RogueRose
International Hazard
Posts: 1594
Registered: 16-6-2014
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Energy from biomass (leaves, grass, twigs, woodchips, wood & recycled paper)
I'm wondering about the potential for all the bags of leaves, grass and twigs as well as stacks of old newspapers & cardboard. Some of these
houses have 40-60 large bags stacked in a row (and I see it multiple times per season in the fall due to the leaves).
I don't know what other municipalites do, maybe they have some kind of methane digester or whatever but I know some places give it to farmers or take
it to a composting facilty.
I guess the main question is "What is done with all the leaves?" is there a way to turn these into energy other than maybe mixing them with manure or
human sewage and then putting a dome/tent over the pit and draw off the methane. I guess the recycled newspaper could be added as well, although I
don't know if that would aid in production of methane, but would give cellulose (carbon) an more surface area for the bacteria to cling.
So is there a method of energy production (other than burning) using the materials listed in the thread (mainly natrual biomass)
Has cellulostic ethanol or methanol become a viable option at this point?
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ave369
Eastern European Lady of Mad Science
Posts: 596
Registered: 8-7-2015
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Pyrolysis. Dilute the plastic and rubber garbage with this biomass and heat in an industrial retort. You will get an oil substitute. If you use
organic only biomass, you'll probably get something like tar, turpentine, tree vinegar and possibly burnable CO.
There is a whole type of car running in this type of biomass: paper, twigs, small chunks of wood. A pyrolysis reactor converts it to CO, and CO powers
the internal combustion engine.
There is also such a thing as lignine. It is not found in leaves and paper, in small amount in twigs and in a large amount in tree biomass. It gives
much more interesting pyrolysis products.
[Edited on 13-12-2015 by ave369]
Smells like ammonia....
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