I have been presently replying to proposals seeked on technical/social
issues via. online media challenges. It was on one such occasion - although I
was late to submit the proposal that I had come across the seeker inviting ideation
proposals for high - value alternative uses towards substandard cylinders, so
that they could be recycled and removed from the LPG distribution channels
thereby save lives and promote clean energy uptake. The existence of such large
number of aging cylinders no doubt constituted a worrying safety hazard due to
lack of maintenance that could put large populations in danger and ultimately could
hinder the growth of a successful LPG market.
However, the key issue that was needed to be tackled as per the
challenge, was the existence of millions of old LPG cylinders in circulation
that did not comply with safety regulations and hence constituted a major risk
hazard. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, there were millions of cylinders that have
been in use for over 10 years which may only have had a single if any safety
check. A good proportion which still in good condition, might just need a minor
repair (valve seal), be repainted and then recertified but all of the remaining
needed to be removed from circulation. So, why not think of other creative and
alternative uses for such cylinders instead of just recycling the steel? What
would be the best financial option? Could it be the most environmental friendly
solution? Could it provide jobs for people in Africa or help tackle poverty and
inequality? The challenge was therefore to find out the best financial, social
and environmental solution for dealing with this large number of old cylinders.
The given below post on my patent
proposal could be thought of as a confluence of my post on ‘Composite fuel briquettes : Converting agricultural waste (Bagasse) into Charcoal’ and
above mentioned challenge. The relative benefit from recycling the aged cylinders
or use an oil drum for the kiln or fabricate the kiln from the available aged
cylinders was evaluated as per the challenge posed and is given below to share amongst one and all this frugal approach in as same as in the applied wordings for the grant of patent - some not so necessary details have been omitted, refer Note given.
Abstract: From as is available sources, LPG is
considered a leading candidate for the developing countries as source of safe
and a clean source of energy in comparison with other commercial and also
renewable energy sources. Access to safe, clean and reliable sources of energy
has a significant impact on health, quality of life, education and economic
productivity. Particularly in the developing world, access to such type of
energy has the potential to change the landscape in terms of poverty,
exclusion, gender inequality and no less important, global warming. A key issue
that needs to be tackled however, is the existence of large number of old
unusable LPG cylinders in circulation that have been in use for so many years
which may only have had a single if any safety check. A good proportion may
still be in good condition and might just need a minor repair, to be repainted
and then recertified, but all of the remaining must be removed from
circulation. Another key issue to ponder would be the vast number of unused LPG
cylinders due to the advent of piped gas systems that are becoming more
prominent more so at the major metros/cities at least in the Indian
sub-continent. So, are there other creative and alternative uses for these
cylinders instead of the conventional recycling of such steel in a smelting
furnace and as posed by the following questions?
1. What
would be the best financial option?
2. Could
a most environmental friendly solution be obtained?
3. Could
jobs be provided for the people in developing countries or help tackle their
poverty and inequality problems?
Challenge
lies therefore to find out the best financial, social and environmental
solution for dealing with this large number of unusable/unused cylinders and
achieve significant benefits for marginalised and impoverished communities in
the developing countries such that the problems of the poorest are solved and
the said solution also supports development outcomes i.e. they support the new
upcoming efforts worldwide to harness renewable energy resources for future
energy needs at least at such rural community level/s.
The
application for grant of patent therefore lies in proposing a frugal innovation
approach to bridge the gap between the availability of large numbers of
unused/unusable LPG cylinders (readily available materials) through which such
a known, in practice labour oriented technology (with available local
labour and their simple machines/devices/tools) could develop and tap in to the
opportunity of creating self employment at least at the rural level/s in the
manufacturing of such alternate cooking fuel.
