Archive for the ‘Wood gasifier’ Category
Bioenergy Resources -Integration Approach for a Self Sufficient Energy Village
????????????? Introduction:
??????????????????? In the present energy scenario most of the population lives in rural areas with short of electricity supply, which is the main obstacle in the development of rural areas. The increasing consumption of conventional fuels coupled with environmental degradation has led to the development of renewable energy sources. Hence, it is necessary to supply renewable electricity to these areas in decentralized mode. Renewable energy sources are the most feasible solutions, as these are unlimited, inexhaustible and environment friendly sustainable resources. The rural villages have substantial renewable energy sources like biomass, solar, wind etc. The problem caused by variable nature of these resources can be partially overcome by either installing individual large renewable power plant or adding energy storage and reconversion facilities and / or by integration. (Kanse Patil et al. 2008, Rajvanshi A.K. 2002, Ravindranath N.H.et al. 2004,and Shukla P.R. 2008)
- ???????????????? Assessment of available bio resources is helpful in revealing its status and helps in taking conservation measures and ensures a sustained supply to meet the energy demand. Assessment of bioenergy potential can be theoretical, technical or economic. Sukla (2008) reported that despite rapid growth of commercial energy, biomass remains principle energy source in rural and traditional sectors and contributes a third of India?s energy. ???For ?development of rural area one of the solution will be the utilization of sources, that lies within a village itself that is non commercial energy sources. These sources can be harnessed efficiently by adopting gasifier, biogas plants, solar collectors, tree plantation etc. which will provide lightning for home and streets, fuel for cooking and water heating motive power, power for pumps for irrigation etc. for efficient utilization of non commercial energy resources and exploitation of new one for rural? area proper planning is essential. ( Chauhan S. 2008, Chauhan S. et al. 2004, Ericsson et al. 2006, Esteban L.S. et al. 2008, Fischer G. et al. 2001 and Fuchs, M.R.et al. 2005 )
This work has emphases mainly on to find out the potential of agrowaste, livestock waste and biomass available in the village for energy generation. Keeping above views in mind the study was taken with objectives to assess? bioresources potential of village ‘Nimbhora’ and? suggest renewable energy planning for self sufficient energy village.
MATERIALS? AND METHOD
Biomass resource assessment
Field surveys based on household and direct interview methods was carried out in the village to collect potential available of biomass. Biomass energy supply was based primarily on land use statistics and yield of various crops, plantation and forest biomass productivities and the animal waste available.
Village information
The study was being conducted at Nimbhora in Akola District of Maharashtra State. It is 20 km away from Akola. The major crops grown in the village were cotton, sorghum, soybean, green gram, pigeonpea, gram etc. Total population of the village is 951 consisting of 170 households. The detail information of each family was obtained by personal interaction with the people. It was observed that total geographical area in Nimobhora was 1443.38 acre and area under cultivation is 1352.8 acre. All the cultivable area was rainfed and there was no facility of irrigation in the area.
Biomass from agricultural and residues
The cultivated area and the biomass yield of each crop influence the biomass potential from agricultural residues. The yield of a crop according to season and variety across an area was obtained by a averaging the yields of the previous years. The energy equivalent of these residues was taken based on what would be obtained if they would be subjected to the most energy efficient transformation processes. Portion of the residues available were used as fuel, while some used as fodder, and the rest left behind in the field for nutrient recycling. Energy from agriculture residues (E1).
E1 = Energy from agriculture residue (kcal)
= Total agro residue production ? consumption of agro residue
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Table 1: Grain to straw ratio of various crops .
?
Crop
Grain / Straw
Cotton
3 t/ha
Soybean
1:1
Jawar
1:3
Pigeonpea
1:4
Gram
1:1.3
Green gram
1: 1.3
Maize
1:4
Sunflower
1:2
Source : Dubey et al. (2009)
Heat value of various crops were taken in range of 3000-3650 kcal/kg The heat value for cotton, pigeonpea and sunflower were taken as 3500, 3000 and 3650 kcal/kg respectively.
