Abel Pifre Solar Energy History

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Solar Energy History

The French Connection 3

I felt the need to find out more about 

French engineering genius Abel Pifre
This post is my research 

A drawing of Abel Pifre demonstrating his Solar printing press in Paris

I really wanted to know more about Abel Pifre

I have had a keen interest in the history of solar energy for several years, and have written several posts on this blog tracing, as best I could, the far from clear lines of that history. Some of the most interesting and exciting episodes of solar history took place in France where Augustin Mouchot came up with the concept of a practical solar concentrator. Essentially a large parabolic mirror to focus the suns rays onto a target and extract the energy and drive machinery. The idea essentially was for a solar concentrator to produce steam to drive various machines. Realising the idea took the mechanical genius of his student and assistant Abel Pifre to actually bring it to fruition.

History has, for the most part, tended to place Abel Pifre in the role of side-kick to Mouchot. I, on the other hand, tend to believe that if it were not for Pifre, the concept would not have been demonstrated so effectively.

Here is a link to the original referred piece:  

http://wood-pellet-ireland.blogspot.ie/2010/07/solar-energy-history-french-connection.html


What I previously wrote.
Back in July of 2010 I wrote the following:

Abel Pifre (1852-1928), Genius and showman.
(I could find no photo or likeness of M. Pifre)

Unfortunately there is no photograph or likeness of, nor is there any great deal of historical information to be had about Abel Pifre.

He was a French engineer who got his start in solar energy engineering by working as an assistant / consultant with Augustin Mouchot the guy that developed the first solar engine.

Later on Abel Pifre went on to build several improved solar engines of his own, including a solar driven printing press, for which perhaps he is most remembered.

My recent research on Abel Pifre 

 Taken outside Pitre's Lyon workshop before the merger with Otis

Pifre merged with Otis new name on workshop in Lyon

I have been doing a lot of digging and searching and have come up with a few insights into the genius of Abel Pifre. What follows is a condensed version of what I have gathered. There are some questions about the quality and veracity of the data, and especially regarding a photograph taken in front of Abel Pifre's engineering works in Lyon. I am hoping, perhaps naively, that perhaps one of the gentlemen in the photo may be Pifre himself. If anyone has information on this, or any other point, I should be most grateful to have an update.
 

The Man.

Could the man on the left possible be Abel Pifre?

Marc Abel Pifre was born April 24, 1852 in Segonzac Charente. He died 24th March 1928 in Paris at his home at 54, rue de Monceau in the 8th Arrondissemen. He was 76 years of age.

On the 13th of April 1882 there was a marriage contract; between Marc Abel Pifre, civil engineer of Arts and Manufactures, residing 30, rue d'Assas, and Marie Tavernier, without profession, residing 30, rue d'Assas . Wedding at the town hall of the 6th arrondissement of Paris.

A replica of Abel Pifre's solar steam generator.

Abel Pifre was a true hands-on leading inventor and engineer. While he is generally remembered for his solar energy work with Augustin Mouchot, he has many other achievements and credits including. Officer of the Legion of Honour (D. August 12, 1923, OJ August 16, 1923, p. 8155).General Albert Adviser (1919-1925). Aveluy mayor (1908-1919) ( Aveluy is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France).

Then mayor of Albert. Engineer of Arts and Manufactures. Industrial Albert (director of Otis-Pifre facilities (lifts)). Founder of Le Réveil of the Somme.

And the bit commonly known about him; his association with Augustin Mouchot the mathematician who worked on solar energy, but it was Abel Pifre who brought the idea into reality. Later, he developed Mouchot's idea far past the initial point, to where he demonstrated the first printing press using solar energy.


Pifre's Patents.

Documents dated 11th to the 27th of August 1901, indicate that Abel Pifre transferred some 29 patents to the new merged company. The new company had already received patents relevant to the construction of elevators, hoists and electric motors (D. 26 Feb. 1902 proclaiming 87 assignments of patents, 47th to 65th, Bull. Acts 1901, No. 2449, Text No. 43116, p. 1477).

Pifre's Workshops.

It would seem that Abel Pifre had several workshops on the go in various places and at different times. I am unable to figure the sequence. Here is a brief list of some workshops.

AteliersAlbert (Somme) for the manufacture of equipment and material for sugar mills, oil mills and distilleries, but also for cement plants. Director in 1899: Théophile Colinot. Workshops destroyed during the war.

Aterlers Abel Pifre, later Ateleirs Otis Pifre in Lyon, at 28 bis, rue Dumoulin - now street of Father Chevrier 7th Arr.

Ateliers Bezons (Seine-et-Oise - Val-d'Oise today -), at 2, quai de Seine, workshops created after the destruction of workshops Albert.During the great war, workshops Bezons were employed in the manufacture of shells:

Ateliers Otis-Pifre built for the Navy including pumps, cranes, electric folding cranes, intended for battleships Danton, Mirabeau and Vergniaud, as well as up-munitions, which were equipped with the first two buildings.

