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Archive for June, 2009

Activated carbon is nothing a charcoal. The

Activated carbon is nothing a charcoal. The charcoal is treated in such a way that it has large number of pores in it. The pores in it will absorb large number of polluted particles in air and water. Thus it is treated in such a way that it has large number of high volume pores. There are two types of activated carbon. One is granular activated carbon and other is powdered activated carbon. Powdered activated is more powerful than granular because it has large number of pores in it. The activated carbon purifies air, water, sugar discoloring and purification. When a waste or polluted water passes through the pores of the activated carbon, the water gets purified because the activated carbon absorbs all the polluted materials in the water. The pesticide may be mixed with the drinking water and it can be easily removed by activated carbon. Some companies manufacture activated carbon and involved in the manufacturing of water filter for the purpose of water purification system. The water filters are used to purify drinking water. The water now has many contaminations like pesticide, sodium, chlorine, potassium. This carbon eliminates all the contaminated particles in the water and makes the clear and odorless. Thus activated carbon helps in purification of drinking water and helps to get pure air for breathe. Nowadays air gets polluted due to motor vehicles, and polluted gas. These can be purified with the help of activated carbon.

Pellets And Power Generation

Most of our current energy and electrical production either comes from coal, oil or nuclear power plants. While coal and oil power plants are prime culprits for high CO2 outputs linked to global warming, nuclear power plants are hardly the safe or cheap option. So what other energy options to produce electricity are available to us, and should we follow the same network set-up of a few large-scale electrical production facilities. Wind and solar power gain most of the headlines in the papers on how to generate green electricity. There are also solar thermal power stations where the suns energy is directed by a series of large mirrors to a tower with a boiler at the top. The heat from the sun is directed onto the boiler. The boiler then produces steam, which powers a turbine to produce electricity, which is sent back to the grid. Is it also possible to produce electricity from wood and other biomass resources, even on a small scale. Wood and biomass when combusted efficiently are a carbon neutral fuel, which burns much cleaner than oil and particularly coal.

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A process called gasification can turn material such as wood, straw, grasses and any other form of biomass and waste into a collection of gases. These gases include methane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen; with a 1:1 air ratio in a combustion engine the gases can run any internal combustion engine. So even a small setup could be used to run a gasifier on wood or any other biomass and send the energy into your home or business or back into the grid. There are several advantages from completing this process on a small scale which include control of your energy cost and supply and additional revenue from selling energy back to the grid. Energy will only become more expensive in the future, and small scale energy production provides a good source of jobs and cheaper energy costs for the consumer.

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Large-scale gasifiers operate with large unprocessed biomass, and can do so economically and efficiently because of the expensive automated setup. Obviously to keep costs of operation and labour to a minimum automation is also important however the cost of the equipment to justify output must also be considered. Therefore to create an automated low maintenance process on a small scale the best option is to upgrade the raw material into pellets. Pellets have a uniform shape and size and high density, therefore contain very high yields of energy per tonne of fuel compared to unprocessed biomass. By operating a small scale gasifier on pellets provides the level of automation required to operate a small-scale electrical generator efficiently and at a profit.

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Pellet Combustion And Pellet Boilers

Burning wood pellets and other biomass fuel pellets efficiently depends on several factors including volume; speed and temperature of combustion air and burn pot designs. There are many different designs of pellet boilers and stoves, ranging from the simple designs to cope with premium wood pellets, to more sophisticated designs, which can cope with high ash content pellets, clinker and slag formations and corrosion issues. Burning pellets is far more efficient than burning other solid fuels including logs and coal. Due to this pellet combustion produces much less ash and therefore much less maintenance than burning other fuels. There are other areas of pellet combustion that are attracting interest in both the developed and developing world. In the developed world, pellet BBQ’s are growing in popularity. Both softwoods and hardwoods are being produced from varieties such as apple and cherry wood and the flavours transfer very nicely into the food. Using pellets of these wood varieties also means pellet BBQ’s are also ideal to smoke food. In the developing world, cooking is also an area of interest for pellets.

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Powerless but highly efficient cooking stoves are being designed so people can use a wide variety of local biomass resources to produce fuel for cooking purposes. Deforestation is becoming an even more serious issue; due to western activities of removing forests there is less wood resources for local people to use in a sustainable way. With open fires most of the energy is lost and combustion efficiency is very poor. So to reduce the deforestation, more resources must be made available in a useable form and combustion efficiency must also be dramatically increased. Basic stove designs such as the rocket stove work on the principles of gasification and complete combustion. This means the stove is far more efficient than an open fire, cooks the food far more quickly and also more importantly uses far less fuel. These stoves require no power supply to operate and also very reliable, which is important to try and speed up improved combustion technology adoption.

