4 replies to this topic

[Staska]

Hi, i would like to introduce my idea.

Raw oil - refinery - gas/diesel - engine
Wood - gasifier - woodgas - engine

We can make gasifier to run on green wood, with condenser, god filtration for tar, auger to accept fuel in all size etc. But is similar to putting refinery on once car back.

But, we could also make it as follow : Gasifier at home for heat/electric and charcoal production. In car simple, light gasifier to run on charcoal. Which needs only filter for soot removal and cooler, also it is more stable.

Such system could compete with electric car (i hope) and if we left dual fueling - we get full hybrid, instant start, and could run gasilone for acceleration to go for more than 3000 rpms.. And in such combination, gasifier could be smaller, optimized for cruise speed/power demand and daily covered distance.

Stanislav

[Ben Goldberg]

Turning wood into charcoal at home, then gasification of that charcoal on the road, only reduces the weight of the portable component a little, but mostly eliminates the possibility of refueling away from home.

Also, you wouldn't magically get a higher RPM simply by changing your feedstock -- syngas from charcoal will be a mix of N2 and CO, which will burn at a similar rate to syngas from wood.

[ferball]

The electric car is a boondoogle.  If biomass or gasification had the resources thrown at it that the electric car has we would all by driving wood powered cars.  We try to make our gas fit an existing engine. The reactor science is sound. Wouldn't it make sense to develop an engine that could burn "dirtier" gas to allow for smaller reactor design?  But because it is the backyard mechanic making gassifiers for old pickups we have to settle for messing around with the reactor.  Imagine what GM or Ford  could come up with if you gave the engineering team the fuel specs and said "make me an engine".

[Galad]

what am i missing? why not a gek powering an EV? in therory you could build an F350 Crew Cab that could pull a forty foot trailer at 70mph.

[HarryN]

The challenges for portable applications are substantially higher than for stationary applications, but tend to fall into a couple of categories:
1) Weight of the fuel (improved by using charcoal)
2) Ease of startup (improved by using charcoal)
3) Variable load (improved by using charcoal)
4) Size of the unit / dragging it along
5) Syngas fuel power density (potentially improved by using charcoal)
6) Getting EPA / state law certification

As a practical matter, since syngas is less energy dense, you need a bigger engine for the same power output, or run it at a higher rpm.  This is ok, but it is important to know.

Normally, you might think that an EV is not a good idea for a PU truck, but in the case of a gasifier, it actually solves several problems:

1) It is an EV.  Most states will waive a lot of EPA regulations for someone that runs their vehicle as an EV.  They don't care about range, that is your problem.  This makes getting your vehicle certified / licensed a lot easier.

2) Insurancing your vehicle - "oh, don't mind that fire breathing thing in my truck bed" - I have some doubts.  EV's - yes, they sort of get it.

3) If you now mount your gasifier + genset on a trailer to charge the vehicles battery pack, no one seems to really care about that so much.  It also means that in a pinch, you can use any old generator and charge up the vehicle batteries, even while driving.  It also places the gasifer right next to the genset, so the heat can be more easily coupled together.

4) Variable load smoothing.  Gasifiers and generators like to work under a relatively constant load / operating speed.  If your gasifier + genset is operating on a trailer, then it can just keep on running at normal operating power, even at traffic lights, or while you get a coffee.   The batteries just act as a buffer for this variable load work.

5) Battery qty - this is usually the main issue of EVs, but with a gasifier + genset running, you really only need enough for 5 - 10 miles, which is more reasonable.

6) Maintenance - I would much rather deal with the cost of fixing a trailer mounted genset engine than a nice, EPA regulated vehicle engine.

I didn't come up with this, it was explained to me by a guy that runs this setup, specifically to overcome these issues.  At first I had some doubts, but over time, it made more sense.