Disappearing name of Abel Pifre.

It would seem that Pifre's name was deleted leaving only the Otis name. I wonder how much Otis owes to Pifre in terms of invention and development? I also wonder why Pifre's name was quickly lost when it comes to the development of lifts.


Was Abel Pifre Shafted by a Lift Company?

Some old postcards show workshops in Lyon where Abel Pifre's name has disappeared from the facade.  Otis remains the great name in elevators but I suspect Pifre was much of the genius in the early development of aspects of elevator technology. I also have a nasty feeling that Abel Pifre was to some extent shafted by the elevator company, if you will pardon the pun, but I could be very wrong in that feeling and stand to be corrected.

Rue Dumoulin in Lyon is where were the Otis-Pifre workshops once existed. The street is now called Rue Pere Chevrier. The old workshops have long gone. One can locate the site which was on the corner of the Rue Anvers.

 https://www.google.ie/maps/@45.7496174,4.8425194,3a,75y,19.28h,89.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sWkaD1oZD2ygn7dHtus5CHw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

You can go to Google Maps and visit the corner. which gives us a 3D look at the street junction.

This post contains as much as I have been able to find on Abel. If you are able to add to this information about Abel Pifre, I would be very happy to hear from you.

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Ireland's Energy Future & National Security

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Irish Energy Minister introduces 

"White Paper"

which outlines Energy Future

A moment of quiet reflection? Energy Minister Alex White

While introducing a Government paper outlining Ireland's energy future, Minister for Communications and Energy Alex White said:  

“Customers will have to pay more in their energy bills as Ireland moves away from fossil fuels in the coming years”.

According to the "White Paper" on Energy published today, Ireland will be using no fossil fuels by the end of the century. (I would imagine that plan might be helped by the fact that most of the fossil fuels will be used up by then).

The Irish "White Paper"outlines aspirations for long-term energy goals and proposed strategies for Ireland. Mr White also said in his statement that Ireland was still dependent on fossil fuels to the extent of 92 per cent.

The paper proposed over 90 lines of action. Among the big and bold proposals there are references to “improved domestic grant schemes and financing options for energy efficiency upgrades” and “a new support scheme for the development of renewable energy technologies”.

My focus and concern is with the impact these Clean - Green - and Carbon Reducing Policies will take on the less well off.

Simply adding taxes to dissuade the use of coal etc. is only going to add to fuel poverty in Ireland, and will ultimately fail as people will find ways to get cheap fuel.

What about 0% Disposable Income Families and Energy Costs?

I sincerely hope that the discussion and planning fully considers how carbon taxes and energy costs impinge on the less well off. "You cannot get blood from a turnip" and low income families cannot just go out and buy expensive heating systems - taking advantage of grants etc. There needs to be a LOW-TECH and LOW-COST strategy applied in addition to the high flying ones.

I hope also that any grant schemes would consider the real carbon value of the investment. The huge State grants schemes, of recent years, given for geothermal heating systems and wood-pellet systems, I am fairly sure, did not factor-in the carbon costs in terms of the heavy reliance on non-green electricity, or indeed failed to properly calculate the carbon costs of the machinery itself and its regular servicing and replacement.


Would the Minister consider the following?


1. A Scheme to eliminate all open fires and replace them with Stoves?

I hope that low-tech and low-cost green solutions might come into the focus for the planners. Solutions like encouraging the installation of simple and very inexpensive stoves to replace open fires would be one very important investment which would offer HUGE long-term pay back, and very low maintenance costs.

Advantages would include:

(a) A large reduction in fuel usage for home heating.

(b) A reduction in heat loss caused by the excessive airflow of an open chimney.

(c) An additional financial and social advantage of such a scheme is that it would substantially reduce fires and fire related accidents in the home, saving lives, suffering and money.



2. A Massive up-scaling of timber production in Ireland? 

Another long-term and perhaps initially costly investment would be in a massive up-scaling of forestry in fast growing timber to feed a wood-based solid fuel industry to replace coal in domestic heating. We are talking National Security here, so costs should reflect the importance.

Sally tree plantations would provide quality wood suitable for bio-mass use in a very short space of time and can be cropped repeatedly for several years before replanting is necessary.

In 2012 Ireland imported 2.4 Million Short Tonnes of coal. If we assume, (I do not have actual delivered price per tonne), a cost per tonne including shipping and transport of say just €100 - that would give us a figure of roughly €240 Million Euro leaving the country every year for coal.

Additional benefits from a 3x expansion of current managed forest acreage would include:

(1) an increase in wild life, pollinating insects etc.,
(2) additional oxygen creation,
(3) the re-building and stabilization of eroded soils,
(4) planned forests can add to amenity areas for the public, and
(5) provide many more jobs in that industry.



