Dry fuel
Tablets of dry fuel of domestic production
Several Esbit tablets
Dry fuel- fuel, also known in everyday life under the name "dry alcohol". In fact dry fuel does not apply to alcohol. Dry fuel consists of urotropine compressed with a small amount of paraffin. Urotropin was obtained in 1859 by Russian organic chemist Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov (1828-1886), who studied the interaction of formaldehyde with an aqueous solution of ammonia. As a result of the reaction, colorless crystals of the composition (CH 2) 6 N 4 were formed. This substance is called hexamethylenetetramine or urotropin.
Compressed dry fuel tablets burn with a colorless flame similar to alcohols, do not spread during combustion, do not smoke and do not leave ash.
Application
By appointment
Commonly used for heating or cooking in the field by tourists, military and humanitarian organizations.
Often, dry fuel tablets are included in army food rations, often a metal stand is included in the kit for the size of a fuel tablet for ease of use.
Also, dry fuel tablets are used as fuel for miniature models. steam engines, for example production Wilesco or mamod.
Not on purpose
Advantages and disadvantages
Dry fuel tablets are a simple, lightweight, compact, powerful heat source. Under the storage conditions, they have an unlimited shelf life. Due to the fact that the power of the flame is problematic to regulate, it is more often used for heating than for cooking. Dry fuel flames are sensitive to wind, so a simple shield may be necessary. Dry fuel is more expensive and less common than other fuels like ethanol or gasoline.
The specific calorific value of dry fuel is about 31,300 MJ/kg.
Links
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Do-it-yourself dry fuel
Although chemists are aware of alcohols that, under ordinary conditions, are not watery, but solid (for example, tertiary butyl alcohol, pentaerythritol, cetyl alcohol, and others), “ dry alcohol"has nothing to do with real alcohols. It would have been better given a different name. dry fuel. But the “wrong” name stuck.
Dry alcohol refers to a variety of substances that burn with an almost dim flame without smoke and soot, like ethyl or methyl alcohol, and when burned, do not leave the smallest trace of ash.
Urotropin - the very first dry fuel - was received in 1860 by a Russian organic chemist Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov(1828-1886), studying the interaction of methanal with the aqueous substance of ammonia. As a result of the reaction, dim crystals of the composition (СH2)6N4 were formed. This substance is called hexamethylenetetramine, or urotropine. Both urotropin itself and its compound with calcium chloride (calcex) turned out to be good anti-inflammatory and diuretic agents, and therefore they are this moment can be purchased at any pharmacy.
Do-it-yourself dry fuel, dry alcohol, solid biofuel, Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov, dry fuel at home
Another remarkable property of urotropine is the ability to burn without the formation of ash. Pills or briquettes of purchased dry fuel consist specifically of urotropine with a small addition of paraffin. This fuel is very comfortable to use: it simply ignites from a match, it simply fades away, one has only to cover the flame with a cap or cup. Its only drawback is that, when damp, it begins to glow, cracking and scattering sparks.
Although dry fuel is almost always available at a hardware store or camping equipment store, small quantities can be made at home.
Do-it-yourself dry fuel
This is done as follows: put a small enameled pan in a bowl of cool water (better if the water is running) and pour 100 ml of formalin (40% methanal solution), and then add in small portions while mixing 1 liter of ammonia solution (445 ml of 25% th solution is diluted with 555 ml of water beforehand). These operations are best carried out in the open air, since both methanal and ammonia are harmful to inhale. Later, the pan is covered with a lid and left in a cold place until the next day.
Then the contents of the pan are evaporated in a water bath, achieving crystallization of urotropin. Later, the pan is cooled, the crystals are filtered off, squeezed between sheets of filter or just toilet paper and dried in air. 1-3% paraffin is added to dry urotropine, the mixture is ground in a mortar and briquettes are pressed from it. It is necessary to store ready-made dry fuel, protecting it from water.
The combustion products of urotropine ( carbon dioxide, nitrogen, water vapor) are gaseous, and no ash remains from it.
Metaldehyde is the 2nd type of "dry alcohol". This tetramer (four-link polymer) of acetaldehyde has the formula (CH3CHO)4. If a few drops of sulfuric acid diluted (1:1) with water are added to acetaldehyde (acetaldehyde) - dull volatile water with a corresponding odor, cooled below 0 o C, then acetaldehyde is converted into combustible hard metaldehyde, insoluble in water and ethyl alcohol. Cubes, sticks, pills are cut out of it, which simply light up from a match. During combustion, metaldehyde does not form ash, because all the products of its interaction with atmospheric oxygen are carbon dioxide and water vapor.
dry fuel at home
Another type of "dry alcohol" is calcium acetate solvate. If 10 ml of a concentrated aqueous solution of calcium acetate is quickly poured into 170 ml of ethyl alcohol, the mixture hardens almost instantly into a translucent mass, similar to snow-white soap. From such a mass, cubes can be cut, which, when ignited, glow perfectly.
