BioEnergy Lists: Gasifiers & Gasification

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April 1998Gasification Archive

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From REEDTB at compuserve.com Wed Apr 1 19:37:39 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:34 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Gas analysis/corn fuel Message-ID: <199804011943_MC2-38A9-F692@compuserve.com> Dear Tom and Steve: Sorry I wasn't here when Steve called yesterday. Bad scheduling. Congratulations on (I hope) being in line for the WRBEP grant. >The field of gasification has curses all over it. My friend Harry LaFontaine (who died worth 10-20M, founder of my 501-c-3 Biomass Energy Foundation) said that no one ever made money in gasification, but that there is lots of money to be made writing and talking about it. >There are methods of measuring volatilized heavy metals such as liquifaction and measuring the liquified gas for heavy metals. This is what the flow chart looked like that was proposed for the GRI testing of our gas stream by Radian Corp. I presume any heated pipe with feed into a MS would do the trick down to pg levels. The trick is to keep the gas from condensing on the walls and losing the metal analysis. Once again, what is NREL doing in the field and are there any coals over there to be stirred. Sandia has TAP (technology assistance program) do they? Whatever happened to their catalytic equipment? If we were ready for a molecular beam MS, which one of the ghostbuster would we call? I am fairly well of the opinion that the low temperature of our gasifier exit gas from the reactor, 400F will preclude most heavy metals from volatilizing, and the reduction to 40-60F in the output gas stream will further remove any others left over. Various chemical interactions play roles in this, such as condensing water and solubility in water. We condense most of the water in the system out and as such, any reactive metals such as alkalis will solubilize in the water droplets and come out in the water drain. The complex interactions require specific measurements, and if a comparison is to be made, the large gasifiers working on muny waste which have high reactor output temperatures do not seem to have the heavy metals emissions as from the NREL report on the operations of these systems around the world. There is a good size group at NREL doing Molecular Beam Mass Spectrometry on gasifiers. They have built a trailer unit and can come visit you when you are ready, now that Winter is past. Check with Dr. Tom Milne (my former boss) at milnet@tcplink.nrel.gov > Tom I look forward to seeing you soon. I have plans to get together with you in the near future. I'm looking forward to seeing Cuba and Alb again. Your pal, TOM REED From rcbrown at iastate.edu Thu Apr 2 08:49:41 1998 From: rcbrown at iastate.edu (Robert C Brown) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:34 2004 Subject: GAS-L: sustainable development policy position Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19980402075550.00720ac0@pop-3.iastate.edu> Iowa State University is establishing a new senior-level faculty position in sustainable development and/or global environmental policy. The position will be a joint appointment in the Departments of Civil & Construction Engineering and Mechanical Engineering at the associate or full professor rank. I thought some of you on the Gasification mailing list would know of some promising candidates for this position. I encourage you to tell qualified individuals about it. A web page describing the position and explaining how to apply is found at: http://www.cce.iastate.edu/~austin/position/positionhome.html We hope to have someone in place for the fall semester. Your assistance in identifying interested candidates will be greatly appreciated. Robert C. Brown Robert C. Brown Iowa State University Department of Mechanical Engineering 2020 H. M. Black Bldg. Ames, IA 50011 Tel: 515-294-8733 Fax: 515-294-3261 E-mail: rcbrown@iastate.edu http://www.eng.iastate.edu/coe/me/homepage.html From tmiles at teleport.com Thu Apr 2 15:47:08 1998 From: tmiles at teleport.com (Tom Miles) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:34 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Commercial 1 MWe Gasification Systems? Message-ID: <199804022054.MAA23352@radius1.teleport.com> List Members, Are there any gasification-generator systems operating anywhere in the world that are producing up to 1 MWe? If so, how many hours per week and per year? While there are several commercial systems under various states of development we don't find any systems that are generating electricity at the 0.5-1 WWe scale. Have we missed one? Regard, Tom Miles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com Technical Consultants, Inc. Tel (503) 292-0107/646-1198 1470 SW Woodward Way Fax (503) 605-0208 Portland, Oregon, USA 97225 From bentermm at convertech.co.nz Thu Apr 2 19:10:10 1998 From: bentermm at convertech.co.nz (Markus M Benter) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:34 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Soot and PAH Message-ID: Hi there, just found the following soot reference in one of these Elsevier mails. Thought one or the other might be interested. Greetings Markus Benter-Lynch ----------------------- ContentsDirect From Elsevier Science ===================================== Journal Code : 3032 Journal : Fuel Volume issue : 77/4 Year : 1998 Anticipated Publication Date: 20-MAR-98 pp. 225-237 Effect of biomass on the formation of soot particles and heavy hydrocarbons. An experimental study. JA Kozinski, R Saade >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Markus M Benter-Lynch Energy and Process Engineer Scott Convertech Ltd PO Box 13 776 Christchurch NEW ZEALAND e-mail: bentermm@convertech.co.nz www: http://www.southpower.co.nz/conver.htm From english at adan.kingston.net Sun Apr 5 13:10:24 1998 From: english at adan.kingston.net (*.English) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:34 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Thermo-electrics Message-ID: <199804051717.NAA24869@adan.kingston.net> Dear Listers, Having been told not to look back to steam engines for solutions. Would someone care to comment on potential for thermo-electric generation technology, and its thermodynamic limitations with regard to renewable energy applications? Alex English P.S. What follows is copied from the Jade Mountain web addresses http://www.jademountain.com/genmotchg.html http://www.jademountain.com/charts%20/thermoElectricSpecs.html 5000 watt Thermo-Electric Generator  Revolutionary new power generator - no noise, no moving parts, no vibration & only 27 lbs.! A major breakthrough in back-up power technology - 5000 watts, 120 vac from a small 27 lb. generator! Extremely low maintenance with no moving parts to wear, no noise, no vibration. Powered from locally available heat sources like propane or natural gas, this new thermocouple design uses special copper plates and creates a magnetic field for producing power from high temperature differentials. We believe this product will make traditional gas generators with their noise, pollution, and high maintenance obsolete. 230 vac 50 Hz, kerosene, diesel, and alcohol powered models available during the next year. LP & natural gas models available in small quantities March '98 Thermoelectric Generator Specs A broad, inexpensive, alternative-energy electrification system is needed in the United States and Canada. A stand alone, electric power supply would increase productivity and save money in such industries as farming, ranching, and light manufacturing, as well as provide electricity to isolated areas. An even larger potential for rural electrification exists in less developed parts of the world, where fossil fuel generators are the only alternative. This new solid state electric generator can convert almost any available fuel into low-cost electricity without the noise, weight, high maintenance, and size associated with conventional generators We expect this to revolutionize the off-grid power industry. Efficiency rating now is 12% and planned improvements should increase this to over 20% in the near future. The first model produces 5 kw, 120 vac. It is solid- state, has world wide appeal due to low maintenance, and a low price tag. Yet it's most redeeming feature is its ability to produce stand-alone, quality electric power from locally available heat sources. In the U.S., thermoelectric power could be used to backup home power, in construction, and for recreational purposes. The largest market for this rural electrification unit is proving to be the developing world, as both a primary power source and grid backup. The new thermoelectric generator has no moving parts to wear, makes no noise, and causes no vibration. The first model operates with either propane or natural gas, but a "burn-any-fuel" version is under development. Future improvements will include 120/240 vac and 50-60 Hz options and improved operating efficiency. Applications of this technology include the transportation field's need for high energy, low-polluting electric power supplies for automobiles, buses, trains, and ships. This technology can use waste exhaust heat to produce both AC and DC current, eliminating weight and moving parts to produce additional energy without increasing the need for thermal energy. Description A specially configured ring of metal plates produces a very high electric current circulation when heated (see figure 1). The current in the energy store can be tapped to provide a source of AC and DC electric power. This generator can be operated with fuels such as kerosene, gasoline, Jet-A, and diesel. The thermocouple principle requires the ends of two different metal wires to be twisted together, one terminal heated and the other cooled. This causes current flow in the wires. The magnitude of the current depends on the temperature difference between terminals, the characteristics of the metals. and the electrical resistance of the two wires. Typical power from a thermocouple is one-thousandth the energy needed to power a light bulb. To improve thermocouple performance, the number of junctions is increased and placed closer together using copper plates to reduce resistance to a minimum. Connecting junctions in a closed loop increases current circulation, thereby realizing the highest magnetic field and the highest magnetic energy store. A practical thermoelectric energy store requires a means of drawing energy from the circulating current store as electricity. This is done using a special Hall switch that converts stored magnetic energy into conditioned electrical output as needed. Laboratory tests on the generator have achieved current densities up to 120,000 amps/sq. in., verified independently. Alex English RR 2 Odessa Ontario Canada K0H 2H0 Tel 1-613-386-1927 Fax 1-613-386-1211 Stoves Web Site http://www1.kingston.net/~english/Stoves.html From REEDTB at compuserve.com Mon Apr 6 08:49:25 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:34 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Commercial 1 MWe Gasification Systems? Message-ID: <199804060855_MC2-3905-F6E@compuserve.com> Dear Tom: Your question, as asked "UP TO 1 MWe" is easy to answer - hundreds in the 0-100 kW range. I don't know of any COMMERCIAL installations above about 125 kW (Ankur in India makes that size), but lost of people are trying.... Including Doug Williams. Tom Reed Are there any gasification-generator systems operating anywhere in the world that are producing up to 1 MWe? If so, how many hours per week and per year? While there are several commercial systems under various states of development we don't find any systems that are generating electricity at the 0.5-1 WWe scale. Have we missed one? Regard, Tom Miles < From REEDTB at compuserve.com Mon Apr 6 08:49:40 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:34 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Charcoal WWW site - correction Message-ID: <199804060855_MC2-3905-F66@compuserve.com> I mentioned an important charcoal web site, but in case you couldn't find it, there's a hyphen in www.scientific-ag.com. Sorry about that TOM REED From tmiles at teleport.com Mon Apr 6 11:07:19 1998 From: tmiles at teleport.com (Tom Miles) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:34 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Commercial 1 MWe Gasification Systems? In-Reply-To: <199804060855_MC2-3905-F6E@compuserve.com> Message-ID: <199804061514.IAA00304@mail1.teleport.com> At 08:55 AM 4/6/98 -0400, you wrote: >0-100 kW range. I don't know of any COMMERCIAL installations above about >125 kW (Ankur in India makes that size), but lost of people are