Grantee Research Project Results

Final Report: Biomass Gasification for Agricultural Energy Sources and Soil Enrichment

EPA Grant Number: SU834750
Title: Biomass Gasification for Agricultural Energy Sources and Soil Enrichment
Investigators: Domermuth, David , Uchal, Michael J. , Hobbs, Zach , Urban, Eric J. , Law, Daniel Allen , Labowitz, Ethan , Williams, Landon , Flynt, Asher , Kinsey, Heather , Sink, Sam , Gardner, Benjamin , Reily, Paul , Brundage, Sebastian , Abernathy, Landon , Hackler, Justin , Butler, Virginia , Leon, Andrew , Wallach, Hannah , Dupont, Sophie , Harper, Miranda
Institution: Appalachian State University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: II
Project Period: August 15, 2010 through August 14, 2012
Project Amount: $74,999
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2010) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , P3 Challenge Area - Sustainable and Healthy Communities , Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Objective:

The goal of the Biomass Gasification project is to design and develop an affordable Combined Heat, Power, and Biochar (CHPB) system that uses agricultural byproducts, such as woodchips and pelletized grasses, as fuel to produce electricity, heat, and soil enrichment for small‐scale crop production in greenhouses during cold months. Such a system can allow farmers to connect to the power grid, thereby providing an additional revenue stream from the production of electricity. The farmer can also recover the heat generated by the system and use it to create an efficient growing environment within a greenhouse. During the process of producing usable gas from biomass, a biochar substance, or soil enriching byproduct, is left behind and can potentially be used as a sustainable substitute for fertilizer.

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

The results to date are extensive: This project began with the technology of gasification at its core. It took the first two years to discover that gasification is too complicated and won't produce biochar satisfactorily. A turning point occurred at a Biomass conference with the discovery that pyrolosis oil could be of value. This lead to the development of a different process for achieving the same results; instead of using gasification the research team shifted to the retort method for producing biochar and fuel gas. The process, called BioVolatilization, or BV, has been developed to the point of implementation testing and the new core technology for additional funding. A test facility has been constructed and a tenth generation BV system is being installed. This project has produced numerous spin off research avenues including community wellness, community food, water purification, and a concept called the Nexus; that serves as an umbrella to foster many companion technologies. All of which will be made available to communities; where they can encourage people to take better care of the planet and be prosperous.

Conclusions:

Analysis of the BV system is a classical, applied chemical engineering application/problem; calculating the energy and mass balance to determine the operating efficiency. Two systems have been built and tested. BV1, for one gallon reactor, worked fine and proved that such a system was possible. The second system, BV30 was modeled after BV1 and performed adequately. BV30 included a furnace and barrels for condenser/heat exchangers. The output gas was almost smoke free. The first barrel warmed up but still condensed most all of the creosote while the second barrel remained cool. The flash back arrestor did its job, no explosions. Less gas was produced then expected but analysis of the reacted wood showed a lack of heat. The system was operated for one hour during which time it charred three pounds of wood, much less than expected. The next version will use more heat and an insulated furnace. This should produce the gas flow required to operate an internal combustion engine. The goal is production of sufficient gas to operate a genset. The input was about 50,000 BTU with about 8,000 BTU of gas produced and a pound of creosote. The next step is to redesign and run a measured test of mass change, temperatures, and gas output. A simple model will be used to create an equation around the parameters of, temperatures, inputs and outputs, to determine the energy and mass changes. This will lead to economic feasibility studies, return on investment calculations and hopefully implementation plans.

References:

[1] Voegele, Erin, KiOR completes construction of Miss. Cellulosic biofuel plant, biomassmagazine.com,

May 22, 2012

[2] Corsi, Jerome, Black-gold blues, $1 billion a day for foreign oil, WND, 11-12-2007

[3] Gaunt, John, Low-temperature slow pyrolysis offers an energetically efficient strategy for bioenergy

production, http://biocharfarms.org/biochar_production_energy/, 2010, NJ

[4] Nordhaus, William , A Question of Balance - Weighing the Options on Global Warming Policies, Yale

University Press, 2008, CT

[5] Domermuth, David, Biomass Gasification and Char production, ASEE-SE, Conference proceedings, 2011

[6] Meyer, Meyer, Biochar a Survey, http://www.lupus78.de/projekte/uni/Biochar.pdf, Tampere University of

Technology, Finland, 2009

[7] THE SOCIETY OF BIOCHAR INITIATIVES, http://www.biocharsoc.org, 2010

[8] Reynolds, Joseph , Renewable Energy Without Greenhouse Gases, http://www.suite101.com, 2010

[9] http://www.btgworld.com/index.php?id=23&rid=8&r=rd, BTG Biomass Technology Group, 7500

AV Enschede, The Netherlands, 2011

[10] Hatheway, Allen, Doyle, Briget, Technical history of the town gas plants of the British Isles,

http://www.hatheway.net/Downloads/2006_IAEG_UK_FMGP_technicial_history.pdf, 2011

[11] http://www.biggreenenergy.com/Default.aspx?tabid=2887, Biomass Gas & Electric, LLC, Norcross,

Ga., 2011

[12] Pyrolysis of Biomass, http://www.habmigern2003.info/biogas/Pyrolysis.htm, madur.com, 2011

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 4 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

gasification, biocrude, bio volatilization, pyrolysis, renewable energy, biochar.

Relevant Websites:

Bio-Char, Bio-Oil & Syngas from Wood Pyrolysis Exit

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2011 Progress Report

P3 Phase I:

Biomass Gasification for Agricultural Energy Sources and Soil Enrichment  | Final Report