Detailed
descriptions and/or specifications: Today,
the global community has a sustainability problem which is growing in
urgency. Wood for example without a
doubt has always been the primary cooking fuel in rural areas world over, but
at the same time, the latter have almost been deforested. As a result, most
rural families have been forced to buy kerosene, LPG, etc. most likely those
imported from other urban areas. For the
poorest regions in the rural sector, such imported fuels, with their inflated
prices, are simply not a viable option even today. While the forests have been
straining under the demand for wood, a largely untapped fuel resource has
always existed in the form of agricultural wastes. While these wastes would not
directly be suitable for use as household cooking fuels, they could be
transformed into a clean-burning charcoal fuel through simple conversion
processes. With the intention to present the intended patent proposal that could
be incorporated to the already available in – practice simple conversion
processes, such processes have been described in detail from as is available in
cited sources to highlight the simplicity retained in the processes after due
implementation of the proposal not to mention the increase in functional
versatility. Even though the description concentrates on the conversion of only
bagassse, many other types of agricultural wastes could also be converted into
charcoal briquettes by employing similar techniques. Some of the benefits of
using bagasse, as an alternative cooking fuel are described as follows:
•Charcoal
is a smokeless fuel, unlike wood.
•Instead
of burning agricultural wastes in the fields, using the wastes as a fuel source
slows the advance of deforestation.
•Charcoal
is viewed as an advanced fuel because of its clean-burning nature and it can be
stored for long periods of time without degradation.
Micro-
enterprise/s have existed at the rural level/s, designed around this simple
conversion processes for the production of charcoal derived from agricultural
waste. Any entrepreneur, including sugarcane farmers, could create bagasse
charcoal briquettes and sell them in a local marketplace for personal income.
In this way, more money would stay within the community rather than being
exported for conventional fuels. By
turning something that was previously unused into a means by which to earn
income, the wealth of individual entrepreneurs and of the country in general
increases. Today, the need for an alternative cooking fuel option in light of
the rise in deforestation still exists. The subsequent sections in this
description will first highlight the already in – practice solution to meet the
above need and then proceed further to incorporating the unusable/unused LPG
cylinders for the same, pivoted around the frugal innovation approach.
(From
sources:
1. Fuel
from the Fields - A Guide to Converting Agricultural Waste into Charcoal
Briquettes, Amy Smith et al, 2003, MIT-USA
3. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/41407970_Briquetting_of_charcoal_from_sugar-cane_bagasse_fly_ash_%28SCBFA%29_as_an_alternative_fuel)
The
Process: How
to Convert Sugarcane Waste into Charcoal Briquettes:
A.
Sugarcane Waste:
After sugarcane is pressed to extract the sugar contained within the plant, a
large amount of fibrous waste remains.
This waste is known as bagasse. When bagasse is burned in its raw state,
heat and thick yellow smoke are produced that makes raw bagasse an unsuitable
indoor cooking fuel and it therefore must undergo a process by which the raw
fibrous waste is converted into charcoal briquettes. However, all of the bagasse must be extremely
dry before process starts.
B. Process Overview:
(From
source: Fuel
from the Fields - A Guide to Converting Agricultural Waste into Charcoal
Briquettes, Amy Smith et al, 2003, MIT-USA)
C1. The Oil Drum Kiln:
(From sources;
2.
Fuel from the Fields - A
Guide to Converting Agricultural Waste into Charcoal Briquettes, Amy Smith,
Andrew Levin, Arthur Musah and Rachana Oza, December 22, 2003, MIT-
Massachusetts, USA)
C2.
The Binder:
(From
sources;
2.
Fuel from the Fields - A
Guide to Converting Agricultural Waste into Charcoal Briquettes, Amy Smith,
Andrew Levin, Arthur Musah and Rachana Oza, December 22, 2003, MIT-
Massachusetts, USA)
D. Hand forming vs. Machine forming of
Charcoal Briquettes:
(From
sources;
2.
Fuel from the Fields - A
Guide to Converting Agricultural Waste into Charcoal Briquettes, Amy Smith,
Andrew Levin, Arthur Musah and Rachana Oza, December 22, 2003, MIT-
Massachusetts, USA)
My
Patent Proposal:
As mentioned before, in order to complete the first step of the process
– converting dry bagasse into charcoal fines (i.e. charcoal dust) – a kiln of
some sort is required so that bagasse could be heated to a high temperature in
a low-oxygen environment. That this kiln could be fabricated through readily
available material resources is the key focal point for patency. Here, the
proposal is based on economy grounds through generating rural employment and
aid government efforts to cut down use of conventional energy sources in areas
deemed as possible, say at least at the rural areas by deploying the millions
of unusable/unused LPG cylinders post the re - fabrication as per need for
reasons such as;
i) Those cylinders being old are likely to pose safety hazards on human
beings, animals and properties and hence if put out of circulation then some
material would be readily available for the required kiln fabrication.
ii) Those cylinders still in circulation but could be rendered as unused
due to the advent of piped gas systems in at least the major metros/cities,
then again readily available material could be put into the kiln fabrication.
