Bio-Char, Bio-Oil & Syngas from Wood Pyrolysis

Appropriate Technology graduate students at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC demonstrate the pyrolysis of biomass in an airless system. Using fractional distillation, three distinct, value-added products are produced: bio-char, bio-crude, and syngas.

[@wrenchforahammer8317]

I love the giant propane tank that says "no smoking" right behind the experiment

[@ildonaldson]

The SynGas is not "just a couple of gases", as suggested early on in the video.The initial product, Pyroligneous Acid is a mixture of acetone, acetic acid, ethanol, methanol, wood creosote, guaiacol , wood tar, turpentine, isoprene and other terpenes, and other flammable organic compounds, and water vapor. What condenses out depends on the temperature of the condenser. Gases which are unlikely to condense in ordinary conditions include hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane, ethane, ethylene, propane and various butanes. Henry Ford used pyrolysis of wood to make methanol and lacquer for his cars. In the UK, acetone needed for making Cordite was made in this way during WW1 until Weizmann's A-B-E process of fermentation supplanted it. Stockholm Pitch was a valuable tar product from the distillation of selected pines and firs.

[@gyasicool]

Hello can I have your mail looking for some syngas expertise on a project I have

[@ericlotze7724]

I'd still consider that "a couple" granted i consider "a couple" ~5 or so. I would list it as: - Carbon Monoxide - Hydrogen - Hydrocabon Gasses + Vapors Also water vapor/co2 but these aren't flammible and are thus semi-irrelevant For most uses short of industrial the specific content is less relevant than how it will effect an engine (sulfur/tar/particulates), and it's energy density Granted i'm pretty armchair, and the clarification you made is useful I thought i'd just chime in too.

[@lomuscko]

You mixture pyrolysis with synthesis Fischer tropsch

[@upyurz5272]

Take the biochar, put it in another reactor, and push steam through it. C + H2O -> CO + H2, both usable as fuel. Or, you know, for setting garbage bags on fire.

[@basedddog]

Maybe if someone had shown me this video before I started college, I might not have ended up as an attorney...but they would have had to go back in time seven years as well. Cool stuff.

[@leszekrozen8743]

Autorom szacunek i serdeczności ślemy za świetne materiały edukacyjne oraz pracę bezwarunkowo rozdawaną świadomej uwadze polecam pojąć treści i rozpropagować temat świetny.

[@rayluxford8108]

Like the no smoking on the gas tank . Top marks for safety.

[@TSMR2015]

See that's the beauty of it, Once you start making syngas, it becomes a self sustaining process, because you can use the syngas to fuel the process.

[@Angus_McGyver]

As always, safety comes first! This is why we are playing with fire in front of a huge tank of combustible propane. Lol

[@lomuscko]

Pirolises Just produce syngas, charcoal and tar

[@keystonecomet9949]

@@lomuscko And they were igniting those substances in front of a propane tank. Just igniting the lighter in the vicinity is not smart.

[@zanerafael4168]

not sure if anyone gives a damn but if you are bored like me during the covid times then you can stream pretty much all the latest series on Instaflixxer. Have been watching with my brother lately :)

[@simonrory8073]

@Zane Rafael Yea, I've been using Instaflixxer for since november myself :D

[@braininavatnow9197]

You need to go back and crawl under your bed..... You will be safe there.

[@unambitious]

Make a check valve that keeps pressure from going back to the biomass reactor. You can also incorporate a 'break away' weak point in your hose or pipe that will vent any explosive force before another component breaks.

[@jaflorence1]

The first stage bio-crude produced has properties very similar to diesel. However, we haven't explored it yet as a possible diesel alternative. It would likely need some processing, I don't think you could put it straight into an engine; it might work right away for home heating purposes, though.

[@orionlottering7349]

I think the pink stuff is Naphtahalene, a bit stained with heavier oil cause Naphthalene is snow white in pure crystalline form.

[@WeavePower]

@ stndnthdrk: I believe we fabricated the cyclone filter using steel pipe & sheet metal, although this was before my time. All the cyclone filter does is allow the air to slow down, and particulate drops out. The inlet is tangent to the chamber, so the air swirls around. @froonbazhooley We intend to run a generator on the syngas to produce electricity and heat, after we've condensed out the liquid hydrocarbons and the water. The jury is still out on what we'll do with the bio-crude/bio-oil.

