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What is your experience with gasification?

Built small campstove type and now want to build a larger one to burn the pellets we make and generate electricity. Also would like to find an efficient way to dry materials to be pelletized.

Do you have a website?

http://www.nighthawkmfg.com

What are your goals with gasification?

home power, investment, commercial

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At 9:03pm on June 10, 2010, DAVID ORRELL said…: HI DAVID, AS TO MY REFACTORY MATERIAL. I AM GOING TO TRY TO INSULATE BETWEEN THE COMBUSTIAN CHAMBER AND THE OUTSIDE. IT WILL BE A DOUBLE LAYER. ONE LAYER AROUND THE COMBUSTIAN WALL. AND ONE LAYER BETWEEN THE OUTSIDE WALL AND THE INNER LINER. MY OTHER GASIFIER WAS TOO THIN METAL AND NO INSULATION. I DECIDED TO BUILD IT WITH HEAVIER METAL AND INSULATE IT. DAVE

At 9:00pm on June 4, 2010, Larry Dobson said…: Hi David,
I feel handicapped answering your question without being able to read it ~ blog software request Ben ~ I get confused with this interface. Howcome David's question doesn't show up as the latest in this thread? Is this a private message David? Enough computer questions.
1200F slagging temp is a real challenge. In my Vaagner prototype, I gasified/burned alfalfa pellets, which formed a light crust that prevented the ash from falling through the grate without mechanical poking. I don't know what temperature the ash formed, but I suspect in order to burn your corn stover pellets, you will need to precisely balance minimal combustion in the gasifier while providing just enough heat to satisfy the endothermic chemical breakdown sequence between flame and the final water-gas reaction. From my experience that involves full computer control of variables such as gasification air temperature, volume and density of fuel-air path, ash-buildup, temperature difference between combustion and woodgas exit, perhaps refined by a recipe for fuel type. Theoretically it's possible to keep those low-temperature slagging fuels from being a problem, but it will be tricky to optimize the gas for an IC engine, which hates tars produced at those low temperatures, whereas a close-coupled combustor loves the red-hot hydrocarbon soup, when properly mixed with the right amount of air.
But I'm still a beginner in this field, and every new experiment brings new insights. I'll give a report on our pending tests. Maybe you can send us some fuel pellets to test?
I think you're right about the Stirling engine being much less bang for the buck compared with a tried-and-true IC engine. I'm waiting for thermovoltaic chips to come down drastically in price, like photovoltaic chips have. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a totally silent generator?

At 6:34pm on March 21, 2010, paul czarnecki said…: hi david--well its pretty simple my air intake is right above the ash cleanout door --goes straight in elbows up through the grate -stops about 3 inches from the top of the hearth and i made a hood like a raincap roof vent set 1 1/2 inches above the pipe the air is preheated because the pipe goes straight up through the ash and reduction zone--the trick is fabricating a shaker grate--i made one that rotates when you pull the handle-the hole in the center makes it a tough design also my lighting tube is 1/2 threaded steel pipe and comes in at an angle right above the air tube and can be uncapped to use as an extra air jet if need be i have pics on my page of a fema unit i modified that was the prototype for this one--i also use 12 inch clay flower pots cut the bottom out and its a perfect 6 inch hearth then i concrete it in--takes awhile to heat up but also holds the heat along time---paul

At 6:16pm on March 4, 2010, DAVID ORRELL said…: (CONTINUED ) SO I WANT TO SEE IF I CAN LOWER MY DUMP BILL. AND ALSO MY FUEL BILL. AS TO YOUR QUESTION ABOUT WHY MOST OF US ARE BUILDING GASIFIERS THAT HAVE A COMPLICATED HEARTH ? BEN IS OUR HERO AND WE ARE MOSTLY ROOKIES AT GASIFICATION. SO WE USE BEN,S DESIGN. I KNOW THAT THERE ARE MORE SIMPLE DESIGNS BUT THEY DO NOT CONTROL THE FUEL BURN RATE AS WELL I THINK ? DAVE ORRELL

At 6:05pm on March 4, 2010, DAVID ORRELL said…: HI DAVID, I LIKE YOUR PAGE , YOUR PICTURES ARE VERY INTERESTING , I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT WOOD PELLETS, AND OTHER THINGS IN YOUR PICTURES. I WILL ASK LATER. I WILL BE FIRING UP MY FIRST GASIFIER SOON. I NEED ABOUT 12 TO 16 HRS, TO GET IT READY TO GO. AS YOU CAN SEE BY MY PAGE WE HAVE A SMALL FAMILY BUISNESS, WE GET A HUGE AMOUNT OF SCRAP WOOD IN OUR DUMPSTERS. WE GOT A NOTICE FROM THE LANDFILL THAT THEY ARE GOING TO ALMOST DOUBLE OUR DUMP RATE APRIL 1ST