New trend - You heard it here first!

[goanin]

(NOT a commercial!)

In the last decade there has been an increasing use of olive waste (Gefet) as heating fule, here in israel. It's basically the waste product that remains after you extract the oils from the olives. The olive waste hurts the environment because it is oily, and burying it is expensive.
Gefet is said to have been used as fule even earlier by druze people in the galilee. They swear that it has more heat than wood. But they usually burnt it wet, which probably produced a lot of smoke..

One Israeli company decided to use the waste (which is so unwanted it's given away for free) and make "logs" out of it, by compressing the Gefet without using any glue. The logs are then dried in the in the desert's sun, and they're good to burn. The product is patented, and the company strated to export it recently. The company claims that the Gefet contains more energy than similar sized wood, and that makes sense because the logs contain more fats rether than carbs. The Gefet logs don't burn with a fancy flame, and they do smoke..

Here's the company's home page, with a picture of the logs.
http://www.pil-coal.com/Default.aspx
What do you think?

 

[grapplermi]

well, I always like to see it when waste can be turned into something useful, but I would be a bit worried about where all that "fat" is going. It must leave residue somewhere, and my guess would be on the inside of the chimney. I suppose if you made sure to keep the chimney brush handy and used, you'd probably be alright. Why don't you get some and let us know the test results?

regards,
Matt

 

[7sleeper]

The main problem will be having enough heat to burn it of completly and not letting it go unburnt out the chimney.
If energy is concerned then I'm quite sure there is some truth tho that assumption.

7

 

[goanin]

I'll get some

But nothing's like burning wood.
As for the fats (oils): they just burn off, like any other organic compund. Maybe it would be better to throw the Gefet into an already burning hot fire.

 

[Jredsjeep]

neat, cant read a thing on the web site but i am all for using resources more wisely and not contaminating the environment.

 

[Metals406]

But nothing's like burning wood.
As for the fats (oils): they just burn off, like any other organic compund. Maybe it would be better to throw the Gefet into an already burning hot fire.

That's what I would say! Throw it on an already going fire. . . If olives are so prolific there, I'd imagine you burn a lot of Olive wood huh?

What's the translation of Gefet into English?

 

[numnuts]

neat, cant read a thing on the web site but i am all for using resources more wisely and not contaminating the environment.

If you'd use Google Chrome, the browser offers to translate it for you, not perfect, but it helps.

 

[woodbooga]

I'd expect fatty residue to burn pretty hot and fast. Among the best firestarters I've used are the wax paper from the bottom of a pizza box or a bag that had french fries or onion rings. The more translucent, the more intense the fire.

There's a similar initiative afoot in New Hampshire. A partnership between Lindt Chocolates (based in the Seacoast region) and PSNH:


http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20090303-NEWS-90303039

By Adam Leech
[email protected]
March 03, 2009 4:30 PM

PORTSMOUTH — Public Service of New Hampshire experimented with a new fuel mixture at Schiller Station on Tuesday that they hope will provide a sweet alternative to coal.

Cocoa bean shells, a byproduct of chocolate production, were added to the usual coal mixture at the power plant with the goal of creating an equally useful and possibly cleaner fuel source.

In January 2010, Stratham-based Lindt USA expects to open a new facility that will allow the chocolate manufacturer to begin roasting its own beans. Currently, the beans are roasted and manufactured in Switzerland and sent to the U.S. in large blocks.

Lindt representatives were on hand to watch Tuesday’s experiment, which was nearly two years in the making. A significant amount of permitting was required from the state to allow the test, but it could pave the way for an effective reuse of the shells.

“We’re hoping for no change or less in the emissions, so it will be win-win situation for everyone,” said Felicia Giordano, senior environmental coordinator for Schiller. “In this day and age this is a step in the right direction for a cleaner future for New Hampshire.”

A total of 18 tons of bean shells were mixed in with the coal Tuesday, at a 33 to 1 ratio of coal to bean shells.

Giordano said the most challenging part may be whether the machinery, which is made to crush coal, can withstand the grinding of the shells. An energy consultant spent the day testing the emissions while PSNH workers tracked the energy created by the stack.

Peter Breed, manager of engineering at Lindt, and Robert Foster, project engineer, said if the testing is successful, all of the leftover shells will be sent to Schiller.

“If not, the beans would be going into a landfill or possibly composted, but then we'd have to find someone who wants to deal with them,” said Breed. “We’re only three or four miles away so we hope it works.”

