Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 6 Material rinsing water routed off the main system through an intermediate sump pump and
into a 500 gal tank
due to excessive vibration of the TGER either while in operation or during
transport.
c. Chiller . During testing of the first prototype, a chiller was needed to efficiently
and quickly condense the distilled ethanol into a liquid state and collect it in the
ethanol fuel tank. Due to design issues, the chiller could not be retrofitted on the
first prototype but was included on the second. The chiller cooled a mixture of
50%water and 50% antifreeze and circulated it into a heat exchanger (condenser)
where the ethanol vapor would condense into liquid ethanol, allowing the TGER
to operate efficiently in hotter climates.
d. Reflux valve . The reflux valve is a programmable valve that automatically redi-
rects condensed ethanol from the condenser to either the ethanol storage tank
or back to the distillation column at a 5:2 time ratio. By redirecting condensed
ethanol back into the distillation column at a 5:2 time ratio, the ethanol purity
improved from 80% to 85%.
e. Pellet auger/elevator . An external pellet elevator was purchased in order to
automate the process of supplying waste-derived pellet fuel into the downdraft
gasifier (Fig. 7). On the original prototype, a technician was required to climb
onto the top of the TGER in order to pour waste pellets from a bucket into the
gasifier, a time consuming and unsafe process. The pellet elevator allowed the
technician to dump the pellets into a large collection bin at ground level and
the pellet elevator would automatically deliver the correct quantity of pellets
into the gasifer based on data received from an infrared sensor suspended over
the gasification chamber.
f. Centrifuge pump and basket filter configuration . On the original prototype, the
centrifuge pump and basket filter had to be installed on their side. In order
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