Tom Reed,
You are correct once again...imo. As a fifth generation Iowa farmer with
some biomass energy experience as well as some political scars, I know that
I'm likely not telling some of you anything new when I say that this is an
uphill slog.
The best likelyhood of this type of system being built and propagated is in
the developing parts of the world. It is there that the corporate
intrenched energy and ag interests may not be entirely in contol ...yet.
To develop and operate these systems at a large scale requires the
generation of electricity which in turn requires the sale of electricity at
a fair rate. This is impossible or improbable in my experience, as
utilities...even "not for profit" utilities see any outside generation as
competition or a threat to their protected service territories, and have
historically squashed it like a bug...or at least quietly worked behind the
scenes to stop any success.
Building and operating a system...inside the fence...means charging off
the generated electricity at an "industrial rate" .. that is usually 3-5
cents/kWh around here. haha Running a co-gen bio system at a scale small
enough to stay below the utility radar seems next to impossible.
Getting AG public policy past US congress that is targeted to these system
(REAP, BioPwrRural EcoDevo) requires pass through USDOE or USDA which
perhaps well meaning folk, is not for the faint of heart or anyone above 50
years old if they want to live long enough to see the results.
Working with USDA... remember I'm from Iowa....unfortunately for most
here...means most policy incentives are and will be... targeted at the
largest of the corporations. Once again, if these "big boys" can't
patent...they will take the gov $$'s but will walk when it's time to
commercialize. (been there, seen it)
So...while I'm not optimistic about US development...or our future for that
matter, I am optimistic about the technologies...gasification/bio-char for
example. Perhaps someone on a small island with a biomass waste stream and
a small independant electricity grid system would like to use the bio-char
to ramp up local veggie production. :)
If so, please let me know....I'd love to come see it something. gods speed
to you.
Ed
Iowa
On Sun, 25 Aug 2013 16:38:08 -0400
Tom Reed <[email protected]> wrote:
DEAR Tom, Metta and All
The Union Carbide Purox process was developed initially
by Dr. John E. Anderson, a close friend of mine. I
visited the 20 ton/day pilot plant while it was in
development. John died a few years ago.
Tom Miles is certainly correct when he says that
processes like this aren't suitable for making Biochar
from mixed industrial waste, so we should convert the
carbon to CO2 and take the power profit. The molten ash
can be converted to a nice aggregate that can be used for
building roads.
A simpler, similar process can be used with clean biomass
wastes to make a clean combustible gas for conversion to
power PLUS a clean Biochar for use in the soil.
In order for any of these processes to have an impact
nationwide, the US government needs to become aware of the
CO2 -global warming connection, and put some muscle into
making Biochar for sequestration/agriculture. Farms would
be the best place to implement this, since the farmer has
a great deal,of waste biomass (cobs,, stalks, manures,
...) and he derives immediate benefit from incorporation
of the Biochar into his own soil, eliminating several
middlemen.
I hope IBI can spread this message at the national level.
Tom Reed
Thomas B Reed
280 Hardwick Rd
Barre, MA 01005
508 353 7841
On Aug 24, 2013, at 1:50 PM, "Tom Miles"
<[email protected]> wrote:
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