Grain drier fueled with a biomass gasifier. Final performance report

Abstract

The basic concept of this agricultural crop dryer is to use a biomass gasifier to energize the drying equipment for agricultural crop drying. A blast of heated air is forced through the commodity that is to be dried and this carries off moisture that can cause spoilage and deterioration. In this research project, the objective was to determine if an engine fueled with producer gas from a gasifier could be utilized to operate a fan and if all of the waste heat from the gasifier, gas filtering equipment and the internal combustion engine could be utilized to heat the air. About 75% of the fuel energy going into an internal combustion engine is wasted in the cooling air and through the exhaust and it was proposed that a very efficient crop drier could be developed if most of this energy could be reclaimed. The waste heat from the air cooled engine, the gas coolers and filters and the gasifier can be used to heat the drying air if these components are placed in a tunnel leading to the drier fan. Design and performance of the gasifier and gas-cleanup equipment are described