When burned, the calcium acetate solvate decomposes to form a small amount of ash (calcium carbonate) and acetone, which, like ethyl alcohol, burns perfectly.
Has come summer period holidays and people began to ask about their daily needs. Sometimes there are interesting questions. The fact is that for different periods and different cases I use a different type of fuel. And I was asked to describe the reasons for the choice, as well as tell you how to choose the most versatile type of fuel for yourself. In fact, the choice of fuel type is quite narrow and the choice, in fact, comes from several options.
- liquid fuel,
- alcohol,
- dry fuel,
- chips,
- firewood.
The point is small, choose ...
Liquid fuel
Liquid fuels have been used in tourism and kitchens for quite some time. It all started with kerosene. This is the simplest version of the heating device. The wicks of a kerosene stove were lowered into a tank of kerosene and exhaust pipes were located above them. Not a very efficient method of using fuel, but it is much better than using wood or charcoal. Kerosene looks like this.
Later, it was devised how to exclude wicks from the process of fire formation, and stoves were created like a kerosene stove, with asbestos and cotton wicks. Asbestos wicks were distinguished by high fuel consumption, on average 180-190 grams per hour, but at the same time they had a large heat transfer. But for kerosene gas based on a cotton wick, they spent about 80 grams per hour, but the power was lower. The kerosene looked like this.
Wikipedia
But technology has not stood still. And in 1892 Franz Wilhelm Lindqvist invented the stove. This invention turned out to be very successful both for the tourist world and for everyday life in general. Also now there are a lot of gas burners for cooking. A tourist burner is compact, fueled with kerosene or gasoline. Here is one example of a liquid fuel burner.
What is the advantage of this fuel? Liquid fuel is easier to find in various uncivilized places. For example, in villages or on the highway, finding liquid fuel is much easier than any other type of fuel produced using technical means. Only alcohol is simpler, but not any sold alcohol actually burns as it should. Gasoline on average releases about 10,572 kcal per kilogram. This is less than the calorific value of the propane-butane mixture or each of them separately. But gasoline has a series of big pluses.
Of the minuses, I want to note only a slight technical difficulty in the preparation of a liquid fuel burner. There are also cases when fuel tanks are spilled in a backpack and almost all synthetic materials become unusable. I myself, fortunately, did not get into such a situation, but I heard about such cases often.
Gas mixtures
Gas camping stoves are one of the simplest and most common methods of cooking while camping. Gas burners captivate with their simplicity. In addition to ease of use, gas has a higher heating value than gasoline. For example, butane 11783 kcal/kg, propane 11961 kcal/kg. But at the same time, we do not forget that gas mixtures lose to liquid fuel in volume. When fuel is burned, gas is consumed faster than gasoline. One liter of gasoline corresponds to 1.13 liters of butane or 1.27 liters of propane. The vast majority of travel cylinders use butane. And in mixtures, propane is used only as an additive.
It turns out that a large calorific value affects not so much fuel economy as the speed of cooking.
Now let's touch on the cons of gas burners. The main problem is gas cartridges. An empty gas cartridge has a certain weight and is disposable. It turns out that after using the gas cylinder, you still need to carry it to the trash. Due to the fact that there are many types of connections and types of gas cartridges (cylinders), it may happen that there are no necessary gas cartridges. For example, the most common and almost always available for sale is a cartridge with a collet connector, the next one is with a threaded connection, and then there are puncture cartridges.
And one more minus about which I want to warn. Gas burners behave very poorly in the cold. Even if a winter gas mixture with a large amount of propane and isobutane is used, they still burn very poorly and the cylinders have to be heated.
In the summer period of tourist travel, it is still preferable to use gas cylinders. Especially if there are people in the group who are poorly versed in technology.
Alcohol burners
Alcohol burners are not very common in Russia and are not badly distributed in some armies of the world as an individual burner for heating food. I took these burners for a test and I didn’t like the results a little. The flame is clean without soot, but they have a very weak fire. The fact is that the calorific value of alcohol is 7100 kcal / kg, which is almost two times less than that of gas and gasoline. Actually, the speed of boiling water on alcohol turned out to be really protracted. The burners I had from Tatonka and the Swiss army burner M-39 boiled water in my pot in about 20-25 minutes, on a gas burner Kovea KV-0101 this process takes 7-10 minutes (depending on the gas cartridge used).
