Ah nice save John, thanks so much for explaining what happens to methane, carbon and hydrogen during pyrolysis. I hope Brian sees this comment stream. Perhaps it deserves its own article as a follow up.
John Rogers Said,
The methane (and CO and hydrogen) produced by the pyrolysis front burns in the secondary combustion chamber and flue above the charring wood chips (assuming adequate secondary air is introduced at that point). These syn-gasses are decomposed in the secondary combustion. And this top flame provides the chimney effect which draws in primary air through the bottom of the bottom barrel. A smokeless burn is an indication of this desired efficiency.
TLUD (Top Lit Up Draft) technology is almost magic.
Adina Said,
Thanks for your comment Brian. I have had similar concerns. When I made that inquiry during a biochar presentation I learned that though some gasses are released into the atmosphere when the wood is charred, not as much is released as when the wood is fully burned to ash, and in the form of char the wood doesn’t break down or release its carbon the way it would if it rotted. From what I have read when biochar is added to soil it helps to sequester methane and other soil gasses. It is likely that if weighed the pros would far outweigh the cons of this issue. I am going to continue to study bio char and specifically this issue that you bring up.
brian blum Said,
I love the idea of making biochar on a small scale for my farm, but I am concerned about the SynGas release into the environment. I have heard that the methane released from this process is more damaging then if the carbon was burned into the atmosphere and not sequestered into biochar as done here. i have seen the youtube video and was wondering if there was a way to capture the gases emitted (if methane) and use this for other purposes).
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Ah nice save John, thanks so much for explaining what happens to methane, carbon and hydrogen during pyrolysis. I hope Brian sees this comment stream. Perhaps it deserves its own article as a follow up.
The methane (and CO and hydrogen) produced by the pyrolysis front burns in the secondary combustion chamber and flue above the charring wood chips (assuming adequate secondary air is introduced at that point). These syn-gasses are decomposed in the secondary combustion. And this top flame provides the chimney effect which draws in primary air through the bottom of the bottom barrel. A smokeless burn is an indication of this desired efficiency.
TLUD (Top Lit Up Draft) technology is almost magic.
Thanks for your comment Brian. I have had similar concerns. When I made that inquiry during a biochar presentation I learned that though some gasses are released into the atmosphere when the wood is charred, not as much is released as when the wood is fully burned to ash, and in the form of char the wood doesn’t break down or release its carbon the way it would if it rotted. From what I have read when biochar is added to soil it helps to sequester methane and other soil gasses. It is likely that if weighed the pros would far outweigh the cons of this issue. I am going to continue to study bio char and specifically this issue that you bring up.
I love the idea of making biochar on a small scale for my farm, but I am concerned about the SynGas release into the environment. I have heard that the methane released from this process is more damaging then if the carbon was burned into the atmosphere and not sequestered into biochar as done here. i have seen the youtube video and was wondering if there was a way to capture the gases emitted (if methane) and use this for other purposes).
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