Biomass from forest lands
The biomass potential of the forests is dependent on the type of forest and its distribution cover. The biomass production varies with the type of forest. The forest wood fuel collected annually by the household from the adjoining forest area was taken with the energy equivalent. Total energy from forests (E2) was computed by
E2 =Energy from forests (kcal)
=Annual wood collected – Consumption of wood in household activates
?
Biomass from live stock (animals)
The livestock population of cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat was collected from the personal interaction with the respondents. It was taken as 12-15 kg/animal/day for buffalo, 3.0-7.5 kg/animal/day for cattle, 0.1 kg/animal/day for sheep and goat. The total dung produced annually was calculated by multiplication of the animal dung production per year and the number of head of different animals. Assuming 0.036-0.042 m3 biogas yields per kg of cattle/buffalo dung, the total quantity of gas available was estimated. Total energy from livestock (E3) was computed by
E3 = Energy from livestock (kcal)
= Total cow dung collected – direct dung consumption through cake
?
?
?
Table 2 : Dung yield, biogas yield and energy equivalent for livestock.
Livestock type
Case
Dung yield kg/animal/ day
Biogas yield m3
Energy equivalent kcal/m3
Buffalo
High
15
0.042
5300
Low
10
0.036
5300
Cattle
High
7.5
0.042
5300
Low
3
0.036
5300
Goat
High
0.1
0.042
5300
Low
0.1
0.036
5300
Sheep
High
0.1
0.042
5300
Low
0.1
0.036
5300
Total biomass sources available from various sectors was ?computed by aggregating the energy computed from individual sectors (forestry, agriculture residues, livestock) and given by
Energy availability = ? (E1 E2 E3)
Energy utilization pattern of village
In this study, the energy consumption patterns of the village was studied from the survey. All socio economic activities related to the energy use was collected. The use of energy in houses, village lightning system, use of diesel in tractor allied machineries, use of petrol for two wheeler and small agro processing units was collected.
Energy Density of village
The energy density of the village was calculated for knowing the energy potential available per hectare. The total possible energy generation from all the biomass sources was determined by using the heat value of the biomass. This means that the energy density is the total possible energy available through biomass sources in a particular area. The computational formula for the calculation of energy density was taken as
?
??????????????? Total possible energy generation (kWh)
ED = ————————————————————–
?????????????? Total geographical area of village (ha)
Where, ED is energy density in kWh per hectare
Biomass power generator size selection
The sizes of the biomass power generator was decided on the basis of the quantities of biomass available and the overall conversion efficiency computed and decided by means of the following formulae.
?
Energy???????????????????? =????? Quantity of???? x????? Heating????? x???? Conversion
generation (kWh)????????????? biomass??????????????? value???????????????? efficiency
This relation mainly emphasized on the total energy generation of the system. The size of power generator (crop residue based) can be calculated by using following relationship.
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Energy generation (kWh)
Power generator size (kW) = ———————————————-
????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Yearly operating hours (h)
The sizes for the digester based power generation was computed by using the following relation:
Energy generation (kWh)= Biogas? x heating value x conversion efficiency
The operating hours per day and thereby as whole year for digester based power generation system was decided for calculation. The size of power generator of biogas operated was calculated by using following relationship.
??????????????????????????????????????????????????? Energy generation (kWh)
Power generator size (kW) = —————————————–
???????????????????????????????????????????????????? Yearly operating hours (h)
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Bioresources potential for village Nimbhora was assessed and on the basis of surplus availability renewable energy planning for self sufficient energy village was carried out and discussed in this chapter.
Status of biomass sources in village
The biomass potential, demand and energy use pattern in the villages was calculated from the available data. The bulk of dung was obtained in the village from bullock, cow, buffalo and calf 189, 123, 25 and 113 in numbers respectively.
It was observed that 11644.5 q dung was available in village Nimbhora and among the agricultural waste cotton residues was major source of biomass contributing about 5531.8 q (Table 3 and Fig.1). Pigeonpea and sunflower were also important biomass sources while planning the self energy strategy of the respective village.
