Just thinking how well charcoal powder pressed intoo pellots would work, Or if other carbon powder could add miles per pound, without makeing fire works.? Or if high presure charco pellots weight much more than regular hard wood charco. per hopper space.
What would you use as a binder?
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Hi Tom i just woundered if it could be turned into a brisket sise peice, and or if the weight density could be improved enough too merrit the extra cost of compessing energy. That i was wondering if or what would work as binders. they use up too 2 % corn starch in the makeing of black powder with cooky sise pellots. In order too bind charco in a press for grainulateing higher power gun powder. so without the other chemicles the charco might bind ok, then the powder charco could be compressed too make denser, better miles per hoper load.Probley have too change charco size too get the same BTU per engine rpm balance if the dencity changed enough, probley not able too gain much dencity. Coal is much heavyer than charco, though its too tarry stinking too use on the road, not sure what could add too charco too make more dence and still be bio fuel, non petrolium powered.
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I have used white rice as a binder , i grind the rice into flour and then boil it in water and the pour some over charcoal dust till its firm enough to hold a shape then squeeze out water and allow to dry in the sun or next to the wood stove on a rack , just to make charcoal briquets for the BBQ works well , next time i do a batch i may try some in the gasifier if i can make a smaller molds for the shape .
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Thanks dave & brian, the guy i talked too about grainulateing his own gun powder, said he cooked the corn starch in oven at 300 f range, about a half hour ,until it changed color too around the ornge color.then mixed it with his powder charco too ball mill, then i think he ball milled the potasium nitraits seperate. then mixed all the air floated powders too gether after all the heavy ball milling was done seperate, too reduce any risk of ignition while ball milling.
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Ball milling gunpowder isnt a problem as long as you use lead balls. But the roasting starch part is true. The product is called dextrine. However its worth mentioning that this homemade gun powder granulating will not compress the granules, the gunpowder is way bulkyer thain bought stuff. It will take more volume per charge but will give more power per weight and burns faster thain store bought.
As for pelleting charcoal. Thats one thing l am planing to invest some time in in the future. I tryed pressing it with a press a while back and from the top of my head i think l got it 3 times denser thain raw charcoal.
The problem thugh is the binder. Any binder added to charcoal will cause problems in a updraft gasifier. I gumed up my mopeds engine after just one hopper of briquetes, probably a few % starch.
Downdraft is a different thing! Shuld work great.
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Woudnt it make more sense to pellet it in raw wood form first than convert to char pellets? From my experience converting pellets to charpellets is: it is very efficient and fast. So that may outweigh the grinding the wood and pelleting process of raw wood form.
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Kinda defeats the purpose doesent it?
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Tanks for info on compresing density gains,and the binder name.I gess it might be only Tgood as gun powder then if its taring up motor. He is useing a 5 ton press , with 2" bar and 2" id tube 3/4 " thick walled aluminum for no sparks pressing.Looked about 1/4" thick cookies. then he chops up in bowl too strain out of 30 mesh screen, for grain sizeing. sayd works better than store bought and only use about 20 grains per cylinder pocket.
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Oh, l missed the compressing part. Here usualy the powder is moistened slightly and passed trugh a strainer. Mskes bulky but exremely fast black powder.
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Thanks i think i try that method first then, sounds like good enough. if the gas preasure is higher though would have too try the compressed, dryed,choped ,diced,seived later, as a fun test project.yes moist with water or alcohaul too puddy damp no powders. Its all new too me, i would rather know how make own powder than buy buy buy.
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It depends what the end goal is…
Denser charcoal would require a different combustion design size and shape to have the same gas quality/quantity output .
This has to do with the surface area, surface reaction of the fuel within a certain time frame…
The glowing carbon surface reacts with any substance having an O in its Chemical formula…
For energy transportation, big industry, it makes sense, no doubt…
But for purposes as ours ?
my2Cts
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Thanks Koen you probley right, i am likely just dreaming of a miricle engine fuel charcoal, when we dont have too refill every 50 miles, as is with my pine burning gasifier. no cheap hard wood in my area, other than large stump type notty logs.
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Hi Kevin,
Ever considered to distill terpentine to replace fossil dyno juice ?
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Good Morning KevinR,
I’ve lost track of which pickup you settled on to woodgas? You’d had an old Dodge; then a Chevy 2500 . . . . then a Dodge V-10??
Could be your range solution is to use a smaller, lighter, more fuel thrifty vehicle.
Ha! One of the big reasons I never did any of my full size pickup trucks. Seeing others wood fuel consumptions I knew I no longer had it in me to feed another wood fuel hog.
Look at what the small pickup guys are doing.
Always be the tree/mill scraps-to-chunks → direct into the gasifier that will be the most direct way to do it. Even with low density softwoods.
Ha! Ha! Gunpower, you get a hundred or more shots per pound. Doable. Hand scale.
A Pound of compressed char in any form only get you, what . . . a mile; mile 'n half? Big scale difference man.
Why KVL said that is big scale stuff to do for vehicle fuel.
Regards
Steve unruh
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Thanks for reply steve, i recon you right the charco compressing thoughts, only worth it on a LARGE skale. My first wood gas was my 2500 85 chevy, then a 4.3 s10 1985 both carbed ,allso the motor i put in both my chevy trucks had mechanicle ishues be for they were wood gased. motors still run good just electrical problems, and i seldom keep vehicles more than few years. Anyway i agree a little tiny car on charco or even dryed wood chunks would eas up on the wood cosumption, I go through 6 or 8 trailer loads 4’ tall 7’ wide 16’ long, every year. slab pine and cotton wood.
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I did blow a head gasket on my s10, though when i installed the gaskets , there was a small scrape on the new gasket, and i tryed useing the gold head gasket spray, that why the head gasket bubble the radiator, before i junked it, since it had picked up a electricle harnis problem. last fall i found a 318 dakota, I am actualy planing too build a Wayne keith gasifier on the dakota this spring , sooner the better.My s10 gasifier i am planning on building a wood gas 4 or 6 cyl generator big enough too run a plasma and mig welder. probley 15 kw for extra reserve temps.
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I have read that if the charcoal powder is compressed with enough pressure then there is no need for a binder. Of course that would mean a specialized piece of machinery.
Why not turn the problem on its head and try and build a gasifier that is fueled by pulverized charcoal?
Matt linked this site for me. I imagine most of you have seen it but it was the first time I heard of Entrained Bed gasification.
Seems to be injecting a charcoal slurry with oxygen. Probably useless to a DOWer but may be a way to use powdered charcoal as a useable fuel.