trying.... "Lost" may be the operative word. Let's keep trying. Tom Miles >Tom Reed > > >Are there any gasification-generator systems operating anywhere in the >world that are producing up to 1 MWe? If so, how many hours per week and >per year? > >While there are several commercial systems under various states of >development we don't find any systems that are generating electricity at >the 0.5-1 WWe scale. Have we missed one? > >Regard, > >Tom Miles >< > From REEDTB at compuserve.com Mon Apr 6 17:21:53 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Alcohol-fuelled cars lose their fizz in Brazil Message-ID: <199804061727_MC2-3924-BE25@compuserve.com> Tom Miles et al: Thanks for the Brazil ethanol update (below). Brazil has been an ideal place to study the pros and cons of ethanol-gasoline (gasohol). Lots of both in your update. As I said in 1974, methanol, which one can make from ANY biomass by gasification, (MSW, stover, sawdust, ...) still makes most sense as the clean liquid fuel from biomass. (And Dimethyl ether for the liquefiable fuel to replace propane). We (Graboski-Reed) solved the gasisfication at SERI/NREL 1980-88. Still to be solved economically is cheap, reliable high pressure feeding to gasifiers (see Tom Miles Engineering) since current catalysts operate best at pressure. So, the sooner the naive farmer loses subsidies on ethanol from corn, the sooner he'll turn to a more productive use for what he is now throwing away, and the sooner we can put research money into gasification now (still) trying to get acid or enzymes to digest cellulose economically. Onward.... TOM REED ~~~~ >Date: Fri, 3 Apr 1998 09:37:51 -0500 (EST) >From: "David W. Swim" >Alcohol-fuelled cars lose their fizz in Brazil > >LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - Alcohol-fuelled cars may become a collector's >item if Brazil fails to overcome the headache induced by this 1970's >hangover. > >As government incentives have fallen away so too has the demand for the >cars designed to run on pure alcohol, a renewable fuel produced from sugar >cane. > >``Perhaps 100 years in the future, the decision to reduce government >incentives and subsidies on an alternative fuel will not be seen as too >clever given that oil prices are on the rise again,'' warned Chris Pack, >chief analyst at commodity house Czarnikow. > >Created after the 1970's oil crisis which sent petrol prices rocketing, >Brazil's Alcohol Program seemed a good idea when Latin America's largest >country had few oil reserves of its own. > >But lower world petrol prices and the discovery of oil off Brazil's shores >has led to a decline in the government's fervour for sugar cane fuel and >incentives were gradually phased out, despite its friendlier environmental >profile. > >Nigel Burt from automotive design company Ricardo Consulting Engineers Ltd >in the south of England said the environmental benefits of using alcohol, >either pure or in a mixture, as an automotive fuel were twofold. > >``Burning fossil fuels such as gasoline produces CO2 (carbon-dioxide). >Using alcohol produced from sugar cane benefits the environment since the >crop absorbs CO2, the principle greenhouse gas,'' Burt said. > >Secondly, an alcohol/gasoline mixture can reduce harmful emissions >released into the atmosphere in the exhaust, although there is an increase >in emission of aldehydes, which are irritants. > >``Particularly in Brazil, where cars are kept for much longer, there are a >large number of older cars in use without catalysts. Running these on an >alcohol/gasoline mixture would have the effect of making the engine run >leaner, reducing the amount of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide >produced,'' Burt said. > >Modern cars benefit for the same reasons, but only during the start-up >period when the catalyst is cold which, however, is when about 80 percent >of hydrocarbons produced by modern cars are emitted, he said. > >Though the price of hydrous alcohol is supported by the government at 15 >percent less than gasoline, the Brasilian Association of Automobile >Engineering (AEA) said it used to be 45 percent less. > >``What this means is it is now more expensive to burn alcohol than >gasoline, given that alcohol consumption is higher than gasoline,'' said >AEA's President Henry Joseph. > >AEA figures show the proportion of alcohol-fuelled cars sold annually in >Brazil since 1980 has plummeted to 0.07 percent last year from a peak of >almost 85 percent in 1985 with only one of the four big vehicle >manufacturers in Brazil -- Volkswagen (VOWG.F) -- still making the range. > >``An increasing number of the now elderly cars which burn pure alcohol as >a fuel are being scrapped,'' said a report by German analyst group F.O. >Licht. > >Licht said many of these cars are now 15 years old and between 250,000 and >300,000 were scrapped last year. > >Although the government maintains a ``green'' fleet of cars which uses >only hydrous ethanol, its impact on the ever-increasing lakes of surplus >alcohol is minimal. > >There is however some light at the end of the tunnel as demand is growing >for ethanol mixed with gasoline -- anhydrous alcohol -- which in Brazil >has been fixed at 22 percent (ethanol) since 1982. F.O. Licht put demand >for anhydrous alcohol at 4.7 billion litres last year from 1.7 billion >litres in 1989, but analysts are uncertain whether demand for this mixture >will be enough to soak up the excess alcohol production. > >``Even if vehicle sales remain at close to recent levels, it would take 15 >years for demand for anhydrous alcohol to absorb all the alcohol now >produced,'' Licht said. > >The fate of the alcohol industry and car are linked and though many >alternatives have been suggested the government has taken little action so >far. > >``The future of alcohol-fuelled cars depends entirely on government >incentives. If they are scrapped totally it is a real problem,'' said >Lindsay Jolly, an analyst with the International Sugar Organisation. > >The introduction of a ``green'' tax on less ecologically-friendly fuels >and lower or no taxes on alcohol-fuelled cars (at present five percent >less than normal gasoline-burning cars) are possibilities. > >The government could also decide to increase its fleet of alcohol-powered >cars, estimated at some 3.6 million vehicles, of which 2.5 million are >more than 10 years old. > >``Increasing the size of the government's fleet would be a mere drop in >the ocean and a short-term view,'' said Czarnikow's Pack. > >The AEA's President Henry Joseph remains however optimistic about the >future of alcohol-powered cars. > >``Yes, I believe they will exist in 10 years. Probably, the Brazilian >Government will decide to give some incentives to alcohol vehicles >destined for specific uses (government vehicles, taxis, rental cars etc), >just to keep the alcohol fleet size to justify the current alcohol >production and await international developments.'' > >===================================================================== >David W. SWIM ----------------------------------- > Westgate - McLean - Fairfax - Virginia - United States of America > http://members.aol.com/dwswim/index.html >--------------------------------------------------------------------- > Technical writing for the Information Technology industry Latin American Trade Council of Oregon P.O. Box 9 info@latco.org Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034-0009 EUA http://www.latco.org Tel 503-699-0646 Fax 503-699-0528 From REEDTB at compuserve.com Mon Apr 6 17:23:33 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Power Generation Prospects Message-ID: <199804061727_MC2-3924-BE22@compuserve.com> Dear Alex et al: Thanks for copying the thermoelectric writeup for us (below). The statement "This generator can be operated with fuels such as kerosene, gasoline, Jet-A, and diesel" should attract our attention, because they should have added producer gas and pyrolysis gas from our gasifiers and stoves as fuels. Hopefully the burner for the generator would operate at sufficiently high temperature so that the gases would not require tar removal (the Achilles heel of biomass gasification, but not wood-gas stoves). While we are expanding our thinking for rural power sources, keep your eye on THERMOPHOTOVOLTAICS. NREL has been working in this field (Tim Couts). Instead of using the sun (Solarphotovoltaics, peak energy at 0.5 microns) this uses a radiant heat source at 1500-1800K, 2 micron peak energy with InSb and other detectors to generate power. I don't think it's far enough along to mount on every African stove for watching after dinner TV, but it may soon be. Meanwhile the military can support development costs. We are all holding our breaths waiting for practical fuel cells of course, since our gases typically contain 10% H2 and could be converted to 100% H2-N2 if necessary. One problem with these three power technologies is that they generate DC power and one must add an invertor to get to AC, the ultimate supply for distribution. Of course we are all keeping our eyes on Stirling Engine progress. The Free Piston Stirling engine (Sunpower, Stirling Technologies, any others?) naturally generate God's power (110 V AC). Then of course there are always spring-wound generators, if you consider muscle power to be a form of biomass power. Onward with community accessible power....................... TOM REED ~~~~ Message text written by INTERNET:gasification@crest.org > Dear Listers, Having been told not to look back to steam engines for solutions, Would someone care to comment on potential for thermo-electric generation technology, and its thermodynamic limitations with regard to renewable energy applications? Alex English What follows is copied from the Jade Mountain web addresses http://www.jademountain.com/genmotchg.html http://www.jademountain.com/charts%20/thermoElectricSpecs.html 5000 watt Thermo-Electric Generator  Revolutionary new power generator - no noise, no moving parts, no vibration & only 27 lbs.! A major breakthrough in back-up power technology - 5000 watts, 120 vac from a small 27 lb. generator! Extremely low maintenance with no moving parts to wear, no noise, no vibration. Powered from locally available heat sources like propane or natural gas, this new thermocouple design uses special copper plates and creates a magnetic field for producing power from high temperature differentials. We believe this product will make traditional gas generators with their noise, pollution, and high maintenance obsolete. 230 vac 50 Hz, kerosene, diesel, and alcohol powered models available during the next year. LP & natural gas models available in small quantities March '98 Thermoelectric Generator Specs A broad, inexpensive, alternative-energy electrification system is needed in the United States and Canada. A stand alone, electric power supply would increase productivity and save money in such industries as farming, ranching, and light manufacturing, as well as provide electricity to isolated areas. An even larger potential for rural electrification exists in less developed parts of the world, where fossil fuel generators are the only alternative. This new solid state electric generator can convert almost any available fuel into low-cost electricity without the noise, weight, high maintenance, and size associated with conventional generators We expect this to revolutionize the off-grid power industry. Efficiency rating now is 12% and planned improvements should increase this to over 20% in the near future. The first model produces 5 kw, 120 vac. It is solid- state, has world wide appeal due to low maintenance, and a low price tag. Yet it's most redeeming feature is its ability to produce stand-alone, quality electric power from locally available heat sources. In the U.S., thermoelectric power could be used to backup home power, in construction, and for recreational purposes. The largest market for this rural electrification unit is proving to be the developing world, as both a primary power source and grid backup. The new thermoelectric generator has no moving parts to wear, makes no noise, and causes no vibration. The first model operates with either propane or natural gas, but a "burn-any-fuel" version is under development. Future improvements will include 120/240 vac and 50-60 Hz options and improved operating efficiency. Applications of this technology include the transportation field's need for high energy, low-polluting electric power supplies for automobiles, buses, trains, and ships. This technology can use waste exhaust heat to produce both AC and DC current, eliminating weight and moving parts to produce additional energy without increasing the need for thermal energy. Description A specially configured ring of metal plates produces a very