The government if should stand to provide such material for kiln
fabrication/readily fabricated kilns to such rural entrepreneurial ventures,
could even be thought of as government sponsored indirect Seed Capital to such
ventures encouraging alternative energy usages; which fund the government would
have obtained had the cylinders been melted in a furnace. By providing readily available
material, material cost would be saved at the end user (i.e. entrepreneur).
This is because estimating and costing experience have shown that material cost
was about 25% to 65% of the total production cost. Thus, materials constitute a
high proportion of sales price and play a vital role in determining the cost of
an article. All out efforts should therefore be made to have proper material
costing and exercise control over material cost for a successful enterprise.
Figure 6. depicts how the unusable/unused LPG cylinders would provide the ideal
raw material to fabricate the kiln in as is available condition or otherwise.
The dome shape top could serve as a cover and the bottom could serve as a base
to hold the bagasse. The dome ends and the cylinder ends could be opened out
and flanged to provide a fairly air-tight seal when the cylinder needs to be
covered by the dome. The second step of preparing the charcoal bagasse
briquettes with correct composition of charcoal fines and binder also
represents a skill oriented task same as much as that of fabricating the kiln
above and hence both are suitable to support research and development in
climate technologies for developing programmes to generate self employment and
promote clean renewable energy usage.
Note: The Figure 2 to Figure 5 pertain to the carbonization process using oil drum kiln. It could be referred from the mentioned sources above.
Comparative factors revision for levering my proposal:
Evaluation
|
Alternatives for availing the kiln for the
said entrepreneurial ventures
|
||
Melt the LPG cylinders (A)
|
Buy the drum and retrofit (B)
|
Provided with the LPG cylinder (C)
|
|
Cost
Factors
|
Ratings (*)
|
||
Search/Marketing
|
*
|
*
|
NA
|
Transportation
|
*
|
*
|
NA
|
Material
|
NA
|
*
|
NA
|
Fabrication/Labor
for:
|
|||
1.Measuring/marking operations,
|
NA
|
*
|
*
|
2. Cutting operations,
|
NA
|
*
|
*
|
3. Cleaning/anti-corrosive application
operations,
|
NA
|
*
|
*
|
4. Folding/bending operations,
|
NA
|
NA
|
*
|
5. Drilling/press works,
|
NA
|
*
|
*
|
6. Rolling operations,
|
NA
|
NA
|
*
|
7. Joining operations,
|
NA
|
NA
|
*
|
8 Stiffening operations/methods
|
NA
|
NA
|
*
|
9. Joint inspection methods,
|
NA
|
*
|
*
|
Other
expenses
|
NA
|
*
|
*
|
TOTAL
(X)
|
02
|
09
|
10
|
Conclusion Factors
|
Ratings (√)
|
||
Cost
feasibility
|
√
|
NA
|
√
|
Generate
rural employment
|
NA
|
NA
|
√
|
Encourage
alternate energy usage
|
NA
|
√
|
√
|
TOTAL
(Y)
|
01
|
01
|
03
|
GRAND TOTAL
|
02+01=03
|
09+01=10
|
10+03=13
|
Suitability
of alternatives based on weightage for above rating factors.
|
My
Patent Proposal as in column (C) for utilizing the unusable/unused LPG
cylinders to fabricate the kiln and as shown in the figures 6a), 6b), 6bi),
6bii) and 6biii).
|
||
(From sources:
1. Mechanical Estimating and Costing, T. R
Banga, S. C Sharma, 16th Edition, Khanna
Publishers
2. Kenyon Pitman, Basic Fabrication and
Welding Engineering, 1st edition, Pitman Publ., 1979, pp. 157 – 180
3. FJM Smith, Basic Fabrication and Welding
Engineering, 1st edition, Longman Publ., 1975, pp. 258 – 264, 270 – 271
4. Hazra and Choudhari, Workshop Technology,
Vol 1 & 2, 11th edition, Media Promoters & Publ., 1997)
Bibliography:
[1]D.S Chahal. “Food, Feed & Fuel from Biomass”,
reprint 1991, pp.23.