In principle, for the purpose of warming up dry rations, an alcohol burner is quite suitable, but for a full-fledged cooking on a hike, it will interfere. An alcohol burner captivates only with its simplicity and condoness, there is absolutely nothing to break, it is relatively light and fuel can be transported directly in it.
Dry fuel
Dry fuel these are special tablets from the so-called dry alcohol. The vast majority of dry fuel tablets consist of urotropine. In terms of calorific value, it is close to alcohol 7500 kcal / kg. Accordingly, when using one or two tablets, you will have to be patient and wait for the water to boil.
Of the advantages, I want to note the ease of use of dry fuel, its unpretentiousness and full consumption when used as fuel.
The downsides are obvious. If you go on a short weekend hike, then dry fuel will be a very convenient tool for heating food and boiling tea. I want to note that many put a plus on the absence of any combustion devices, for example, burners. I don’t agree at all with this, even for boiling water you need a stand or taganok, there are a lot of burners on sale, it’s also fashionable to make a stand yourself, but people only face its need when they leave the house. And I never cease to wonder, do people think that the dishes will hang in the air? The next problem with dry fuel is that the flame is easily knocked down by the wind and it is necessary to block the windshield. Also, most dry fuel tablets have an unpleasant odor of urotropine, and if a briquette with tablets is stored in a closed pot, then the contents of the pot acquire this unpleasant odor.
Alloy
By the way, here is an example of a stand for dry fuel sold by Splav. At the moment it costs 330 rubles for 8 tablets and a stand. Total weight 395 grams. The stand is made of aluminium.
Dry fuel is great for heating food. It is used in the form of a set of four tablets and an impromptu taganka that must be bent from a tin plate along the perforation. For this use, dry fuel is just perfect.
wood chipper
A very interesting thing. Special container-stand for the use of wood chips, twigs, cones and other forest debris for heating and cooking. They are most often used in the form of homemade devices. But the tourism industry does not stand still and dozens of different types of wood chips are presented to the public.
And so, let's analyze the work of a wood chipper and again look at the table of the calorific value of a tree, which ranges from 4000 kcal / kg to 4700 kcal / kg, depending on the type of wood. Due to the fact that chips and dry twigs have a large air gap, combustion occurs with more high speed than a monolithic log and therefore the rate of heat release is high, which can equate in terms of efficiency to an alcohol burner. Judging by the reviews of friends, a liter of water in an aluminum pan boils in about 10 minutes, which is comparable to a gas burner.
What are the advantages of a chipper? The weight of such a furnace can be scanty and you can make it at home even from the power supply of the system unit.
Also, the fuel for this furnace will be used at the place of arrival, which saves the weight of the portable equipment. Many wood chips allow you to quickly start a fire and start cooking. Many designs of wood chips are so oak that they do not allow them to cause harm even during hard transportation. The wood chipper is easy to use for unprepared people. The material consumption of the wood chipper is high, but many designs allow you to quickly add fuel.
Also, the wood chipper has disadvantages due to which it cannot be a universal remedy. Firstly, it is an open fire that needs to be looked after more carefully than gas and gasoline burners. Due to the use of wood chips, this stove generates a lot of smoke and is unrealistic to use in field kitchens and cabins. The wood chipper cannot be quickly extinguished, it will be necessary to pour out the contents of the furnace and extinguish everything with water. Also, due to the large surface, this type of oven is not suitable for weekend trips and for quickly heating food. And do not forget that for its operation it is at least necessary that in the place where it is used there is the necessary fuel.
Firewood and campfires
And back to the lowest in terms of calorific value. To the tree. By the tree different breeds the calorific value fluctuates greatly and on average can be taken as 3500 kcal / kg. But firewood has an undeniable quality that is difficult to beat - it is a huge supply of firewood in the forest. But in order to use firewood, you need some equipment. At a minimum, you need an ax or a saw, and their weight can be compared with a small supply of gas cylinders with a burner or the weight of a gasoline burner with fuel. But if you plan a long hike through the forest, then it is more expedient to use firewood.
The bonfire is very romantic, but only if there are supplies of it along the route, because you can’t carry a lot of firewood with you. For some reason, thanks to the large amount of firewood, you can cook food very quickly and the volume of the fire is enough to cook several dishes in a row.
