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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Dear Gerald</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>What would you think of the following proposed
definitions?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>WOOD GAS: </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Wood gas is a combustible gas produced by gasifying
non-fossilized biomass with sufficient oxygen to leave little or no char. The
biomass feed to a "Wood Gas Gasifier" could be woody biomass, agricultural
wastes, or any other non-fossil biomass based material. The gas produced has a
heating value in the range of about 125 to 150 BTU per Standard cubic foot. It
may, or may not, contain significant quantities of tars. With adequately low tar
content, it would be termed "Engine Grade Wood Gas", or if the tar content was
too much for longer term use in an engine, it would be termed "Fuel Grade Wood
Gas."</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>PYROLYSIS GAS:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Pyrolysis gas is the gas product produced when
non-fossil biomass is either heated in a sealed retort, or, when it is
"internally heated" through partial combustion of the pyrolysis gases. It has a
high tar content, and a heating value in excess of 200 BTU per Standard Cubic
foot.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>SYNTHESIS GAS, and "SYNGAS"</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Synthesis gas is any gas produced for the purpose
of synthesizing a higher value product. Wood gas and Pyrolysis gas can be termed
"Synthesis Gas" or "SYNGAS" if they are used to synthesize a higher value
product. Any such gas that is burned as fuel to release its energy content as
heat is not "Synthesis Gas" or "SYNGAS".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>How do those proposed definitions sound to
you?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Best wishes,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Kevin Chisholm</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR>
<DIV class=gmail_quote>---------- Forwarded message ----------<BR>From: <B
class=gmail_sendername>Gerald Kutney</B> <SPAN dir=ltr><<A
href="mailto:gkutney@shaw.ca">gkutney@shaw.ca</A>></SPAN><BR>Date: Tue, Jan
25, 2011 at 17:59<BR>Subject: Re: [Gasification] A small literature review re:
syngas<BR>To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification <<A
href="mailto:gasification@lists.bioenergylists.org">gasification@lists.bioenergylists.org</A>>,
<A
href="mailto:gasification@bioenergylists.org">gasification@bioenergylists.org</A><BR><BR><BR>I
have followed the discussion on the definition of syngas (synthesis gas) with
great interest. Although there are adamant views that syngas should be
narrowly defined, I have yet to see early references that back up this claim.
The term "synthesis gas" appears to have gained popularity during the
'40's (possibly before) to describe the raw material for the FT process;
however, it quickly became the popular term for manufactured gas. In the
second edition of the iconic Kirk-Othmer, Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology,
one is directed to the chapter on manufactured gas when looking for synthesis
gas (see vol. 10, p. 355, 1966), where it is mentioned to produce synthetic
chemicals from the water gas and water gas shift reactions. In Riegel's,
Industrial Chemistry, 1962, a list of synthesis gas methods are listed that
mimic manufactured gas and includes gasification with air. And on p.
892, synthesis gas is simply defined as the mixture of CO and H2.<BR><BR>I
respect the opinion of the members of this list, but could you supply early
references to back up your definitions. I believe that this is an
important issue to be cleared up, as there is definite confusion on whether
syngas should have a limited definition or a broad definition.<BR><FONT
color=#888888><BR><BR>Gerald Kutney, Ph.D.<BR>Managing Director<BR>Sixth
Element Sustainable Management<BR><A href="http://www.6esm.com"
target=_blank>www.6esm.com</A><BR></FONT>
<DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=h5><BR><BR>-----Original Message-----<BR>From: <A
href="mailto:gasification-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org">gasification-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org</A>
[mailto:<A
href="mailto:gasification-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org">gasification-bounces@lists.bioenergylists.org</A>]
On Behalf Of jim mason<BR>Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2010 2:40 PM<BR>To: <A
href="mailto:gasification@bioenergylists.org">gasification@bioenergylists.org</A><BR>Subject:
Re: [Gasification] A small literature review re: syngas<BR><BR>On Wed, Dec 29,
2010 at 1:13 PM, Bear Kaufmann <<A
href="mailto:bear@allpowerlabs.org">bear@allpowerlabs.org</A>>
wrote:<BR>> I looked through some of the papers I have on hand, and
extracted the<BR>> interesting parts as they relate to the latest
discussion, FWIW:<BR>><BR>> In short, the usage from the above doesn't
appear entirely clear.<BR>> But in general, syngas is often suggested to
have been upgraded, or of a<BR>> higher CO/H2/energy content. Syngas is
often used to refer to gas intended<BR>> to be used for synthesis of
products. Syngas does also seem to be used as<BR>> general term in some
cases.<BR>><BR><BR><BR>bear, in reading through your 6 examples here, i
find 4 of them use<BR>the term "syngas" in some flavor of a general term for
the gas<BR>produced through some form of biomass thermal conversion.