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Why pellets play such a crucial role is the ability to use other fuels than simply just wood. Agriculture is obviously the main source of income, and there are huge resources wasted after the food crops have been harvested. Straw is regarded as a waste in many countries and simply burned in an open fire. This is not only really bad for global warming due to the poor combustion, however it is also a massive waste of useable energy. Straw can be turned into pellets, which is ideal for these designs of stoves.

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How Are Wood Pellets Produced

The global support of pellets is increasing. One of the largest industries currently for pellets is the animal feed industry. Animal feed formulas are prepared, then through heat and pressure in a pellet mill reformed into pellets. Animal feed pellets store better than loose animal feed and also take up much less storage space, it is also easier to ration out set amounts of feed. These advantages are what have developed the feed pellet industry in the size it is today. As oil and gas prices continue to rise, pellets are now being taken seriously as a high efficiency fuel. Many different possible organic fuel sources can be compressed into pellets. Currently the most popular form of fuel pellet is the wood pellet or more specifically the premium wood pellet. Wood in pellet form is a very efficient burning fuel. Due to the high density of the wood in pellet form, a much higher heat value and less ash and particulates are produced compared to burning wood logs for example. Other possible organic fuel sources which can be processed into fuel pellet include straw, miscanthus and hemp. Many resources currently regarded as waste could also be processed, these include agricultural residues and even cardboard.

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Wood pellets are a low maintenance fuel as they produce low ash and high heat. Therefore they also require very little maintenance with some pellet stoves and boilers operating for several months at a time unattended. Burning fuels such as straw or cardboard pellets presents more issues. These issues relate too much higher ash contents, possible clinker and slag formations and corrosion issues. Sulphur and chloride are contained within some organic fuels are highly corrosive elements. Coal for example contains high levels of Sulphur, burning corrosive fuels in burners not designed to cope with the fuel can quickly corrode the burner. BBQ wood pellets are also growing in popularity over gas BBQ’s, using hard and softwood pellets for cooking can make some of the best BBQ food available.

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All pellets are produced with the same equiptment with the a few basic changed in the setup. Firstly the raw material needs to have relatively low moisture content, and particle size also needs to be fairly small. A pellet mill is then used to reform the material into pellets of various diameters. In the pellet machine there is a roller and a die, as heat and pressure increase the raw material is compressed through the die into pellets. As the pellets come from the machine they are very hot, and they must be cooled before they turn hard. Fines must be separated from the pellets before they can be bagged and stored.

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Energy Security Through Fuel Pellets And Biomass Pellet Stoves

Climate change and global warming today are important issues, to combat the issue proactive change needs to take place to change our source of energy and reduce our energy consumption. Our current source of energy is predominantly from fossil fuels, this includes for example oil, gas and coal. By using these fuels however we are compromising air quality and dramatically increasing the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Increased carbon dioxide means increased temperatures due to the green house effect. As the suns energy enters our atmosphere, a lot of the energy should bounce of the earth and be sent back into space. Carbon dioxide however reflects this energy back at the earth. Therefore the more carbon in the atmosphere the more energy is reflected back at earth and then increased temperatures result. We are now talking the impact of temperature change more seriously, as it impacts on every aspect of our lives, for everyone around the planet. The changes that are being made are to opt form sustainable, renewable and importantly low carbon forms of energy. These include wind, solar, wave, geothermal and biomass. Using these forms of energy are obviously an important factor in challenging climate change, however energy security is also a major benefit to changing our current energy system.

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Due to our increased use of energy, fossil fuels are not as abundant as they once were and a few countries control the main reserves. Issues are occurring between nations that hold the reserves and those that need the energy. Arguments are now more frequent between countries and fossil fuel prices, with gas lines stopped, ever increasing price rises and also in many peoples opinion the cause of resent wars. The longer there is this unstable relationship with energy trading and energy consumption continues to increase, disputes and wars will continue. Therefore we need to adopt renewable energy technologies sooner rather than later to improve global stability. Many alternative energy sources can be setup is almost any location, hence the energy can be locally produced.

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Energy production within the country itself has several advantages; these include cheaper energy prices, stable energy prices, economic support in terms of increased employment and economic support in terms more money kept within the local economy. As energy transportation is minimized, prices for fuel will be reduced. Energy prices will become more stable as local energy production is less influenced by the global economy, political factors and currency exchange rates. Support for the economy is supported through long-term local jobs in the production, processing and distribution of renewable energy.

