Basically the lignin breaks down to stuff like creosote, then you want to crack the creosote. but noteably the creosote breaks down at a higher temp.
Honestly, you don’t have to do it in the reactor, you could condense off the liquid off the retort. Then you might be able to add it back in the char burning process, kind of like an oil drip. It allows for control over the process. So you aren’t overloading a cold char bed with tars that can escape.
Here we go… These guys are pyrolizing some stuff and are getting improvements in their bio-oil by using a zeolite catalyst zsm-5, and they are using a bed of it outside the pyrolysis zone and upgrading the gases.
Good stuff Sean. I researched that zeolite catalyst a bit. It sounds quite robust so it should last a good long time. ZSM-5 isn’t terribly exotic or expensive. I found sources (mostly China of course) around $10-30 per kilogram and available by the kilo. Much cheaper by the ton though…. Group buy?
It looks like ZSM-5 is a combination of silicon and aluminum oxide.
Not that anyone syntesize it, the zsm-5 synthesis procedure is outlined in this, and the paper is actually about adding nickel to it. Not that anyone is actually going to try, but it might be interesting to someone.
Wow… so can we be sure that lignins are getting cracked at all in a wood gasifier? Or do they just get converted to water, CO2, and tar, and then caught in filters and/or tar tanks, condensate tanks, and the engine? If that is the case, all wood gassers are actually charcoal gassers after all. They’re just dealing with the tar on the road instead of in the charcoal kiln. This is probably no surprise to most people here, but I’m a slow learner…
If you wanna get really technical, a charcoal gasifier uses incoming CO2 and H2O in moisture and atmospheric air to turn into CO and Hydrogen via incomplete burn. The gasifier has to rob Oxygen molecules so it ends up with a potent gas as byproduct because it’s consumed all the oxygen it can.
A wood gasifier has its own built in stuff to break down and convert, but has to have charcoal to break it down. Luckily a downdraft wood gasifier makes it’s own “catalyst” for lack of a better term in my vocabulary.
Cody, I’m impressed how fast you’ve picked things up. Not only about theory of gasification, but about other member’s experiences, ashievments, tips and tricks. Did you lurk around reading a lot already prior to joining DOW?
Cody it is just a bit more than retaining information.
It is categorizing that information. Each new info bit ran by all previous bits for fit and placement. Trying every which way for fitness. Once found . . .
Now. Do it again, to be certain that is the best fit placement.
Then do it a third time just 'cause that’s what the brain demands.
Encyclopedic memory.
Frustrating ain’t it when your brain will not let you sleep peacefully with bliss . . .
Always demanding like the man eating plant in that movie, “Seymore! Feed me! Feed me! Feeeed Meeee!!”
I read data chart sets to get to sleep. Eat and digest that, stupid brain. Sigh. And awakened with a graph patterns.
S.U.
First part is combustion, this provides process heat input
Second part is converting solids to gasses and vapours
Third part converts vapours and inert gasses into combustible products
I break it up into different parts based essentially based on boiling points or heat zones, then add in some overlapping cracking zones because you need the hot temps to crack the lignins, and then tars unless you have a catalyst which should lower the amount of heat needed. Not quite as simplistic.
Consider an experiment taking two identical batches of raw wood, running a pine tar retort with one, then a wood gasifier with the other, and capturing and comparing the amount of wood vinegar and tar from each. This would prove something about how much cracking realistically happens in a wood gasifier.
I’m also currently working on a “utility” gasifier to operate in several modes: tar-wood-vinegar-charcoal production, charcoal-gasification for running engines, and raw-wood-gasification for running / gumming-up engines. Video(s) coming eventually.
I’m fascinated with wood vinegar as a natural(?) product to use in gardening, and pine tar as a glue and/or sealant in primitive boat building.
Hi, if you’re interested about wood vinegar, and pine tar, you should really consider make a little retort just for the purpose, easy to make and easy to operate.
Here’s a pic of my latest “tar retort” on the pic’s the wood vinegar/turpentine condenser is missing, i can post a drawing if interest?
Here’s a drawing of the one im currently using, it has two “fire channels” with dampers, this is for heating the top first, to simulate the old time way to make tar, gives light-brown to dark brown tar. Whole contraption is insulated with rockwool, saves a lot of heating wood.
This is my turpentine condenser, cooling hopper can be made of 2 small drums welded on each other. “Uncondensable” gasses like co can be routed to the firebox, to save fuel, or burned to avoid the smoke.
This is a easy to make tar retort, popular for small batches, could be build in a lot of ways, a convex side part from a big water tank makes a good bottom part. For the barrel i’ve used from 10liters metal buckets up to 200liter drums. This can be improvised in many ways.
This is how it was made long time ago, to make small batches for household purpose. The pot used was often a cast iron pot for heating/boiling laundry, if these where cracked, not holding water, they could serve this purpose, cracks sealed with clay.
Hi Sean, the liquids are very useful, finding new purposes all the time, tar is a very good protection for wood, fence posts, poles, wooden boats, poles for bridges, the hunters buy it to use to attract wild boars, many wild animals like to scratch themselves against three’s painted with tar, (the smell seem’s to keep mosquitos, woodticks and away)
It’s also good to “seal” stuff up.
For the pine turpentine i just started investigation its uses, more than dilute tar.
Im interested to see if it’s useful as some kind of motor fuel, more about that later.
