[Gasification] anaerobicc digester gas for IC engine.

Anand Karve adkarve at gmail.com
Wed Jan 18 22:27:58 CST 2012


Dear Phillip,
I have been running two engines for several years on raw  biogas without
cleaning it. One is attached to an electricity generator and the other one
is attached to our char briquette extruder. Please note that we are not
selling our biogas, but using it privately.
We make our biogas from high calorie food waste and green leaves. It
contains about 60 to 65% methane, about 34 to 40 % carbon dioxide, less
than 1 % H2s and NH3 and some water vapour. When one runs an internal
combustion engine, the air that enters the engine has about 80% nitrogen
and when it is raining outside, the air entering the engine is saturated
with water vapour, as in the case of biogas. The nitrogen, carbondioxide
and water vapour just dilute the fuel gas, but if the mixture contains
enough of the combustible gases, it can be used in an internal combustion
engine.  We are also using producer gas at another location to run an
electricity generator. Even the producer gas, which is used as fuel in this
case, has nitrogen, sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. Just
25 years ago, the world used high sulphur diesel. It did not harm the
engine. The sulphur content in the fuel was reduced out of environmental
considerations. However, the environment need not worry a user of biogas or
producer gas, because if the biomass does not get converted into biogas in
an anaerobic digester, it is going to rot outside the digester, in nature,
and release the sulphur and nitrogen in their oxidised forms  Both wood and
biogas are being used as cooking fuel and they release the substances
mentioned above. If you used a mixture having 97% carbon dioxide and just
3% methane, it won't be possible to run an internal combustion engine on
it. But with biogas and producer gas, one can. Removing the carbon dioxide,
moisture, ammonia and H2S from biogas just adds to the operating cost.
Yours
A.D.Karve
On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 12:41 PM, phillip manske <pdmanske at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi AD,
>
> I'm always suspect of the claim that engines can run well on biogas.
> If that were the case we could cut methane to 99.99% with CO2 and that
> would solve the worlds energy needs just with CO2.  I'm sorry, I'm
> suspect.  IC engines run on fuel, not filler.  Moisture is a classic
> no no.  If you sell that kind of fuel you'd get arrested and sued.
>
> Phillip
>
> On Mon, Jan 16, 2012 at 9:49 PM, Anand Karve <adkarve at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Dear Craig,e of fuie
> > there is no need to clean the biogas. Just as the oxygen entering the
> engine
> > is accompanied by a lot of nitrogen, as well as some moisture, the
> methane
> > is accompanied by carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, ammonia and
> moisture.
> > We have been using the biogas in i.c. engines without cleaning it. Our
> > engines have not been damaged in any way by using the unclean biogas.
> > Yours
> > A.D.Karve
> >
> > On Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 2:23 AM, Craig Kernan <craig at postcollapse.org>
> > wrote:
> >>
> >> Hello,
> >>
> >> Can anyone point me to good technical material addressing the use of gas
> >> from an anaerobic digester  in internal combustion engines.
> >>
> >> A  Gas cleanup for use in IC engines.
> >>
> >> B. Carburetor design issues.
> >>
> >> Interest is primarily for stationary use of small generator and
> automotive
> >>  engines.  (with displacements in the rage of 200cc to 5000cc).
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >>
> >> Craig
> >>
> >>
> >>
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> >
> >
> > --
> > ***
> > Dr. A.D. Karve
> > Trustee & Founder President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute
> (ARTI)
> >
> >
> >
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-- 
***
Dr. A.D. Karve
Trustee & Founder President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)
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