Wood/Trash/Coal Gassifier product gas cooling & cleaning fluid?

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TDPerk
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Wood/Trash/Coal Gassifier product gas cooling & cleaning fluid?

Post by TDPerk »

Disclaimer: If this works well as a packaged/skid process, I'll see about selling it. I may or may not do more for anyone who contributes a good idea towards that, than a steak dinner, excellent potable or both.

So the product gas from a wood gasifier reactor needs to be above 800degC for the char surface to react with pyrolysis gas from upstream, such that H2, CH4, and CO production is maximized above lesser value fuel gasses, or CO2 which has no value.

For whatever entrained tar does not react, ash, and soot flecks which are in the gas flow, these need to be removed.

The product gas also needs to be dropped below the temperature where CO is most likely to decompose into soot and CO2 as quickly as possible.

Direct spray cooling by a fluid seems to be a good way to do this. If entrained tar, soot and ash(1) is not miscible with the fluid, then capturing that material for it being re-introduced at the process entry seems reasonably to be a matter of straining, which would be good. Alternatively a fluid which could dissolve tar and be trickled into the reactor and clean introduced in the loop, such that the dissolved crap never reaches a too high concentration, is an option.

Water is an obvious choice. I am wondering about differing oils and glycols, heavy alcohols, or appalling in some contexts as it may seem, petroleum products like fuel oil/kero/etc*.

*Should be no oxygen in the effluent gasses except briefly at startup.

Anyone have any ideas about worthwhile fluids to examine?

(1) Majority of the ash is dumped before entry to the cooler.
molon labe
montani semper liberi
para fides paternae patria

paperburn1
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Location: Third rock from the sun.

Re: Wood/Trash/Coal Gassifier product gas cooling & cleaning fluid?

Post by paperburn1 »

water or maybe wet steam?
I am not a nuclear physicist, but play one on the internet.

paperburn1
Posts: 2484
Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:53 am
Location: Third rock from the sun.

Re: Wood/Trash/Coal Gassifier product gas cooling & cleaning fluid?

Post by paperburn1 »

A friend of mine actually made one of these for steam thresher show and the gas, came out into a tall column and the water was pumped by running a tube into the boiler where it turned to steam and water and bubbled up to the top of the column. It ran out onto a plate had a lot of holes in it so it made rain fall down to the column.The pickup to was about 6 inches off the bottom and it was set up to drain into a coil in the fire pot. His only problem was that if the column got too hot steam would make it into the engine. I don't know if he ever solve the problem. his system was stationary so gravity did the work of the pumps.Contacting him is problematic as he lives off the grid and is rare that I go home and see him.( he is a little bit wacky)
I am not a nuclear physicist, but play one on the internet.

Diogenes
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Re: Wood/Trash/Coal Gassifier product gas cooling & cleaning fluid?

Post by Diogenes »

I looked into building one of those to power a generator, but I never pursued it. (I have too many projects already.)


One concern was regarding the effect of tar and other nasties on the Engine. It seems as if running wood gas through it would shorten it's life or greatly increase it's maintenance requirements.


I did learn it makes a lot of difference in what wood you chose to use. Some woods are very much better than others. The wood also needs to be made as dry as possible prior to putting it into the gassifier.
‘What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.’
— Lord Melbourne —

paperburn1
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Joined: Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:53 am
Location: Third rock from the sun.

Re: Wood/Trash/Coal Gassifier product gas cooling & cleaning fluid?

Post by paperburn1 »

somewhere there is a web site that was run by the government and it had plans for one. ( strangely WW2 vintage)

found it
http://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/old/3022.pdf
I am not a nuclear physicist, but play one on the internet.

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