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Author: Subject: efficent conversion of wood to energy
Magpie
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[*] posted on 8-2-2006 at 08:30


Efficient conversion of wood to energy has to start with drying the wood first by just letting it set in the sun for a few months. As Tim pointed out, fresh cut wood is at least 40% water.

Secondly, if you heat wood to destructively distill off the volatiles, then condense these vapors to a liquid here again you are losing energy through your condenser cooling water.




The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
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vulture
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[*] posted on 9-2-2006 at 06:46


All this biofuel crap is becoming more religion and art than science.

Millions of acres of valuable rainforest are being cut down in Brazil and Indonesia because the west wants envirofriendly biofuel.
After that tons of fertilizer and pesticides (DDT and co are still quite popular in third world countries) are used to get a meager yield of rapsoil or something like that.
Then ofcourse it needs to be enriched and purified before use, wasting some oil or natural gas and producing nice quantities of waste water and gasses.

Nice job treehuggers!



[Edited on 9-2-2006 by vulture]




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sparkgap
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[*] posted on 9-2-2006 at 06:54


"Millions of acres of valuable rainforest are being cut down in Brazil and Indonesia because the west wants envirofriendly biofuel."

It's *supposedly* sustainable. Problem is that some are just too greedy.

"...tons of fertilizer and pesticides (DDT and co are still quite popular in third world countries)..."

Give them cheaper alternatives and I'd bet they'd switch in a heartbeat. Synthetic pyrethroids remain out of reach for most farmers. As for botanicals... sorry, I don't know why they don't. Stability?

sparky (^_^)




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