Date: 2009/09/23

Purpose

This is a continuing series of tests to explore the relationships between tar production and various critical measurements in the reactor.  The goal is to be able to use temp and pressure readings for gasifier diagnostics and establish a formal set of "conditions needed" for clean gas production.  Our hypothesis is that we can most accurately correlate tar production with temps maintained at the reduction restriction, which approximately measures how well x temp has spread and filled the hearth area for tar cracking.

This run used the same tar testing methodology and pressure setpoint experimental design as used on the Instrumented Walnut Shell Run 082409.

Results from the tar testing will be posted shortly.

The primary change in this run was a switch to wood pellets.

Other tests in this series are linked to from the GEK User Pages and Run Reports page.

Methods

This run was intended to repeat the same conditions and method of the 08/24/09 run with wood pellets. For this run the short auger/drying bucket design was used (the auger remained strictly for reactor filling, the cowling gas->drying bucket pathway was not connected).

Diagram

Diagram of the experimental setup. Not shown: Tar fence, fuel detect "plunger". Not to scale.

Fuel

Wood Pellets

• bulk density:  656 kg/m3 (1 1L sample)
• void space: 42% (water in 600 mL vessel)
• moisture content: 8.9% dry basis, 8.2% wet basis (first two bags, after one day open to air)
  • 5.9%  dry basis, 5.5% wet basis newly opened (first two bags). A new third bag was added after 160 mins, presumably at this MC.

Start Up

Experimental Run

Tar Sampling

Results

Fuel and Air Mass Flow

Critical Temperatures

Reactor Flows

Reactor Vacuum

Contour Plot of Vertical Temperature Distribution with Time

Reactor Conditions

Fuel detect plunger worked automatically with pellets. Increased auger run time occurs at higher flow rates.

Measured Tar Correlations with Reactor Conditions

(pending)