3. Investment in Super-Hard Fused Wood Briquette Production. 

The proposed type of wood briquette / log differs widely from the types generally available in Ireland at the present time. There are currently 3 types being sold. Non of which are good substitutes for coal products in stoves etc.

Below are 3 less satisfactory types of wood briquette.

The top two, of the above 3 photos, show briquettes, which are essentially compressed sawdust are the least desirable, as they expand up to twice their size in the fire.

Expansion of fuel in a stove etc. can present Carbon Monoxide poisoning danger by restricting the flue. The burn pattern is also quite poor. They tend to fall apart in the fire.

The bottom photo shows a slightly better type of wood briquette. This type is screw extrusion type and tends to hold its shape better. However, it burns much to quickly and is therefore not a good substitute for coal. While this type burns well, it is incapable of giving long duration burn and long duration of burn overnight is exactly what is needed when a stove is the primary source of heat in the home.


The proposal:

Along with massively developing timber production, the Minister might also consider investment in a wood-fuel production industry to produce primarily super-hard fused wood logs / briquettes, but also wood pellets. This type of briquette / log is not currently available in Ireland, as far as I am aware, let alone produced here.

Contrary to general belief, this type of fused wood briquette can 100% successfully be produced from most soft woods, and from waste wood or sawdust.

Fused wood briquettes are capable of fully replacing coal as a fuel for stoves and ranges.

Advantages in using this fuel include:
(1) It forms 'coals' in the burning process and therefore can burn for up to 10 hours,
(2) It releases heat in a pattern not too unlike coal,
(3) It does not expand in a stove or fireplace unlike most other forms of wood briquette and is therefore much safer in use.
(4) It is very easily stored and handled.
(5) It has a lower creosote deposit, and lower particulate release to the atmosphere.
(6) It is a 100% carbon neutral fuel.
(7) Replacing coal with this type of home produced briquette would save many millions of Euro leaving the country each and every year sustainably in perpetuity.
(8) An industry based on this type of fuel would create many long-term sustainable jobs in the country.

This would also represent a fairly large investment for Ireland to make, but if one was to think about it again, it could spell no less than an investment in the National Security, future economic stability, and help to ensure a sustainable energy future for the country.

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Solar Energy History The French Connection 2

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Solar History
The French Connection 2

Abel Pifre (1852-1928), Genius and showman.
(I could find no photo or likeness of M. Pifre)

Unfortunately there is no photograph or likeness of, nor is there any great deal of historical information to be had about Abel Pifre.

He was a French engineer who got his start in solar energy engineering by working as an assistant / consultant with Augustin Mouchot the guy that developed the first solar engine.

Later on Abel Pifre went on to build several improved solar engines of his own, including a solar driven printing press, for which perhaps he is most remembered.



Abel Pifre first demonstrated his solar press to the Union Francaise de la Jeunesse at the Jardin des Tuileries Paris on the 6th of August 1882.

His machine had a concave solar mirror of 3.5 metres, roughly 11.50 feet, in diameter which focused the sun onto a cylindrical steam boiler. This produced steam which powered a 2.5 horsepower vertical engine, and this in turn powered a Marioni type printing-press.

It was reported that the press operated continuously from 1.00 pm to 5.30 pm even under semi-overcast conditions, to produce some 500 copies per hour of a journal, "Le Journal du Soleil", which was published specifically for the event.

An Extract from Popular Science 1881

The following extract from Popular Science 1881 gives us a rare glimpse of Pifre’s work just prior to the exhibition of the solar printing press at the Jardin des Tuileries.

"Several experimenters have contrived machines for the purpose of utilizing the solar heat as a source of mechanical energy, among whom Ericsson and Mouchot have been most successful."

"M. Pifre describes in a recent number of the "Comptes Eendus " some results from a machine of Mouchot's construction, claiming to have utilized more than eighty per cent, of the heat which falls on the mirrors of the instrument : something over twelve calories to a square metre. "

"We do not mean, of course, that this percentage of the total solar energy appeared as mechanical power in the engine, but only in its boiler. The machine had a mirror surface of nearly one hundred square feet, and gave not quite a horse-power. It is very possible that such machines will find useful application in the rainless I'cgions like Egypt and Peru."

"The apparatus invented by Mouchat for utilizing the direct rays of the sun as a source of power has been so improved by M. Pifre, a French engineer, that he claims to be able to make available eighty percent, of the received heat of the sun."




"M. Abel Pifre has succeeded, by changing the form of the reflectors and the heaters, in considerably increasing the efficiency of the solar engines invented by M. Mouchot. While M. Mouchot has not been able to utilize more than fifty per cent, of the heat of the sun, M. Pifre with his improved apparatus makes eighty per cent, available for use. With a receiver of 9-25 square metres and a clear sky he boils fifty litres of water in less than forty minutes, and obtains an additional pressure of one atmosphere every seven or eight minutes."

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