high electric current circulation when heated (see figure 1). The current in the energy store can be tapped to provide a source of AC and DC electric power. This generator can be operated with fuels such as kerosene, gasoline, Jet-A, and diesel. The thermocouple principle requires the ends of two different metal wires to be twisted together, one terminal heated and the other cooled. This causes current flow in the wires. The magnitude of the current depends on the temperature difference between terminals, the characteristics of the metals. and the electrical resistance of the two wires. Typical power from a thermocouple is one-thousandth the energy needed to power a light bulb. To improve thermocouple performance, the number of junctions is increased and placed closer together using copper plates to reduce resistance to a minimum. Connecting junctions in a closed loop increases current circulation, thereby realizing the highest magnetic field and the highest magnetic energy store. A practical thermoelectric energy store requires a means of drawing energy from the circulating current store as electricity. This is done using a special Hall switch that converts stored magnetic energy into conditioned electrical output as needed. Laboratory tests on the generator have achieved current densities up to 120,000 amps/sq. in., verified independently. Alex English RR 2 Odessa Ontario Canada K0H 2H0 Tel 1-613-386-1927 Fax 1-613-386-1211 Stoves Web Site http://www1.kingston.net/~english/Stoves.html < From ventonp at ozemail.com.au Tue Apr 7 10:36:15 1998 From: ventonp at ozemail.com.au (Phil Venton) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: In-Situ Coal Gasification Message-ID: <199804071436.KAA28829@solstice.crest.org> In a search for recent information on the status of insitu gasification of coal I found a lot of correspondence directed through Crest. Can you direct me to organisations that are researching in-situ gasification. An associate has an interest in a lime plant that is located near a site where a coal seam is burning naturally, and is keen to investigate the possibility of converting this combustion process into gas production that could be used as fuel for the lime kiln. Regards Phil Venton Venton & Associates Pty. Ltd. Northbridge, NSW, Australia Phone 61 2 9958 2600, Fax 61 2 9967 0401 From keenera at okstate.edu Tue Apr 7 20:53:58 1998 From: keenera at okstate.edu (AMANDA K KEENER) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Syngas Production using Natural Gas Message-ID: I am in need of a simple way to produce syngas from the CH4 in the lab. The composition needs to be mostly CO and H2 for a biomass reaction. I have search the internet and other libraries, however, a simple process is not available. Amanda Keener Oklahoma State University keenera@okstate.edu From taykenne at iastate.edu Wed Apr 8 01:48:10 1998 From: taykenne at iastate.edu (Tay A Kennedy) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: pickup gasifier Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19980408005432.00698aa8@pop-2.iastate.edu> A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 2559 bytes Desc: not available Url : http://listserv.repp.org/pipermail/gasification/attachments/19980408/483f7408/attachment.bin From jnphatch at gis.net Wed Apr 8 10:49:01 1998 From: jnphatch at gis.net (Jeff Phillips) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Syngas Production using Natural Gas In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <199804081449.KAA13778@solstice.crest.org> Ms. Keener, It sounds like you need to set up a small methane steam reformer in your lab. I'd start by talking to some of the major steam reforming catalyst supplier such as Haldor Topsoe (US offices in Houston - I'm sure they also have a www site). Jeff Phillips Hatch Technology Group, Inc. New Bedford, Mass. AMANDA K KEENER wrote: > I am in need of a simple way to produce syngas from the CH4 in the > lab. The composition needs to be mostly CO and H2 for a biomass reaction. > I have search the internet and other libraries, however, a simple > process is not available. > > Amanda Keener > Oklahoma State University > keenera@okstate.edu From REEDTB at compuserve.com Wed Apr 8 16:00:51 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Charcoal Fireball Manufacture Message-ID: <199804081607_MC2-395D-D715@compuserve.com> Stovers (as in corn stover??): Piet Verhart asked.. >Has anybody ever tried making sawdust briquettes with some cheap starch as binder? I seem to remember reading or hearing of spontaneous formation of spherical conglomerates in a rotating drum, the size being dependent on the plasticity of the mix. I would expect sawdust briquettes of between 15 - 30 mm diameter to perform excellently in my downdraft barbecue. We do a lot of re-discovering the wheel in this world and should keep it to a minimum if possible. In the mid 1980s John (Tatom, John 770- 435 0073; 4074 Ridge Rd., Smyrna, GA 30080. ), working for USAID designed a Georgia Tech type "BIG BLUE" pyrolyser for developing countries. It made tar and char. He developed a 55 gal (200 l) charcoal briquetter that made "fire balls", about 3 cm in diameter. I have a few in my laboratory charcoal collection. They do not break up when dropped from 2 m. A slurry of starch (5%??) is added to half a drum of chardust lying horizontally on rollers. Drum is closed and rotated with a handcrank. The process is analogous to making bread, when the first stage of water absorbtion produces LUMPS which eventually blend with the other ingrediencts to form dough. I presume there is a modest amount of art involved in knowing when to stop cranking. I am sorry that John Tatom is not involved in these two nets. I believe he is burned out on energy and teaches high school science in Smyrna. However, I hope someone will contact him and urge him to join us. I believe that Bhatacharya at AIT has reports on this process. Hope we hear from him, too. TOM REED From campa at hrl.com.au Thu Apr 9 00:35:29 1998 From: campa at hrl.com.au (Campisi, Tony) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: In-Situ Coal Gasification Message-ID: Phil, contact Dr Brian Young at HRL Technology, Australia (e-mail younb@hrl.com.au, phone +61-3-9565-9767). Brian has recently joined HRL as the manager of the Environmental Technology Division. He was previously at the University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Centre (EERC) and was involved in underground coal gasification projects with EGAT and DMR in Thailand. HRL is also undertaking activities in underground coal gasification to complement programs in coal (biomass, wastes, etc ) combustion, gasification and utilisation. Tony -------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr Anthony Campisi Senior Research Scientist - Gasification, Ash Fouling, Process Chemistry HRL Technology Pty Ltd 677 Springvale Road, Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia 3170 Tel: +61 3 9565 9760 Fax: +61 3 9565 9777 e-mail: campa@hrl.com.au -------------------------------------------------------------------- e-mail me: mailto:campa@hrl.com.au Home page: http://www.hrl.com.au --------------------------------------------------------------------- > -----Original Message----- > From: Phil Venton [SMTP:ventonp@ozemail.com.au] > Sent: Tuesday, 7 April 1998 7:42 > To: 'gasification@crest.org' > Subject: GAS-L: In-Situ Coal Gasification > > In a search for recent information on the status of insitu > gasification of > coal > I found a lot of correspondence directed through Crest. Can you > direct me to > organisations that are researching in-situ gasification. > > An associate has an interest in a lime plant that is located near a > site > where > a coal seam is burning naturally, and is keen to investigate the > possibility of > converting this combustion process into gas production that could be > used as > fuel for the lime kiln. > > Regards > > Phil Venton > Venton & Associates Pty. Ltd. > Northbridge, NSW, Australia > Phone 61 2 9958 2600, Fax 61 2 9967 0401 From mayedo at ket.kth.se Thu Apr 9 12:01:51 1998 From: mayedo at ket.kth.se (Aramis Domingo Mayedo) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Confirmation Message-ID: <352CF414.EA21EB10@ket.kth.se> It is a pleasure to be in the gasification mailing list. I have worked in mathematical model of pyrolysis and gasification of bagasse in Cuba. I meet professor Cala of the university of Camaguey who talked me about your list. I will be in Sweden during 10 month and I will appreciate any contacts with you. Thanks. With regards Aramis. From tmiles at teleport.com Thu Apr 9 13:42:15 1998 From: tmiles at teleport.com (Tom Miles) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Bioenergy Email Lists and Commands Message-ID: <199804091749.KAA25705@mail1.teleport.com> BIOENERGY EMAIL LISTS The bioenergy mailing lists are hosted by the Center for Renewable Energy & Sustainable Technologies(CREST) for industry, academia and government to discuss biomass production and conversion to energy. There are five lists at CREST. o Bioenergy Moderator: Tom Miles Archive: Digest: bioenergy-digest@crest.org o Gasification Moderators: Thomas Reed Estoban Chornet Archive: Digest: gasification-digest@crest.org o Anaerobic Digestion Moderators: Phil Lusk Pat Wheeler Richard Nelson Dave Stephenson Archive: Digest: digestion-digest@crest.org o Stoves (stoves@crest.org) Moderators: Ronal Larson , Alex English Archive: Digest: stoves-digest@crest.org o Bioconversion Moderators: Tom Jeffries Archive: Digest: bioconversion-digest@crest.org Current subscribers to the lists are engaged in the research and commercial production of biomass crops and fuels, the conversion of biomass power in commercial operating plants, the construction and testing of commercial scale pilot facilities for combustion, gasification and anaerobic digestion, testing and analysis of environmental impacts for bioenergy, and promotion and planning of future bioenergy resources. 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COMMANDS To subscribe to a BIOENERGY List from any internet email address, please send email to MAJORDOMO@CREST.ORG with the message SUBSCRIBE list-name YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS <=three word command (Example: subscribe bioenergy tmiles@teleport.com) To post a message to all members on the list, please address it to list-name@CREST.ORG (Example: bioenergy@crest.org) UNSUBSCRIBE list-name YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS <=three word command (Example: unsubscribe bioenergy tmiles@teleport.com) Note: If you send a subscribe/unsubscribe command for an email address that is different from the one known to the list server - for example, you may send a subscribe command on behalf of someone else - then your message will go to the list moderator for approval. OTHER COMMANDS - Send email to MAJORDOMO@crest.org with the command 'help'. MESSAGE ARCHIVE Messages are archived at CREST using hypermail. The archives can be viewed and sorted by date, subject or thread using a WWW browser at URL (or as indicated above). MESSAGE DIGEST Each list also has a digest, a collection of messages that is issued periodically. This may be useful if you want to receive messages in a batch. Subscribe to the list-name-digest@crest.org as indicated above. (Example: subscribe gasification-digest@crest.org) LISTS ADMINISTRATORS Please direct questions to the bioenergy list administrators: Tom Miles, Jr. tmiles@teleport.com, Zach Nobel zach@crest.org You can contact CREST at: Zachariah Nobel, Assistant Manager for Internet Services Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology (CREST) 1 (415) 284-6400 zach@crest.