FireDragon vs Hexamine
Abstract
The aim of this report is to highlight the key parameters in environmental and human health impact when comparing hexamine to BCB Internationals patented, bioethanol-based fuel, FireDragon. This report will focus on emissions such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and particulate matter, as these are the most common pollutants from biomass combustion. To analyse this, a horizontal tube furnace was utilised to measure all the aforementioned parameters. FireDragon came out on top when compared to Hexamine, with fewer gas emissions and less particulate matter with significant percentage difference between the two. Per gram of fuel combusted, FireDragon only released 5.734x10-3 grams of carbon monoxide and 0.03632 grams of carbon dioxide per gram of fuel combusted. These results were obtained by BCB Internationals partner, Cardiff University, that have helped us to develop this life saving, ecofriendly fuel.
Introduction
There is growing concern surrounding type of fuel usage with regards to global warming. January 2024 was the warmest January on record to date, being 1.27°C warmer than the average temperature during the 20th century (Global climate summary for January 2024 | NOAA Climate.gov).? Therefore, the race for more sustainable fuels is paramount in preserving our planet.
Furthermore, different fuels, when combusted, release various compounds or gases dependent on their constituents. Depending on the intermolecular forces and types of bonds present, this also equates to the amount of energy released. This on a chemical level is why often, fuels that have a more negative impact on the environment are favoured, as their composition leads to an extremely efficient energy release which is suitable for a variety of types of fuels. Another factor to consider with fuels is the effect on human health. Often fuels cannot be used in confined spaces or used with food items due to their toxic nature. This report is specifically comparing the commonly used hexamine fuel to BCB International’s bioethanol-based fuel, which was conceptualised to counter the potentially lethal effects of the use of hexamine, and the impact on global warming. With the conceptualisation and development of FireDragon in 2013 and being distributed throughout retail and used by the MoD since 2015, BCB International aims to provide a clean, safe and efficient alternative to other fuels, that is functional in extreme conditions. The formulation consisting of ~87.6 v/v% FireDragon is the innovative way of ensuring sustainability and quality in all recreational and survival settings with a heating capacity that can rival marketplace favourites. The reduction in emissions that have been analytically derived demonstrate both the safety and efficiency of FireDragon.
Materials and Methods
Data and literature drawn from Cardiff School of Engineering experiments and the White Paper technical document BCB International wrote in house and utilises as the full document containing all relevant FireDragon information and testing.
Analytical data was collected using a horizontal tube furnace which is shown in figure 1.
Results
Particulate matter is another factor to consider when investigating fuel usage. It is noted as being the “most widely used indicator for assessing the health effects of exposure to air pollution” (WHOc 2021). This is because short-term, high exposure to particulate matter can decrease lung function, and in the long-term it increases the risk of disease (WHOb 2021). By including PM as one of the dependant variables measured in the experiment, the results are more comparable to other studies that have been completed. However, it must be remembered that test conditions differ to the real-life conditions, and the conclusions made are relative to the other fuels tested. Particulate matter can be calculated as a mass percentage of sample combusted using the equation:
Where m denotes the mass of the filter paper, and M indicates the mass of the sample during testing.
The mass percentage of particulate matter has been analysed by Cardiff University for FireDragon when compared to Hexamine, and the results are shown in table 1.
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When looking at the results for gaseous emissions, there are a few important things to note with FireDragon combustion against hexamine combustion. Arguably the most important is the 100% reduction in methane, as it is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The gas emissions in L/minute against time for the combustion of FireDragon is shown in figure 2.
When the data in L/min is converted, as a percentage, the data can be shown as a 3.6% release of carbon dioxide and a 0.57% release of carbon monoxide per gram of FireDragon.
When looking at the hexamine emissions data when portrayed in the same format, we can see that there is an increase in all investigated gas emissions. The results for hexamine combustion emissions are shown in figure 3.
It is important to note that during the analysis of hexamine by Cardiff University, there was an unfortunate 10-minute gap in the data with reduced airflow to the gas analyser. If this wasn’t to have been the case, we can assume that around 0.0984L of CO, 0.4242L of carbon dioxide and 0.0059L of methane. ??
Discussion
The results and analysis demonstrates that FireDragon combusts with a significant decrease in carbon dioxide emissions, carbon monoxide emissions and methane emissions. Arguably most importantly, FireDragon had the biggest reduction in particulate matter formation resulting from combustion, which can have huge health applications and allows for a wider variety of usage of the fuel, such as safe usage in confined spaces. The data shows that although the heat output is not necessarily as strong as hexamine, when scaled up to have the same effect the emissions are still less from FireDragon than that of hexamine. This trade-off in fuel volume is beneficial to both the consumer and the environment.
FireDragon produces an amount of CO2 as its primary emission. Therefore, the ethanol is sourced as sustainably as possible to offset the CO2 produced during combustion. This then allows for a more environmentally friendly carbon footprint for FireDragon during every step of production, which is another advantage over hexamine. Currently, it is derived from vegetable waste which has high availability and scalability to match demand.
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References
Global climate summary for 2024. 2024. Available at: Global climate summary for January 2024 | NOAA Climate.gov [Accessed 06/12/2024]
WHOb. 2021. Health Impact. Available at: https://www.who.int/teams/environmentclimate-change-and-health/air-quality-and-health/health-impacts [Accessed: 11th August 2021]
WHOc. 2021. Types of pollutants. Available at: https://www.who.int/teams/environment-climate-change-and-health/air-qualityand-health/health-impacts/types-of-pollutants [Accessed: 11th August 2021]