 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
REPP-CREST
1612 K Street, NW
Suite 202
Washington, DC 20006
contact us
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| Bioenergy Archive for May 2002 |
|
| 36 messages, last added Tue Nov 26 17:13:53 2002 |
[Date Index][Thread Index]
Dear Anders, Jane and ALL:
I have long been amazed at the productivity of biomass from so many species.
This is NOT the problem. The problem is that biomass is a GREAT energy
source, but a LOUSY fuel (except hardwoods in a well designed woodstove).
> Tom and all, This point about hardwoods is very significant and much over looked. I have found only one person in the United States breeding hardwoods for improved lumber production as opposed to just nursery stock. Waste from lumber and paper production is the largest source of utilized bioenergy in this country.
> If nature is providing a nearly perfect predensified fuel, why is it so overlooked? My guess is that it is the time interval needed to grow most hardwood and the typical lack of foresight in this country that gets us into these messes. We need to improve our growth of solid fuel the way we have learned to grow corn.
>The average yield of corn is 5x to 10x per acre what it was 100 years ago. Why not breed Oak, Walnut, Black Cherry, Maple, Hickory, Locust, Ash, Elm, Hedge, and other hardwood trees for these yields? Instead of replacing 10% of the coal use in this country, we could replace 50% or more.
> The foresighted work of Dr. Charles Michler of Purdue U. is focused on the first three woods on this list. His amazing work has led to development of a program to identify superior trees for breeding as seedlings instead of waiting the usual growth term. This system holds the promise of even better results when combined with genetic engineering (GE). I have encouraged him to not rule out the energy production characteristics of these trees as he searches for superior lumber trees.
> I have my first crop of Osage Orange (hedgeapple) trees in the third year stage in my greenhouse. This tree was chosen first by the native Osage Indian tribe and again in the late 1800s by pioneer farmers. It has both high Btu. fuelwood yield and strong durable lumber.
> A round of applause from the bioenergy list is in order for the visionary Dr. Michler. ;-)
> In seperate response to Kevin's comments: This COST of military oilfield protection, has special significance to those of us with close friends INJURED and KILLED in Mideast conflicts on both sides of the issue. Least we forget, the HIGHEST COST of our fuel on this Memorial Day.
This problem is being fixed
> One can only hope and pray.
1) by densification of biomass which converts miscellaneous trash into
usable fuel
2) by improved gasifiers, stoves, combustors etc. which burn clean and
efficiently.
So don't worry too much about yield today. Concentrate on conversion.
> Better idea Tom, lets concentrate on BOTH yield and conversion. A WAR is fought on many fronts. Can conversion improvements potentially yield growth factors of 2x to 10x in a single full lifetime?
Yours truly, TOM REED THE BIOMASS ENERGY FOUNDATION
www.woodgas.com
> Daniel J. Dimiduk
Future fuelwood breeder
Shangri-La Research and Development Co.
Carefree Landscape Maintenance Co.
Dayton, Ohio, USA
-
Bioenergy List Archives:
http://www.crest.org/discussion/bioenergy/200202/
Bioenergy List Moderator:
Tom Miles, tmiles@trmiles.com
List-Post: <mailto:bioenergy@crest.org>
List-Help: <mailto:bioenergy-help@crest.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:bioenergy-unsubscribe@crest.org>
List-Subscribe: <mailto:bioenergy-subscribe@crest.org>
Sponsor the Bioenergy List: http://www.crest.org/discuss3.html
-
Other Bioenergy Events and Information:
http://www.bioenergy2002.org
http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1010424940_7.html Bioenergy
http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1011975339_7.html Gasification
http://www.crest.org/articles/static/1/1011975672_7.html Carbon
|
|
|
