[Stoves] Sasol Fixed Bed Dry Bottom Gasification Technology

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear AD

 

>I saw a demonstration in which water vapour was allowed to emerge within a
section of a red hot piece of iron tubing. The water dissociated, with the
oxygen combining with the iron to form iron oxide and the hydrogen burning
with a nice blue flame. 

So it was burning the iron in an exothermic reaction and the net effect was
to cook on the overall difference between the initial unreacted iron and the
final rusted material. Very interesting.

One can make a cutting torch from steel pipe and thin bars (or wire) when
there is nothing around to use as a suitable burnable gas (acetylene etc).
It uses O2 in a cylinder connected to a 6 metre long, 25mm diameter pipe.
You fill the pipe with iron wire or thin bars as full as you can - packed
full and looking like a wire cable. Connect the O2 tank to one end using a
hose. Then heat the other end of the pipe in a fire until it is red hot
(like a wood fire or blow torch or anything else). Then place the open end
near the steel plate you want to cut (for example a 2 inch thick plate).
Then turn on the Oxygen flow. 

The results is a massive cutting torch flame that slowly consumes the pipe
and the rods at the open end. It can be manipulated to cut steel plate using
the O2 flow in the same manner as a standard cutting torch (which burns the
hole in the steel and pushes some of the molten metal out of the way in a
spray). But basically a cutting torch is an iron-powered flame.

I have never heard of using the H2 in water to achieve the same thing. You
have to get it hot first of course. It is an interesting use for scrap
metal.. "Bring over some bolts, I want to cook dinner."

Iron filings can be dangerously combustible in a high O2 environment.

Regards

Crispin

 

The burning hydrogen kept the piece of iron tubing hot, so that this
hydrogen burner continued to burn for a few hours till the cooking was over.
Some time ago, somebody mentioned that sulphur dioxide from unpurified
biogas caused corrosion of the burners. It might as well be that the water
vapour in the biogas was the culprit and not the sulphur dioxide. 

As regards testing the cause of enhanced growth of plants within a plastic
skirting, on should surround the plants with a skirting of plastic film,
which leaves a gap of a few centimeters between the plastic film and the
ground. Carbon dioxide, being heavier than air would accumulate near the
ground and flow away like water through this gap. If the plants grew well in
spite of a skirt that does not reach all the way down to the ground, then it
is the static electricity that is doing the trick and not the carbon
dioxide.  

Yours

A.D.Karve

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