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com Technical Consultants, Inc. Tel (503) 292-0107/646-1198 1470 SW Woodward Way Fax (503) 605-0208 Portland, Oregon, USA 97225 From arcate at email.msn.com Thu Apr 9 15:51:35 1998 From: arcate at email.msn.com (Jim Arcate) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: the old art of charcoal making Message-ID: <002201bd63f1$24fd7360$9e5cffd0@arcate> I found this in "German" a few months ago and asked if it was available in English. It is now. Pictures take time to load but they are good. -----Original Message----- From: Kjell Lännerholm To: Anja Rautenberg Date: Tuesday, April 07, 1998 3:41 AM Subject: charcoal >At last: The old art of charcoal making in English. >http://130.238.108.200/Trekolsmapp/Coaling.html > > From Murat.Dogru at newcastle.ac.uk Fri Apr 10 06:33:38 1998 From: Murat.Dogru at newcastle.ac.uk (Murat.Dogru@newcastle.ac.uk) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Sewage sludge and RDF Message-ID: <199804101040.LAA28969@cheviot.ncl.ac.uk> Dear gasification list members, As far as I am concern, gasification of sewage sludge, RDF and Clinical Waste are more complex than gasification of biomass (wood chips, hazel-nut shells etc...) I'd like to know, if anyone detect HCN or other hazardous during the gasification of SW and/or RDF i.e. MSW with high plastic content ? Murad DOGRU University of Newcastle UK From REEDTB at compuserve.com Fri Apr 10 12:35:48 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Re: Alex English on Thermoelectrics Message-ID: <199804101239_MC2-398C-1662@compuserve.com> Lists: The recently reported thermoelectric converter generates 5 kW power with 5 gal propane/hr. Sound too good to be true? Laurie Flood asks the following sensible question. Hello fellow stovers, I have been lurking and reading Alex's wonderful web page and the archives for a while now. This product sounds great, but 5 - 6 gallons of propane/hour? I don't know how much a regular burner on a propane stove would consume, but I know that it takes 5 days of wickedly cold weather in my travel trailer to use up 9 gallons of propane in the forced air heater. To me, it sounds as if you need an incredible blow torch going to run this device. I was wondering if someone had the time (certainly the know-how is here) to calculate a 5 - 6 gallon per hour propane use and somehow compare it to the output of the stoves that this group has devised. Can any of the present models produce this much heat? Thank you in advance, Laurie Flood Here's an approximate calculation without looking in books. Propane contains 100,000 Btu/gal. A kW hr is about 3400 Btu/hr. So.... Eff= Energy out/energy in = 5*(3400/100,000) = 3.4% If correct, this sounds more like what I have heard as TE efficiencies. It is still interesting if the waste heat could cook your dinner or heat your water. The Russians used TEs to power radios, sitting on top of stoves. TOM REED From onar at hsr.no Sat Apr 11 13:50:31 1998 From: onar at hsr.no (Onar Aam) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: expertise needed Message-ID: Hi guys, long time no see. I am just about to launch a world patent for a gasifier system that gives insanely high electrical efficiencies. I'm expecting this to be of huge interest to loads of parties so over the next year or so I will probably be in need of expertise in the area when building the thing. This list should definitely be the right place to look for it, I figured. Can't talk details about the system just yet though due to the patenting. The system works for a broad range of gasifier designs, but the design type that is preferable is one that handles very small fuel size (i.e. 0 mm and up to, say 10-20 mm) and deals with relatively high ash content (5-25%). The material can be assumed to be completely dry and completely charred. The famous Kalle generator from WWII _almost_ suits these requirements. As far as I remember it deals with fuel size 4-20 mm, but it was picky on ash content, less than 5% I think. Anyone out there with a gasifier suiting these requirements? One more question. Do any of you have actual experience with the catalytic temperature limit for tars? At what temperature (in a coal bed of course) are all tars cracked, i.e. less than 0.1% remains. The litterature claims that cracking is complete at 900-1000 C, but I've had mixed experiences. Onar. Onar Aam From REEDTB at compuserve.com Mon Apr 13 07:23:18 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Enclosures Message-ID: <199804130729_MC2-39BB-C8C0@compuserve.com> Hello all at the CREST: I use COMPUSERVE for better or worse. Last night I cleaned out my DOWNLOAD files. I found all sorts of interesting things there - many of which I should have seen months earlier. COMPUSERVE will put files in my download without telling me, so PLEASE let me know if you send any files. From REEDTB at compuserve.com Mon Apr 13 11:22:04 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: expertise needed Message-ID: <199804131128_MC2-39BC-3C84@compuserve.com> Dear Onar: We can hardly wait! However, just in case something goes wrong we'll work on other gasifiers as well. Tar Cracking over Char: There is a common misconception that passing a tar laden gas over a bed of hot (ie >1000C) char will crack tars. I once believe this in my youth, but experience quickly changed that. The problem is that the gas contains H2O and CO2 which instantaneously reaction with the char to produce CO and H2 - and drop the temperature to 750C where the tars won't crack. Tom Reed Message text written by INTERNET:gasification@crest.org > Hi guys, long time no see. I am just about to launch a world patent for a gasifier system that gives insanely high electrical efficiencies. I'm expecting this to be of huge interest to loads of parties so over the next year or so I will probably be in need of expertise in the area when building the thing. This list should definitely be the right place to look for it, I figured. Can't talk details about the system just yet though due to the patenting. The system works for a broad range of gasifier designs, but the design type that is preferable is one that handles very small fuel size (i.e. 0 mm and up to, say 10-20 mm) and deals with relatively high ash content (5-25%). The material can be assumed to be completely dry and completely charred. The famous Kalle generator from WWII _almost_ suits these requirements. As far as I remember it deals with fuel size 4-20 mm, but it was picky on ash content, less than 5% I think. Anyone out there with a gasifier suiting these requirements? One more question. Do any of you have actual experience with the catalytic temperature limit for tars? At what temperature (in a coal bed of course) are all tars cracked, i.e. less than 0.1% remains. The litterature claims that cracking is complete at 900-1000 C, but I've had mixed experiences. Onar. Onar Aam < From onar at hsr.no Mon Apr 13 12:02:32 1998 From: onar at hsr.no (=?ISO-8859-1?Q?Onar_=C5m?=) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Re: expertise needed Message-ID: <199804131610.SAA14343@louise.netpower.no> >Dear Onar: > >We can hardly wait! However, just in case something goes wrong we'll work >on other gasifiers as well. I'm not patenting an actual gasifier. In fact, the system is very flexible with regards to gasifiers that can be used so there's absolutely no reason to stop working on gasifiers! >The problem is that the gas contains H2O and CO2 which instantaneously >reaction with the char to produce CO and H2 - and drop the temperature to >750C where the tars won't crack. Ok, that's what I suspected. Maybe you can answer another question while you're at it then: how high temperatures do you need to crack the vast majority of tars *outside* a coal bed? I've had mixed experiences with this too. The heaviest tars don't crack before they reach 14-1500 C, but 1200 C seems to be a good compromise temperature. Does this strike a chord with you? On your website you said you had been working on pyrolysis where the outer rim is charred and the inner core is not. This technique seems to rely on coal bed catalyzation. Any luck with the approach? I should suspect not. All empirical studies show that slow pyrolisis of large pieces of wood minimizes tar production. The explanation seems to be that with slow pyrolysis the outer char is allowed to keep a higher temperature because tar is driven out slower than in fast pyrolysis, and hence more catalytic tar cracking is allowed to occur. If my memory serves me tar production could be reduced to less than 5% using this method. Onar. From graeme at powerlink.co.nz Tue Apr 14 03:48:52 1998 From: graeme at powerlink.co.nz (Graeme Williams) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Re: Sewage sludge and RDF Message-ID: <199804140753.TAA14812@powerlink.co.nz> > Date: Fri, 10 Apr 1998 11:37:55 +0000 > From: Murat.Dogru@newcastle.ac.uk > Subject: GAS-L: Sewage sludge and RDF > > Dear gasification list members, > > As far as I am concern, gasification of sewage sludge, RDF and > Clinical Waste are more complex than gasification of biomass (wood > chips, hazel-nut shells etc...) > I'd like to know, if anyone detect HCN or other hazardous during the > gasification of SW and/or RDF i.e. MSW with high plastic content ? > > Murad DOGRU > University of Newcastle > UK > Dear Murad I agree with you that the gasification of sewage sludge MSW and plastics is more technically demanding than biomass, but if you cannot successfully gasifier biomass, in a sustainable manner, in a way that prevents the formation of hydrocarbons in the cooling gas, then I do believe the researcher would find it very difficult indeed.. It is unfortunate that MSW is offered up for gasification in a manner totally inappropriate for this technology. The conditions to create the phenomena just don't exist with a fuel that has no proportional mix of the combustible ingredient or maybe I should say carbon content to produce an incandescent bed. For the plastics to be gasified you really must have disassociation temperatures consistent throughout the bed in excess of 1000 degrees. Unfortunately if a single large piece of non-combustible material finds its way into the bed you will find that the conditions develop that will channel gases through areas of low temperature. If this happens you can be assured that dioxin will result in the gas stream. So I guess the main requirement to gasify these more difficult fuels is to prepare them in a way that can be handled within conventional gasification technology. There are technologies coming forward that will deal with these fuels in their unprepared state, but it is too early at this stage to make further comment. Keep trying. Kindest Regards Doug Williams Fluidyne Gasification Ltd. From sturn at hawaii.edu Tue Apr 14 03:59:40 1998 From: sturn at hawaii.edu (Scott Turn) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: reference request Message-ID: I am trying to locate a copy of the following reference: Guzdar, A.R., and Harvey, A.C. 1982. Feeding coal and biomass into high pressure reactors. Proceedings of the Biomass-to-Methanol Specialists' Workshop, Tamarron Durango, Colorado, Mar. 3-5, 1982. pp. 119-149 If anyone can provide a copy I would appreciate it. Scott ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Scott Q. Turn, Ph.D. Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Phone: (808) 956-2346 University of Hawaii Fax: (808) 956-2335 2540 Dole St., Holmes Hall 246 email: sturn@hawaii.edu Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From tmiles at teleport.com Tue Apr 14 11:40:58 1998 From: tmiles at teleport.com (Tom Miles) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: reference request In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Scott, I'll send you a copy. The conference was put on by our gasification moderator, Tom Reed, then at Solar Energy Research Institute, and Mike Graboski, Colorado School of Mines. I think it was one of the most inspiring conferences that we attended in that period. That was actually a pretty good review article at the time. You'll recognize the lock hoppers, plug feeders, screw feeders, ram-plug feeders, piston feeders and pocket feeders they report on. Their company, Foster-Miller, was developing a "linear pocket feeder" (LPF) for dense fuels. I don't know if one was ever used in industry. The pocket size was small (3 1/2" diameter) but they claimed 5 t/hr at 1000 psig. We did visit the Foster Miller pilot facility with the idea of using the LPF to feed dried, densified and resized wood into a pressurized suspension gasifier (Texaco). (The Texaco gasifier was promoted for biomass at the time by a company called Evergreen Energy. They came to be known as "Evergreed" around our office since they were extremely demanding and never paid their bills.) Regards, Tom At 10:06 PM 4/13/98 -1000, Scott Turn wrote: > >I am trying to locate a copy of the following reference: > >Guzdar, A.R., and Harvey, A.C. 1982. Feeding coal and biomass into high >pressure reactors. Proceedings of the Biomass-to-Methanol Specialists' >Workshop, Tamarron Durango, Colorado, Mar. 3-5, 1982. pp. 119-149 > >If anyone can provide a copy I would appreciate it. > >Scott > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- >Scott Q. Turn, Ph.D. >Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Phone: (808) 956-2346 >University of Hawaii Fax: (808) 956-2335 >2540 Dole St., Holmes Hall 246 email: sturn@hawaii.edu >Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822 >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com Technical Consultants, Inc. Tel (503) 292-0107/646-1198 1470 SW Woodward Way Fax (503) 605-0208 Portland, Oregon, USA 97225 From tpreston at hcm.vnn.vn Tue Apr 14 11:42:31 1998 From: tpreston at hcm.vnn.vn (Thomas R