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GEK v3 New Features

Page history last edited by jim mason 2 years, 12 months ago

 

       

 

GEK v3.0: Major New Features

 

  1. New Ejector/Venturi based gas pumping, mixture and flare. 

    -  No more axial blower or long flex tube to flare

    -  Flare hard mounts on unit in one of the three points described below

    -  Variable Air/Syngas mixing for tunable mixture to the flare or attached engine.

  2. Three modes of gas routing for start up and/or continued running:

    -  Full passage through reactor and filtering system

    -  Early take off and burn on the side of the gas cowling.  This prevents potential start up tar fouling the heat exchange tubes, cyclone and filter

    -  Reversed flow updraft mode via lighting at grate and flaring out the top of the reactor.  This mode can also be used to generate char from raw biomass for your first run, preventing the need to prefill with good char. It can also be used to make char for other purposes (i.e. biochar)

  3. Automated lighting and startup using electric heating element mounted internally in the char bed.
  4. Electric motor driven stirring system to prevent fuel bridging
  5. Air manifold neck around air intake for single point air shut off or water/steam injection.
  6. Downsized Nozzles for default reactor configuration
  7. Redesigned filtering system

    -  Two cyclone size options to better match use needs

    -  Cyclone completely disassembles for cleaning and easy modification

    -  Larger packed bed filter

    -  Provisions to run cylone and filter as a recirculating water shower over char system.

  8. Removable base on gas cowling.  There is now a 12" diameter flange ring on the bottom of the gas cowling that is the same bolt pattern as the reactor lid.  This allows reuse of the auger-to-reactor junction lid as an auger based ash removal system under the reactor.  The open bottom also supports various biochar reconfigurations that are coming soon.
  9. Pyrex looking glass and fuel fill fuel cap.  You can now see down inside reactor while running.  Easy flip hold down bar for fast open and close.
  10. Wide stance rocket styled legs.  Because a "Personal Energy Robot" should look like a rocketship, of course.

 

 

Minor New Features

 

  1. Ceramic rope and rubber flange gasketing
  2. Kaowool reactor insulation
  3. Taller ash bin.  Increased the space between reactor bottom and support grate, which leaves more inert char under reduction bell to counter overpulls.
  4. Circumference fence around grate.  Prevents char loss off edge of grate.
  5. Smaller ash grate holes.  The 3/16" holes on the v2.x pass more char than ideal.  Now using 1/8" holes.

 

 

 

Comments (8)

Bruce Chovnick said

at 1:22 pm on May 20, 2009

Jim, can you comment on the design criteria which drove each of these changes from v2.0? Some are very obvious and some are not so...

jim mason said

at 2:46 pm on May 20, 2009

i'm still working on this list. wait a minute or two until i have it done then we can discuss it. i have been remiss in getting this up for our general discussion. most of this is still in motion so we all can still comment and change things. some changes also relate to things in process that will come later, thus will not have clear motivation in reference to the v3. for instance, one change on the v3 is a removable base on the gas cowling. there is now a 12" diameter flange ring that is the same at the lid on the reactor. this is so that we can reuse the same auger to reactor junction lid as the automated ash removal system for the base. same bolt pattern and same part to attach. motivated minimalism. also, this open bottom on the gas cowling supports various biochar configs and vessel reuses that are coming soon.

Bruce Chovnick said

at 4:46 pm on May 20, 2009

Excellent... the flange on the bottom is one change I have been thinking about making myself that is very high on my to do list. I'll wait until you are ready to discuss the list... just say the word.

jim mason said

at 6:56 pm on May 20, 2009

ok, it's done now. the discussion can start. i started a thread on it over in the forum.

Szabolcs Tarjanyi said

at 11:31 pm on May 20, 2009

Hi,

Could you show us more picture of GEK 3.0?
Szabolcs

jim mason said

at 11:50 pm on May 20, 2009

we'll get more soon. right now this is all we have.

the main things not shown in these pictures is how the mixable ejector and flare work. this only has the ejector without the mixing system or separate output to the engine. there is actually a bit more plumbing and valves above the filter than what is shown here. the full solution is based on a plumbing cross, one leg down to the filter, the top to the valved air inlet, one side to the ejector/flare, and one side for the engine. this whole assembly then can move to the side of the gas cowling or the top of reactor lid for other start and run scenario.

also, no pixs of the changes to the bottom of the gas cowling.

we'll get all these up as soon as we can.

jim


Dave S. said

at 9:03 am on May 23, 2009

Jim, nice work on the 3.0. The unit is looking very good, and the changes to it should give it greater performance, reliability, and flexibility, especially when coupled with the automated control. This is looking quite impressive.

A few brief questions...don't feel obligated to answer, but I'm just wondering how are you accommodating startup? I'm slightly surprised that the fan was gotten rid of entirely, but then again, this might not be a bad idea, as fans have moving parts, and tar can do things to moving parts. I see the ejector connection prior to the flare; I'm guessing you're using compressed air to create a "pull" on the producer? Or an air blower instead of compressed air? Is the syngas/air premixing mandatory or optional once the producer is at an operating temperature?

As for the startup by electrical heating - are you putting the electric heating element to start combustion in the producer air intake, actually into the producer bed itself, or somewhere else? One concern with putting the heating element it into the producer bed is that it could be damaged by moving char from the new bed stirrer, I'm guessing. (Maybe a bit of the tar from previous runs could be stored in a container below the reactor; a glowplug/other heating element could be put into that that, pyrolysing the tar - and another glowplug/sparkplug ignition element could be placed right at the producer nozzle openings to ignite the vaporized tar/air mixture? Or might you use a bottle of propane for now rather than recycled tar?)

On another note, is that a Capstone I spy behind the 3.0? A hint of things to come? Well, if the GEK has evolved to that point...I have to say that I'm very impressed.

jim mason said

at 2:49 pm on May 23, 2009


dave, thanks for the comments and questions. the answers to these are now in the forum. others asked the same ones that you did. so i went through the full list of options on the gas pumping and lighting scenarios, and why we chose the ones we did.
http://gekgasifier.com/forums/showthread.php?p=430#post430

no, we have not ran the capstone yet, but will at some point. it is not on the critical path at the moment. it will be a non-trivial project to get all the details set up.

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