[2]N.H. Ravindranath, K. Usha Rao, Bhaskar Natranjan.
“Renewable Energy & Environment”, 2nd reprint 2000 pp.106, 242.
[3]L.A Ekal, S.H Pawar. “Advances in renewable
energy technologies”, 1st reprint
pp.35, 194.
[4]S.
Rao, Dr. B.B. Parulekar. “Energy Technology”, 2nd edition, 1997.
[5]G.D
Rai. “Energy Resources”, 3rd edition, 1999.
[6]Fuel from the Fields - A Guide to Converting
Agricultural Waste into Charcoal Briquettes, Amy Smith, Andrew Levin, Arthur
Musah and Rachana Oza, December 22, 2003, MIT- Massachusetts, USA
[7]Mechanical Estimating and Costing, T. R Banga, S. C
Sharma, 16th Edition, Khanna
Publishers
[8]Kenyon Pitman, Basic Fabrication and Welding
Engineering, 1st edition, Pitman Publ.,
1979, pp. 157 – 180
[9]FJM Smith, Basic Fabrication and Welding
Engineering, 1st edition, Longman Publ., 1975, pp. 258 – 264, 270 – 271
[10]Hazra and Choudhari, Workshop Technology, Vol 1
& 2, 11th edition, Media Promoters & Publ., 1997
Websites:
[1]http://164.100.24.208/Is/committeeR/Food/27.pdf
[2]http://bioproductsbioenergy.gov/pdfs/bcota/abstracts/30/z130.pdf
[3]http://
Polystyrene#Environmental impact
[4]http://www.springerlink.com/index/232k30g002472824.pdf
[6]https://d-lab.mit.edu/sites/default/files/CharcoalProcess_DoIt.pdf
[8]http://www.researchgate.net/publication/41407970_Briquetting_of_charcoal_from_sugar-cane_bagasse_fly_ash_%28SCBFA%29_as_an_
alternative_fuel
Claims: I claim all the fabrication processes as listed below; conducted by an
individual with the relevant tools, devices, machines due to need (as per the
title or relevant to it) accomplishment by the said individual or all the
fabrication processes conducted by an individual with the relevant tools,
devices, machines due to need (as per the title or relevant to it)
accomplishment under the hierarchical directions of any other individual/s who
may possess the authority/s to do so in their own personal capacity/s or may be
representing any such enterprise/s or relevant enterprise/s in any capacity/s
and the enterprise/s which may be in a proprietorship/partnership/corporation/public
limited company or any ordinary/special type of ownership, they working singly
or collectively for the need (as per the title or relevant to it)
accomplishment by them in context with the said frugal engineering approach, be
it by any of the traditional natural/artificial materials or any of the modern
natural/artificial materials or combination of both involved during fabrication
of the kiln from the unusable/unused LPG cylinders; be it any of the
traditional known/unknown manual methods or any of the known/unknown modern
machine methods or a combination of both to fabricate the kiln from the
unusable/unused LPG cylinders in order to convert any such Agricultural Wastes
(as described for Bagasse in the Detailed Descriptions and/or Specifications;
Page 1 of 12 to 12 of 12) into Charcoal Briquettes (of any form/weight/type of
such alternate cooking fuel) and when such an outcome becomes possible not only
theoretically but also in practice by;
1. Measuring/marking operations,
2. Cutting operations,
3. Cleaning/anti-corrosive
application operations,
4. Folding/bending operations,
5. Drilling/press works,
6. Rolling operations,
7. Joining operations,
8. Stiffening operations/methods
and
9. Joint inspection methods, etc.
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