LuciaStove in Pyrolytic Gasification Mode for Biochar Production

The LuciaStove has two modes of operation, Coaxial Gasification and Pyrolytic. This is a short clip of the Pyrolytic mode. Both modes have their advantages.

In the Coaxial Gasification mode more of the fuel combusts allowing for longer burn times but lower char production and some tar in the resulting gas.

In the Pyrolytic mode a 30% reduction in burn time results in a 300% increase in char production. The gas produced in this mode is also virtually tar free.

For this particular run I am using a 60/30 mix of cow dung and wood pellets. 750ml (500g) of fuel kept the LuciaStove running for 58 minutes and produced 650ml(250g) of biochar.

For this particular run I did not use the Larson/Reed gas wick or flame deflector seen in the boiling water video.

In pyrolytic mode, the LuciaStove uses a series of vortexes to cause pyrolysis. Inert gasses are superheated and then driven through the biomass. This allows for pyrolysis to take place without having to burn the biomass. Steady state occurs 40 seconds after ignition.

As soon as I can figure out how to compress a video I will post a short film showing the pellets (or whatever I happen to be testing that day) slowly turning black with out any embers or burning. It takes 30-60 minutes for a small batch at low temp.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• pyrolytic
• gasification
• biochar
• LuciaStove
• biomass
• cookstove

[igorocho]

impressive technology... hope to see it in Africa earning carbon credits soon!

[WorldStove]

already is! :) thanks for the comment

[raibarba]

Great!

How much biochar with 1 L of pellets?

How long it takes?

[WorldStove]

Hi Raibarba, and thanks for the question. The volume question is a really good one. It varies from feed stock to feed stock. Weve tried over 40 now from all over the world. The very best so far came from a source here in Italy where 1 liter of fuel resulted in 900ml of char; note the char was only 30% of the original fuel weight. The LuciaStove allows for tuneable char so you can control PH, density, pore size, and nitrogen levels. more is possible but we have mostly focused on these four.

[WorldStove]

as for how long it takes, that depends on which LuciaStove you are using. LuciaStoves for now come in 3.5kW, 6kW, 12kW, 50kW, 100kW and 1MW. the One Meg units use over 400kg per hour of fuel, while the new stoves use only a few grams per hour

[macrumpton]

Am I correct in assuming that some of the wood is burned in generating heat to char the rest?

[WorldStove]

that is correct. most of the heat goes up about 5% of the heat is used to make the char and gas

[Snizzorky]

Very impressing video but I dont understand it ;)

how is the char prevented from being burnt?

How do you make sure that the gases blown throw the fuel are oxygen-free and how are these vortexes created? I watched all your videos but couldn't figure it out.

I'm eypecially interested in producing charcoal for the reason of sequestration.

Thank you ;)

[macrumpton]

The stove is really ingenious. Could the complex shaped parts like the vortex creating channels couldn't be cast out of ceramic that could be more easily created in a low tech environment? I wonder if the whole stove could not be created out of some carefully shaped clay pots unless the heat is too intense for that.