Stamford Bio-Gas

Testing of the syngas is a very important aspect of the project. The Stamford project has incorporated a full service laboratory which samples the gas and measures it constituency. The production gas being measured is Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide. The gas is analyised using gas chromotagrypy and a mass Spectrometer. A simple test is to simply run combustion engines and measure the power output. Motors that are being run under the test program include:a 5 hp lawn mower engine, a 15 hp bench motor, a 15 hp generator, and a 4 cylinder fuel injected dodge neon.

The process of gasification requires high temperature and limited oxygen. It is very important to be able to control the temperature to meet the target. In the Stamford Process the target temperature is 900 degrees Celsius. The temperature is regulated by the amount of oxygen provided to the reactor. The oxygen is contained within the air stream provided by the blower. The blower volume can be adjusted by the use of valves. Temperature probes, referred to as thermal couples measure the temperature in 4 locations with the reactor. The probes send signals to a control panel which reads out in an LED display. Temperature is monitored by watching the control panel, while the data is collected through a computer capture system used in data collection. The air volume is manually adjusted as needed to obtain the target temperature.

When the target temperature is not met by being either too low or too high, gas production is reduced. If the tempurature is too low, an excessive amount of tar is created in the gas. If the temperature is above the target temperature, a clinker is formed. A clinker is the fusion of the pellets. Click here to view pictures of the tar formation and clinckers.