Thermal depolymerization of coal can yield a gas with the equivalent properties of methane as well as a light sweet crude oil. The remainder is a type of metallurgical coke. Any of these products could be used as an economical and environmentally responsible fuel for the power plant. The fuel gathering and transport system now in place could remain as is.
1 Like
So how big of a generator is needed ?
- Level 3: Here, the charger is off-board (meaning the EV’s on-board charger is by-passed and the charging station provides DC voltage directly to the battery via a DC connector, with a maximum power of 400 kW.
In addition to these standards for electric cars and light trucks, an extension to the CCS DCFC standard is being developed for large commercial vehicles. This is being lead by the CharIN Association which developed CCS. It will be called High Power Charging for Commercial Vehicles (HPCCV). HPCCV is expected to operate in the range of 200-1500 Volts and 0-3000 Amps for a theoretical maximum power of 4.5 MW. The proposal calls for HPCCV charge ports to be compatible with existing CCS and HPC chargers
With my system you need a ladder to refuel . It is refueled . I rewired the fuel auger and the grate shaker . Then reattached the wiring for blower motors that then caught on fire . I will use blowers but use power drills to spin them .
Thats why I dont use augers anymore; at least not with chips. Chips are not a good fuel for this application. They are ok for batch run but if you are expecting long run times running a larger generator with out issue it will be difficult.
I had a similar issue where the auger motor jammed on a machine overloaded the circuit and fried the wiring.
Yeah if you have seen my larger systems they all had loading platforms for re fueling them.
1 Like
How would u size the gasifier for this application?
1 Like
I looked for forge blowers and found hand cranks. wood gasifiers also had hand cranks for blowers , you just need them to start . Matt could you produce 250 Kw from ten gen sets ? Would keep someone busy . The 100 Kw was refueled with a front end loader . It just did not work . It had a short operational life ?
1 Like
Saying something about a hundred farm families using wood power to pump water into a reservoir for a 250 Kw turbine . Or you could use DC volt generators capacitors and an inverter .
1 Like
Me no, lol.
However, you could sync the equipment. but after many long conversations with techs direct from Cummins, I would never attempt synchronizing any generator of any size.
If I had it my way I would convert to DC and drive a giant PV system directly from the generators or feed directly into a massive centralized battery storage system. Im not afraid to build this either. Storing what you produce is much easier than trying to feed on demand.
2 Likes
How large of a truck carrying tortified wood has been fueled by tortified wood ?
1 Like
you do not need to sync DC
2 Likes
No its direct current, as long as the AC conversion is isolated between units it should work. Multiple systems for many many reasons are much better than one giant cumbersome machine that will surely break and leave you in the dark.
2 Likes
By 1884, Pearl Street Station was serving 508 customers with 10,164 lamps.[
In some ways Pearl Street was a victim of its own success. Edison’s system created a demand for energy over greater distances, which was very expensive. There was also increasing demand from industry for power in voltages other than the 110 volts used for lighting. The Edison system, which used direct current (DC),
Edison wanted to use a dynamo (today called a generator), a machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy. But no dynamos at that time were powerful enough. To solve this problem, Edison developed the “Jumbo” dynamo, a 27-ton machine that produced 100 kilowatts, enough to power 1200 lights. This was four times the size of any previously available dynamo. A single Jumbo dynamo was first used at the demonstration of the Edison system at the Paris Expo. Six Jumbo dynamos were needed to light up the one square mile of New York City serviced by the Pearl Street plant.
light bulbs themselves cost $1.00 each, a high price in the 1880s.
Has no one picked up on my idea of using escalator braking motors as dynamos ?
I am sure that is what I was given to use . But now what I am finding are treadmill drive motors ?
3 Likes
I have no idea where one would acquire such a thing. Me Ill just buy existing heavy equipment 24 volt HD alternators. I know they will work, I know they are not going to break, everything I could possibly need to make them work is a mouse click away on Amazon or other online resources. I get a knock on the door a box is handed to me and I just go and build it. Build small systems and team them.
Im tired of being challenged. lol
1 Like
Solaron 250 kW Commercial Grid-Tie Inverter
Max Power 250 kW @ 480 VAC 422 to 528 volt three phase
MPPT Window +/- 330 to +/- 600 VDC
Efficiency 97.5% CEC
Peak Efficiency 98.1%
Thermal Envelope Full power up to 50°C (122°F)
Manufacturer Specification Sheets
View FileSOLARON 250 kW Size: (382 KB)
Matt you would need 15 , 24 volt generators to get 360 volt
I have two strings of 48 volt panels 28 total panels
Better to use higher voltage .
If you can provide the power the utility should lend lease the grid tie inverter . If you are not producing power then you are going to pay a lot for the inverter sitting there .
Well, there was the:
All Power Labs “prototype shipping-container-based 100 kW genset running on Minnesota’s plentiful agricultural waste corn cobs.” back in 2012. There should be some data around for that one.
Pete Stanaitis
1 Like
Ahhh!
Here’s a link with some details of that All Power Labs project:
http://www.allpowerlabs.com/category/university-of-minnesota
Pete Stanaitis
2 Likes
If you don’t have a corporate budget and want a worry free source of clean syn gas that is dependable and tar free, use charcoal as your fuel. You won’t need a gasifier, just a semi-sealed container for the burning charcoal and a pipe to route the stack gas to your engine. Charcoal combustion, as you know , produces CO which is flammable. So use it.
Now figure out a way to use the smoke from the charcoal making process. This is also flammable but early in the process it will contain water vapor and tars. Later on it will be pretty clean CO as well.
1 Like
That’s what I am trying to do all along…but this is my thinking…why not run the exhaust gasses from the retort back through the gasifier reduction zone in that way heating the gas up and removing the Tars and vapour?what u can do is split the reduction and combustion zone in 2 and that way u feed the kiln with heat from the gasifier and it’s feedstock and from the one half and the other half u run the exhaust through that and use the gas coming out of that side for the engine that u want to run??does that make sense?if ur lucky enough u can use the gas to feed both sides …gas to the engine and gas to the retort…I guess this is something that has to be tested or if anyone has tried something like it Im all ears
1 Like
Henry, I’m guessing they are getting scarce, and probably very expensive new. Treadmill motors available in myriad scrapheaps near you. 
Thanks to all who have given an illustration of what a 250kW power plant looks like, and what it would take to realistically build and feed it.
Cornstalks/ cobs and soybean hulls/ plant stems near me are chopped up by the combine harvester and sent back to the soil for no-till/ low till agriculture. Nothing is wasted. 
2 Likes