Table 3 : Status of biomass in village Nimbhora
?
Sr. No.
Biomass source
?
Total quantity (q)
1
Dung
11644.5
2
Cotton
5531.8
3
Pigeonpea
503.56
4
Sorghum
3827.1
5
Green gram
339
6
Sunflower
471.5
7
Gram
718.7
8
Soybean
1139.62
9
Maize
1899
?
?
Fig. 1 : Status of biomass in village Nimbhora
Livestock bio energy sources
In this study, information about all the bioenergy resources was collected and presented in table 4 reveals the information about the production and use of the animal dung in the village. It was found that 11644.5 q of cattle dung was available in one year with a consumption of 2973 q and surplus available 8670 q, which help to fulfill the demand of villages by using the suitable renewable energy conversion system.
Table 4: Use and surplus of the cattle dung in the village
?
No. of animals
Dung available (q)
Total consumption (q)
Surplus (q)
526
11644.5
2973
8671.5
?
Collection and surplus of bio resources in village
In the selected village? all biomass sources were collected for the determination of the biomass generation capacity. Simultaneously the consumption of the bio resources from the personal interaction with the villages was collected. The demands of the energy required for cooking/ domestic sector was satisfied by using the pigeonpea, cotton and sunflower residues. A large amount of residue were found surplus in the villages. Cattle dung and cotton residues as a biomass were found major surplus in the village.
Table 5 depict information of the yearly availability of agricultural residue, production, consumption and surplus in the village. It was found that 8671.5 q cattle dung and among agro residue 1197.5 q cotton residue were found surplus (Fig. 2).
Table 5. Collection, consumption and surplus of energy in village
?
Biomass source
Collection (q)
Consumption (q)
Surplus (q)
Cattle dung
11644.5
2973
8671.5
Cotton
5531.8
4334.3
1197.5
Soybean
1139.6
1139.6
0
Sorghum
3827.1
3827.1
0
Pigeonpea
503.5
426
77.5
Maize
1899.2
1899.2
0
Gram
718.74
718.74
0
Sunflower
471.5
347
124.5
?
Fig. 2:? Collection, consumption and surplus of energy in village
?
Consumption of bioresources and energy in village
Detailed summary of energy consumption for various major activities (Biomass and allied energy) was carried out in this investigation. Table 6 reveals the information about the consumption of electricity of households, processing mills, consumption through street lamps, school, gram panchayat, temples, post office etc. There were only three floor grinding mills available in the village. There were 170 households in the village. Since the soil of village Nimbhora comes under saline track, most of the farming was rainfed and there was no irrigation facility.
Table 6 : Yearly consumption of electricity in the village Nimbhora
?
Household kWh (A)
Agro processing mill kWh (B)
School street lamp temple and various offices in village (C) kWh
Total A B C (kWh)
?
85410
?
10585
?
5372.8
?
101367.8
?
?
?
Fig. 3 : Yearly consumption of electricity in the village Nimbhora
?
Table 6 shows the outlook of electrical energy consumption of various operational uses in the village. It was observed that yearly consumption of electrical energy in village comes to be 101367.8 kWh (Fig. 3).
Nearly 7800 ? diesel was consumed annually for the tractor operation and 4562 ? of petrol required for vehicles available in the village. The villagers used 10 motorcycles for conveyance. Kerosene and LPG was used as a fuel for lighting and cooking purpose in the village which is depicted in Table 7.
?
?
?
Table 7 : Yearly consumption of liquid fuel and LPG in Nimbhora
?
Parameter
Number
Diesel ?
Petrol ?
Kerosene ?
LPG cylinders or refills
Motor cycle
10
-
4562
-
-
Tractor
3
7800
-
-
-
Cooking and lighting
-
-
-
5352
-
Cooking
-
-
-
-
187
Available energy from biomass
The information about the quantity of biomass resources available in the village Nimbhora is given in Table 8 . Agricultural residue such as cotton, pigeonpea, soybean and cattle dung etc were also the major available resources of biomass in the village. For calculating energy generation capacity of biomass resources, calorific values of the biomass were considered (Fig.4). Considering all the available surplus quantity of biomass, total energy generation in the village was found to be 727539.82 kWh.
