Monorator

[ben]

Part of the drawback of gasification is the need to use drier fuels. A moisture content of less than 20% is generally required. During WWII, when gasifiers were heavily deployed for driving, a new type of fuel hopper was created by accident. The Monorator (right schematic pictured on the left) was designed as a low profile hopper to allow better driver visability. The beneficial byproduct was that water was able to circulate and condense at the outer edges, leaving the fuel drier for proper combustion at the center. This allowed fuels with up to 45% moisture content to be used. This design was especially popular in Northern Europe where the climate is wetter.

In a standard design the moisture condenses along the top and some does make it into a condensate drain, but the turbulence in the vertical shaft causes it to mix with the tarry vapors and ultimately get pulled through the reduction zone. This is where the moisture content is so vital. If there is too much moisture, the heat required to vaporize the water will quench the combustion zone and keep the temperatures from rising high enough to crack the tars. Tars and water vapor end up mixing into a wet black mess in your filter system.

The monorator is not commonly used outside of Northern Europe because it isn't well understood. If you decide to try this design, then let us know your thoughts on it's success. You can also use waste heat from your gasifier to pre-dry your fuel in a separate container if you decide to build a more common design.

[Kenneth Warren Coulter]

I have an old cast iron coal boiler. Can I build a monorator, send the gas into the coal chamber, and ignite it, and if so, how do i ignite it and keep it burning?

[Larry Brown]

Why have I not heard of this after having a alternative energy orientation since the late sixties?
I have made alcohol producers, hydro generators, solar all kinds. Only just learned of this .
Very wierd. Glad though.
Larry

[Steve Blakeman]

I'm interested in in building a gasification boiler for an industrial application. I have an unlimited amount of dry wood shavings for fuel. I fabricated a fairly large hopper over an 18" auger that's about 20' long. My original plans were to feed a Taylor outdoor wood boiler with these shavings for automatic feed. I've since researched wood gas and consider it a much better alternative since it has lower emissions and hotter temps. Is there a way to convert a Taylor outdoor wood boiler to gasification or would I be better off building a unit from scratch? I have a mig welder and cutting torch. I plan on heating 15,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing space and a 22,000 bd ft. kiln.

[ben]

Yes, reduced liquids are an advantage, the fact that moisture sensitivity exists is the disadvantage. The drier the better.

[Pierman]

Ben,
Your post makes reduced liquids sound like a disadvantage. Wouldn’t that be an advantage?

[ben]

Great comment John. I have found that by making the hopper taller it can cut down on the amount of tar in the monorator, but it also cuts down on the amount of liquid collected.