Re: Using Bagasse- Chardust's 'CaneCoal'

["elk" <elk@wananchi.com>]

Hi Ronal;

 

You ask:

 

1.    How will bagasse differ from sawdust in your base process?

 

No major difference in process technique between sawdust & bagasse. The latter is easier to dry & currently seems to be more available- greater quantities causing a larger disposal problem- though in fewer places.

 

 

2.  Will you now be using more mechanization - or still a lot of hand labor?

 

Aside from the use of a tractor with a front-end bucket and 4-ton trailer for haulage, we will be heavy on the labour- probably employing 15 to 20 people at 5 ton/day output. Increased mechanization certainly is an option, but not always the best solution for various reasons in this part of Africa.

 

3.  I viewed your web site for the first time in a few months (nice combination of materials).  I am interested in your water heater - which looks like it should be quite efficient. 

 

My original design is still- I think- posted on the Stoves Website. The heaters come in 90, 225, 325 and 450 litre capacities. They are based on a vertical-tube boiler design, with multiple pipes as chimneys running through the water column in the tanks. The firebox is in the base- a removable tray holds the fuel. The pipes/chimney tubes are welded into a tight central cluster just above the tray, angling out to the upper outer edge of the tank.Efficiency is close to 50%: 2.5 kg of our Vendor's Waste Briquettes heats 90 litres of water from 15 C to over 85 C in two hours with an un-insulated unit. The 450 litre heater takes 12.5 kg VWB. Insulation can be either the classic chicken-wire & plaster applied on-site or fibreglass with galvanized sheet steel or aluminium cladding applied in our workshop. The three larger heaters are hot-dipped galvanised inside & out. For the smallest (90 litre), galvanising is optional.

 

But the best thing about the heater is it's economy. In Kenya we pay $0.14 per kilowatt-hour for mains electricity. Heating water with these units & our VWB costs a mere 20% of the cost of immersion-heating with electricity.

 

rgds;

 

elk

 

 

----------------------------------------------
Elsen L.Karstad, Nairobi Kenya
elk@wananchi.com
http://www.chardust.com/

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Ron Larson

To: elk ; stoves@crest.org

Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 5:17 PM

Subject: Re: Using Bagasse- Chardust's 'CaneCoal'

Elsen:

 

    Congratulations!  A few questions:

 

 

 

 

Ron

----- Original Message -----

From: elk

To: stoves@crest.org

Sent: Thursday, March 14, 2002 3:58 AM

Subject: Using Bagasse- Chardust's 'CaneCoal'

Well, it's official now. Chardust has joined up with the Chemelil Sugar Company Ltd. in Western Kenya to establish a prototype plant for the manufacture of charcoal briquettes from waste bagasse.

 

With an enabling grant from Britain's DFID (Department for International Development) through their Business Partnership Program (BPP), Chardust and Chemelil, a parastatal company, aim to have a plant up and running within 18 months producing a minimum of 5,000 kg per day of 'CaneCoal'.

 

Production trials with bagasse at Chardust's Nairobi facility have consistently turned out a good usable substitute for lump charcoal made from wood. We hope that by focusing on the utilization of huge quantities of agri-industrial waste available within East Africa- including the coffee, timber and rice industries- we can play a significant part in reversing the trend of deforestation in this region.

 

For more information, visit our website at  www.chardust.com

elk

 

 

--------------------------
Elsen L. Karstad
elk@wananchi.com
www.chardust.com
Nairobi Kenya