Table 8 : Available bio energy from surplus biomass resources
?
Biomass source
?
Quantity (q)
Total possible energy available, kcal
Energy generation kWh
Cotton
1197.5
419097000
487322
Pigeonpea
77.5
23268000
27055.8
Sunflower
124.5
45442500
52840.11
Dung
8671.5
137876850
160321.91
Total possible energy generation kWh
727539.82 kWh
?
?
?
?
?
Fig. 4: Available bio energy from surplus biomass resources
?
It realized that electrical energy consumption was found less than the bioresources energy available in the village. The ratio of energy generation from bioresource to the energy consumption of the village was around 7:1.
It means that the energy used by the villagers was found much less than the biomass generated in the village. It is also realized that gasification based electrical energy generation system and biogas electrical energy generation project will be possible alternative for generating electrical energy in the village. A proposed renewable energy system will not have any impact on the ecological cycle of the village bioresources.
Biomass gasifier and digester
Power generation capacity from agro residues
The planning of the suitable system for energy generation at village level was the first step. Proper planning minimizes the cost of system and the future cost of the energy generation. The surplus biomass availale in the village was cotton residue, pigeon pea residue sunflower residues and cattle dung. The overall conversion efficiency of producer gas based electrical energy production was reported 17%. The total installation capacity of power generation based on gasifier system was found to be 35 kW (Table 9).
?
?
Table 9 : Possible energy generation with installed power capacity of gasifier.
?
Energy from cotton, pigeon pea and sunflower residue kWh
Total installed capacity
96427.00
35
?
Power generation capacity from cattle waste
The cattle dung was a main vital source for the bio power generation in the village. The total quantity of surplus cattle dung available in village was 8671.5 q per year. The overall conversion efficiency of biogas based electrical energy production was reported 25 % (Biogas to electrical energy). Considering surplus cattle dung a 15 kW size of digester based power generator was estimated for village Nimbhora.
Table 10 : Possible energy generation with installed power capacity of digester.
?
Cattle dung surplus (q)
Energy (kWh)
Total installed capacity kW
?
8671.5
?
40080.47
?
15
?
?
Biomass ??generation of village
The sizes of the power generation have been decided with the total energy generation in a year. The table 4.9 insight the overall picture of the energy generation. Considering the conversion efficiency of the gasification and digester based power generation system for the predicted green energy in a year. The total energy generation from the possible installed capacity of generator was found to be 136507.47 kWh.
Table 4.9 : Sizes of biomass power generator with one year energy generation.
?
Gasifier kW
Digester kW
Energy gasifier kWh
Energy digester kWh
Total install power kW
Total energy kWh
?
35
?
15
?
96427
?
40080.47
?
45
?
136507.47
?
?
CONCLUSIONS
The study revealed that the village was having considerable surplus of bioresources. Among the bioresources, cotton residue and cattle dung contributed significantly toward surplus bioenergy. Based on the bioenergy status, feasible management and technical options was discussed which would helpful in optimizing the available bioenergy and in building a sustainable energy. The proposed renewable energy system will minimize the burden on the existing resources so as to become self sufficient energy village. In village Nimbhora, bioenergy availability and demand of energy computation showed that the village could be self sufficient in respect to energy. It was found that surplus cotton residue available with quantity 1197.5 q in one year and therefore, contributed the main bioresources in the village. A large quantity of cattle dung was available in village. The availability of the cattle dung was found to be 8671.5 q in a year By incorporating the demand of the bioresources, it was also observed that bioresources produced in the village is surplus.It was found that energy demand of the village comes to be 101367.8 kWh. The surplus bioenergy resource of the village had a energy generation capacity upto the 727539.82 kWh. The ratio of bioresources availability to demand represent the bioresources status and it was found 7:1. It clearly indicates that bioresources in the village was surplus. It was realized that, renewable energy generation system, based on gasification and biogas suited to the village bioresources which have no ecological impact on cycle of bioresources. The total power generator size of proposed renewable energy system was found to be 50 kW for village Nimbhora.
