[Terrapreta] Char made made under pressurized conditions?

[Michael Antal]

Greg H: I never received a request for reprints from you.  In my next
message to you I will attach several technical reprints.  All these reprints
are also freely available to you (and other terra preta researchers) in the
nearest University library.  After you study these reprints, if you desire
reprints of other technical papers that I have authored, please identify the
particular reprint that interests you and I will send it to you.  You may
also wish to visit the HNEI website (below).

 

Michael J. Antal, Jr.

Coral Industries Distinguished Professor of Renewable Energy Resources

Hawaii Natural Energy Institute

POST 109, 1680 East-West Rd.

Honolulu, HI 96822

 

phone: 808/956-7267

fax: 808/956-2336

www.hnei.hawaii.edu

  _____  

From: terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org
[mailto:terrapreta-bounces at bioenergylists.org] On Behalf Of Greg and April
Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 4:40 PM
To: Terra Preta
Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Char made made under pressurized conditions?

 

I have tried to get information from Dr. Antal on his process, even before I
became a member of the list ( same for Eprida ), but not even a single reply
from either of them.

 

 

There is a group out of Missouri, that is putting together a pilot plant,
small enough to transport by semi truck, to take around next year or so and
demonstrate to farmers in Kansas and other nearby states.    The plant is
making char, and converting the VM to ethanol, and is from what I have been
told self sustaining.    >From what I have been told, it is scaleable, but
the lower limit for reasonable conversion is about the semi size
demonstrator.    

 

 

I wouldn't mind ethanol if that is all I can get, but, I would rather have
butanol if I can get it, as it has higher energy value ( almost that of
gasoline ), not corrosive, and hydrophobic as well - a combination that is
hard to beat.    Another plus, is that higher alcohols are better suited for
diesel engines ( at least in blends ).

 

I'm not worried, about direct heating from the process, as there would be
plenty of heat to recover just from the exhaust - and when added into
specialized building techniques such as:

 

 
<http://www.earthtoys.com/emagazine.php?issue_number=03.08.01&article=finch>
http://www.earthtoys.com/emagazine.php?issue_number=03.08.01&article=finch

 

and 

 

http://paccs.fugadeideas.org/tom/index.shtml 

 

that makes for very efficient living systems, based on biomass.

 

 

Greg H.

 

 

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Sean K. Barry <mailto:sean.barry at juno.com>  

To: Terra Preta <mailto:terrapreta at bioenergylists.org>  ; Greg
<mailto:gregandapril at earthlink.net>  and April 

Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 14:59

Subject: Re: [Terrapreta] Char made made under pressurized conditions?

 

Hi Greg,

 

Dr. Antal would know enough to answer most of your questions , I think.  His
process can/does make activated charcoal, with little or no VM.  The reactor
has to be run very hot to do this, like 900º C.  Activated charcoal has a
very high surface area.  I don't know what this says about the actual pore
struture though.  Probably lots of smaller pores.

 

I think it is a very good idea to mix charcoal with compost or other
bio-fertilizers, something to set the C:N ratio more towards 40:1 down to
25:1.  If less charcoal is applied onto a field more often and cultivated in
with other to-be-composted biomass, this will do the same thing with less
charcoal, I would think.

 

I like the idea of getting charcoal, usable heat, and liquid transport fuels
all entirely from biomass sources.  It should be recognized, though, that
even biomass has a finite amount of chemical energy contained within it.  If
you want all of this, then you need to have a pyrolysis process that makes
the charcoal, allows you to recover and to use the heat directly, and then
the fractional liquid distillates and or gaseous fuels will need to be
refined and made directly into liquid transport fuels.  This last step of
refining the liquids and/or gases to make automotive fuels is very
difficult.  It can be done, but it requires expensive catalysts and the
economies of a much larger scale.

 

There is a plant in Iowa, Colorado, and California, Rentech, that makes
synthetic diesel fuel from "synthesis gas" (Syngas: mostly, H2, CO, some
CO2, very little CH4) that is reformed from coal.  Syngas can be made from
biomass, also, by blowing pure oxygen (instead of air) through a pyrolysis
reactor.  "Producer gas" is just like syngas that has been diluted with
Nitrogen-N2 (it also has more CH4, like ~1-3% content).

 

There are other possibilities, too.  For instance the heat and fuel gases or
vaporized liquid VM can all be burned and used to produce heat and/or bring
up steam to turn a turbine and produce electricity.  The fuel gases can run
an internal combustion engine that turns a generator, too.

Some cars can be made to run directly off the gases from a charcoal making
retort (see "woodgas" cars at www.woodgas.com).  But, it is hard on ICE and
these engines do not last long unless the gas used for fuel is very clean.
It you had an electric car, then the electricity you produced could charge
the batteries on your car.

 

Regards,

 

SKB

 

 

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