Are You a One in a Million?

General Discussion
#101

I always wanted a trailer version:

http://www.wdm.ca/artifact_articles/strawgas.html

http://www.wdm.ca/artifact_articles/strawgas_bts.html

http://brevets-patents.ic.gc.ca/opic-cipo/cpd/eng/patent/170026/summary.html?type=number_search

Time to start cutting and welding ! !

3 Likes
#102

Very cool. I wasnā€™t aware of searchable Canadian patents before your post.

The straw gasifier looks to be modeled around the state of the art systems for making town gas. Very nice to see a specialized, proven system using straw.

For motive purposes the straw fuel is so light and bulky that range would be very compromised, or the hopper would have to be huge. Stationary looks promising.

3 Likes
#103

I will
call itā€¦ The Hindenburg!

4 Likes
#104

It is interesting that they used the retort scheme. I guess the tars condense out. Years ago I did the wood gas bag math and I could get it to work for me, traveling between homesteads. Retort gas should double my mileage. Retort might be the only practical method for weed gas !

1 Like
#105

Will this may seem an odd suggestion . . . but . . .
Since you do have an annual heating need. Have access to all of those round? straw bales . . .
Why do you not first make up one of those whole big round (or large square bale) fueled water boilers for space heating.?
You can see youtubes of these.
You can see made up systems in the Farm Show magazine.
This way you can develop a relationship with the local bale suppliers.
Figure out just how to dry-store and handle these as bought-bulk.
Do this first.
Anything done today; for experiences and learning; save time fumbling in the future.
The cash money saved could be used for a time buying motor fuel.
Then once straw-bale experienced; develop off of that.
Regards
tree-farmer Steve unruh

4 Likes
#106

Those whole bale burners are notoriously bad for emissions, arenā€™t they? In many areas I think it would get shut down by the authorities.

The material investment of the project would be considerable too, a lot of steel to make a shell, a water jacket, and a door to handle round bales. And then space and equipment to deal with the bales, but thereā€™s cross over with other bale pursuits there.

It could quickly get technically fussy, but these seem to me the principles of efficient light weight biomass processing.

The Chinese swirl burner looks dead simple.

1 Like
#107

I believe @Calvin_rader heated with bales for years? I could be wrong.

#108

This fellow is using straw pellets. It appears the rotary motion addresses the slag issue.

A view of the internals of a light material burnerā€¦

#109

Hi Steve, the big bale burners would be way overkill just to heat my house! No need to worry about costs - one thing about me, if I canā€™t get a plan together for well under the cost of just buying new stuff, Iā€™ll find another way to skin that particular catšŸ˜. The hammer mill I acquired was 50.00, it needed a new bearing, some sheet metal work, and a few new hammers. Iā€™ve got less than 150.00 in the whole thing. Iā€™m building a pellet mill from scratch, and itā€™ll just be the cost of the steel and bearings/hardware etc. Maybe 3-400.00 total. I have a design for a self feeding tlud (to make charcoal out of the pellets) that I already have most of the more expensive parts out in the shed. The charcoal gasifier will be standard DOW fare, made from used tanks etcā€¦ cheap.

Iā€™m going to try Oat Straw (Canada is second largest producer of oats in the world so it is everywhere), it is only 3%ash compared to wheat at 7%. Papers I have read on burning Oat straw pellets note near wood-like burning qualities with a fairly high ash melting temperature, and minor clinkering.

If clinker and slag do end up becoming a problem, 1-2% quick lime addition takes care of it with any straw, even wheat. As luck would have it, I canā€™t seem to locate a commercial outlet for quick lime, but I happen to live where limestone is everywhere. Making quicklime is easy as pie if you can generate 1000-1200 deg C, which I think a charcoal fired kiln could easily do. So if I decide I need it, I will try burning lime out back to make quicklime. I already made some with my oxy acetylene torch and it worked great.

At this point, I donā€™t think Iā€™m winging it too much. The pellet making is well documented, and I know what a good pellet is as Iā€™ve been heating with them for years. The mill will have a home heating use even if I donā€™t drive on pellet char. The first clinker/slag test of Oat straw pellets will actually be in my pellet stove :grin:. Everything else Iā€™ve mentioned is based on already proven processes that I will employ in my own way.

4 Likes