?
References:
[1] Chauhan S. (2008) Assessment of sustainable surplus biomass resources for power generation potential in the state of Haryana, India. Journal of Energy Innovation and Entrepreneurship (5): 28-43.
[2] Chauhan S. and Sbri C.S. (2004) Assessment of biomass availability for power generation in selected talukas of Utteranchal state. ENVIS Bulletin: 1-6.
[3] Dubey A. and Gangil S. (2009) Status of availability of surplus biomass power generation. Advance in biomass utilization for electricity generation, CIAE Bhopal page. 25.
[4] Ericsson . and Nilson L.J. (2006) Assessment of the potential biomass supply in Europe using a resource focused approach. Biomass and bioenergy, Vol 30 : 1-15.
[5] Esteban L.S., Ciria P. and Corrasco J.E., (2008) An assessment of relevant methodological elements and criteria for surveying sustainable agricultural and forestry biomass by product for energy purposes: Surveying sustainable biomas, Bioresources 3 (3): pp. 910-928.
[6]? Fischer G. and Schrattenholzer L. (2001) Global bioenergy potentials through 2050. Biomass and bioenergy 20 (3): 151-159.
[7] Fuchs, M.R. and Frear, C. (2005) Biomass invenstory and bioenergy assessment: an evaluation of organic material resources for bioenergy production in Washington State. Available at www.ecy.wa.gov.co.in.
[8]? Kanase Patil A.B., Saini R.P. and Sharma M.P. (2008) Integrated Renewable energy system for off grid electrification of remote rural area: Renewable energy and environment for sustainable Development, Page 169.
[9] Rajvanshi A.K. (2002) Talukas can Provide Critical Mass for India?s Sustainable Development. Current Science Vol. 82 No. 6, Page 632-637.
[10] Ramachandra T.V., Kamakshi G. and Shruti B.V. (2004)? Bioresearch status in Karnataka. Renewable and sustainable energy reviews. 8 (1): 1-47.
[11] Ravindranath N.H., Somashekar H.F., Dasappa S. and C.N. Jayasheela Reddy (2004) Sustainable biomass power for rural India: case study of biomass gasifier for village electrification. Current Science Vol. 87 No. 7, Page 932.
[12] Shukla P.R. (2008) Biomass energy in India: Policies and prospects. E2 Analytics energy environment. Available at : www.ezanalystics. com.
?
?
?
?
?
Advantages of Large Scale Biomass Gasification Plants
Only recently with the rising cost of fossil fuels has the idea of gasification come once more to the fore. Expect to hear much more about gasification over the next few years!
Gasification works best as an efficient means of converting low value-residual biomass (such as municipal solid waste) into higher value products including power, steam, hydrogen, and basic chemicals.
It is a process that produces mixtures of hydrogen and carbon monoxide (synthesis gas or syngas) from carbon-based feedstocks such as coal, petroleum, coke and heavy oils. Gasification can play a significant role in large scale biomass gasification plants delivering a sustainable energy economy and is therefore one of the most technically and economically convincing energy possibilities for a carbon neutral economy.
To give you an idea what gasification is let us start by considering first the small scale and a simple wood gasifier. In this example gasification works by way of a downdraft that sucks wood gas from the firebox in the top chamber down into a bottom chamber where superheated combustion occurs. In most cases this can be achieved without a fan, and the downdraft can be powered by the gasifier itself once the system is lit.
In principle gasification produces very efficient clean combustion especially at large scale biomass gasification plants where economy of scale helps reduce costs. In these plants, ensuring that the action of burning takes place at a high temperature and controlled oxygen levels by creates a gas known as ?syngas? within the process. Syngas may be removed from the process and as we have already indicated used as a feedstock in the creation of other organic chemicals. If syngas is stored and burnt later it can be used very efficient to run power generation units in large scale biomass gasification plants.
