Hi Stovers,
This was a great opportunity for me to break out of my two year "lurker"
role and contribute. I have quite a bit of first hand experience with goat droppings as both a TLUD fuel input and a biochar soil amendment. In late
2009 I was asked by researchers at PATH to evaluate it as a potential fuel in a possible stove project, which they were planning in northern Senegal.
Although the project did not get funded, I had very good results with this type of dung.
It, of course, has a lower density than man-made pellets. However, if you could get those goats to squeeze a bit harder (a stand in one place), it would be perfect. It burns very cleanly and smells great. I had the resulting Goat poop charcoal tested for ph, adsorption and adsorption, by Dr Hugh McLaughlin. As a soil amendment it's high ash content would give it a significant liming effect, but this was largely neutralized by rinsing.
It worked well in pot tests and I have attached Hugh's data sheets.
We have not had much of a chance to work with this in the field, not a lot of goats in Central America. However this has become a staple fuel in my High School stove building workshops. What 15 year old doesn't like to light poop on fire?
Art Donnelly
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"SeaChar.Org...positive tools for carbon negative living"
