[Gasification] Mr. Williams second visit to Chile.

[doug.williams]

Gasification Colleagues,

Douglas Diaz has just advised you of my visit to Chile to test his new 
gasifier, and conduct the business of licensed technology transfer. I was 
hoping to get the new page up on the Fluidyne Archive this week, showing 
 21 photos taken during this visit, but as you are now asking questions of us both about this project, I have added the text from the web page  that covers a few details. 

While Douglas D, refers to this gasifier as a basic no frills design, it is because he did not spend five years ironing the wrinkles out of the component function, and had the advantage of just building it to the drawings. As expected, some improvisation had to be made for seals, but only the fuel lock seal let us down, so that is likely to be an imported item in future, rather than a complete manufactured lock door, not designed for producer gas. The gasifier itself, is a true gas maker, and the gas can be used for engines or just process heat, the first stage of this project. It's internal workings are the same as all our previous designs, multiple air nozzles, throat and grate, but all set correctly for the fuel.

This whole project in Chile is not to suddenly build gasifiers for any targeted market sector, but to first allow Creapor SA. the company involved, to build up expertise, in both the manufacture, and applied use of producer gas. I have said before to this forum, it can take between 2-5 years to get your whole team up to speed, before taking on the market, that is if it exists. We are planning one year intervals for the modules of technology transfer, beginning with gasification, process heat, then finally power generation. It takes no brains to realize that it take money to finance, and it's going to be a steady as she goes project. The need for gasification is only developing, and nothing is assured.

The price of fire wood is US$0.10/kg, but that is in the main centres and negotiable for quantity. Eucalyptus is grown widely throughout the country, as is native hardwoods, but these I understand grow slower than eucalyptus. They like to grow coppiced poles, about 100-150mm diameter, four to each stump, so in my opinion, this will be one country already prepared for fuelling gasifiers, but as there is no supporting infrastructures in place, developing these have to include various organisations with a vested interest in energy supplies. This takes time, and that fact seems to escape many who think they can suddenly blast their way into any market sector because they sell gasifiers of any sort.

The following is from the yet to be posted text on the Fluidyne Archive, and I will advise you when installed.

Chile Gasification Testing.

When it becomes necessary for producer gas to replace LPG or natural gas in the commercial sector of any country, locally manufactured gasifiers of appropriate design is a major first step. Surprisingly, there are considerable variations in designs of ancillary systems needed from place to place, where the gases are used for a multitude of process heat applications. There is also the need to manufacture with materials that each country can supply and service. 

When Douglas Diaz of Creapor SA. in Santiago Chile requested my assistance to assess gasification in April 2007 ( See, Gasification comes to Chile), I agreed to provide Fluidyne Technology to explore the potential market applications using larger gasifiers. The following photos show some of the activity during my visit April 2008 to test the larger gasifier, which has been given the identification of the "Andes Class", in keeping with the regions for which it has been designed. The gasifier was constructed within a three week period, prior to my arrival.

In the test situation, none of the automation was fitted, although the internal mechanisms were in place, and could be, and were operated manually. This allowed an evaluation to be made to adapt locally available technology to these systems, and to provide operating experience as to why systems can be both beneficial or detrimental to a gasifiers operational reliability. It also enables a manufacturer to be tested on the level of understanding to each module of technology transfer.

When conducting operator training programmes with the gasifier, first the manufacturer, then key company staff, are given a written and practical test, again in modular format, providing a capability to then work without direct supervision regarding the gasification process. Previous experience has proven that gasifiers supplied without training support, is a waste of time and investment to all concerned. 

In providing this project profile, I have taken the opportunity to show how fast wood can turn into charcoal reducing in size, only as it begins to enter the oxidation zone, which in this blown gasifier, is slightly above the air nozzles.  No raw wood should be seen in the oxidation zone, as the amount of endothermic heat needed to drive the gas making process, can only be achieved from a packed charcoal bed.  Many incorrect descriptions exist of this process from wood to charcoal in a downdraft gasifier of this type, so take a minute to appreciate how critical this is to making a tar free gas. At full output of about 300kWt, the flow rate of fuel through this zone is 2kg/minute.

Also tested for the first time (by ourselves), was a ceramic combustion chamber concept of the "Cyclomix Burner", we developed for producer gas application. It was sized at only 25% of the gas output, so use your imagination to see four of these blocks all burning at the same time. The ceramic component concept is not new, but is an area of expertise that this company can add, providing a wider application for producer gas heating. This was only a test of concept, which considering the gas had no dust cleaning systems, burnt very cleanly without odour or smoke during the testing. Smoke does appear when producer gas is combusted, where high levels of CO2 are in the gas before combustion.

Of special mention, the fuel wood preparation. It was an excellent use of my time to cut the wood blocks for these tests, having manually cut many tonnes during the last 32 years. It is not a waste of time where rural jobs are few, and incomes are desperately needed, and cut dry wood becomes a valuable local resource for supply to gasified installations. Fuel wood chips specifically appropriate for gasifiers do not exist in the wider context of wood chipping, and is an ongoing priority in the work that I am associated. 

The company Creapor SA. also manufacture hot water boiler heating systems, for which  they have an active development programme, as well as an assembly line for popular sizes. They have allowed me to show you a couple of photos during factory testing, which was interesting for me to see a real gasifying type combustion process in application.

Doug Williams.
May 2008.