[Gasification] mycoremediation of tarry water

Kevin C kchisholm at ca.inter.net
Fri Feb 1 22:50:44 CST 2013



> Dear Stuart
>
>
>
> Quoting stuart mather <kneebraceboy at yahoo.com.au>:
>
>> Kevin
>> Years ago, while I was in the Navy, during a tour of the engine  
>> room of a warship, one of the turbine boiler engineers warned us  
>> that if we encountered even a tiny high pressure/temp leak  
>> somewhere in the steam plumbing, we wouldn't see it, but it would  
>> instantly slice cleanly through whatever body part got in the way..  
>> I'd forgotten about how dangerous steam can be. Clearly not an  
>> option for small scale set ups, although a small steam engine with  
>> a professionally designed boiler with multiple fail safe features  
>> probably warrants further consideration. But you obviously wouldn't  
>> be building one yourself.
>
> # "Backyard Builders" have built and successfully AND safely  
> operated gasifiers and engines.
>
>  Whereas once the tar issue is addressed in an
>> environmentally responsible way, the opportunities to lose life and  
>> limb would seem less with a gasifier/ICE approach to using biomass,  
>> and is a tinkerers dream.
>
> # Yes, indeed!
>
>> One further question, If the tars stay in  biochar from low temp BM  
>> pyrolysis, and the soil bacteria/myccorhizal fungi deal with them,  
>> (are even beneficial I thought), why is the tarry water from a  
>> gasifier scrubber such an environmental hazard?
>
> # Tars in biochar are different from the tars in producer gas, and  
> additionally, their concentration in soil is probably very much less  
> than the concentration that would be seen at a "blackwater dump  
> site." While "blackwater tars" are bad for direct contact or  
> consumption by people, they may not do significant environmental  
> harm if disposed in a reasonably dispersed manner. While I have not  
> seen a report showing that blackwater disposal is harmful to the  
> environment, I have not seen one that says it is not harmful either.  
> However, a competent Gasifier Operator sent me pictures of his  
> blackwater dump site a few years after he stopped dumping blackwater  
> there, and the plants growing there seemed just as vigorous and  
> healthy as nearby plants outside teh dump zone.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Kevin
>> Stuart.
>>
>>
>> ________________________________
>> From: Kevin <kchisholm at ca.inter.net>
>> To: Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and gasification  
>> <gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org>
>> Sent: Saturday, 2 February 2013 6:22 AM
>> Subject: Re: [Gasification] mycoremediation of tarry water
>>
>>
>>
>> Dear Tom
>>  
>> Certainly, what you say could be true for 2 MW and larger
>> facilities that have the technical and economic economies of scale.
>>  
>> Smaller gasifier and engine systems can deliver 1 HP for a
>> heat rate of about 16,000 BTU/hp-hr. If powering a generator, this is a heat
>> rate of about 24,000 BTU/kw-hr. I would doubt that small scale steam or ORC
>> plants could meet this heat rate.
>>  
>> Small gasification plants can be operated safely with a
>> conscientious Operator, having very basic training. Steam power  
>> plants of any
>> significant size and pressure, usually Stationary Engineers as  
>> Operators. With
>> smaller steam Plants, the Operating labour Cost can be very
>> significant.
>>  
>> Best wishes,
>>  
>> Kevin.  
>
>






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