Drone View of CE-CERT and Taylor Energy
Taylor Energy is located on-site at the Center of Environmental Research and Technology, Riverside, CA.
Taylor Energy Research and Development Facility at CE-CERT
Taylor Energy is located at the Center for Environmental Research and Technology in Riverside, CA.
Pulse Detonation Power Intensifies Organic Gasification Processes
Detonation power is surprising! The destructive power of repetitive acoustic shocks is unexpected, and potentially very effective for improving gasification methods. Within the reactor, sonic waves are generated by detonating mixture of oxygen/hydrogen/water or oxygen/propane/water. At our test site at UC Riverside, while testing the pulse detonation burner outside the gasifier, we wear headgear with face shields and double ear protection. The short video shows oxygen/fuel/water detonations at 30 Hz. The camera is not held directly in the path of the sonic discharges, nor is the camera lens held too close to the side port used for observation. If the camera is too close it enters the detonation expansion zone and the supersonic shocks instantly knock out a digital imaging system.
Thermo-catalytic conversion of organic feeds, biomass, and refuse derived separated biomass feeds, can be accomplished most effectively through the application of sonic shocks. We are developing applications that use the unique properties of pulse detonation power (and the resulting acoustic energy) to accomplish multiple synergistic objectives that improve the gasification thermo-chemistry by impacting the Time within the reactor, the Temperature, the process Turbulence, and the Pressure. These four key parameters impact the techno-economic performance of organic gasification and all are improved through the use of well tuned detonation power inputs. For example, carbon particles (derived from biomass pyrolysis) are impacted by the formation of multiple micro vortices that disperse sub-micron particle using acoustic power at 35-Hz. In some cases, the formation of carbon char particles can be reduced by 75%, according to research results. Taylor Energy has received a patent for the process with funding from the California Energy Commission.
Komar’s Auger/Extrusion Feeder is used to Control the Rate of Forest Biomass Input to a Gasification Process
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We have used Komar’s Auger/Extrusion Feeders successfully to control the input rate for several different types of biomass gasification processes while feeding diverse types of waste biomass. In our most recent project developments that use acoustic power to intensify the gasification process, the biomass plug (that typically forms in an extrusion tube during feeding to minimize air infiltration) is continuously disrupted by pressure fluctuations resulting from acoustic power inputs. Therefore, we used the Komar feeder to control the biomass throughput rate, and we added an intermediate stage composed of a pneumatic feeding system enabled by creating a low-pressure zone at the bottom of the gasification reactor. The biomass feed is sucked into the gasification process; low-pressure steam and recycle gases also flow into the bottom of the gasification reactor along with the biomass feed.
Taylor Energy Syngas Process
The Taylor Energy Syngas Process employs pulse detonation shockwaves that generate acoustic power and process heat to intensify thermo-catalytic gasification processes. Pulse detonation power transfers momentum to the process inputs. Based upon PDRE rocker propulsion techniques, atomized mixtures of oxygen/fuel/water are detonated at 30 Hz, generating powerful supersonic shocks that degenerate (within about 1-meter) into intense subsonic acoustic waves; momentum is input as increased gas turbulence (increased mixing of gases and solids). The formation of multiple micro-vortices serves to dissipate carbon char by minimizing the growth of sub-micron carbon particles; gas velocity and gas compression are also improved favorably by intense acoustic power inputs.
A flow diagram for the Taylor Energy Syngas Process shows the use of a pneumatic feeding system, employing an auger-feeder to control the feed rate, low-pressure steam at 1-atmosphere (200 C) as the transport fluid, and the use of a jet-ejector to drive the feed into the detonation discharge zone. The feed materials are entrained by the detonation exhaust when input into the expansion zone, where a powerful up-flow pattern with intense micro-vortex mixing is established.
For modular conversion of biomass residues into hydrogen-rich syngas, we employ two temperature stages: the 1st thermo-catalytic processing stage provides 1-second retention time for biomass particles to devolatilize at 600 C; the 2nd thermo-catalytic processing stage provides 1/2-second at 950 C for porous carbon particles to react autothermally with hot process gases. The flow diagram shows 2nd pulse detonation power system located atop the down-comer section, firing directly downward into a reforming a 2nd-stage reforming section, again providing momentum that enables rapid mixing of carbon particles at the sub-micron particle level to react carbon with water molecules to form syngas with >50-vol% hydrogen intended for subsequent recovery as cryogenic liquid hydrogen.
Taylor Energy was granted an initial US patent for Shockwave Gasification that issued on November 29, 2022.
