Methane Gas Production

[Ray Drouillard]

It all depends on how much has you have.

If you are already heating your house and barn, cooking your food,
running your gas-powered refrigerator and air conditioner, and maybe
generating electricity (natural gas fired generator, or maybe a fuel
cell), and still have more gas, compressing it and using it to power
your car is a good idea.

I have been thinking about the purification process. Acidic compounds
can be dealt with by running it through crushed wet limestone. That
will, unfortunately, generate extra CO2.

Cooling it to precipitate out the various components would work well.
Since my old text books are in storage, I don't know what will
precipitate out first -- the CO2 or the CH4. Still, both liquid methane
and solid CO2 (dry ice) are useful. The liquid natural gas can be
stored in a big dewer flask (thermos bottle). In the summer, it can be
warmed up in the house to provide air conditioning before eventually
being fed into the fuel cell. Or, it can be pumped at a low pressure
into CNG tanks (make really sure that you don't overfill them). As they
warm up, the pressure will increase. Meanwhile, they can be used to
cool the house or the freezer or whatever.

If you really have so much gas that you don't need to use such
conservation measures, so much the better.

Now, if I can only find a way to buy or build a fuel cell that will run
on methane. They exist, but I haven't seen any for sale, nor have I
seen detailed plans.


Ray Drouillard

keep track of how much energy it takes to compress that gas. We have found
it more practical to use the gas at point of generation in a stationary
engine or boiler to provide heat and hot water for farm processes.


--
Steve Spence
Renewable energy and sustainable living
http://www.green-trust.org
Donate $30 or more to Green Trust, and receive
a copy of Joshua Tickell's "From the Fryer to
the Fuel Tank", the premier documentary of
biodiesel and vegetable oil powered diesels.

 

[clare @ snyder.on .ca]

keep track of how much energy it takes to compress that gas. We have found
it more practical to use the gas at point of generation in a stationary
engine or boiler to provide heat and hot water for farm processes.

Disolving the methane in propane makes the job a lot easier too.

 

[Steve Spence]

That they are.

--
Steve Spence
Renewable energy and sustainable living
http://www.green-trust.org
Donate $30 or more to Green Trust, and receive
a copy of Joshua Tickell's "From the Fryer to
the Fuel Tank", the premier documentary of
biodiesel and vegetable oil powered diesels.

 

[Steve Spence]

There are methanol fuel cells, take a thought on that angle ....

--
Steve Spence
Renewable energy and sustainable living
http://www.green-trust.org
Donate $30 or more to Green Trust, and receive
a copy of Joshua Tickell's "From the Fryer to
the Fuel Tank", the premier documentary of
biodiesel and vegetable oil powered diesels.

It all depends on how much has you have.

If you are already heating your house and barn, cooking your food,
running your gas-powered refrigerator and air conditioner, and maybe
generating electricity (natural gas fired generator, or maybe a fuel
cell), and still have more gas, compressing it and using it to power
your car is a good idea.

I have been thinking about the purification process. Acidic compounds
can be dealt with by running it through crushed wet limestone. That
will, unfortunately, generate extra CO2.

Cooling it to precipitate out the various components would work well.
Since my old text books are in storage, I don't know what will
precipitate out first -- the CO2 or the CH4. Still, both liquid methane
and solid CO2 (dry ice) are useful. The liquid natural gas can be
stored in a big dewer flask (thermos bottle). In the summer, it can be
warmed up in the house to provide air conditioning before eventually
being fed into the fuel cell. Or, it can be pumped at a low pressure
into CNG tanks (make really sure that you don't overfill them). As they
warm up, the pressure will increase. Meanwhile, they can be used to
cool the house or the freezer or whatever.

If you really have so much gas that you don't need to use such
conservation measures, so much the better.

Now, if I can only find a way to buy or build a fuel cell that will run
on methane. They exist, but I haven't seen any for sale, nor have I
seen detailed plans.


Ray Drouillard

keep track of how much energy it takes to compress that gas. We have found
it more practical to use the gas at point of generation in a stationary
engine or boiler to provide heat and hot water for farm processes.


--
Steve Spence
Renewable energy and sustainable living
http://www.green-trust.org
Donate $30 or more to Green Trust, and receive
a copy of Joshua Tickell's "From the Fryer to
the Fuel Tank", the premier documentary of
biodiesel and vegetable oil powered diesels.

 

[Ray Drouillard]

There are methane fuel cells, too. I just haven't seen detailed plans
or purchasing information.


Ray

There are methanol fuel cells, take a thought on that angle ....

--
Steve Spence
Renewable energy and sustainable living
http://www.green-trust.org
Donate $30 or more to Green Trust, and receive
a copy of Joshua Tickell's "From the Fryer to
the Fuel Tank", the premier documentary of
biodiesel and vegetable oil powered diesels.

 

[Steve Spence]

http://www.fossil.energy.gov/news/techlines/03/tl_cmmfuelcell.html

--
Steve Spence
Renewable energy and sustainable living
http://www.green-trust.org
Donate $30 or more to Green Trust, and receive
a copy of Joshua Tickell's "From the Fryer to
the Fuel Tank", the premier documentary of
biodiesel and vegetable oil powered diesels.

 

[Big Foot]

That they are.

Ten I found this:

http://www.fuelmaker.com/

 

[Big Foot]

It all depends on how much has you have.

40 pounds of pressure at the well head.

If you are already heating your house and barn, cooking your food,
running your gas-powered refrigerator and air conditioner, and maybe
generating electricity (natural gas fired generator, or maybe a fuel
cell), and still have more gas, compressing it and using it to power
your car is a good idea.

