Re: Running Diesels on Corn Meal Mush?

[Frederick Sparber]

Michael Foster asks.

 

"Anyway, I've always wondered if an internal combustion engine could be devised based on this
principle, using some sort of cellulose flour made from garbage and agricultural waste.  Not
likely, I guess."

 

Based on catastrophic grain elevator dust explosions a "biomass flour", possibly using

diesel fuel or kerosene for "wet milling" and injector lubrication and as a pilot fuel should

do very well.

 

http://www.chemeng.ed.ac.uk/~emju49/SP2001/webpage/deh/deh1.html

 

 

Chemical Composition of the dust (and its moisture content)

Chemical Composition, pressure and temperature of the gas

Particle shape and size distribution

Degree of dispersion of the dust cloud

Concentration distribution in the dust cloud

Turbulence in the dust cloud

Amount of turbulence caused by the explosion in unburnt parts of the cloud

Flame front disturbance by mechanisms other than turbulence

Radiative heat transfer from the flame (dependant on chemistry)

 

http://www.chemeng.ed.ac.uk/~emju49/SP2001/webpage/influences/influences.html

 

Initial Dust Cloud Temperature

At higher initial temperatures the dust cloud is more easily ignited and the minimum dust concentration required for explosion is lowered. However the maximum explosion pressure is lowered as the oxygen is of a lower concentration per unit volume when the temperature is higher, so less combustion can occur.

Initial Pressure of Dust Cloud

Increasing the pressure in a dust cloud makes the explosion more violent, because essentially all of the combustibles are closer together. It also lowers the required ignition energy.

Frederick