Bio-Mass Gasification System FALL 2015 ET 493: SENIOR DESIGN ADVISORS: DR. MA AND BYRON PATTERSON STUDENTS: ANDREW GILLY AND ANTHONY PERRET

Biomass Gasification System  Model System For Sustainability Center

Background and Recap  Syngas is formed when bio-mass is heated up and broken down  The chemical properties of syngas can combust in an internal combustion engine  The gas must be cleaned and pure  Proposed to burn 10 lbs. of wood pellets to last 1 hour

Initial work  Needed to study fire and combustion  What makes a hot fire?  What makes a fast burning fire?  What makes a clean burning fire?  Needed to study gasification and pyrolysis  How much gas can be produced per volume?  What affects the purity of the gas?  Volume variances of weight.

Focus  Combustion tube  Can’t have too much empty space (requires energy to heat)  Has to fit 10 lbs. of pellets  Moisture content varies  Designed for roughly.75 cubic feet

Focus  Air inlets  Air regulation is key to heat and burn rates  We applied 4 inlet tubes and will regulate with ball (swing) valves  Will analyze further for automation Air Tube Ignition Tube

Focus  Designing a combustion system  Bill of materials for combustion system (Complete)

Focus Now  Do we inject air into system or pull air through the system?  Which will provide the best regulation?  Inject > push air from the outside  Pull > pull a vacuum on the system as the generator would.  How to clean the fuel?  Separator  Uses cyclone motion to remove particles  Scrubber  Plan to use wood chips in an enclosure to push or pull gas through  High surface area will remove smaller particles

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