I have been thinking about the purification process. Acidic compounds
can be dealt with by running it through crushed wet limestone. That
will, unfortunately, generate extra CO2.

Cooling it to precipitate out the various components would work well.
Since my old text books are in storage, I don't know what will
precipitate out first -- the CO2 or the CH4. Still, both liquid methane
and solid CO2 (dry ice) are useful. The liquid natural gas can be
stored in a big dewer flask (thermos bottle). In the summer, it can be
warmed up in the house to provide air conditioning before eventually
being fed into the fuel cell. Or, it can be pumped at a low pressure
into CNG tanks (make really sure that you don't overfill them). As they
warm up, the pressure will increase. Meanwhile, they can be used to
cool the house or the freezer or whatever.

Great ideas , Thanks Ray

If you really have so much gas that you don't need to use such
conservation measures, so much the better.

Now, if I can only find a way to buy or build a fuel cell that will run
on methane. They exist, but I haven't seen any for sale, nor have I
seen detailed plans.


Ray Drouillard

keep track of how much energy it takes to compress that gas. We have found
it more practical to use the gas at point of generation in a stationary
engine or boiler to provide heat and hot water for farm processes.


--
Steve Spence
Renewable energy and sustainable living
http://www.green-trust.org
Donate $30 or more to Green Trust, and receive
a copy of Joshua Tickell's "From the Fryer to
the Fuel Tank", the premier documentary of
biodiesel and vegetable oil powered diesels.

 

[Big Foot]

Ten I found this:

http://www.fuelmaker.com/

Should read "Then I found this..."
looks like a home refueling unit/compressor of CNG

 

[Arnold Walker]

Plant will take upwards of 4 times as long to decompose in a digestor
Many of the Indain/Phiiline use plant material in thier digestor s and
there is major difference
the way it is constructed.Compared to a manure digestor,since the plant
digestor has to play the part
of the cow that ate the grass on the first part of the digestion and a
manure (grass digested by a cow or?????)
digestor on last 1/4 of the digestion.India by the way, invented sewage
treatment and digestors 50 years before Westerns adopted them,

 

[Steve Spence]

It's necessary to have plant and manure matter in the digester.
Carbon/nitrogen ratio's are important.

http://webconx.green-trust.org/methane.htm


--
Steve Spence
Renewable energy and sustainable living
http://www.green-trust.org
Donate $30 or more to Green Trust, and receive
a copy of Joshua Tickell's "From the Fryer to
the Fuel Tank", the premier documentary of
biodiesel and vegetable oil powered diesels.

 

[daestrom]

Plant will take upwards of 4 times as long to decompose in a digestor
Many of the Indain/Phiiline use plant material in thier digestor s and
there is major difference
the way it is constructed.Compared to a manure digestor,since the plant
digestor has to play the part
of the cow that ate the grass on the first part of the digestion and a
manure (grass digested by a cow or?????)

This brings up an interesting point.

Not all manure is the same. Cows and other 'ruminants' have a different
digestive tract than other animals. Ruminants, with their multiple stomachs
can break down the cellulose of plant matter for more complete digestion.
Horses cannot do this. So horse manure has more 'fibre' in it and cellulose
too. A lot of different plant seeds have evolved that can endure the
digestion of horses and many other animals as a method of getting 'spread
around'. But few can survive the digestive tract of ruminants.

Running a digester on straight cow manure will not work as well as one with
plant material (either 'raw' or after it's been through a 'non-ruminant'
animal).

Maybe this is why cows are blamed for such high methane 'output', they
literally carry a anaerobic digester inside of themselves. ;-) Other
animals 'discharge' the waste before it is completely digested and then it
is open to aerobic bacteria (non-methane producing).

daestrom

 

[Arnold Walker]

How much power do you want and at what pressure.
Mike Brown has a good price on steam engine .....10000 engine hour warranty
(24*7 operation for a year and week roughly)
Though you want copy the hydropower/solar panels guys with storaged energy
thru an invertor for small
power runs like they used to talking about.
Home power under normal conditions is boiler code exmempt because it is a
hobby boiler.
Pine tree areas are in that mix since I never heard of pine trees in Canada
or Mass.
Many steamers actually run a garden tractor...so while you are plowing the
garden or mowing grass
you generated enorgh electricity to charge your tractor mounted battery
pack.Plus electricity makes a good PTO for small tractor to run
electric tools like blowers,weed eaters,hedge trimmers,tillers and chain
saws.
Granted the tractors may be ugly....but then I got my as a workhorse ,not a
showmachine
And you don't need earplugs as often to do it either like on ICE machines
Trees still generate more power per acre and per dollar invested than
solar,wind, or hydro.
With 20 arces of tree you take care of the trees and they will take care of
you.And soft wood is what you would want
for yeild rate.Don't listen to the turkeys on the wood heaters....they are
just getting to combustion science
that steam was using 75years ago. Look at chambers and scrubbers that are
never found on a woodstove or heater,but is
old hat on a meduim to large steam plant.

 

[Arnold Walker]

Did they show how he was able to compress the gas into a tank for use
in his car? Is there a Home/owner/user way to do this?

Explosion proof air compressor.

 

[Arnold Walker]

Steve
The application I'm thinking of involves having a free natural gas
well on the property. The place already utilizes the gas for heat ,
hot water and cooking. I had looked before but the only nat gas
compressors I saw were too big and costly.

You can make one by copying the grain elevator guys with air drive or
hydraulic motor in place of the electric motor.