Green Steam Engine

[begreen]

This is an interesting project that combines new tech with steam locomotives. They are saying it is more efficient and carbon neutral than a diesel. These are two of my passions so I can see a field trip is going to be in order.

(broken link removed to http://www.csrail.org/index.php/the-plan/news)

 

[ScotO]

BG, that is really cool! Imagine stepping back in time (so to speak) with a concept from the past and modifying it to become a green mode.of transportation. Very very cool, thanks for sharing that link. I'll have to keep tabs on this project....

 

[begreen]

I'd love to see clean steam on the rails again.

 

[jebatty]

Interesting but ... ? Torrification takes energy to heat the wood to drive off the volatiles and end up with charcoal. That is expensive. What happens to the volatiles? as they too are full of available energy. In a gasification boiler the seasoned wood being burned provides the energy to drive off the volatiles which are combusted and provide available btu's and then the remaining charcoal is gasified, etc. I think every effort to concentrate wood energy will face a market of natural gas and other energy fuels or soruces and will need to compete. Energy cost to concentrate wood btu's and transportation cost to the concentration facility and then from the facility to the user all will drive up the cost of the end product.

I think the only possible way to go is a chp facility, and this probably then will make c$ents.

 

[jharkin]

Very cool BG!.... I was thinking the same as Jim, sounds like making charcoal?

I'd absolutely love to see antique steam locomotives running around on this (can they dig up a big boy out of storage ? ) But also imagine what they could do if you use this to run a modern high efficiency steam turbine design.

 

[begreen]

Agreed about the cogen. As soon as I read about this I started wondering about the same for our house. A small steam driven generator could be handy in an extended outage.

 

[peakbagger]

The MT Washington Cog Railroad switched from coal to biodiesel a few years back. The new bio cogs are bascially a diesel generator mounted on a chasis driving and electric motor. They still runa few coal trains for purists and charge them accordingly

 

[Dune]

Interesting but ... ? Torrification takes energy to heat the wood to drive off the volatiles and end up with charcoal. That is expensive. What happens to the volatiles? as they too are full of available energy. In a gasification boiler the seasoned wood being burned provides the energy to drive off the volatiles which are combusted and provide available btu's and then the remaining charcoal is gasified, etc. I think every effort to concentrate wood energy will face a market of natural gas and other energy fuels or soruces and will need to compete. Energy cost to concentrate wood btu's and transportation cost to the concentration facility and then from the facility to the user all will drive up the cost of the end product.

I think the only possible way to go is a chp facility, and this probably then will make c$ents.

If it is done right, the volatiles are consumed and supply the energy needed to heat the wood.