Preston) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: discussion group gasification Message-ID: <199804141542.LAA13313@solstice.crest.org> Dear Colleagues I would like to join your discussion group. I am actively involved in small scale gasification of sugar cane residues and wood as well as being interested in large scale cogeneration projects using gasification for application in industrial sugar cane processing. T R Preston Internet: tpreston@hcm.vnn.vn Tel: 84-8-8961472 Fax: 84-8-8961709 Home pages http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ecofarm This is a presentation of activities at an ecological farm doing research, training and demonstrations on sustainable agriculture http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/utaf UTAF stands for University of Tropical Agriculture Foundation. This is an initiative directed towards developing more appropriate ways of facilitating learning about the strategies and technologies required to promote sustainable use of natural renewable resources in integrated farming systems http://www.cipav.org.co/lrrd/lrrdhome.html LRRD (Livestock Research for Rural Development) is an international journal published electronically as a forum for exchange of knowledge on sustainable rural development. It is continually updated as papers are published immediately they are refereed and edited. From sturn at hawaii.edu Wed Apr 15 00:52:38 1998 From: sturn at hawaii.edu (Scott Turn) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: reference request In-Reply-To: Message-ID: Tom, You characterize this report as being "a pretty good review article at the time." Can you, or anyone else on the list, offer a more recent reference which provides a better analysis? Scott On Tue, 14 Apr 1998, Tom Miles wrote: > Scott, > > I'll send you a copy. > > The conference was put on by our gasification moderator, Tom Reed, then at > Solar Energy Research Institute, and Mike Graboski, Colorado School of > Mines. I think it was one of the most inspiring conferences that we > attended in that period. > > That was actually a pretty good review article at the time. You'll > recognize the lock hoppers, plug feeders, screw feeders, ram-plug feeders, > piston feeders and pocket feeders they report on. Their company, > Foster-Miller, was developing a "linear pocket feeder" (LPF) for dense > fuels. I don't know if one was ever used in industry. The pocket size was > small (3 1/2" diameter) but they claimed 5 t/hr at 1000 psig. We did visit > the Foster Miller pilot facility with the idea of using the LPF to feed > dried, densified and resized wood into a pressurized suspension gasifier > (Texaco). > > (The Texaco gasifier was promoted for biomass at the time by a company > called Evergreen Energy. They came to be known as "Evergreed" around our > office since they were extremely demanding and never paid their bills.) > > Regards, > > Tom > > At 10:06 PM 4/13/98 -1000, Scott Turn wrote: > > > >I am trying to locate a copy of the following reference: > > > >Guzdar, A.R., and Harvey, A.C. 1982. Feeding coal and biomass into high > >pressure reactors. Proceedings of the Biomass-to-Methanol Specialists' > >Workshop, Tamarron Durango, Colorado, Mar. 3-5, 1982. pp. 119-149 > > > >If anyone can provide a copy I would appreciate it. > > > >Scott > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --- > >Scott Q. Turn, Ph.D. > >Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Phone: (808) 956-2346 > >University of Hawaii Fax: (808) 956-2335 > >2540 Dole St., Holmes Hall 246 email: sturn@hawaii.edu > >Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822 > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --- > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com > Technical Consultants, Inc. Tel (503) 292-0107/646-1198 > 1470 SW Woodward Way Fax (503) 605-0208 > Portland, Oregon, USA 97225 > > From tk at tke.dk Wed Apr 15 03:28:39 1998 From: tk at tke.dk (Thomas Koch) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: reference request In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <199804150735.JAA19081@proxy.image.dk> Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 18:59:27 -1000 From: Scott Turn To: gasification@crest.org Subject: Re: GAS-L: reference request Reply-to: gasification@crest.org An other reference that might be of interest for you is Kolbenpress-sleuse zum ein und austrag feindisperser feststoffe in oder aus druckführender raümen. Volfgang Horrigs, VDI Verlag Düsseldorf 1984. That gives a good theoretical overwiev of browmcoal feeding. We have tried to reproduce these priciples on plug feeding of biomass against 0,15 to 10 bar from 0,2 to 5 tons pr hour. (low pressure high capacity and viceverca) We have found that practice is heavily dissturbed by the fact that biomass do not have a constant poisons ratio in respect of the pressure applied. Regards Thomas Koch Thomas Koch Energi AS Stationsvej 4 4621 Gadstrup tk@tke..dk Tom, You characterize this report as being "a pretty good review article at the time." Can you, or anyone else on the list, offer a more recent reference which provides a better analysis? Scott On Tue, 14 Apr 1998, Tom Miles wrote: > Scott, > > I'll send you a copy. > > The conference was put on by our gasification moderator, Tom Reed, then at > Solar Energy Research Institute, and Mike Graboski, Colorado School of > Mines. I think it was one of the most inspiring conferences that we > attended in that period. > > That was actually a pretty good review article at the time. You'll > recognize the lock hoppers, plug feeders, screw feeders, ram-plug feeders, > piston feeders and pocket feeders they report on. Their company, > Foster-Miller, was developing a "linear pocket feeder" (LPF) for dense > fuels. I don't know if one was ever used in industry. The pocket size was > small (3 1/2" diameter) but they claimed 5 t/hr at 1000 psig. We did visit > the Foster Miller pilot facility with the idea of using the LPF to feed > dried, densified and resized wood into a pressurized suspension gasifier > (Texaco). > > (The Texaco gasifier was promoted for biomass at the time by a company > called Evergreen Energy. They came to be known as "Evergreed" around our > office since they were extremely demanding and never paid their bills.) > > Regards, > > Tom > > At 10:06 PM 4/13/98 -1000, Scott Turn wrote: > > > >I am trying to locate a copy of the following reference: > > > >Guzdar, A.R., and Harvey, A.C. 1982. Feeding coal and biomass into high > >pressure reactors. Proceedings of the Biomass-to-Methanol Specialists' > >Workshop, Tamarron Durango, Colorado, Mar. 3-5, 1982. pp. 119-149 > > > >If anyone can provide a copy I would appreciate it. > > > >Scott > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --- > >Scott Q. Turn, Ph.D. > >Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Phone: (808) 956-2346 > >University of Hawaii Fax: (808) 956-2335 > >2540 Dole St., Holmes Hall 246 email: sturn@hawaii.edu > >Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822 > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --- > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com > Technical Consultants, Inc. Tel (503) 292-0107/646-1198 > 1470 SW Woodward Way Fax (503) 605-0208 > Portland, Oregon, USA 97225 > > From sturn at hawaii.edu Wed Apr 15 03:43:49 1998 From: sturn at hawaii.edu (Scott Turn) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: reference request In-Reply-To: <199804150735.JAA19081@proxy.image.dk> Message-ID: Thomas, Is the reference you cite available in English and could you give a translation of the title so that I can search for it? Scott On Wed, 15 Apr 1998, Thomas Koch wrote: > Date: Tue, 14 Apr 1998 18:59:27 -1000 > From: Scott Turn > To: gasification@crest.org > Subject: Re: GAS-L: reference request > Reply-to: gasification@crest.org > > An other reference that might be of interest for you is > Kolbenpress-sleuse zum ein und austrag feindisperser feststoffe in > oder aus druckführender raümen. > Volfgang Horrigs, VDI Verlag Düsseldorf 1984. > > That gives a good theoretical overwiev of browmcoal feeding. > We have tried to reproduce these priciples on plug feeding of > biomass against 0,15 to 10 bar from 0,2 to 5 tons pr hour. (low > pressure high capacity and viceverca) > > We have found that practice is heavily dissturbed by the fact > that biomass do not have a constant poisons ratio in respect of the > pressure applied. > > Regards > Thomas Koch > > Thomas Koch Energi AS > Stationsvej 4 > 4621 Gadstrup > tk@tke..dk > Tom, > > You characterize this report as being "a pretty good review article at the > time." Can you, or anyone else on the list, offer a more recent reference > which provides a better analysis? > > Scott > > On Tue, 14 Apr 1998, Tom Miles wrote: > > > Scott, > > > > I'll send you a copy. > > > > The conference was put on by our gasification moderator, Tom Reed, then at > > Solar Energy Research Institute, and Mike Graboski, Colorado School of > > Mines. I think it was one of the most inspiring conferences that we > > attended in that period. > > > > That was actually a pretty good review article at the time. You'll > > recognize the lock hoppers, plug feeders, screw feeders, ram-plug feeders, > > piston feeders and pocket feeders they report on. Their company, > > Foster-Miller, was developing a "linear pocket feeder" (LPF) for dense > > fuels. I don't know if one was ever used in industry. The pocket size was > > small (3 1/2" diameter) but they claimed 5 t/hr at 1000 psig. We did visit > > the Foster Miller pilot facility with the idea of using the LPF to feed > > dried, densified and resized wood into a pressurized suspension gasifier > > (Texaco). > > > > (The Texaco gasifier was promoted for biomass at the time by a company > > called Evergreen Energy. They came to be known as "Evergreed" around our > > office since they were extremely demanding and never paid their bills.) > > > > Regards, > > > > Tom > > > > At 10:06 PM 4/13/98 -1000, Scott Turn wrote: > > > > > >I am trying to locate a copy of the following reference: > > > > > >Guzdar, A.R., and Harvey, A.C. 1982. Feeding coal and biomass into high > > >pressure reactors. Proceedings of the Biomass-to-Methanol Specialists' > > >Workshop, Tamarron Durango, Colorado, Mar. 3-5, 1982. pp. 119-149 > > > > > >If anyone can provide a copy I would appreciate it. > > > > > >Scott > > > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > --- > > >Scott Q. Turn, Ph.D. > > >Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Phone: (808) 956-2346 > > >University of Hawaii Fax: (808) 956-2335 > > >2540 Dole St., Holmes Hall 246 email: sturn@hawaii.edu > > >Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822 > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > --- > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com > > Technical Consultants, Inc. Tel (503) 292-0107/646-1198 > > 1470 SW Woodward Way Fax (503) 605-0208 > > Portland, Oregon, USA 97225 > > > > > From tmiles at teleport.com Wed Apr 15 10:44:26 1998 From: tmiles at teleport.com (Tom Miles) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: reference request In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <199804151451.HAA02599@mail1.teleport.com> Scott, Many of the techniques had not been tried with working pressurized biomass gasifiers before then. There have been a few IEA feed studies since then. I think the most recent was a Danish review of straw systems. Tom At 06:59 PM 4/14/98 -1000, Scott Turn wrote: > >Tom, > >You characterize this report as being "a pretty good review article at the >time." Can you, or anyone else on the list, offer a more recent reference >which provides a better analysis? > >Scott > >On Tue, 14 Apr 1998, Tom Miles wrote: > >> Scott, >> >> I'll send you a copy. >> >> The conference was put on by our gasification moderator, Tom Reed, then at >> Solar Energy Research Institute, and Mike Graboski, Colorado School of >> Mines. I think it was one of the most inspiring conferences that we >> attended in that period. >> >> That was actually a pretty good review article at the time. You'll >> recognize the lock hoppers, plug feeders, screw feeders, ram-plug feeders, >> piston feeders and pocket feeders they report on. Their company, >> Foster-Miller, was developing a "linear pocket feeder" (LPF) for dense >> fuels. I don't know if one was ever used in industry. The pocket size was >> small (3 1/2" diameter) but they claimed 5 t/hr at 1000 psig. We did visit >> the Foster Miller pilot facility with the idea of using the LPF to feed >> dried, densified and resized wood into a pressurized suspension gasifier >> (Texaco). >> >> (The Texaco gasifier was promoted for biomass at the time by a company >> called Evergreen Energy. They came to be known