Something that might be used this winter in place of a Corn Stove when
the family has to decide between eating and keeping from freezing to death.
Wishful thinking about CF-OU ain't going to lower fuel costs this winter.
Dumesic and cohorts at U. of Wisconsin have recently developed a
Tin, Nickel, Aluminum catalyst to convert the starch in biomass such as corn potatoes turnips etc., at ~440 F @ 400 psi,
(U.S. Patent 6,699,457 )
I did this in 1973 using hot water in a steel pipe(up to 550 F @ 1,000 psi) and K2CO3 leached from wood ashes,as a water soluble catalyst. The K2CO3 in naturally occurring in biomass eventually builds up on it's own.
The exothermic hydrolysis reaction of water with starch portion of the biomass, C6H10O5 or glucose C6H12O6 is as follows.
C6H10O5 + 7 H2O -----> 6 CO2 + 12 H2 + heat or C6H12O6 + 6 H2O -----> 6 CO2 + 12 H2 + heat
Going by Dumesic's clues, I think adding Aluminum, Tin, Nickel and Zinc scraps to the alkali solution will create water-soluble
Aluminates, Stannates, Nickelates and Zincates which will enhance the hydrolysis reactions.
Separation of the non-condensible gases from the aqueous solution can be effected using a small circulator pump
and Air Separators such as those used on circulating hot water, "Hydronic" heating systems.
"Another principle used in the design of the air separators is centrifugal force.Tangential nozzles are used to create a vortex at the center of a cylindrical vessel. Air, being lighter than water, collects in the whirlpool on an air collector screen and is then directed upward. The air either returns to the compression tank in an air control system or, in the case of the air elimination system, is vented to the atmosphere. A big advantage of this concept is that the tank size required is much smaller than that required for a low velocity type separator. B&G's version of this device is called a Rolairtrol. "
Frederick