Gasification can be used for fertilizer and chemical manufacture and in the quest for lower carbon emission technologies , it is forecast that production will grow dramatically particularly in China.
Gasification can be used at any level from the small scale on-farm utilizing farm waste as a feedstock to highly technological uses and at extreme heat seldom seen on earth outside volcanic eruptions, and lightning strikes but it is more complex to run at the small scale and works best in large scale biomass gasification plants.
One such example of large scale biomass gasification plants is gasification in the form of plasma arcs. The very high temperatures created in a plasma arc reduce matter to its basic elements, and they do this remarkably cleanly which avoids the production of the majority of the unwanted combustion products which bedevil so many other waste to energy technologies requiring huge cost to remove and imposing high parasitic loads on the plant itself.
Gasification of wood and wood-type residues and waste in large fixed bed or fluidized bed gasifiers with subsequent burning of the gas for heat production is also state of the art and destined to become commonplace in the quest to use renewable fuels to their fullest.
Wood gasifiers are nowadays employed ever more frequently, for example, in the Scandinavian countries where they are used almost entirely for heat generation and use local forest wood, replacing that nations previous large appetite for fossil based fuels (oil, gas and coal) to heat its population during the long cold winters.
The Scandinavians see gasification of their nation?s renewable forest asset as a major player in their progression toward ever diminishing fossil fuel dependency, and many of these will be large scale biomass gasification plants.Gasification Sees a New Dawn and How it Will Benefit Us All
So what is the technique which is being used, and how might it help us all in weaning society off fossil fuels?
What you have seen is a method of gasification. It differs from combustion in that it uses just 20% to 30% of the air or oxygen necessary for complete fuel combustion. During gasification, the amount of air supplied to the gasifier is carefully controlled with the effect that only a small part of the fuel burns completely. Trials of this process have illustrated that up to 70% of the energy value of the fue used can be recovered as what is known as synthesis gas, or syngas. This producer gas can also be used for various applications similar to natural gas.
This is a part of the magic, and not one really shown in the YouTube type videos, but it makes this method even more useful. This is due to the fact that syngas can be put to useful work, in both drying the feed fuel prior to gasification and after collection and storage it can be used as a fossil fuel replacement, and renewable energy source. When a gasification plant also includes Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and/or electricity export from the site, the gains are even more impressive.
Gasification in addition promises to be the most efficient long-term solution for capturing carbon while utilizing these valuable feedstocks, and storing the CO2 for very long priods, to reduce or halt global warming.
Gasification of wood and wood-type residues and waste in fixed bed or fluidised bed gasifiers with subsequent burning of the gas for heat production is has become state of the art with designers of thes systems working hard to gain the absolute maximum efficiency out of these systems.
These wood gasifiers which are located primarily in the Scandinavian countries are used almost entirely for space heating heat generation. Gasification of biomass is the renewable fuel system preferred by many, and can be defined as the thermal conversion of solid biomass to gaseous fuel.
Gasification has been around for over a hundred years, but the benefits of biochar are only now being discovered. Furthermore, it is still a wide-open field.
Before electric lighting was available in cities there were street lamps fueled by gasified coal. It is easy to forget that the process has been reliably used on a commercial scale worldwide for more than 50 years in the refining, fertilizer, and chemical industries, and for more than 35 years in the electric power industry. More than 75 companies involved in the development, licensing, and use of these technologies as well as engineering, construction, equipment manufacturing and production of synthesis gas by gasification from coal, petroleum coke, heavy oils and other hydrocarbons.
Gasification has been proven to be a viable technology for CO2 capture and reducing SOx, NOx, particulate matter, and mercury emissions from coal and petcoke-fired power plants, synthetic fuels production, and chemical facilities.
