Re: Noorie Lantern/Generator

[nariphaltan <nariphaltan@sancharnet.in>]

Dear All,

There are two major issues effecting the lives of rural poor;  a) cooking
and b) lighting.

The Noorie lantern does both things though the cooking is secondary.
However putting a thermoelectric generator in it will not be helpful because
it is already producing light.  Producing electricity for small radios etc.
may be possible but then it will make the lantern stationary, whereas the
lanterns are taken all over the house and hence it has to be small and light
in weight. However thermoelectric generator will be useful in conjunction
with cooking stoves which are generally kept at one place.  Every family
irrespective of its economic status cooks.  Most of the poor families do not
have any good lighting systems.  Hence an efficient thermoelectric system
based lighting will be a  great boon to the family.   However it is not an
easy thing.  The coefficient of performance (COP) of these devices is very
low  (~ 1% i.e. heat to electricity  conversion efficiency) and to develop a
system which does not get clogged with soot will be quite a challenge.
However there are attempts to use  nanotechnology        for producing
better and more efficient T/E generators and it will be a worthwhile
challenge for all stovers to  think  on these lines.

I now come to another subject, i.e. of producing a high-tech biomass based
stove  for rural poor.  The rural poor have the same aspirations as anybody
else.  They would also like to have a gas based cooking system. However to
produce a biomass stove which is compact, inexpensive and produces
completely clean flue gases for cooking, is a major challenge for all of us
in stove community. A possible solution would be to use the thermoelectric
generator with the stove to  power a small blower/fan for complete
combustion. A 40-50 W thermoelectric generator will be good enough for this
purpose and this much amount of energy generation is possible with the
existing stoves .  I feel the major efforts towards free convection stoves
or using charcoal based stoves (making charcoal is a very inefficient
thermodyanamic process) have not produced any great improvement in the
quality of life for rural poor.   A quantum jump in thinking on our part is
required.

With regards.

Anil K. Rajvanshi
Director
Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute
P.O.Box 44, Phaltan-415523
Maharashtra, India
Ph: 91-2166-22396/20945
Fax: 91-2166-21328
E-mail: nariphaltan@sancharnet.in

http://nariphaltan.virtualave.net
http://www.nariphaltan.org
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Reed" <tombreed@attbi.com>
To: "Harmon Seaver" <hseaver@cybershamanix.com>; "Crispin"
<crispin@newdawn.sz>; "Shivayam Ellis" <shivayam55@hotmail.com>; "Katherine
Cochrane" <kcochrane@earthlink.net>; "Paul DeBruicker"
<pdebruic@mgmt.purdue.edu>
Cc: "Stoves" <stoves@crest.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2002 12:18 PM
Subject: Noorie Lantern/Generator


> Dear Harmon, Anil  and all:
>
> I like the idea of adding a thermoelectric generator to the Noorie
Lantern.
> How did Anil Rajvanshi, the inventor of Noorie, get off this list?  He has
> probably considered this and it's either in the works or rejected.  Lets
> hear....
>
> Of necessity, the Wellsbach Mantle light source rejects heat at >1500 C,
so
> there is plenty of heat still available for conversion.
>
> ~~~~~~~
> The "light" generation technology Harmon referred to is called
> "thermophotovoltaic" and they are working on it at the National Renewable
> Energy Lab, NREL.  In fact they have been working on it for many years, at
> least since 1994 (see http://www.er.com/publications.htm).  Maybe need to
> rename it the National Renewable Job Lab, since they aren't very focused
on
> getting research out to the market place.
>
> Onward..          TOM REED                  BEFGASWORKS
>
>
>
> Dr. Thomas B. Reed
> 1810 Smith Rd., Golden, CO 80401
> tombreed@attbi.com; 303 278 0558 Phone/Fax
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Harmon Seaver" <hseaver@cybershamanix.com>
> To: "Crispin" <crispin@newdawn.sz>
> Cc: "Stoves" <stoves@crest.org>
> Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2002 7:00 AM
> Subject: Re: Noorie Lantern
>
>
> > Crispin;
> >    Do a google search on thermoelectric generator. There are a multitude
> of
> > companies working on these, with quite a few actually for sale, and the
> prices
> > are dropping rapidly. For instance, here's just one of many where you
can
> buy
> > these today. http://www.hi-z.com/  This is also the website that shows a
> 1kw
> > unit composed of many of the smaller cells
> http://www.hi-z.com/websi07.htm
> >    There is also a sister technology that uses the *light* from a flame,
> not the
> > heat, which is also undergoing rapid development. Can't think of what
it's
> > called at the moment (I'm only on my first cup of tea this am).
> >    I think generally these technologies are expected to rival prices for
> > solarelectric or undercut them shortly.
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Nov 16, 2002 at 10:57:10AM +0200, Crispin wrote:
> > > Dear Lantern users and lovers
> > >
> > > I had a look at the page linked and I have one comment (other than you
> guys are all on the rright track):
> > >
> > > I see that a comparison is made with the florescent tube which comes
off
> looking very good compared with all the other options.  However, there is
no
> mention made of a 'coiled' florescent tube that fits into a regular light
> socket.  They are very efficient and present a possible future for rural
> India.
> > >
> > > In Southern Africa these bulbs, which cost a great deal of money -
about
> $7 are promoted as an answer to energy comsumption as they last for ages
and
> consume very little power.  I am not sure if it is true but it seems that
> they are about 35% efficient, maybe more.
> > >
> > > It is not possible to use a wick of some material that instead of
> emitting light, emits charged particles that are able to 'light up'
> florescent white powders?  That way the burning fuel (whatever it is)
could
> heat a wick that emits particles efficiently in the range that in turn
> drives a florescent tube.
> > >
> > > The tube could be something like a hollow pipe, meaning a
double-walled
> one with an air-evacuated centre portion.  The florescent coating would be
> in the outside of the inside surface.  This would slip over the present
> mantle and pick up radiation.
> > >
> > > This type of two-stage excitation would give light from the original
> flame, the rare earth mantle and the florescing powder.
> > >
> > > It also appear to me that burning anything cleverly (like producer
gas)
> might be able to produce a conductive plasma that will allow for something
> clever to be done between stacked plates, such as generate enough power to
> charge a cell phone.  Charging phones is a major problem in rural areas
> where coverage by radion is far easier to get than power to charge the
> phones.
> > >
> > > A lantern that charges a phone (very low power requirement) would sell
> imediately, whether or not it was pressurized at 2kg/cm^2 or much less.
> > >
> > > Are there metal stacks available that will generate 6 VDC?  What
> happened to that talk last year about a stove in the western USA that was
to
> produce 1Kw?
> > >
> > > Thanks
> > > Crispin
> >
> > --
> > Harmon Seaver
> > CyberShamanix
> > http://www.cybershamanix.com
> >
> > "War is just a racket ... something that is not what it seems to the
> > majority of people. Only a small group knows what its about. It is
> > conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the
> > masses."  --- Major General Smedley Butler, 1933
> >
> > "Our overriding purpose, from the beginning through to the present
> > day, has been world domination - that is, to build and maintain the
> > capacity to coerce everybody else on the planet: nonviolently, if
> > possible, and violently, if necessary. But the purpose of US foreign
> > policy of domination is not just to make the rest of the world jump
> > through hoops; the purpose is to faciliate our exploitation of
> > resources."
> > - Ramsey Clark, former US Attorney General
> > http://www.thesunmagazine.org/bully.html
> >
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