its<BR>relationship to synthesis processes and no/low nitrogen gas is
also<BR>there of course. but the prevalence of the "generic" usage
is<BR>surprising. i'm surprised to see even some major names
in<BR>pyrolysis/biochar are using it to name the gas from
pyrolysis.<BR><BR>given this over majority leaning towards the generic use,
why do you<BR>summarize the state of affairs by affirming the more
"traditional"<BR>senses of the term? it seems the numbers are leaning in
the other<BR>direction. of course your sample is anecdotal, so putting
numbers to<BR>the resulting statistics is suspect. but still, the
emphasis in your<BR>conclusion i do not see in the sample. btw, how did
you generate this<BR>sample?<BR><BR>when we started this disucssion, my guess
was that the generic usage<BR>of the term was maybe a 10-20% phenomenon.
examples are piling up<BR>that it is actually much higher than this.
it seems even higher in<BR>the academic world than in our local online
circle.<BR><BR>j<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>><BR>> "Fuel gas can be used
directly as fuel in gas burners or internal combustion<BR>> engines and gas
turbines. Fuel gas, after purification and possibly water<BR>> gas shift to
adjust the H2/CO ratio, can be described as a syngas (a mixture<BR>> of H2
and CO), which can be used to manufacture methanol, ammonia, Fischer<BR>>
Tropsch liquids, or hydrogen for use in fuel cells (4). The suitability
for<BR>> a particular usage, i.e. the fuel gas quality, is determined by
the gas<BR>> composition and the level of contamination by particulates,
alkali<BR>> compounds, nitrogen-containing components, sulphur and tars
(5)."<BR>> from Kalisz, S. et al. Energy Balance of High Temperature
Air/Steam<BR>> Gasification of Biomass in Up-Draft, Fixed-Bed Type
Gasifier. Int. Conf. on<BR>> Incineration and Thermal Treatment
Technologies, Phoenix, Arizona (2004).at<BR>> <<A
href="http://gasunie.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/FILES/root/2004/3265200/3265200.pdf"
target=_blank>http://gasunie.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/FILES/root/2004/3265200/3265200.pdf</A>><BR>><BR>>
"Fast pyrolyzers rapidly (∼1 s) heat dry biomass (10% H2O) to ∼500°C
and<BR>> thereby thermally transform biomass into bio-oil (∼60% of mass),
syngas<BR>> (∼20% of mass), and charcoal (∼20% of mass). The energy
required to operate<BR>> a fast pyrolyzer is ∼15% of the total energy that
can be derived from the<BR>> dry biomass. Modern systems are designed to
use the syngas generated by the<BR>> pyro- lyzer to provide all the energy
needs of the pyrolyzer."<BR>> from Laird, D.A. The Charcoal Vision: A Win
Win Win Scenario for<BR>> Simultaneously Producing Bioenergy, Permanently
Sequestering Carbon, while<BR>> Improving Soil and Water Quality. Agron J
100, 178-181(2008).<BR>><BR>> "To improve the thermal efficiency and
predict the composition of syngas,<BR>> several numeric models have been
developed for biomass conversion systems."<BR>> from Rogel, A. &
Aguillón, J. The 2D Eulerian Approach of Entrained Flow and<BR>>
Temperature in a Biomass Stratified Downdraft Gasifier. American Journal
of<BR>> Applied Sciences 3, 2068-2075(2006).<BR>> Comments: Shows a
stratified downdraft model with inputs of air and biomass,<BR>> outputs of
syngas and ashes<BR>><BR>> "The term ‘pyrolysis’ is typically used
either for ...[analytical<BR>> purposes]... or for bioenergy systems that
capture the off-gases emitted<BR>> during charring and used to produce
hydrogen, syngas, bio-oils, heat or<BR>> electricity (Bridgwater et al,
1999)."<BR>> from Lehmann, J. & Joseph, S. Biochar for environmental
management: science<BR>> and technology. (Earthscan/James & James:
2009).<BR>><BR>> "High purity syngas (i.e. low quantities of inerts such
as N2) is extremely<BR>> beneficial for fuels and chemicals synthesis since
it substantially reduces<BR>> the size and cost of downstream equipment.
