Monday, July 30, 2012

Capacity Focus, 54: Walter Bradley shares technical development experience (on possibilities for coconut coir and shells) with hints on what works and what doesn't with development aid

At the recent Engineering and Metaphysics conference at ORU, Walter Bradley shared his experience of working with coconut coir and shells to reinforce plastics for the automotive and similar industries, as a basis for using what was formerly agricultural waste.

Video talk:


He also shared experiences on approaches that worked and didn't work, which are worth pondering.

His thoughts on biodiesel processing in the village raise the question of managing methanol. I wonder if this may become feasible if we move the processing to nodal towns that can then distribute to villages. For that, the 20 litre/ 5 gallon Jerry Can -- originally developed by the German Army as a modular man-handling friendly delivery system for fuel for the blitzkrieg -- may be a very useful item.

Or, maybe Mark Holtzapple's mixed alcohols fuel approach may be a possibility.

Food for thought. END