[Stoves] Wood chips for syngas energy

[rongretlarson at comcast.net]

Alex: 

1. Thanks for the added information on Nexterra being the actual group (not Johnson Control) behind the South Carolina project. At their site (http://www.nexterra.ca/industry/johnson.cfm) there is no indication of any problems. Do we know if Nexterra should take the blame for most of the down time and the accident? What is the division of responsibility between Nexterra and Johnson for this project? Are any of the other half-dozen Nexterra plants having the same troubles? 

2. Maybe some of the people on this list don't know that your 99% record of being on-line includes your doing a lot to convert from a combustion unit to a pyrolysis unit - making char successfully. Being one of the only people in the world who has made this important shift, can you say anything about the relative difficulties in combustion, gasification and pyrolysis. Are you operating today as a char-maker? 

3. Reading the WUWT (WattsUpWithThat) article makes me more than a little mad. They have clearly shifted into a position where all renewables (the blog entries talk of wind and solar also) are to be slammed at every opportunity. This is in support of a similar position by the extreme right - including many in the majority party in the US House of Representatives. I don't see this as a Tea Party issue but wonder if anyone knows. This is an extension of the WUWT position that there is no global warming issue. They would probably similarly degrade any work of this list on biomass stoves. Their position is probably that all wood stove users should shift to fossil fuels - as being safer and cheaper. 

Ron 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alex English" <english at kingston.net> 
To: "Discussion of biomass cooking stoves" <stoves at lists.bioenergylists.org> 
Sent: Monday, October 10, 2011 6:30:47 AM 
Subject: Re: [Stoves] Wood chips for syngas energy 

Crispin, 
Yes they were supposed to be the beacon for biomass energy. Nexterra is often a featured presenter at Biomass energy conferences. I stopped by their Dockside Green heating plant in Victoria in June. Johnson Controls seemed like a big player that could do thing right. 98 day out of 534 providing steam/heat, ouch. 

It would be nice to see a complete "aircrash investigation" style report on all the problems that goes beyond journalism. I could write one for our wood chip fired heating plant. There are lots of things that do go awry, but we've been online producing all our heat for over 99% of the time. Then again we could blow up tomorrow:) This summer our fuel pile was struck by lightning. 
Stuff happens but there is a strong tendency not to talk openly about it. 

"officials touted plant as the cat's meow" When my cat meows its usually be cause she is stuck up a tree. 

Alex 

On 10/10/2011 12:40 AM, Crispin Pemberton-Pigott wrote: 




Dear Gas-Friendly Friends 



Not quite the result we were expecting: 



1.) The technology: http://www.palletenterprise.com/articledatabase/view.asp?articleID=2841 

2.) The problems: http://www.thestate.com/2011/10/09/2001993/uscs-biomass-plant-debacle.html#ixzz1aKeVXkUU 

3.) The discussion: http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/10/09/green-fail-foia-shows-dangerous-university-biomass-power-plant-frought-with-problems-closures-explosion/#more-48955 



It is a wood gasifier with three chambers. It is not a pyrolyser. It produces ash, not char. 



Regards 

Crispin 









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