[Gasification] Can small wood-gas systems lower rural energy costs?

[eric roy]

Hi, 

These projects looks great, but I'm curious, if you can improve reliability and efficiency just by lowering the  moisture content in the feed, then how come these types of systems don't incorporate a hopper design that would help dry feed stock? Such as by recapturing the heat from the exhaust or the heat from the engine's radiator.

Thanks
Eric 



________________________________
 From: Tom Miles <tmiles at trmiles.com>
To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification <gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org> 
Sent: Saturday, 20 October 2012 5:35 PM
Subject: [Gasification] Can small wood-gas systems lower rural energy costs?
 

Jim Mason and mill personnel installed two All Power Labs Power Pallets – 10 kWe and 20 kWe - this week at a sawmill in SE Alaska as part of a project for Sealaska Corporation to demonstrate small scale power generation. Owner Wes Tyler and Thomas Deerfield chipped the fuel while I did the arm waving and entertained visiting locals. We ran the 20 kWe unit on wet (35% MC) spruce chips. It ran very well. We did collect a lot of condensate in the final trap before the engine but there was no sign of tars or sticky char in the filters.  
 
See the Coast Alaska news story at http://www.krbd.org/2012/10/19/can-small-wood-gas-systems-lower-rural-energy-costs/  
 
Mill personnel will run the gasifiers this winter. If all goes well we may install one of the gasifier at the Icy Point resort where cruise ships visit an old cannery. The resort is owned by the Hoonah tribal corporation. Businesses in Hoonah pay up to $0.67/kWe without subsidy so fuel/power is a substantial cost. Locals are looking for opportunities to generate power and heat greenhouses to grow fresh vegetables.  
 
Andy Soria, Professor of Wood Chemistry and Applied Environmental Science and Technology at University of Alaska has had GEKS’s for a couple of years and Bernie Karl in Fairbanks has run a small GEK with an engine but these are the first gasifier-gensets to be installed in an Alaskan village since the Alaska Village Electric Coop project by Marenco (Joe Marks) in the early 1980s. 
 
Tom Miles
 
 
 
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