[Gasification] Gasification Digest, Vol 17, Issue 10Re: anaerobicc digester gas for IC engine

[Anand Karve]

Dear David,
I do not have day-to-day experience because it is my colleagues at our
research and training centre at Phaltan (about 100 km from Pune), who
operate these systems. So far there have not been any complaints about
extra cost of maintenance. And even if the cost were to be higher, it would
be offset by the saving in the fuel cost. We produce our own biogas from
the food waste generated in our own hostel and from green leaves plucked
from the trees on the campus. Therefore, biogas is free of cost.
Yours
A.D.Karve
On Fri, Jan 20, 2012 at 8:05 AM, David Coote <dccoote at mira.net> wrote:

> Hi Anand,
>
> How do you find engine maintenance requirements running on biogas as
> against running on diesel?
>
> Thanks
>
> David
>
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:27:58 +0800
> From: Anand Karve<adkarve at gmail.com>
> To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification
>        <gasification at lists.**bioenergylists.org<gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org>
> >
> Subject: Re: [Gasification] anaerobicc digester gas for IC engine.
> Message-ID:
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>
> 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
>
>
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-- 
***
Dr. A.D. Karve
Trustee & Founder President, Appropriate Rural Technology Institute (ARTI)
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