Re: Gel Fuel

["Matthew Owen" <owen@africaonline.co.ke>]

Dear All,

Thanks for the gel fuel info from WSSD.

As well as being a partner in Chardust where we sell charcoal briquettes in
Kenya, I manage another company here where we import methanol gel for us in
'chafing dishes' in hotels and restaurants. Being an eco-friendly sort, I'd
rather use an ethanol-based product than methanol, as I'm told the former
comes from biomass and the latter from fossil fuels (correction requested!).

However our bottom line is price. We can get the methanol-based product from
the USA or South Korea for as little as $0.70 per litre FOB. And the
suppliers can turn around large orders very quickly (we just imported a 12
tonne container load and they were able to pack and ship within 2 weeks of
payment).

The ethanol gel suppliers that we've heard of tend to be subsidised by a
donor agency and soon collapse when that subsidy is removed. There was a
Zimbabwean product called Kwik Kook that hit Kenya in a wave of enthusiasm
about 4 years ago and then vanished. And the market needs volumes with quick
turnaround and commercial efficiency.

I've asked Sandy Wynne-Jones (?) in Malawi for product and price info and
will inform the group of any relevant feedback. The webpage recommended by
Zoli Bihari summarises the contact names and addresses for the World Bank
'Greenheat' gel fuel project in Zimbabwe, but gives no info on what actually
took place. And the email link they've posted to Sizzle@Zimsurf.co.zw is
dead.

Does anyone know of an ethanol gel that works, is available in bulk, and
that I can buy FOB for less than $0.70 a litre?

Thanks,

Matthew Owen
Chardust/PDS Ltd.
Nairobi
Kenya



----- Original Message -----
From: "Crispin" <crispin@newdawn.sz>
To: "Stoves" <stoves@crest.org>
Sent: Monday, September 09, 2002 12:30 PM
Subject: RE: Gel Fuel


> Dear Evans and interested parties
>
> I have a good look at the enthusiasts with the gel fuel.  It looks for all
> the world like green dish soap that got dried out a bit.  It burns
extremely
> cleanly - no problem to use it in the house.  It lights easily and burns
> almost invisibly.  The demonstrator once burned his had relighting it, but
> it was already going on the first match.  It was that difficult to see the
> flame in daylight.
>
> The fuel is made from molasses and is being billed as 'renewable' which is
> true as long as you do not do an energy audit on the sugar cane.  It is
> definitely a bio-fuel though rather an indirect one - there is a lot of
> chemistry along the production line.  I would like to see an energy audit
of
> the entire system including the distribution chain.
>
> It is being bottled and sold at $0.25 a litre in Malawi, subsidized by the
> World Bank.  They told me it was unviable without the subsidy though I am
> not sure why.  Perhaps we should see an energy audit on the money that the
> World Bank is using to subsidize the fuel.
>
> The burner is based on a Cobra Wax tin - about 1/2 a litre with a pop on
top
> that has an air control handle to vary the power.  It has a quenching lid
> with a cute little wooden knob.  The burners are apparently being nearly
> given away to NGO's that will give then them away, or something like that.
> It is a great idea for refugee camps without other fuel.
>
> The burner can be fitted inside our stove as an alternative to wood and of
> course with the shielding it would perform better than it does now as a
> competely open little under-the-pot system.  They seemed to be interested
in
> that.  It could be placed in a clay pot shield.The unit is about 1/4 the
> volume of a single pot paraffin stove.
>
> Regards
> Crispin
>
>
> -
> Stoves List Archives and Website:
> http://www.crest.org/discussion/stoves/200204/
> http://crest.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/
> >
> Stoves List Moderators:
> Ron Larson, ronallarson@qwest.net
> Elsen L. Karstad, elk@wananchi.com www.chardust.com
> >
> List-Post: <mailto:stoves@crest.org>
> List-Help: <mailto:stoves-help@crest.org>
> List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:stoves-unsubscribe@crest.org>
> List-Subscribe: <mailto:stoves-subscribe@crest.org>
> >
> Sponsor the Stoves List: http://www.crest.org/discuss3.html
> -
> Other Biomass Stoves 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
> >
> For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
>
>http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/Chambers/Chambers.htm
>
>
>



-
Stoves List Archives and Website:
http://www.crest.org/discussion/stoves/200204/
http://crest.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/
>
Stoves List Moderators:
Ron Larson, ronallarson@qwest.net
Elsen L. Karstad, elk@wananchi.com www.chardust.com
>
List-Post: <mailto:stoves@crest.org>
List-Help: <mailto:stoves-help@crest.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:stoves-unsubscribe@crest.org>
List-Subscribe: <mailto:stoves-subscribe@crest.org>
>
Sponsor the Stoves List: http://www.crest.org/discuss3.html
-
Other Biomass Stoves 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
>
For information about CHAMBERS STOVES
>http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/Chambers/Chambers.htm