Please let us know and send photos of your TLUD gasifier before and after your experiment.

 

Happy New Year.

 

Paul

 

Doc / Dr TLUD / Paul S. Anderson, PhD — Website:  

www.drtlud.com

         Email: 
psanders@ilstu.edu       Skype:   paultlud

         Phone:  Office: 309-452-7072    Mobile & WhatsApp: 309-531-4434

Exec. Dir. of Juntos Energy Solutions NFP    Go to:

www.JuntosNFP.org 

Inventor of RoCC kilns and author of Biochar white paper :  See 

www.woodgas.energy/resources  

Author of “A Capitalist Carol” (free digital copies at

www.capitalism21.org)

         with pages 88 – 94 about solving the world crisis for clean cookstoves.

 

From:
main@Biochar.groups.io <main@Biochar.groups.io>
On Behalf Of aaron w via groups.io

Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2021 2:05 PM

To: main@Biochar.groups.io

Subject: Re: [Biochar] Natural Graphite

 

[This message came from an external source. If suspicious, report to
abuse@ilstu.edu]

I hooked up a gas powered blower to my top lit updraft stove and when it finished I saw this.  I was in a hurry and didn’t get the oxygen cut off from the stove very well.  2 days later there was 0 evidence of the molten
shiny stuff but most of the biochar was a still there. 

 

Does anyone else agree that this might be graphite made from carbonized soft wood pellets?

 

 

From:
main@Biochar.groups.io <main@Biochar.groups.io> on behalf of Stephen Joseph <joey.stephen@gmail.com>

Sent: Sunday, December 12, 2021 5:38 AM

To: main@Biochar.groups.io <main@biochar.groups.io>

Subject: Re: [Biochar] Natural Graphite

 

I have made graphitic structures by impregnating Fe into hardwood, chicken feathers and coir and firing above 800C.  It probably great industry for developing countries that have a lot of coir.

Bit of art and a bit of science

But no investment capital here to get this product totally sorted and tested.

 

Maybe someone can talk with Musk.

 

Regards

Stephen

 

On Sun, Dec 12, 2021 at 11:29 AM Ron Larson <rongretlarson@comcast.net> wrote:

Marshall and list:

 

Thanks for this response.  

 

I hope you’ll let your resource know of the opportunity..  You and everybody with a lead. 

I can’t think of a better group to know/learn about biochar – thinking the Elon Musk-sponsored $100 million X-Prize.

 

Ron

 

 

 

On Dec 11, 2021, at 12:53 PM, Marshall Mermell <mmermell@advancedresilientbiocarbon.com> wrote:

 

Hi Ron,

There is a graphite-like biochar that can be used depending on the use and the customers’ needs and acceptance.

 

Marshall



Marshall Mermell

Advanced Resilient Biocarbon, LLC

New York Hudson Valley office:

292 Main Street

P.O. Box 333

Cold Spring, NY 10516 (Eastern time zone) 

Turning Waste Into Revenue™

Tel/Cell: 845.222.5048 | Fax: 845.231.4061 | WhatsApp: 845.222.5048

NOTICE: Sender does not intend to waive confidentiality or privilege. 

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On Sat, Dec 11, 2021 at 12:26 PM Ron Larson <rongretlarson@comcast.net> wrote:

List

This news report says that Tesla needs more natural graphite.

               
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-06/if-tesla-is-having-supply-chain-troubles-everyone-should-worry?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_term=211211&utm_campaign=sharetheview

Details at:

       
https://comments.ustr.gov/s/extensiondetails?rid=GHMTMP47DC

Can some form of biochar do the job?

Ron

 

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