[@SapioiT]

I think solar power (a wall of stainless steel sheets or aluminium sheets) could be used for focusing sunlight onto the bioreactor, reducing the price of production by not needing a fuel source to power it. The products could be jet fuel, liquid petroleum gas, and benzine, and you could even use weeds as the source, though you might need to let them to dry somewhat first, and you might need to pack them tight together first. But as a business model, having people pay you to mow their lawn or backyard, and using the resulted grass and weeds clippings as intake for the pyroysis process would effectively lower the price of the gas even more, and the lawn mower used for mowing the lawns and backyards could also be powered by the same fuel you produce, reducing the costs even more.

[@lymnjuice]

@@SapioiT fun fact, the biochar generated by this process can be used as fuel for the process. With the right filtering process you might be able to take the cold creosote which was flammable and feed it back in as well. There are some designs that allow you to actually drop the biochar directly into the feed area so you don't even need to stop the process for more than about 15 seconds to restock the biomass to be turned into biochar.

[@alaasalah2038]

@@lymnjuice 7:31

[@AflacMan13]

Run the gasses into a large sphere-tank with a low power compressor on the out end to send it into an even thicker and stronger sphere-tank with a compressor of higher pressurization on the out end of it. Both compressors will be set up to only operate when the internal pressure of their respective sphere tanks reaches a given level. There will need to be a check-valve at each step along this process to prevent the compressors from pulling air into the sphere tanks or from drawing too much from the combustion system too quickly, and contaminating the wood gas. This can also be helped by making the combustion chamber taller, to prevent the creosote from being able to be drawn up by the compressors. The first compressor will be at a low compression rate, so that it is not draining the low-pressure tank too quickly. It will send the wood-gas into the second sphere tank and continue sending more wood-gas in there, until the second chamber reaches a certain specified pressure of said wood gas. This will also allow any possible contaminants in the wood gas time to cool and settle out of the gas somewhat. The second sphere tank will reach a much higher pressure than the first, and then the second stage compressor, at the higher compression rate, will send the now somewhat compressed gas into a given holding chamber; like a large old repurposed propane tank, scuba tank, or oxygen welding tank for example; thus compressing it further and allowing it to be stored, under pressure, in a smaller container. This would allow you to compress the woodgas and store it more easily for use in multiple applications, without needing to connect the wood-gassifier directly to whatever you are trying to apply the gas to. Also, your distillation setup could benefit from being designed on a similar shape and design as a Crude Oil Fractional Distillation Tower. As you are basically burning "pre-crude-oil" by charring the wood and heating the volatiles to vapor, a fractional distillation tower could help with extraction of the various gasses in a more efficient manner. Experimentation of what height each stage of said tower would need to be to effiiciently capture each gas and fluid would need to be conducted of course, but it is entirely plausible that it could be as short as 5-10 feet tall and work perfectly for your purposes. Laters. :-)

[@marcodegraef209]

i am trying to nuild a self-sufficient food farm and im trying to recreate the pyrolysis but have little to non experience in the matter do you have some advise ore blueprints? it would really speed up the process and i would be forever greatfull. also what are all the feul types and sorts you can get from this process, i was planning to do this process in oil drums of 60l and 200l and im trying to power a small home with a greenhouse with stander equipment.

[@marcodegraef209]

ps you can send me on my email

[@dansw0rkshop]

Yes and if the spheres are made of steel, they will fail due to hydrogen embrittlement, and explode. Don't do it.

[@urvishpatel5131]

reduce the feedstock particle size , upto 1.5mm and set reaction temperature between 450 to 500 degree celsius and condensing temperature up to 10 degree celsius , a better oil yield

[@globalfinpro]

contact me on LinkedIn Globalfinpro Consulting.

[@wildoxidizer]

if you force the syn-gas down at a 30 -35 degree it will make 3 types of oil and that oil if ran through a stainless steel tube with finely ground Aluminum in the heat source will create diesel and gasoline and methanol or butanol fuel much like propane so you can get 6 sources of energy from one reaction if done right I also use this method to gasify my waste and animal waste with plant matter. Great grandpa did it in Germany and my grandfather did in the USA during the depression...

[@newageautotechnology]

Great to see students learning something that is very good to know.

[@domermuth]

I am the professor for this research at ASU. You can contact me directly at [e-mail]. I will send you our latest paper. We have moved onto a bigger system and coined the term BioVolatilization (BV) for this system. Thanks for all the comments. This is not rocket science, we are focusing on grass roots level. Systems that anyone can build and use. Yes we know about the propane tank, sort of like the little one in the foreground.

[@keystonecomet9949]

A channel called MrTeslonian mad a contraption of this sort and posted a video about the same time as this one. Are your processes similar? He also came up with this process of condensing and refining as much of the carbon molecules as he could to produce fuel analogs. How might one go about doing the same with this setup?

