[Gasification] mycoremediation of tarry water

[Mark Ludlow]

Dear Pete,

 

Oh that it were true! Mix a molar equivalent of H2 with ½
mole of O2 and give it a spark. (Hopefully from a safe
distance!) Filling balloons with this mixture (apportioning
by measuring the approximated spherical diameter and
computing volume) and sending them aloft with a sprig of lit
cannon fuse in the rubber-banded neck of the balloon, was
worth a nice clap of thunder when they exploded 50’ off the
ground. Lots of energy released. (and a bit of water
formed). Going the other direction and changing that bit of
water into its elemental ingredients takes at least as much
energy. Meaning: a lot! I could mention how much but it’s
sometimes difficult to relate to Joules or BTUs. 350C is
hardly squat on the absolute (Kelvin) temperature scale.
When some guy (almost always in Florida!) wants to sell you
plans for a carburetor for running your car on “Oxygen
Dihydride” just politely decline. It’s not going to happen.

 

If it sounds too good to be true


 

Mark

 

From: Gasification
[mailto:gasification-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On
Behalf Of Pete & Sheri
Sent: Monday, February 4, 2013 11:51 AM
To: 'doug.williams'; 'Discussion of biomass pyrolysis and
gasification'
Subject: Re: [Gasification] mycoremediation of tarry water

 

I probably  have no business asking entering into this
discussion since I am neither a chemist nor a physicist,
but---

Over the last several months I have been trying to learn the
“truth” about the dissociation of the water in my wood chips
into Hydrogen and oxygen.  I had previously read someplace
that it was a pretty simple process.  You just heat water to
somewhere above 350 degrees C and there you go.

  Well, lately I have become quite disconcerted as I have
read that there are so many other factors that can be
involved, that it’s anybody’s guess as to whether it will
happen at all.   

Some of the variables:

Pressure

Temperature (obviously)

Residence time

Presence or absence of carbon and form of that carbon.  And,
apparently, the availability of carbon from other molecules.

And apparently, the list goes on and on.

 

So what is an ordinary human with a stratified downdraft
gasifier to do to reliably  pry enough hydrogen out of the
process to make it worth doing?

 

Pete Stanaitis

----------------

 

 

 

From: Gasification
[mailto:gasification-bounces at lists.bioenergylists.org] On
Behalf Of doug.williams
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2013 11:26 AM
To: Arnt Karlsen; gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org
<mailto:gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org> 
Subject: Re: [Gasification] mycoremediation of tarry water

 


Hi Arnt,

 

You ask:


> ..quick question: H2 needs how much longer dwell time than
CO?

 

For many years I was locked into H2  formation as only a
temperature dependant disassociation, but this has been
shown to be incorrect by the continuous gas analysis we have
been able to use for the development programme in
California. As we increased the output over a range of bed
depths, H2 dropped, while CO tended to increase. You could
always find a sweet spot for a chosen depth, but H2
formation lagged if you pulled harder.

 

If you increase the bed depths to increase the contact/dwell
time, even by say 25mm, the H2 will increase, but then so
does bed resistances. Time taken has to be nano seconds, but
as you have discovered, a good sneeze can help maintain the
bed porosity(:-)

 

There are many ways to skin this cat, but the basics remain
the same based on the experience so far. It would be great
if gas was only made at a fixed output, then variations of
every type could be controlled.

 

Doug Williams,

Fluidyne------

 

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