Small-Scale Carbon Briquetting in China
Tim Anderson, June 2005 courtesy fo Jim Mason, January 24, 2007
A friend of mine took these pictures in china of a machine making cylindrical briquettes with holes through them. the briquette is about the size of a tin of hand cleaner. they are made using a mixture of 80% charcoal or coal, and 20% red clay for the binder.
Note the stove they are burning them in at the above link.
The briquettes appear to be well sealed enough in the stove that all burning will happen in the tubes in the briquettes. and as such, with air fed from the bottom, then are operating as a gasifier- a gasifier mechanically formed out of its very own fuel.
They burn them in fireclay-lined can stoves with vertical channels that hold 1, 3, or 4 columns of briquettes maybe 4 or 5 briquettes high.
depending on whether they want to deep-fry over it or just keep something hot.
That's what that 5gal sized can on the rickshaw is.
the wok or pot sits on top of that, they use them like steamtables in food stalls. I have some better pictures of new ones for sale in shops.
There's a door with a damper for controlling the heat and for starting the fire with paper and kindling. I'm told starting them is a trick and I assume it's smoky but I never saw it done.
Blacksmiths make special tongs for
gripping the briquettes by the channel holes.
Many other potentials for thoughfully shaped briquettes, which run themselves, as is, as gasifiers, come to mind.
Is this already being played with in the gasified stovers world?
Very very interesting.
Jim Mason