[@------country-boy-------]

I laughed out loud when he crumpled up the paper and threw it behind him - after stating the EPA ( Environmental Protection Agency ) was funding the project. Only In America.

[@DidacticEditions]

Or when they bagged the gasses....and then burnt them ''for fun'.... LOL

[@richardjerrybest]

@@DidacticEditions Burning plastic.

[@ME-jc7xi]

Don't forget no smoking next to the big propane tank in the background but running an open flame to heat some wood is fine.

[@nlo114]

The best place to demonstrate anything that involves high temperatures, open flames and explosive gases, is slap-bang next to a large LPG storage cylinder that has 'NO SMOKING' emblazoned on it in 4 inch high red capitals.

[@SCENARIOBABY]

wonderful vid! keep em coming!

[@henryraymond8676]

This is great, I like your apparatus! I would also like it if, you being a University would actually analyze the components, liquids/gases, since you have the facilities and we do not. Different fuel stocks, I would imagine, lead to different components but what are they? Maybe a future project, further refinement, huh?

[@lumberjak5010]

You might try putting the radiator in a plenum and running a fan through it at about 400cfm. Run those creosote drip lines back to a combustion chamber under the gas generator pot. I want to burn the oils in a drip type fuel oil heater. I want to use stainless so I can collect the liquid for seasoning food (like liquid smoke).

[@alfredmolison7134]

I'd say yes to everything you mentioned except using that gunk for liquid smoke on food. It's done commercially but what if the pyrolized wood scraps have chemicals in them? I know that creosote is a carcinogen.

[@XxXAUTOXxX]

To all of the people commenting on "ZOMG! the propane bottle is about ESSPLODE!!1! I have welded on full propane bottles, I have cut empties open with torches, plasma cutters, and abrasives. They are extremely safe within a wide range of parameters. WTF do you thing a propane BBQ is? It is a burner within a foot of open flame. As long as you check for leaks, you're golden. The only problem I had with this vid is they didn't set their sights very high. You can do this in a paint can...

[@snookmeister55]

Is it possible to make diesel fuel by this method?

[@мойшацукерман-з2п]

show closer to the container with the words "no smoking"

[@snookmeister55]

Great video and it answers some of my questions. Thank you.

[@zodd0001]

It's interesting investigate the composition of the oil outgoing from the radiator such as fractional distillation, chromatography ecc...

[@lomuscko]

Alcatrão

[@richardjerrybest]

2:40 After testing wind direction, he stands downwind of the reactor when he goes to light it.

[@dudeitsamy1210]

That pink maybe from your wood stock. Was it treated

[@snookmeister55]

Is it possible to make diesel fuel by this method? Thank you.

[@chaz706]

IF it burns then yes... you can make some form of charcoal out of it. What will come out can only be had after trying to make some though... and you'd probably have to make a different machine for coal than wood.

[@codaddict25]

Smart people hope they get far!

[@tcheneyhg]

So awesome.. can you get boilers that run on light pyro liquid.

[@foamdinner4340]

What are the uses of bio crude oil

[@TheVigilantStewards]

i want to know also

[@rubenprovencio-b1u]

Hola podrían explicarme cómo funciona el reactor

[@lumberjak5010]

@weatherbygeorge the pink stuff is rust I believe. Reaction of water vapor in new steel pipes.

[@tempeberkahmaju7281]

Good job

[@jamesshelburn5825]

For a demonstration, we now light this torch and heat to volatile levels next to a large propane tank that prohibits even smoking a cigarette. obviously misdirection the video was for biochar not refining liquid fuels or they would have collected and shown how the fuel is layered in a glass jar and number 2 just one of many

[@urgencepc4563]

Your system is WAY better than mine. I'm jealous. Wait. No.. I'm building a new one this weekend. :D

[@TSMR2015]

The idea would be instead of using PV for solar you use solar pyrolysis of any biomass. What that would give you is a way to run a generator from the syngas. It's not very efficient but it should be more then PV tech is right now. The real beauty is the growth of biomass you gain when you use the biproduct, biochar. This becomes a positive feedback system. The whole time you are putting carbon into the ground. Won't work on sunless days, unless you can store the syngas.

[@timothysmith2641]

I WOULD LIKE ONE OF THESE

[@webmonkeyuk]

please can you explain the tall chimney stack on the left hand side of the reactor? love the fact that you're doing all of this right next to a giant propane tank

[@achoncholi]

interesting note. Do you have a sketch of this or a link where i can search more about it. Thanks

[@dribrahimel-nahhal2477]

Great vid!