Plants in this category have been capturing carbon dioxide for several decades in chemical plants in China and the United States. It also has potential contributions to make to both transportation and electrical power energy markets. With ongoing concerns about the price and availability of oil, populous countries like the U.S. gasification has proven to be in high demand and quite successful. However, it can also be used in conjunction with gas engines and gas turbines to obtain a higher conversion efficiency than conventional fossil-fuel electric power generation. Gasification can help meet renewable energy targets, address concerns about global warming, and contribute to meeting global environmental targets.Biomass Gasification and Syngas
The units heat these fuels with about one-third of the oxygen necessary for complete combustion to produce a mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, known as syngas. Biomass energy accounts for about 11% of the global primary energy supply, and it is estimated that about 2 billion people worldwide depend on biomass for their energy needs.
Wood gasification seems to be catching on as a viable technology for avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions. It has many great uses. Some years ago wood gas was seen as cheaper by all means, but charcoal gasifiers had the edge were so much easier to handle. There are many gasifiers that produce gas from wood and then burn the gas, leaving ash and charcoal.
Wood chips can be fed into gasification plant gasifiers and the gas produced is used to light the furnace in the chamber. Woody biomass plants can show economics which are very local and can provide a secure return on investment in many circumstances. Technologies range from boilers, to gasifiers, to pyrolyzers, to just plain wood stoves. Wood gas can be used to power cars with ordinary internal combustion engines if a wood gasifier is attached. This was quite popular during World War II in several European countries because the armies active in the war did not always have access to oil.
Performance parameters such as air factor, feeding point position and bed height are determined by running trials and looking for a maximum gasifier efficiency and gas heating value and a minimum tar content in the gas. Other parameters which can be optimized by using CSFB software are the pressure drop, the bubble diameter and the gas velocities in the bed
Syngas, produced in gasification process palnts, can be used as a fuel to generate electricity or steam, or as a basic chemical building block for a multitude of uses. When mixed with air, syngas can be used in gasoline or diesel engines with few modifications to the engine.
Syngas is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide and it can be converted into fuels such as hydrogen, natural gas or ethanol. Syngas (which leaves the converter at a temperature of around 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit) is fed into a cooling system which generates steam. Syngas can be used as a fuel to generate electricity and steam or as a chemical building block for the petrochemical and refining industries. The gasification process converts feedstock such as coal, crude oil, petroleum-based materials or gases into marketable fuels and products.
Models range in size from 5-kW units for home use to 15-kW machines, enough to power a small business. The company is currently demonstrating six gasifiers in off-grid field applications. Modeling results are compared with the experimental results published in the literature. Predicted effects of bed temperature, equivalence ratio and fuel moisture content on main gaseous composition, tar and NH3 emissions generally agree with the literature data.
Syngas can be used as a fuel to generate electricity or steam, or as a basic chemical building block for a multitude of uses. When mixed with air, syngas can be used in gasoline or diesel engines with few modifications to the engine. Syngas is a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide and it can be converted into fuels such as hydrogen, natural gas or ethanol. Syngas (which leaves the converter at a temperature of around 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit) is fed into a cooling system which generates steam. Syngas can be used as a fuel to generate electricity and steam or as a chemical building block for the petrochemical and refining industries.
The gasification process converts feedstock such as coal, crude oil, petroleum-based materials or gases into marketable fuels and products.Wood Gas Generator: Run Your Truck on Firewood!
Wood?gas,?or?wood?gasification,??is?a?decades-old?renewable?energy?technology?that?converts?chunks?of?firewood,?wood?chips??or?other?cellulosic?biomass?to?charcoal,?volatile?and?combustible?gases,?and?occasionally,?combustible?liquids.
?
The?process,?which?is?called?pyrolysis,?is?accomplished?by?cooking?the?wood?(under?low?oxygen?conditions)?in?a?wood?gasoline?generator?and?collecting?the?vapors,?which?are?then?directed?to?the?vehicle’s?(ideally?a?truck?or?SUV?with?room?to?carry?the?gas?generator)?carburetor?to?be?burned?instead?of?gasoline.
?
The?principal?”waste”?product?from?this?process?is?charcoal,?which?is?now?being?studied?as?a?valuable?amendment?for?some?soils.?(To?learn?more,?read?Make?Biochar???this?Ancient?Technique?Will?Improve?Your?Soil.)??
