After I get my gasifier up and running I am hoping to include in my gasification system , a chip torrification chamber ? the heat from the gas coming out of the gasifier would be contained and controlled inside a settling tank, that would double as a torrification chamber, with a lid, the gas would be contained below and around the torrification chamber, the person feeding the chips in the gasifier would take the chips out of the torrification chamber and fill the gasifier, then add a new batch of chips into the torrification chamber, before getting back into the truck. So that when the next time came to fill the gasifier, there would be a new batch of pre dried super heated chips. Comments please
Hi DaveO.
It will seem to work, but be difficult on a real world distracted/busy operator in use system to control and not turn into a tarry glued up mess that WILL light off and open burn.
Heres why based in trying this.
At first your foodfuel chunks/chips temperatures will remain pretty safely stable below ~200F/98C as the mosture is being evaporated off. The ready made fuel gas straight out of the gasifier you intend to use will be at a minimum of 600-800F/316-427C IF you have a well running gasifier. Under a heavy load pull this can double. Torrification is really just like quick heat sear browning a picece of steak to seal the surfaces ( yes, yes; ideal wood particle torrification browns through and through). You betcha’. You have plenty of temperature and heat energy to do this in a well pulled heated up gasifier. Your fuel drying chamber will have to be open vented to let out all of initial evaporated off water moisture. Once this is gone then your fuel particle temerature will soar above 212F/100C without any more water vaporization phase change energy absorption to keep them below this. Yep chips will start SMOKING and torrifing alright. Same way as we smoke meats. People notice your smoke now real quickly. Cold weather your water vapor steaming previously they would have only thought was smoke. Unless your fuel is pulled out NOW your fuel particle temperatures and smoke gasses temperatures WILL continue to raise. (Steak once seared you move it away from the heat.) If wood fuel NOT removed from the produced gas heat it WILL raise up, hit 451F/233C self ignite with the air available in your open topped and start to burn. Close it up to hold in the smoke and keep out the oxygen and that is where you will get the tar glued up mess. All kinds of work-a-rounds this requiring even more of analready busy vehicle operator’s attention, or elaborate automatic temperature sensing lid or gas diverting mechanisms - both of which will sooner or later fail. And FAIL very un-safe.
What IS stupid simple and safe is to put a fuel warming/drying fuelbin far enough down stream in the cooler/filter train that the fuel particles will NEVER see torrifing temperatures no matter how hard 'n hot the engine will pull your system even in the heat of summer.
DaveO. you will only be able to find this unique “safe place” in your system and your style of operating it AFTER you are up and fully running and really streached it’s legs to see what and where you are getting your temeratures.
Best way to fuel “torrify” IS inside the gasifier so ALL of those nice H’s C’s and O’s released can be internal gasifier fuels.
Let the nerds and geeks chase this torrification rabbit down it’s Alice hole.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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Wayne’s gasifier will handle soaking wet wood as long as the first batch is dry to get the unit up to temp. I drove 200 miles through a tropical storm last summer and the gasifier never quit, we got soaked with 9 inches of rain.