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Activated Carbon Filter

Activated Carbon Filter

If you are looking to purify either the water or air in your home then you have a few options. Water and air today often comes with many pollutants. Due to modern day life we tend to put a fairly large volume of pollutants into the environment and in most places where people live these pollutants will come back via the air we breath and the water we drink. Given this you will likely want to consider ways to reduce the amount of pollutants you take in. This is particularly important if you have allergies. Not only do you need to worry about man-introduced pollutants but you also need to worry about things like pollen and dust that can exacerbate your allergies and make it hard to breath. To do this you can have a filter installed in your home. Many filters do a poor job of getting out really small contaminants though and so do not effectively reduce allergies. Activated carbon filter based devices on the other hand do an exceptional job at this. You can get activated carbon filter devices for both air and water. These devices will provide you with exceptionally pure air and water.

The Benefits Of Pellet Stoves And Wood Pellet Boilers

Oil and gas prices are continuing to rise, and will continue to rise in the future. The reasons for this are less countries now have there own fossil fuel resources anymore, and as population size continues to increase at an accelerating rate, our consumption of oil and gas also increases at an accelerating rate. However there is another factor, as developing countries turn into industrial nations, their use of fossil fuels also dramatically increases. China has a population of over a billion people, with India not far behind. As now most products sold around the world are produced in China, and Chinese people expect a better standard of living this also increases fossil fuel consumption. Now oil and gas are contributors to increasing levels of carbon, however coal brings about other issues. China has huge coal reserves, and has thousands of coal-fired power plants. However the efficiency of burning the coal is very low, and large volumes of fly ash and particulates come from the power stations and have a huge effect on air quality. During the Olympics air quality was increased through the closure of many Chinese factories. Many people became aware of this, as steel prices rose sharply. Now, the western world cannot blame China for using coal, as it is the main resource of energy they have. We should instead set an example, and develop and prove alternative energy technologies.

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Many of you will be familiar with wood pellet stoves, and possibly pellet boilers. Pellets and pellet stoves are one of the simplest, low energy, low technology means to produce alternative and clean renewable energy fuels. To create the fuel, wood or any other biomass for that matter is dried and then compressed through a pellet mill or pellet press into pellets. A pellet stove or boiler has a hopper and auger feed system. Pellets fall easily through the hopper and the auger feeds the fire at a controlled rate. Due to the high density of the pellets, they burn very efficiently with a high heat value and no visible smoke.

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Pellet stoves and boilers come in various different shapes and sizes. They can be used to heat the smallest home to the largest factory. Low cost but high efficiency pellet stoves can also use pellets very well. Certain rocket stove designs and other stove designs can use pellets efficiently and the stove has no moving parts, and is cheap to produce so is ideal for developing countries. The western world needs to take alterative energy technologies such as pellet stoves and boilers more seriously, to encourage the rest of the world to follow. After all it is our use of fossil fuels, which is the main contributor to global warming.

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Biomass Pellets And Global Warming

Our planets climate is changing, in no small part to our heavy use of fossil fuels. This negative effect comes from the fact we are altering the climate of our planet through releasing additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The green house effect is increased through rising levels of CO2. What this means is the carbon reflects the suns energy back to the earth instead of it escaping through the atmosphere, hence a rise in temperatures. Therefore our source of energy has to change from oil and gas to other alternatives, which do not place additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Some renewable energy do not affect the carbon cycle in anyway, these are wind, solar and wave. Biomass, which is any form or organic material, which can be used as a fuel, is carbon neutral, however it does involve burning the biomass to release its energy. So how can this be carbon neutral I hear you ask? Well put simply, the carbon released through biomass combustion was absorbed from previous biomass, and as long as more biomass resources are grown to replace the used biomass, no additional carbon dioxide is placed into the atmosphere.

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So how can we use biomass? Processing biomass into pellets is a low energy input process which produces a high value fuel. You may already be aware of wood pellets and pellet stoves, however wood pellets are just the start. There are many other biomass resources, which can be turned into pellets to be used in stoves and boilers. Through using a pellet mill or pellet press the biomass is compressed into a uniform pellet of a set diameter and length. Therefore pellets are a standardized fuel, for which efficient and economical systems can be designed for pellets. Combustion efficiency of wood pellets is far higher than logs or wood chips.