[@maryhornbostel6959]

Personally I would use the heat given off by this system to warm the greenhouse, and save the syngas for use in generator, lawnmowers and weedeaters.

[@gerardofloressalazar1477]

Interesting video and info,.

[@domermuth]

We made a new video called ASUBV. It shows the 30 gallon system heated in a kiln and operating a 5k generator.

[@telugubanker9769]

What are the end product's

[@albertboyles7637]

Are the plans available to me?

[@madwilliamflint]

The clean gas is interesting, but it seems tough to store. For this reason I've gotta say I'm more interested in the creosote.

[@AflacMan13]

They need some kind of pressurization setup to draw off the woodgas, and then compress it into a holding vessel.

[@AdielShnior]

great! how do u seperate the oil in the first filter? where can i find plans for this?

[@stellasolaria6224]

Cyclone filter

[@gimiter7463]

do they do it beside og tank with no smoking sign?

[@6594444]

The answer about making diesel by this method is No. This liquid consist acetic acid and methanol. If get methanol from this liquid by netralizing acetic acid with calcium hydroxide. Then you can mix methanol with vegetable oil and caustic soda under the temperature, and then separate glycerol from biodiesel. You will get what you want - free diesel. Before this biodisel also will need to wash it with water from the rest oof caustic soda. Now I am learning this, ant trying to make practice.

[@amommamust]

Is the pink stuff pitch boiling out of the wood? Did it ooze out after the fire was out?

[@0Krystal0Teque0]

for all the idiots who dont know anything n knock the safety: 1. propane canisters have one way valves look up this basic component. 2. they are heavily tested and if u throw one on a fire it takes quite a while to actually blow. and yes thats from experience infact we put one in the back of a truck loaded with wood and doused in petrol and it took about 20 minutes before it blew the whole truck up and im pretty sure the tank blew up first :)

[@norismasuhailaismail1066]

what is the temperature of the biomass before you put it into the reactor?

[@liam314]

air temperature

[@unambitious]

Interesting video. Thank you.

[@hussain55019]

Best video thanks a lot .

[@elcreador6675]

Excelente 🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴🇩🇴🌎

[@ushillbillies]

safety forced......I love the no smoking marking on the propane tank behind you....OH right you didn;t smoke!!...... If you want wood gas know how contact me......

[@ariffiyman7190]

hello... can u help me with this.. i need to know the dimension of that reactor, the thickness of the plate use and type of material of the plate... i really need your help..

[@ffnovice7]

Ariff Iyman sounds fishy

[@ariffiyman7190]

i've project about this reactor...is u don't mind can u please email me your full report bout this research

[@ariffiyman7190]

if*

[@pablitojay2]

amazig video, well explain

[@florin26balalau]

believe it or not waste oil creosote turns into that color also after it burns up because of the iron in it from the motor

[@mervinbreganza658]

what types of wood did you guys use? does any type of wood will do?

[@AlabamaGuard]

try refineing the bio-crude into gasoline or dessal

[@TheVigilantStewards]

I was really curious what uses the biocrude oil has

[@TSMR2015]

Two words... SOLAR PYROLYSIS... just think about it for a bit. Did the light bulb come on?

[@michaelwhimpey7651]

Does ash also accumulate with the biochar, or is it collected separately.

[@jackofalltrades3700]

hello l am biulding a system like this but l am afraid from explosion? can syngas suck back to pyrolysis biomass ? if yes what can l do for safety? thanks

[@nbced2510]

Instead of syngas call it pyrolysis gas. Syngas is a mixture of co, h2,ch4, co2 whereas pyrolysis of biomass produces co, co2, h2, ch4 and other cnhn gases.

[@TheVigilantStewards]

Can someone share with me what biocrude oil is traditionally or popularly used for?

[@nyekonto2665]

Can this be used as fuel for a houseboiler to heat a house?

[@itaigoldman]

wonderful work! quite ironic to cook wood using bought gas in order to make gas (and biochar!) would recommend a rocket stove design burning wood with low emissions....

[@alyegy]

@weatherbygeorge hey we are doing the same project but using rice straw instead of wood. can u provide u tell us about the flow rate of wood in your project and the flow rate of Gas entering the cyclone?

[@carlyleporter5388]

APPstate ain't MIT, is it?

[@florin26balalau]

the reason you're creosote turns pink because of the minerals in the wood absorbs from the ground the oxide the iron oxide once the creosote Burns that pink ash comes to life

[@ramiadel1072]

can you tell me which catalysts are you using to add it to the biomass?