Foster said he believes PSNH will be the first public electric company to use cocoa bean shells as a fuel source in the United States. He said they are used on a smaller scale in Europe.

“It’s a lot of little changes that will help us get to where we need to be,” said Giordano.

 

[kam]

Is there a reason the "olive waste (Gefet)" is not used for animal feed? It would have a higher $ value than a firewood substitute.

 

[leon]

(NOT a commercial!)

In the last decade there has been an increasing use of olive waste (Gefet) as heating fuel, here in israel. It's basically the waste product that remains after you extract the oils from the olives. The olive waste hurts the environment because it is oily, and burying it is expensive.
Gefet is said to have been used as fule even earlier by druze people in the galilee. They swear that it has more heat than wood. But they usually burnt it wet, which probably produced a lot of smoke..

One Israeli company decided to use the waste (which is so unwanted it's given away for free) and make "logs" out of it, by compressing the Gefet without using any glue. The logs are then dried in the in the desert's sun, and they're good to burn. The product is patented, and the company strated to export it recently. The company claims that the Gefet contains more energy than similar sized wood, and that makes sense because the logs contain more fats rether than carbs. The Gefet logs don't burn with a fancy flame, and they do smoke..

Here's the company's home page, with a picture of the logs.
http://www.pil-coal.com/Default.aspx
What do you think?

Greetings and salutations,

All they need is bit of paraffin to make it burn even better; it looks like they are using a flywheel compactor extruder for the logs which is a great way to do this with the Gefet being a vegetable base material.

this is also how sugar cane baggasse waste is used to create disc brake pucks for macy trailer and truck applications by MICO Inc.

If they burned the logs vertcally in a rack of sorts they would have better combustion as the bore created by the extruder would act like a chimney-

a small squirrel cage fan feeding under a fire grate with these logs being vertical would realy make some heat for sure.



an example case in point is a phillipino coal mining company that mines coal and builds and sells compressed coal log stoves in china and among other places;

The coal log or disc is a large diameter thick hockey puck with 8 holes? pressed around the perimiter of the short dense coal log

picture a hockey puck the size and thickness of a curling stone with 8 1-inch holes spaced equaly apart and this is also where they get a lot of thier pollution problemsas the holes allow combustion withh natural draft-but as it is soft dirty coal its very smoky.

 

[leon]

olives

Is there a reason the "olive waste (Gefet)" is not used for animal feed? It would have a higher $ value than a firewood substitute.

the olives and pressings have a natural acid in them that has to be chemically altered and livestock will not eat it due to the acids -unless the sheep and goats have gotten crazier in Greece :^)

Heated Milk of Lime would neutralize the acid but you would need a lot of it to do this and I am unsure that it would be palatable even to goats with beet molasses and it would be a maintenance nightmare with steam cleaners and dawn dish soap which is the only biodegradeable soap you could use unless you use an acid/caustic balanced cleaner with it to soften the water while under use.

 

[goanin]

What's the translation of Gefet into English?

Gefet is the hebrew name for the olive waste. In older hebrew, it could have ment any fruit waste.

 

[goanin]

Is there a reason the "olive waste (Gefet)" is not used for animal feed? It would have a higher $ value than a firewood substitute.

Gefet is made mostly of the olives' crushed pips. I don't thing it's good for the animals..

 

[Haywire Haywood]

The coal log or disc is a large diameter thick hockey puck with 8 holes? pressed around the perimeter of the short dense coal log

picture a hockey puck the size and thickness of a curling stone with 8 1-inch holes spaced equally apart and this is also where they get a lot of thier pollution problems as the holes allow combustion with natural draft-but as it is soft dirty coal its very smoky.

Sounds like the fuel used in Korean Ondol floor heat. they killed a few people every year from CO poisoning.

 

[needwood]

well, I always like to see it when waste can be turned into something useful, but I would be a bit worried about where all that "fat" is going. It must leave residue somewhere, and my guess would be on the inside of the chimney. I suppose if you made sure to keep the chimney brush handy and used, you'd probably be alright. Why don't you get some and let us know the test results?

regards,
Matt

That's is the same thing I'm thinking,but if it works??????? I love the ideal of taking trash and turning it into something useful.

 

[sharonme]

Well olive waste (Gefet) it is a good heating fuel with a big heat.
But it most disadvantage is the heavy stinky smell that can cause you discomfort and problems with your neighbors.
If you read Hebrew you can read more about fireplace fuels.