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Another key reason to move away from fossil fuels on to alternatives like biomass is to support your local economy and develop energy security. With alternative energy such as biomass new jobs and new money can be developed. The farming, processing, resale and consumption of biomass fuels such as pellets can all operate in the local economy. Through this system energy security is possible, where the source of energy is controlled. Currently the supply of energy is controlled through a few countries, who will push the price as high as they possibly can, or if the price isn’t right, stop supply which has happened within the year. Renewable energy and biomass can help the planet and our economic problems.

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Energy, Alternative Energy And Global Warming

Is global warming caused by man or is it just a naturally accruing event? and ‘is our use of fossil fuels the cause’. Within the recent years the augments against the fact that our use of fossil has a direct effect on global warming have subsided. Now, whether fossil fuel combustion is the sole cause is still debated, however it is clear that increased CO2 levels due to fossil fuel combustion is a contributing factor of climate change. The issue obviously is oil and gas today play an integral role in every aspect of our lives, whether it’s heating our homes or driving our cars. Put simply we live a fossil fuel way of life, and things have to change. We therefore need to look to alternative methods to generate the energy we need to power our lifestyles and future development. There are several options available to use this include solar, wind, wave and biomass.

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We must consider the effects and benefits of all types and forms of alternative energy, and the use of biomass has several benefits. One of the key benefits of biomass is it is a cultivate resource; this means a biomass economy could evolve on the cultivation, processing and distribution of various biomass energy products. These products can include oil products such as ethanol and bio-diesel, bio-ethanol can be produced from any biomass resource no just corn, in fact corn should be solely used for food and the waste corn cobs and straw should be used to produce ethanol. Biomass can also be processed in to solid fuels such as pellets. Both heating and cooking is possible through the use of biomass. A biomass economy unlike a fossil fuel economy is decentralized, as almost anyone in any location can cultivate some form of biomass. Therefore monetary resources are spread more evenly through the world economy instead of certain oil states acquiring obscenely large amounts of monetary assets.

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Biomass can be processed in a pellet mill or pellet press into a high density, high value solid fuel. Biomass pellets flow like a liquid and are therefore ideal for automatic hopper and feed systems found on pellet stoves and boilers. By compressing biomass into pellets a much higher and more efficient combustion temperature can be achieved. Once a biomass pellet fire is up to temperature no visible smoke can be seen coming from the fire, and for developing countries with health risks from poor combustion wood fires, pellets offer a way to improve their health and quality of life. Therefore it is clear, there are other options to oil and gas, we just need to invest in alternative technologies to develop them in the energy sources of the future.

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Energy And Pellet Fuel Production

With the increasing price rises of fossil fuels such as oil and gas are causing great concern for many people. At a time of economic recession the pressure of meeting fuel and energy bills is becoming more and more difficult to manage. Concerns over global warming are also gaining attention, as fossil fuels are seen to be a direct cause of temperature increase. Oil and gas are trapped forms of carbon from under the ground. When we use fossil fuels we then release this carbon into the atmosphere. However this carbon is not part of the current carbon cycle as it has been kept deep underground, it was part of a previous carbon cycle. Plants and trees are part of the current carbon cycle, as the plants grow they absorb carbon dioxide and when they die and decay or are burnt this carbon in then released back into the atmosphere. Then new plants and tree’s use this carbon, and the cycle continues and the level of carbon should remain constant. By burning fossil fuels we are placing additional carbon into the atmosphere, which leads to the greenhouse effect and traps the suns heat, leading to climate change. Therefore alternative and renewable energy sources are being considered. And to use these energy sources efficiently, upgrading them into pellets.

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Pellet production refers to the compression of various raw materials into uniform pellets. Pellets can be made into various different shapes and sizes, and from a wide range of raw materials. By producing pellets from a raw material, it is possible to increase the density of the raw material, even up to factors of ten or more. This means a uniform, high density; high value product has been created. Which is cheaper to transport and is easier to design systems for their use, for example pellet stoves and boilers and their hopper and auger feed mechanisms.

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Producing pellets is a skilled process, and requires the right equipment, the right knowledge and the right raw material. Unless all these factors are in place, high quality consistent pellets cannot be produced. For example there are various pellet mills and pellet presses available in various different sizes and productivities. However, a key mistake that is made is to purchase a pellet mill that has productivity beyond the capabilities of the other process equipment. If your setup cannot prepare quality consistent raw material at the correct moisture content, then the capabilities of the pellet mill are wasted. So understanding the true abilities and productivities of the equipment is crucial to produce a balanced setup. A balanced setup is a more efficient way to spend resources and will also be more energy efficient.

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