as "Evergreed" around our >> office since they were extremely demanding and never paid their bills.) >> >> Regards, >> >> Tom >> >> At 10:06 PM 4/13/98 -1000, Scott Turn wrote: >> > >> >I am trying to locate a copy of the following reference: >> > >> >Guzdar, A.R., and Harvey, A.C. 1982. Feeding coal and biomass into high >> >pressure reactors. Proceedings of the Biomass-to-Methanol Specialists' >> >Workshop, Tamarron Durango, Colorado, Mar. 3-5, 1982. pp. 119-149 >> > >> >If anyone can provide a copy I would appreciate it. >> > >> >Scott >> > >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> --- >> >Scott Q. Turn, Ph.D. >> >Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Phone: (808) 956-2346 >> >University of Hawaii Fax: (808) 956-2335 >> >2540 Dole St., Holmes Hall 246 email: sturn@hawaii.edu >> >Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822 >> >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> --- >> > >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com >> Technical Consultants, Inc. Tel (503) 292-0107/646-1198 >> 1470 SW Woodward Way Fax (503) 605-0208 >> Portland, Oregon, USA 97225 >> >> > ------------------------------------------------------------- Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com T.R. Miles, Technical Consultants, Inc. 1470 SW Woodward Way Portland, Oregon, USA Tel:(503) 646-1198/292-0107 http://www.teleport.com/~tmiles/ Fax:(503) 605-0208/292-2919 From antonio.hilst at merconet.com.br Thu Apr 16 21:26:24 1998 From: antonio.hilst at merconet.com.br (Antonio G. P. Hilst) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: reference request In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <3536AC11.6141@merconet.com.br> Tom Miles wrote: > > Scott, > > I'll send you a copy. > > The conference was put on by our gasification moderator, Tom Reed, then at > Solar Energy Research Institute, and Mike Graboski, Colorado School of > Mines. I think it was one of the most inspiring conferences that we > attended in that period. > > That was actually a pretty good review article at the time. You'll > recognize the lock hoppers, plug feeders, screw feeders, ram-plug feeders, > piston feeders and pocket feeders they report on. Their company, > Foster-Miller, was developing a "linear pocket feeder" (LPF) for dense > fuels. I don't know if one was ever used in industry. The pocket size was > small (3 1/2" diameter) but they claimed 5 t/hr at 1000 psig. We did visit > the Foster Miller pilot facility with the idea of using the LPF to feed > dried, densified and resized wood into a pressurized suspension gasifier > (Texaco). > > (The Texaco gasifier was promoted for biomass at the time by a company > called Evergreen Energy. They came to be known as "Evergreed" around our > office since they were extremely demanding and never paid their bills.) > > Regards, > > Tom > > At 10:06 PM 4/13/98 -1000, Scott Turn wrote: > > > >I am trying to locate a copy of the following reference: > > > >Guzdar, A.R., and Harvey, A.C. 1982. Feeding coal and biomass into high > >pressure reactors. Proceedings of the Biomass-to-Methanol Specialists' > >Workshop, Tamarron Durango, Colorado, Mar. 3-5, 1982. pp. 119-149 > > > >If anyone can provide a copy I would appreciate it. > > > >Scott > > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --- > >Scott Q. Turn, Ph.D. > >Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Phone: (808) 956-2346 > >University of Hawaii Fax: (808) 956-2335 > >2540 Dole St., Holmes Hall 246 email: sturn@hawaii.edu > >Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822 > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- > --- > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Thomas R. Miles tmiles@teleport.com > Technical Consultants, Inc. Tel (503) 292-0107/646-1198 > 1470 SW Woodward Way Fax (503) 605-0208 > Portland, Oregon, USA 97225 > Tom, I'd appreciate very much if send a copy to me. My address is: Antonio G. P. Hilst Rua Frei Felix de Lavalle, 161 Piracicaba, Brazil Zip 13405-140 Thanks. Antonio From REEDTB at compuserve.com Fri Apr 17 10:12:06 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Re: expertise needed Message-ID: <199804171018_MC2-3A2D-6A35@compuserve.com> Dear Onar: This subject is too complicated for casual letters. Ideally, we will wait for my second volume, "Science and Engineering of Gasification", but may take a year or two, as I want to perform some definitive experiments to confirm or trash my suspicions. I believe that a second or two residence at 1000-1200 C will destroy tars in a packed bed. In a slightly oxidizing atmosphere they will go to CO and H2; inside the C saturation zone they will go to soot. I believe that many of the gasifiers developed by EC in the early eighties discovered this. The chemistry is sufficiently complex so that mechanical solutions alone aren't likely to get very far. So next time you are in the neighborhood stop in and we'll discuss it. Your techpal, TOM REED From onar at hsr.no Fri Apr 17 21:12:15 1998 From: onar at hsr.no (Onar Aam) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Re: expertise Message-ID: Thanks, Tom. I actually am in the general area now (New York) in conjunction with my new job and will be here for an extensive period. In that period I will be making regular trips to Oklahoma to visit my parents, and Colorado is only 45 minutes away by plane. Hopefully I will be able to stop by. It would be very interesting indeed. Onar. From keenera at yahoo.com Wed Apr 22 16:13:25 1998 From: keenera at yahoo.com (Amanda Keener) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: US based suppiers Message-ID: <199804222013.QAA13161@solstice.crest.org> I am still looking for a simple way to convert methane gas to syngas using air. The methane steam reformer company that was suggested ( thank you for the suggestion ) is foreign based and I cannot contact them. I have been asked to try and find a reactor that uses air since the air is less costly. Any help is appreciated. Thank you. Amanda Keener Oklahoma State University _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com From VHarris001 at aol.com Wed Apr 22 16:13:33 1998 From: VHarris001 at aol.com (VHarris001) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Product-gas burner Message-ID: <94f31b33.3538fd32@aol.com> Dear Tom (Reed), A question in regards to the stratified downdraft gasifier design shown on pg. 11 of "Construction of a Simplified Wood Gas Generator for Fueling Internal Combustion Engines in a Petroleum Emergency." It places the blower and flare downline from the filter unit. During start-up, when there is high tar generation, the tar clogs the filter. Since the tar is combustible, wouldn't it be better to place the blower and flare upstream from the filter, in order to burn the tars rather than filter them out? Would it be helpful to use a product-gas burner there rather than a flare? Such as one displayed on pg. 98 of your "Handbook of Biomass Downdraft Gasifier Engine Systems?" In the schematic on pg 11 of "Construction", the firetube is surrounded by another can that creates an ash settling chamber. Would it be possible to use this same space as the product-gas burner during startup? The producer gas (and tars) would then immediately be combusted, immediately after being produced and before exiting the gasifier. Of course, that would require the blower to be located downstream from the product-gas burner. That would help prevent the blower from clogging with tar, but is the heat and volume of exit gasses too high for the blower? Can the exit gas from a product-gas burner easily be cooled and cleaned (to capture the remaining fly ash)? Thanks Vernon VHarris001@aol.com From nalincw at sri.lanka.net Wed Apr 22 16:13:38 1998 From: nalincw at sri.lanka.net (NALIN WALPITA) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Gasification mailing list &information Message-ID: <199804222013.QAA13223@solstice.crest.org> 19th April, 1998 Dear Sirs, Biomass gasification - we are interested in applying downdraft biomass gasifiers in gasifying of rubberwood from rubber replanting programs in Sri Lanka. As such, we would be interested in suitable designs for this purpose. In addition, please place us on the maling list for gasification. best regards, Dr Nalin Walpita NALIN From vvnk at teri.res.in Wed Apr 22 16:13:36 1998 From: vvnk at teri.res.in (V V N Kishore) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Sawdust briquettes Message-ID: <199804222013.QAA13217@solstice.crest.org> This is in response to the query from Piet .We made sawdust briquettes in a low pressure screw extruder run on a 5 HP motor.The additives tried were molasses,clay,cattle dung and outlet slurry from biogas plants.From cost considerations,dung and biogas plant slurry were used most of the times.The briquettes were 3-4" long and 1" in dia.The formation of the briquettes was highly dependent on the particle size and on the ratio of sawdust to binder.We used a 10% w/w binder and obtained stable briquettes which do not break even if dropped from 10m.The briquettes were used in a 7kW gasifier power plant for nearly 3 years.The briquettes were also found to be good replacement for dung cakes used widely in north Indian villages.John Tatom saw our mobile briquetting cum gasification plant some time in 1989 and was quite excited.We maintained correspondence for a while but lost touch later. From gsnedecor at dow.com Wed Apr 22 16:41:20 1998 From: gsnedecor at dow.com (Snedecor Jr, Gayle (TG)) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: US based suppliers Message-ID: I think Texaco is a supplier of methane partial oxidation gasifiers. I think, also, that Linde provides systems based on Texaco gasification. Regards, Gayle Snedecor (my opinions are my own) > From antonio.hilst at merconet.com.br Wed Apr 22 22:05:33 1998 From: antonio.hilst at merconet.com.br (Antonio G. P. Hilst) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: US based suppiers In-Reply-To: <199804222013.QAA13161@solstice.crest.org> Message-ID: <353EA105.4817@merconet.com.br> Amanda Keener wrote: > > I am still looking for a simple way to convert methane gas to > syngas using air. The methane steam reformer company that was > suggested ( thank you for the suggestion ) is foreign based and I > cannot contact them. I have been asked to try and find a reactor that > uses air since the air is less costly. > Any help is appreciated. Thank you. > > Amanda Keener > Oklahoma State University > > > _________________________________________________________ > DO YOU YAHOO!? > Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com Amanda, As far as I recall, haldor Topsoe has an office in Houston. You look for ICI- Imperial Chemical Industries, also in Houston, or The Kellog, Inc, an engineering conpany also in Housston, which has built many natural gas reformers. Any of them most likely will give you a sample of their catalyst (or the one they use in theirs projects) with use and safety care instructions. Davy Power Gas is another firm to look for. Antonio. From jim.birse at dial.pipex.com Thu Apr 23 05:51:30 1998 From: jim.birse at dial.pipex.com (Jim Birse) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Dr Walpita; Information request Message-ID: <01BD6EA6.C0202300@ae015.du.pipex.com> Dear Dr Walpita, We have several members able to provide equipment which may suit your needs, details may be found at http://www.britishbiogen.co.uk/biogen/Members/40.html Please contact me directly if you require any further assistance or wish to discuss your requirements. Best Regards, Jim Birse =================================================================================== Jim Birse British BioGen Tel: 0171 831 7222 7th Floor Fax: 0171 831 7223 63-66 Hatton Garden info@britishbiogen.co.uk London EC1N 8LE www.britishbiogen.co.uk British BioGen is Trade Association to the UK Bio-Energy Industry -----Original Message----- From: NALIN WALPITA [SMTP:nalincw@sri.lanka.net] Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 1998 9:14 PM To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: GAS-L: Gasification mailing list &information 19th April, 1998 Dear Sirs, Biomass gasification - we are interested in applying downdraft biomass gasifiers in gasifying of rubberwood from rubber replanting programs in Sri Lanka. As such, we would be interested in suitable designs for this purpose. In addition, please place us on the maling list for gasification. best regards, Dr Nalin Walpita NALIN From gsnedecor at dow.com Thu Apr 23 08:32:15 1998 From: gsnedecor at dow.com (Snedecor Jr, Gayle (TG)) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: FW: GAS-L: US based suppliers Message-ID: >I think Texaco is a supplier of methane partial oxidation gasifiers. I >think, also, that Linde provides systems based on Texaco gasification. > >Regards, > >Gayle Snedecor >(my opinions are my own) > > > From REEDTB at compuserve.com Fri Apr 24 07:38:58 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:35 2004 Subject: GAS-L: RE: Gasifier burn status Message-ID: <199804240745_MC2-3AE2-568F@compuserve.com> Brian: Exactly, except that the upburning CO from the charcoal may or may not ignite above the pile being far from the air source. If it doesn't, it is a potent source of CO. Also when the flame switches from pyrolytic down travel to updraft char gasification the temperature jumps dramatically and you could even melt the grate and can, the char-air flame temperature being about 1500C. While the gas flame temperature of the flaming pyrolysis could be this high, it is mixed with the cold fuel, so the radiation temperature is below 700C, no problemo. Cheers, TOM REED Message text written by "Brian Burt" > Do you mean that the charcoal that has been produced in the first part of your burn is consumed in the bottom up burning? Brian < From REEDTB at compuserve.com Fri Apr 24 07:40:00 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:36 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Product-gas burner Message-ID: <199804240745_MC2-3AE2-56A9@compuserve.com> Dear Vernon: You asked...