However, the guidelines provided<BR>> in Table 5 should not be interpreted
as stringent requirements. "<BR>> "There is more latitude with regard to
syngas composition for engine<BR>> combustion than for turbine
combustion."<BR>> "To be considered interchangeable with conventional
fossil fuels (natural<BR>> gas or distillate oils) and to ensure maximum
flexibility for industrial or<BR>> utility applications, syngas heating
value needs to be above 11 MJ/m3"<BR>> "At temperatures greater than
1200-1300oC, little or no methane, higher<BR>> hydrocarbons or tar is
formed, and H2 and CO production is maximized without<BR>> requiring a
further conversion step."<BR>> "Biomass gasification is the conversion of
an organic...carbonaceous<BR>> feedstock by partial oxidation into a
gaseous product, synthesis gas or<BR>> “syngas,” consisting primarily of
[H2 and CO] with lesser amounts of [CO2,<BR>> CH4], higher hydrocarbons
(C2+), and nitrogen (N2). The reactions are<BR>> carried out at elevated
temperatures, 500-1400oC, and atmospheric or<BR>> elevated pressures up to
33 bar (480 psia). The oxidant used can be air,<BR>> pure oxygen, steam or
a mixture of these gases. Air-based gasifiers<BR>> typically produce a
product gas containing a relatively high concentration<BR>> of nitrogen
with a low heating value between 4 and 6 MJ/m3 (107-161<BR>> Btu/ft3).
Oxygen and steam-based gasifiers produce a product gas containing<BR>> a
relatively high concentration of hydrogen and CO with a heating value<BR>>
between 10 and 20 MJ/m3 (268-537 Btu/ft3)."<BR>> "Table 8. Compositions of
Biomass-Derived Syngas" - includes N2 from 0-56%,<BR>> H2 from 5-43.3%, CO
from 9-67%, CO2 from 4-40%<BR>> ...<BR>> from Ciferno, J.P. &
Marano, J.J. Benchmarking biomass gasification<BR>> technologies for fuels,
chemicals and hydrogen production. US Dep of Energy<BR>> NETL
(2002).at<BR>> <<A
href="http://seca.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/gasification/pubs/pdf/BMassGasFinal.pdf"
target=_blank>http://seca.doe.gov/technologies/coalpower/gasification/pubs/pdf/BMassGasFinal.pdf</A>><BR>><BR>>
"The resulting fuel is a producer gas (a synthesis gas or syngas) that<BR>>
consists primarily of varying ratios of hydrogen and carbon monoxide
(CO)."<BR>> from Mukhtar, S. Manure to Energy: Understanding Processes,
Principles and<BR>> Jargon. (2006).at<BR>> <<A
href="http://repository.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/87462/pdf_2425.pdf?sequence=1"
target=_blank>http://repository.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/87462/pdf_2425.pdf?sequence=1</A>><BR>><BR>>
In short, the usage from the above doesn't appear entirely clear.<BR>> But
in general, syngas is often suggested to have been upgraded, or of a<BR>>
higher CO/H2/energy content. Syngas is often used to refer to gas
intended<BR>> to be used for synthesis of products. Syngas does also seem
to be used as<BR>> general term in some cases.<BR>><BR>> My preferred
usage has been to call the gas the air-blown GEK makes<BR>> "producer gas".
Wood gas notes that the carbon source was biomass, though I<BR>> don't
prefer the term. "Syngas" being made with O2 or steam.<BR>> The problem
with the above is it doesn't leave a general catch-all term.<BR>><BR>>
Cheers,<BR>> Bear Kaufmann<BR>> All Power Labs<BR>><BR>>
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clear=all><BR>-- <BR>- Daniel<BR>Fredericton, NB Canada<BR></DIV><BR>
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