Sunflower plants as substitute for wood as heating fuel

Technical Report ·

OSTI ID:5540621

The purpose of this grant was to determine the feasibility of using the sunflower plant as a direct substitute for wood as a heating fuel in wood stoves or furnaces. Sunflowers were grown two successive years, the tops were harvested, dried, and stored. Initial problems with explosions when the fuel door was opened on an air tight stove were overcome by compressing the sunflowers into convenient sized logs. The sunflower oil itself was found to have the highest Btu content of any part of the plant. This oil content accounts for the high heat output of the sunflower tops when burned intact. However, since the sunflower oil has been recently shown to be effective as a direct substitute for diesel fuel in combustion engines, the use of the sunflower as a substitute for heating fuel would seem to have a lower priority. The more cost effective use of this oil in the future remains as a food source or combustion fuel source.

• Research Organization: Solar Crafters, Inc., Strawberry Plains, TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: FG44-80R410144
• OSTI ID: 5540621
• Report Number(s): DOE/R4/10144-T1; ON: DE84000273
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
090400* -- Solid Waste & Wood Fuels-- (-1989)
140504 -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
APPLIANCES
CALORIFIC VALUE
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
COMBUSTION PROPERTIES
FUEL SUBSTITUTION
HEATING
OXIDATION
PLANTS
SPACE HEATING
SUNFLOWERS
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WOOD BURNING APPLIANCES