>A question in regards to the stratified downdraft gasifier design shown on pg. 11 of "Construction of a Simplified Wood Gas Generator for Fueling Internal Combustion Engines in a Petroleum Emergency." It places the blower and flare downline from the filter unit. During start-up, when there is high tar generation, the tar clogs the filter. Since the tar is combustible, wouldn't it be better to place the blower and flare upstream from the filter, in order to burn the tars rather than filter them out? SOUNDS CORRECT TO ME. I NEVER BUILT LAFONTAINE'S UNIT. Would it be helpful to use a product-gas burner there rather than a flare? Such as one displayed on pg. 98 of your "Handbook of Biomass Downdraft Gasifier Engine Systems?" YES INDEED. In the schematic on pg 11 of "Construction", the firetube is surrounded by another can that creates an ash settling chamber. Would it be possible to use this same space as the product-gas burner during startup? The producer gas (and tars) would then immediately be combusted, immediately after being produced and before exiting the gasifier. SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST PLAN. TOO BAD HARRY LAFONTAINE ISN'T AROUND ANY MORE TO JOIN THE DISCUSSION. Of course, that would require the blower to be located downstream from the product-gas burner. That would help prevent the blower from clogging with tar, but is the heat and volume of exit gasses too high for the blower? NOT IF YOU PUT A COOLER (RADIATOR) IN BETWEEN Can the exit gas from a product-gas burner easily be cooled and cleaned (to capture the remaining fly ash)? CYCLONE FIRST FOR CHAR-ASH, THEN RADIATOR, THEN EJECTOR OR BLOWER. Good luck, sounds like you've absorbed a lot of theory, time to make Mod 1, then a really good Mod 2. TOM REED From REEDTB at compuserve.com Fri Apr 24 07:40:49 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:36 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Gasification mailing list &information Message-ID: <199804240746_MC2-3AE2-56AC@compuserve.com> Dear Dr Nalin Walpita: Here is the list of our books on gasification - a good place to start looking for rubber wood gasification. It is a great resource for your country. Contact me when your question is more specific. Yours truly, TOM REED BOOKS FROM THE BEF PRESS PURPOSES OF THE BIOMASS ENERGY FOUNDATION PRESS Biomass energy and particularly biomass gasification is a field where publications are often difficult to find. We make available information on biomass at reasonable prices. We will also make available at $0.15/page other papers from our extensive library of technical papers on gasification dating back to the turn of the century. We also act as a clearinghouse to locate technical assistance for biomass projects. We also publish other technical books. HANDBOOK OF BIOMASS DOWNDRAFT GASIFIER ENGINE SYSTEMS T. B. Reed and A. Das Over a million wood gasifiers were used to power cars and trucks during World War II. Yet, after twodecades of interest, there are only a few companies manufacturing gasifier systems. The authors have spent more than 20 years working with various gasifier systems, In this book they discuss ALL the factors that must be correct to have a successful "gasifier power system." ISBN 1-890607-00-2 200pp ... $25.00 FUNDAMENTAL STUDY AND SCALEUP OF THE AIR-OXYGEN STRATIFIED DOWNDRAFT GASIFIER - T. B. Reed, M. Graboski and B. Levie. In 1980 the Solar Energy Research Institute initiated a program to develop an oxygen gasifier to make methanol from biomass. A novel 1 ton/day gasifier was designed and studied for five years at SERI on air and oxygen. Now a 25 ton/day gasifier has been operated on both air and oxygen. This book describes the theory and operation of the two gasifiers in detail and also discusses the principles and application of gasification as learned in eight yearsby the author-gasifier team. Initially published by DOE with lavish illustrations. ISBN 1-890607-03-7 250pp....... $30.00 CONTAMINANT TESTING FOR GASIFIER ENGINE SYSTEMS - A. Das. Long engine life and reliable operation requires a gas with less than 30 mg of tar and particulates per cubic meter (30 ppm). The simplified test methods described here are adapted from standard ASTM and EPA test procedures for sampling and analyzing char, tar and ash in the gas. ISBN 1-890607-09-5 32pp....................... $10.00 TREES - Jean Giono. While we strongly support using biomass for energy, we are also very concerned about forest destruction. This delightful story says more than any sermon on the benefits and methods of reforestation. ISBN 1-890607-12-6 8pp $1.00 EVALUATION OF GASIFICATION AND NOVEL THERMAL PROCESSES FOR THE TREATMENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE - W. Niessen et al. 1996 NREL report by Camp Dresser and McKee on MSW conversion processes198 pp.$25.00 BOOK LIST BIOMASS ENERGY FOUNDATION PRESS & ORDER BLANK No. Cost BIOMASS DOWNDRAFT GASIFIER ENGINE SYSTEMS HANDBOOK: T. Reed and A. Das, (SERI-1988). ISBN 1-890607-00-2 140pp $25.00 ___ _____ GENGAS: THE SWEDISH CLASSIC ON WOOD FUELED VEHICLES: English translation, (SERI-1979; DAS 1982) edited T.Reed, D. Jantzen and A. Das, with index. This is the "Old Testament" of gasification, written by the people involved in successfully converting 90% of transportation of WW II Sweden to wood gasifiers. ISBN 1-890607-01-0 340pp. $30.00 ___ _____ PRODUCER-GAS: ANOTHER FUEL FOR MOTOR TRANSPORT: Ed. Noel Vietmeyer (The U.S. National Academy of Sciences-1985) A seeing-is-believing primer with historical and modern pictures of gasifiers. An out-standing text for any introductory program. ISBN 1-890607-02-9 80pp $10.00 ___ _____ FUNDAMENTAL STUDY AND SCALEUP OF THE AIR-OXYGEN STRATIFIED DOWNDRAFT GASIFIER: T. Reed, M. Graboski and B. Levie (SERI 1988).Operation of a 1 to 25 ton/day system for power and syn-gas.. ISBN 1-890607-03-7 290pp $30.00 ___ _____ CONTAMINANT TESTING FOR GASIFIER ENGINE SYSTEMS: A. Das (1989). Test that gas! ISBN 1-890607-04-5 32pp $10.00 ___ _____ TREE CROPS FOR ENERGY CO-PRODUCTION ON FARMS: Tom Milne (SERI) Trees to grow for energy. ISBN 1-890607-05-3 260 pp $25.00 ___ _____ SMALL SCALE GAS PRODUCER-ENGINE SYSTEMS: by A. Kaupp and J. Goss. (1984) Updates GENGAS and contains engineering data indispensable for the serious gasifier projects. ISBN 1-890607-06-1 278pp $30.00 ___ _____ GASIFICATION OF RICE HULLS: THEORY AND PRAXIS: A. Kaupp. Applies gasification to rice hulls and other agricultural residues. ISBN 1-890607-07-X 303pp $30.00 ___ _____ WOOD GAS GENERATORS FOR VEHICLES: Nils Nygards (1973). Translation of recent results of Swedish Agricultural Testing Institute. ISBN 1-890607-08-8 50 pp. $4.00 ___ _____ THE PEGASUS UNIT: THE LOST ART OF DRIVING WITHOUT GASOLINE: by Niels A. Skov and Mark L. Papworth. Description and detailed drawings of various gasifiers and systems from World War II. ISBN 1-890607-09-6 80 pp $20.00 __ ______ BIOMASS TO METHANOL SPECIALISTS' WORKSHOP: Ed. T. B. Reed and M. Graboski. Expert articles on biomass to methanol. ISBN 1-890607-10-X 331 pp $30.00...___ _____ CONSTRUCTION OF A SIMPLIFIED WOOD GAS GENERATOR: H. LaFontaine (1989) - Over 25 drawings and photographs on building a gasifier for fueling IC engines in a Petroleum Emergency (FEMA RR28). ISBN 1-890607-11-8 68pp $15.00 ___ _____ TREES: by Jean Giono, 1953. A delightful story which says more than any lecture on the need for reforestation. ISBN 1-89060712-6 8 pp $1.00 ___ _____ EVALUATION OF GASIFICATION AND NOVEL THERMAL PROCESSES FOR THE TREATMENT OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE - W. Niessen et al. 1996 NREL report by Camp Dresser and McKee on MSW conversion processes198 pp.$25.00 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> ORDER BLANK BOOK TOTAL ........................................................................... ...............................No. ___ _______ 10% discount to booksellers and orders of 3 or more books = _________ BOOK TOTAL.____________ Add $3 handling/order + $1.50/book postage (in US & Can) $_________= ______ TOTAL ENCLOSED__________ SHIP TO: Name______________________________________________________________________ Address____________________________________________________________________ ________ Foreign orders - $9/book air mail; $6/book regular E-mail order to reedtb@Compuserve.com or Mail orders to The Biomass Energy Foundation Press (BEFP), 1810 Smith Rd., Golden, CO 80401; FAX 303-278 0560;call 303 278 0558;. We'll send invoice with books. Pay by postal order or check on US Banks. (No foreign checks - can cost $25 to clear!) Thanks for your order, Tom Reed Message text written by INTERNET:gasification@crest.org >Dear Sirs, Biomass gasification - we are interested in applying downdraft biomass gasifiers in gasifying of rubberwood from rubber replanting programs in Sri Lanka. As such, we would be interested in suitable designs for this purpose. In addition, please place us on the maling list for gasification. best regards, Dr Nalin Walpita NALIN < From jphillips at alumni.stanford.org Fri Apr 24 14:31:50 1998 From: jphillips at alumni.stanford.org (Jeffrey N. Phillips) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:36 2004 Subject: GAS-L: US based suppiers In-Reply-To: <199804222013.QAA13161@solstice.crest.org> Message-ID: <000c01bd6fb0$13de39a0$4706efd0@jnphatch.gis.net> Amanda, No that you mention it, there is a company in your "backyard" (Tulsa) that claims to be able to do what you want: convert methane to syngas using air. Here is the contact information: Syntroleum 400 S. Boston, suite 1000 Tulsa, OK 74103 918-592-7900 Syntroleum uses the syngas to produce liquid fuels via a Fischer-Tropsch reactor. The unique aspect of their design is that they use air instead of oxygen, and that makes smaller scale applications economical. They are quite secretive about their process, and therefore may not be willing to work with a university. On the other hand, I know they are in need of R&D support, so maybe there is an opportunity for you. Jeff Phillips -----Original Message----- From: owner-gasification@crest.org [mailto:owner-gasification@crest.org] On Behalf Of Amanda Keener Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 1998 4:13 PM To: gasification@crest.org Subject: GAS-L: US based suppiers I am still looking for a simple way to convert methane gas to syngas using air. The methane steam reformer company that was suggested ( thank you for the suggestion ) is foreign based and I cannot contact them. I have been asked to try and find a reactor that uses air since the air is less costly. Any help is appreciated. Thank you. Amanda Keener Oklahoma State University _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com From REEDTB at compuserve.com Mon Apr 27 07:39:53 1998 From: REEDTB at compuserve.com (Thomas Reed) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:36 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Gasifier burn status Message-ID: <199804270746_MC2-3B19-56E3@compuserve.com> Dear Stephen: You are certainly correct that the "theory of top down burning" is not cut and dried. (It is hard for me to imagine that there were no isolated examples of TDB before my tests at SERI/NREL in 1985, but I haven't found any.) Agua Das installed an auger feed UNDER the fuel mass shortly after our first tests at SERI/NREL and showed that one could convert batch operation into continuous operation (except for possible eventual ash accumulation). You have now demonstrated that you can