?
This?process?was?used?to?fuel?trucks?in?England?during?World?War?II.?Because?today’s?society?continues?to?be?extremely?dependent?upon?gasoline?as?our?primary?fuel?for?transportation,?wood?gasoline?generator?has?received?research?attention?from?the?Federal?Emergency?Management?Agency?(FEMA).?A?report,?prepared?by?the?Oak?Ridge?National?Laboratory,?which?works?for?the?Department?of?Energy,?provides?detailed?instructions?for?construction,?installation?and?operation?of?a?wood-gas?generator.?Download?the?report?(NOTE:?this?is?a?25?MB ?file?and?thus?may?not?be?feasible?to?download?over?a?slow?Internet?connection)?via?the?following?link:?Construction?of?a?Simplified?Wood?Gas?Generator?for?fueling?Internal?Combustion?Engines?in?a?Petroleum?Emergency.
?
The?purpose?of?the?report?”is?to?develop?detailed,?illustrated?instructions?for?the?fabrication,?installation,?and?operation?of?a?biomass?gasifier?unit?(that?is,?a?”producer?gas”?generator,?also?called?a?wood?gasoline?generator)?which?is?capable?of?providing?emergency?fuel?for?vehicles,?such?as?tractors?and?trucks,?in?the?event?that?normal?petroleum?sources?were?severely?disrupted?for?an?extended?period?of?time.?These?instructions?are?prepared?in?the?format?of?a?manual?for?use?by?any?mechanic?who?is?reasonably?proficient?in?metal?fabrication?or?engine?repair.
?
This?report?attempts?to?preserve?the?knowledge?about?wood?gasification?as?put?into?practical?use?during?World?War?II.?Detailed,?step-by-step?fabrication?procedures?are?presented?for?a?simplified?version?of?the?World?War?II,?Imbert?wood?gasoline?generator.?This?simple,?stratified,?downdraft?gasifier?unit?can?be?constructed?for?materials?which?would?be?widely?available?in?the?United?States?in?a?prolonged?petroleum?crisis.?For?example,?the?body?of?the?unit?consists?of?a?galvanized?metal?garbage?can?atop?a?small?metal?drum;?common?plumbing?fittings?are?used?throughout;?and?a?large,?stainless?steel?mixing?bowl?is?used?for?the?grate.?The?entire?compact?unit?was?mounted?onto?the?front?of?a?farm?tractor?and?successfully?field?tested,?using?wood?chips?as?the?only?fuel.?Photographic?documentation?of?the?actual?assemble?of?the?unit?as?well?as?its?operation?is?included.”
?
In?the?early?1980s,?the?MOTHER?EARTH?NEWS?staff?experimented?with?the?wood?gas?concept?to?power?a?truck.?They?eventually?produced?a?wood?gasification?system,?fabricated?from?recycled?water?heaters,?that?was?successful?enough?to?warrant?a?wood?gas?generator?plan?to?offer?in?the?magazine.
?
More?recently,?Robert?Beam?of?Williamsport,?Pa.,?converted?his?1988?Isuzu?Trooper?to?run?on?firewood?(see?photo).?The?SUV?is?able?to?run?20?miles?on?25?pounds?of?wood?chips.?You?can?read?more?about?Beam’s?truck?and?find?a?list?of?MOTHER?EARTH?NEWS?articles?on?the?subject?in?This?Truck?Runs?on?Wood?Chips!?And?visit?the?Beaver?Energy?website?to?learn?more?about?the?Trooper.
?
Another?resource?for?firsthand?advice?is?the?Wood?Gas?discussion?group.
?
If?you?like?to?tinker?with?engines?and?want?a?more?sustainable,?self-reliant?fuel?for?your?truck,?consider?creating?a?wood??gasoline?generator?for?your?vehicle.?If?you?do,?please?share?your?successes?and?failures?with?others?by?posting?a?comment?below.
?