[@terminator10111]

can you make an vid and using Cherry wood or Apple Wood

[@cornishman1987]

Ha safety come first, let's do the experiment next to the big vessel that says no naked flames lol. Apart from that good demonstration

[@maulanax]

+cornishman1987 you chicken

[@gunturjr8724]

u

[@bsdiceman]

What did you call the bio crude oil at 6:48? crisone?

[@XxXAUTOXxX]

I could have said it better... No sleep for the last 4 months has some effect I guess lol. correction: A BBQ is a propane BOTTLE within a foot of an open flame lol. By the way, anyone trying to recycle propane bottles should understand concepts like inert gases. Also, lighting a gas without open access to oxygen will restrict the flames to the area the gas and oxygen meet (and mix). Fire requires oxygen, fuel, and heat. Take any of those three away and fire cannot exist.

[@calogero8577]

But where is Dynamotive energy system ?😢

[@janemrickinsorio182]

Hi. I am a student from the Philippines. May I know what type of condensing unit did you use for this project? Thank you. Hoping for your response.

[@brockunruh6283]

Car radiator

[@yangyu5301]

I have a question. During this process, whether some poisonous gases produce.

[@Mixolydian7712]

+YANG YU Yeah its the gas they filled the bag with and set on fire. Usually methane. You can also distill wood shavings in a compost pile for a similar effect ;D

[@bigbrushthor5509]

yes carbon monoxide is very lethal

[@Hawker1911]

Could you make a video about the syngas from coal?

[@FriesinNF]

No!

[@jackofalltrades3700]

thanks my friend l cant understand what u mean break away weak point thanks

[@Expandacraftboats]

Leave it to collage students to do this kind of experiment next to a 500 gallon Propane tank.

[@jamestrowbridge2026]

The tank was empty.

[@rlguerrero2263]

Quite cool =D

[@jrperrotta]

Wow! Using half a tank of propane to get some syngas from wood. Brilliant! I think there is something wrong in your design. I can't put my finger on it but I think using propane to make charcoal gas doesn't seem feasible. Perhapes if you burned the wood in an controlled oxygen environment you could prove a better point

[@TheAce736]

Just dropping in to say fuck you and your stupid comment. 'ME WANT SEE WOOD MAKE HEAT YOU BIG DUMDUM' on a video showing a slapped up demo rig with every effort made to make it easier for ya is the most backwards shit I've seen since the blind dressup society

[@arkivx0]

The pink is maybe turpentine.

[@TapashRajbongshi]

Which purposes use this tar

[@BudgetCustoms]

It can be refined as any other crude oil

[@dionwebber708]

Hey, how can I urgently contact you regarding the building of the Pyrolysis Reactor?

[@DayaCIDfan]

if you want an urgent reply, leave a message on the public comment section. lol

[@BuceGar]

Wood pyrolysis is very basic stuff. I would think a college professor and students could create a better reactor than that....

[@rajarizwanulhaq5407]

Liquid is methanol.

[@WeavePower]

Oh cool. Thanks for responding!!!!

[@robertbright2562]

Where do you get the cyclone filter from?

[@gatekeeper84]

From the welding instructor.

[@JustNow42]

It is difficult to understand why someone would do this. Converting wood to CO2 , it is really against the idea of redusing the CO2 in the air. Cutting big trees that absorb the CO2 and plant small ones that absorbs much less. This is not carbon neutral. Did you say you are from an university?

[@keystonecomet9949]

Do those small trees not grow to be taller trees? Do they not grow taller by taking the carbon? How would you expect the trees to store the carbon if they cannot/will not grow? It is not an immediate reaction. Over the lifetime of the new tree that grows, it will absorb the equivalent amount that was produced by burning the tree. Seriously. Can't stand the "results now" type of people in any conversation, but especially in the Green Energy space.

[@yutjub123]

First: use LED insted of a bulb.Then.where to bild?Alaska?-no sun;Aricona?-no trees...

[@yutjub123]

So why call it SOLAR? Just to start it I use a match.How many MJoules of syngas do U get out of 1 kg bio-mass(dry wood at best);self sustaining process has a bad usage ratio.And transpprting biomass to places with many sun hours eeven worse.In future we have to use FRESH solar not FOSSIL-solar (run my car on dinosaurs).

[@oseasreis6938]

bom dia amigo traduza suas palavras para o português.

[@projetoscaseiros6448]

Processos de pirolizes