add fuel ON TOP of the mass to achieve continuing operation. This doesn't surprise me, since the gases are leaving the charcoal bed at about 600C, high enough for pyrolysis of the added fuel. However, if you add more than a few layers at a time you have a "layer cake" double TDB pyrolyser. It would be interesting to analyse the gases from (a) regular top down, (b) top down after the volatiles are burned off and (c) your case where volatilve fuel is added on top. To the best of my knowledge there has never been any financial support of TDB and such tests require $. (ie $100/gas analysis). So far most of us are motivated by developing better wood-gas cooking stoves for developing countries, and certainly not yet by the $$. It is surprising that there aren't more members from India and China, the two countries that could benefit most from improved village cookstoves. It is my intention when I finish Volume I of our (NREL & BEF) SURVEY OF BIOMASS GASIFICATION to start a series of tests before I start Volume II. (Hope to get final draft to NREL this month.) There is still a lot of scientific information needed in gasification. One series would be on propogation of the pyrolysis reaction AGAINST the flow of air as in TDB charcoal-cooking stoves. What is the influence of water content? (Try 0,10, 20, 30% MC) What is the influence of air velocity (try superficial velocities of 0.001,0.01,0.1 and 1 m/s). What is the energy content of the pyrolysis gases released? What is the charcoal yield? I believe that a series of clean cut questions and answers will advance our cause more than tinkering with materials of construction etc. If anyone wants to start questions and answers now, rather than waiting, please be my guest. Back to the book.... TOM REED Message text written by "Stephen Allen" > Just a quick question. I have been running burn tests with a typical 2 can gasifier stove. I have just tried something that I would like clarification on, if possible. As per usual, I am burning the fuel cell top down. However, this time, when the cell is nearly exhausted, I begin adding fuel from the top of the burner!!! Guess what??? The flame hold at the secondary intake remained constant!....An even blue flame holding steady as I fed the cell fresh wood. This cell is now burning from the bottom up!. At flame out, the fuel cell appears to be still producing charcoal. Is the theory of top dowwn burning really so cut and dried???? It doesn't seem to be! < From paavani at giasbga.vsnl.net.in Mon Apr 27 20:54:59 1998 From: paavani at giasbga.vsnl.net.in (P.Nagpal) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:36 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Gasifier burn status Message-ID: <1.5.4.32.19980428013012.0069c78c@giasbga.vsnl.net.in> For Tom Reed, I'm a metallurgist cum industrialist from India and have looked with interest the discussions and suggestions you give. Its an honour to address this note to a person of dedication and an expert rolled into one. It appears to me that for my country availability of application technology standardised equipment system's service are the main bottle necks. Ankur, Indian Institure of Science etc supply gasifiers here mostly for electricity. There are other areas which look interesting to me where we could directly use product gas Aluminium / Zinc Melting Bakery Steel Billet Soaking Pits (where billets are stored before rolling down ) Production of de-hyderated Alumina Production of paper Milk and food De-humidification and food storage etc etc Can you please guide me as to where I can get information and application notes of gasifiers used in such areas ? Experience gained by using gasifiers in these areas and follow up information is of vital interest to me. In my personal opinion we can keep moving to "perfectenance" of the technology yet if there are economically viable branch outs at any stage these should be definately exploited as they will provide a catalitic effect bringing within its fold industries and generate funds for research and development . Pavan. From rosilene at fem.unicamp.br Tue Apr 28 16:33:43 1998 From: rosilene at fem.unicamp.br (Rosilene Aparecida Nascimento) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:36 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Nitrogen Oxides Emissions - Biomass Message-ID: <35463EBE.3E1EB8B7@fem.unicamp.br> Hello, I've already put a post on this discussion group. I'm a doctor degree student in mechanical engineering at UNICAMP, Brazil. I'm interested in nitrogen oxides emissions control for biomass gasification. I'm going to use sugar cane bagasse in an atmospheric fluidized bed gasifier and before, I want to know about the reactions involved with nitrogen. I read something about NH3 and HCN injection to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions. But all the papers that I read, was about COAL combustion or gasification. If the fuel is different than coal the heterogeneous reactions, as well as the devolatilisation, will be different too. Does anyone have some paper about kinetics of nitrogen oxides using any kind of biomass? Thanks a lot, Rosilene _______________________________________________________________________________________ Rosilene Nascimento - Chemical Engineer Energy Department of Mechanical Engineering - UNICAMP. From jiachun at hawaii.edu Tue Apr 28 18:21:02 1998 From: jiachun at hawaii.edu (Jiachun Zhou) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:36 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Nitrogen Oxides Emissions - Biomass In-Reply-To: <35463EBE.3E1EB8B7@fem.unicamp.br> Message-ID: Hi, We have performed experimental investigation and kinetics model development on the fuel nitrogen evolution during biomass gasification. Several types of biomass feedstocks were used in the tests. The details of the topics you have mentioned are discussed in my dissertation. There are paper manuscripts which are ready to summit to journals. If you need, I can send abstracts of the dissertation and the papers to you. Further discussion is also welcome. Jiachun Zhou (Frank) Hawaii Natural Energy Institute University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI 96822 Ph: (808)956-5348 Email: jiachun@hawaii.edu On Tue, 28 Apr 1998, Rosilene Aparecida Nascimento wrote: > Hello, > > I've already put a post on this discussion group. I'm a doctor degree > student in mechanical engineering at UNICAMP, Brazil. > > I'm interested in nitrogen oxides emissions control for biomass > gasification. I'm going to use sugar cane bagasse in an atmospheric > fluidized bed gasifier and before, I want to know about the reactions > involved with nitrogen. > > I read something about NH3 and HCN injection to reduce nitrogen oxides > emissions. But all the papers that I read, was about COAL combustion or > gasification. If the fuel is different than coal the heterogeneous > reactions, as well as the devolatilisation, will be different too. > > Does anyone have some paper about kinetics of nitrogen oxides using any > kind of biomass? > > Thanks a lot, > Rosilene > > _______________________________________________________________________________________ > > Rosilene Nascimento - Chemical Engineer > Energy Department of Mechanical Engineering - UNICAMP. > > > From jphillips at alumni.stanford.org Thu Apr 30 13:30:34 1998 From: jphillips at alumni.stanford.org (Jeffrey N. Phillips) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:36 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Nitrogen Oxides Emissions - Biomass In-Reply-To: <35463EBE.3E1EB8B7@fem.unicamp.br> Message-ID: <000001bd745e$8bd23940$4707efd0@jnphatch.gis.net> Rosilene, NOx formation kinetics should be independent of the fuel source, so the references you have on coal combustion and gasification should be valid for sugar cane gasification as well. As you are probably aware, there are in general two principal routes by which NOx is formed during combustion. The first is the so-called thermal-NOx route in which the N2 and O2 present in the combustion air react via the Zeldovich mechanism to form NO. This reaction is very sensitive to temperature and hence hotter flame temperatures yield higher NO levels. Flame temperature can be moderated by addition of diluents such as water, steam, or nitrogen. For air-blown gasification applications, a large fraction of the fuel gas is already N2, so little if any additional diluent is normally required. The second route that leads to NOx formation is fuel-bound nitrogen reacting with O2 in the combustion air to form nitrogen oxides. This mechanism cannot be suppressed by lowering the flame temperature. Two approaches that can be used are: removing the fuel-bound nitrogen species from the fuel (in the case of gasification the principal species are NH3 and HCN), or removing the NOx downstream of the combustion zone via Selective Catalytic (or non-catalyic) Reduction (SCR or SNCR, respectively). In the latter case you have to inject NH3 into the exhaust gas flow at an appropriate temperature. Removing NH3 from syngas is pretty easy, you just wash the gas with water and the water absorbs virtually all of the ammonia. Removing HCN is more difficult and requires either a catalyst or injection of a chemical "getter". You will find that the amount of NH3 and HCN in the raw syngas is influenced strongly by the gasifier operating conditions, but only weakly by the amount of nitrogen in the gasifier feed. Typically the lower the gasifier temperature, the higher the NH3 and HCN concentrations will be. Also, I believe the ratio of NH3/HCN is influenced by a sort of "water-gas" shift reaction between HCN and NH3: HCN + H2O <=> NH3 + CO So the more H2O in your syngas, the more NH3 you will have. I hope this is useful. Jeff Phillips Fern Engineering, Inc. Pocasset, MA 1-508-563-7181 1-508-564-4851 (fax) jphillips@alumni.stanford.org -----Original Message----- From: owner-gasification@crest.org [mailto:owner-gasification@crest.org] On Behalf Of Rosilene Aparecida Nascimento Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 1998 4:41 PM To: gasification@crest.org Subject: GAS-L: Nitrogen Oxides Emissions - Biomass Hello, I've already put a post on this discussion group. I'm a doctor degree student in mechanical engineering at UNICAMP, Brazil. I'm interested in nitrogen oxides emissions control for biomass gasification. I'm going to use sugar cane bagasse in an atmospheric fluidized bed gasifier and before, I want to know about the reactions involved with nitrogen. I read something about NH3 and HCN injection to reduce nitrogen oxides emissions. But all the papers that I read, was about COAL combustion or gasification. If the fuel is different than coal the heterogeneous reactions, as well as the devolatilisation, will be different too. Does anyone have some paper about kinetics of nitrogen oxides using any kind of biomass? Thanks a lot, Rosilene ____________________________________________________________________________ ___________ Rosilene Nascimento - Chemical Engineer Energy Department of Mechanical Engineering - UNICAMP. From kpert at ozemail.com.au Thu Apr 30 17:53:15 1998 From: kpert at ozemail.com.au (Einion Thomas) Date: Tue Aug 31 21:07:36 2004 Subject: GAS-L: Refuse Derived Fuels & Wet Digestion Message-ID: <199804302200.IAA08733@fep6.mail.ozemail.net> Dear list members I am undertaking an economic study of RDF and Wet Digestion/fermentation facilities. These facilities will be part of an integrated approach to energy recovery and landfill avoidance from the Municipal Waste Stream (Putrescible Solid Waste). Initial treatment of this stream will be by way of Pretreatment technology (yet to be finally specified but benchmarked to the Dano Drum Technology) to achieve a primary separation of the materials into: (1) homogeneous, size reduced organics (approx. 40%) (2) high calorific value oversize (approx. 40%) and, (3) inert mixed residuals (approx. 20%) The scenario I am looking at has 240,000 tonnes of pretreated material with approximately: 72,000 tonnes available for RDF and 120,000 tonnes available for Wet Digestion. The remainder would be classified as fill material. I do not have any costing information on RDF and Wet Digestion/fermentation facilities and would be grateful if anyone on the Crest list would be able to provide information on: (1) the capital costs of both technologies (2) the operating costs of both technologies (3) the market sale price of RDF and gas in dollars / thermal units (4) consumption rates of technologies (conversion/efficiency rates of inputs materials v output of RDF/gas) (5) list of specialist technology providers currently providing this type of technology Regards Einion Thomas, Consultant Western Sydney Waste Board Blacktown NSW Australia kpert@ozemail.com.au