The disadvantages of a campfire are often manifested in the fact that burnt dishes become very dirty and have to be cleaned before being put into a backpack. The utensils on the fire are not stable, so if there are people on the campaign with little experience in dealing with fires, and even more so cooking on a fire, then you will have to take tripods, tagankas or special tension steel strings with you. You can still use the branches of living trees locally, but I don’t recommend doing this in crowded places because the young growth will quickly end.
Outcome
Each type of fuel and burner has its niche. AT different occasions you can use different methods of cooking, from a fire to a gas oven.
If we take into account the fact that at present a lot of tourists are resting in campsites or on lakes in summer time, then I would recommend taking ordinary gas burners and not bothering with all kinds of wood chips and gasoline stoves of your grandfathers.
When fishing and camping, it is important that you can start a fire at any time. For this, a diverse range of dry fuel in tablets and alternative products are produced.
Our catalog contains different kinds dry alcohol, "eternal" matches and other means for guaranteed ignition and maintenance of fire. The products are easy to use and effective even in conditions of strong wind and humidity.
Types and composition of fuel
Popular among tourists, hunters and fishermen, alcohol tablets have nothing to do with alcohol. They include various substances that burn with a colorless flame without smoke, soot and ash formation. It is from this that they got their name. Dry fuel is produced from urotropine with the addition of paraffin, metaldehyde or calcium acetate solvate. It is recommended to protect this type of fuel from dampness, as in this case sparks are formed during combustion.
Means "Kayur" based on paraffin and cellulose is made in the form of candles with an unlimited duration. It supports combustion for 7-9 minutes without emitting unpleasant odors.
"Eternal" matches in the form of a keychain are equipped with flint. It is placed on a wick, which is screwed into the body filled with gasoline or kerosene. Designed for 15,000 ignitions.
Dry fuel can be equipped with a special burner case. The flame goes out instantly when it is closed.
Edited 08/10/2019
Dry fuel - fuel, also known in everyday life under the name "dry alcohol". In fact, dry fuel does not apply to alcohols. Dry fuel consists of urotropine, compressed with a small amount of paraffin. Metaldehyde and calcium acetate solvate are also used as a combustible substance in tablets.
Dry fuel tablets are a simple, lightweight, compact, powerful heat source. Urotropin, briquetted or in tablets, most often goes on sale.
Due to the fact that the power of the flame is problematic to regulate, it is more often used for heating than for cooking in the field by tourists, military and humanitarian organizations. Can be used as a fire igniter.
Often, dry fuel tablets are included in army food rations, often a metal stand is included in the kit for the size of a fuel tablet for ease of use.
Compressed dry fuel tablets burn with a colorless flame similar to alcohols, do not spread during combustion, do not smoke and do not leave ash. They take up little space.
Under the storage conditions, they have an unlimited shelf life.
The efficiency of dry fuel depends on the size of the dry fuel pellet. First of all, the size of the area from which the flame is emitted is important (most often this is the diameter). In this case, the larger the diameter of the bottom of the pot, the more desirable the area of dry alcohol.
If several tablets are used at the same time, then placed close to each other they form a flame of greater efficiency, which also speeds up the process.
During combustion, the size of the dry fuel tablet decreases and the intensity of the flame will decrease. Accordingly, the speed of cooking or heating will also fall.
The amount of moisture inside dry alcohol is also important (dry fuel is hygroscopic and can absorb moisture). Therefore, it must be hermetically packed ... Although even having saturated with water (of course, within reasonable limits), dry fuel will burn, although it "shoots" and smokes.
Dry fuel flames are sensitive to wind, so a simple shield may be necessary.
Some combustion products of dry alcohol or its reactions give toxic substances.
Hexamethylenetetramine in an acidic environment, it gives formaldehyde, which is toxic. It can also create formaldehyde, ammonia, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen cyanide during combustion, if ingested it can cause nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal disturbances and kidney damage.
Metaldehyde- one of the types of dry alcohol, is also toxic. It has a toxicity similar to that of acetaldehyde. It should also be noted that when tablets of dry alcohol enter the stomach, in children and pets, the tablet may stick to the stomach lining, and it does not dissolve for a long time, which gives an increase in the latent period of poisoning up to 15 hours, and makes it difficult to determine the cause of poisoning.
I should note that dry alcohol can be used for other purposes.
It is used by some artisanal producers of alcoholic beverages as an amplifier of the alcohol intoxication they cause.
Can be used to treat urinary tract infections: cystitis, pyelitis.
All of these options can lead to poisoning or even death. So it's not worth the risk.