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Christian commented on the blog post Alternative Energy Mix: Geo-politico-social limitations & the price of oil Apr 22
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Profile
- Hometown:
- Toronto, Canada
- Homecountry
- Cameroun
- Age
- November 20, 1985
- About Me:
- I am a young Mechanical & energy Engineer in Canada. I came to Canada in the hope of acquiring knowledge and return to Cameroon one day and help develop my country in my own way. More importantly, I have had the opportunity to live in a falling social economical system (Cameroon)and in a thriving social economical system (Canada). I want to be part of the team of a new generation that helps developing Africa.
- My Organisation / Group
- Right now, I am trying to form an organization of young knowledgeable and skilled Africans interested in sustainable development and in studying researching and implementing sustainable solutions to African problems with little help from governments.
- Website:
- http://nowebsiteasofyet.com
- My activities / interests
- I am very much interested in sustainable energy source and development. I am currently studying alternative fuels and alternative fuels technology. I would very much like to meet people with similar interests in order to build on knowledge and applied our findings in underdeveloped countries where help is critically required
Christian's Blog
Alternative Energy Mix: Geo-politico-social limitations & the price of oil
I believe that the world's energy crisis can only be solved via the integration of power generation sources based on the geo-politico-social location of a country and energy conservation. Technological and energy source limitations are the least of the problem. Big countries will either have to adapt or go to war against countries with natural resources. Going to war against countries with natural resources will definitely not solve the problem but will only postpone the problem as we all know t… Continue
Posted on April 15th, 2008 at 3:08pm —
2 Comments
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I don't think you have read my previous email yet here are some quick questions i have.
what you mean by charcoal is it "coal" produced from heating wood? 4 points/Questions
1. Production: How is Charcoal currently produced? for maximum efficiency, wood should be heated in absence of oxygen (cheaply achieved by recovering a pile of wood with dry soil, or clay), the larger the wood pile size, the larger the efficiency. when heating the pile, an optimum temperature should be maintained (not yet sure what temperature exactly) for the charcoal to be easily lighted up when needed and for the charcoal to burn with almost no additional fuel such as "kerosene". a specific system /procedure may be needed for maintaining the desired temperature. The efficiency of the process also decreases as the wood humidity increases, knowing the southwest cameroun as very humid, this could be a problem. A wood drying facility should be considered.
2. Utilization & Safety: How is charcoal used heating homes? the combustion gases of charcoal are high in carbon monoxide. if burned indoor for home heating, the carbon monoxide in the charcoal combustion gases which is significantly toxic gas that has no odor or color can lead to significant toxicity of the central nervous system and heart as a result of it effects on the capacity of the blood to transport oxygen to parts of the human body. Therefore using charcoal for home heating requires some sort of heat exchanger for each home where the combustion gases and the indoor air don't mix but rather, they bypass each other (without mixing) and heat is transfered to the indoor air. As for cooking, high efficiency charcoal burner may be required. The idea is to supply air within proper ratio for achieving maximum temperature for cooking with less fuel (thus increasing the efficiency). Did you know that it is possible to produce electricity from charcoal? I am currently researching the production of electricity from wood and one alternative consist in turning it into tar or charcoal first (but the initial investment is quite important).
3. Sustainability: How is the wood availability guaranteed? will there be an "endless" supply of wood? will there be some steps to insure the availability of wood and the prevention of deforestation? Planting threes can be a solution but i am sure you are more experienced in that field than I am so I live it up to you to comment this part yet please let me know what you have in mind. If one group can control the production, and distribution and ensure reforestation then this could be a fantastic idea.
4. Life Cycle Cost Analysis: How to keep the overall price of the production. distribution, and initial investment in heat exchanger system & high efficiency charcoal burner operation below the price of using cooking gas? how do we account for deforestation. It needs not to be sophisticated at all, i am sure that a simple heat exchanger made out of roughing zinc would work (I have to check the temperatures), and the regular burner would work too but it won't be as efficient. The larger the demand the better. How much a villagers willing to pay for this service? what does the Charcoal group charges for providing charcoal? and how does that compare to cooking gas? how do they deal with humidity and storage issue? Is there a market for Charcoal production? how many other villages could use it as their primary source of energy.
regards,
Christian
I have being silient for some time, i was in the field, i just came into contact with one group in Bova II , practicing alternative energy production.
The group is call , Charcoal production group. The produce energy for home consumption with the increasing price of cooking gass in Cameroon , as well as for heating the houses in the rainy season as their village is very cool.
How can we work together to portray and support such wounderful idea by the indegenous poor of Bova.
The final copy of the VDP of Bova II will soon be available.
I will like we work hand in hand to raise funds for some community projects in the plan when it is ready, how do you see?
Regards
Ajabji Stella
Development Comsultant
Speciality in microfinance
Thank you for welcoming me on this network, I look forward to a valuable exchange in knowledge and experience with all the members of this network.
welcome to the network. Seems you have already a lot of valuable experiences. You might get in contact with Johannes (here in the community: http://eurotope.ning.com/profile/Johho) - he was working on renewable energy and the biofuel issue as well.
Best regards
Mika