Thread: creating energy out of manure

Okay, here we go... you all might find this a bit weird but I'm going to give it a shot...

first I'll shortly explain where the idea got started:

We have a dairy farm backhome. And I know that in the past (70years ago or so ) people used to dry the solid manure ( mix of straw and manure) and then burn it in their wood stove. It worked pretty good.

So my idea was: If i can use this dry manure to burn and turn water into steam, maybe i can use this steam to spin a (Tesla)turbine, and generate some elektricity. I consider it just as an experiment , I have no intention to make money out of this. So my budget to spend isn't very big.

Do you guys have any good idea's on how I should create my boiler ?
here's a simplistic design from wikipedia:


I don't think there are generators that run on steam so I think I will need a (Tesla)turbine to get the rotating motion to spinn the generator. any thoughts on that ?


I know some of you are going to say: Why don't you just use a bio digester and use the Methane to burn and propell a generator.
some farmers here in Europe do that, but it's hard to regulate the process and above all it costs easily 150 000 $ for a digester.


I'm looking forward to build my powerplant :-D

thoughts and idea's are welcome !

Roel. 8)

...

Damn, why does that link stretch out the page? Shouldn't the board software automatically shrink it to fit properly?

What steam pressure do you need to operate a Tesla turbine? I've googled a bit and haven't found any mention of pressure, which is surprising. Pressure is the very first thing that needs to be considered.

If you can run the turbine on very low pressure steam, say 3 psig (sorry, you do the conversion) you might find a scrap domestic steam boiler and build a manure burning grate under it. These used to be made of cast iron and last forever. If you need a higher pressure you're talking about a lot more investment, with a feed pump and water treatment and a boiler that looks more like the one in your picture.

You also need to consider water supply. If you vent the steam after it's been used in the turbine you'll use a lot of water and waste a lot of energy. It's better to condense it and re-use it. You could condense it in a greenhouse heating system, or some other useful way. But then you'll need a pump to get it back up to pressure.

I'm curious how you dry the manure?

Good luck with your project.

Those Kohler steam generators make steam from electricity, not the other way around. They are used for saunas.

Originally Posted by Bunbury

What steam pressure do you need to operate a Tesla turbine? I've googled a bit and haven't found any mention of pressure, which is surprising. Pressure is the very first thing that needs to be considered.

If you can run the turbine on very low pressure steam, say 3 psig (sorry, you do the conversion) you might find a scrap domestic steam boiler and build a manure burning grate under it. These used to be made of cast iron and last forever. If you need a higher pressure you're talking about a lot more investment, with a feed pump and water treatment and a boiler that looks more like the one in your picture.

I'm curious how you dry the manure?

Good luck with your project.

Thanks
yes I was wondering too, I'm sure I can build one but will it work , what pressure does it need, can it resist the steam temperature etc etc.

drying manure is easy. just lay it on the concrete outside for a day and it's as dry as desert sand.

Harold14370 thanks for the reply I was a little confused there.

Roel. 8)

This website tells you in principle how to build one, but is useless because of this statement:

In the case of steam turbines, steam properties, mass flow of the steam and the number of discs are critical to the expected power output of the turbine and are beyond the scope of this discussion.

You could email Bob Saunders and find out how much work he's actually done on the details.

http://www.green-trust.org/steamturb...eamturbine.htm

Be careful. There have been disasters involving exploding boilers. There might be some codes or regulations regarding boilers and pressure vessels that you will have to deal with.

Yes, be careful. Stick with a very low pressure system. Codes generally only apply above 15 psig, about 2 bar absolute, but you don't want to go that high.

You guys are right, it is dangerous... I will add pressure gauges so I can monitor good. and a relief valve will also be something necessary...

I was thinking about that expensive turbine thing and something crossed my mind. Why don't I just use a Turbo for it. or don't you guys think that's gonna work ?


Roel. 8)

manure generators already exist, dont they?...i'm sure they do

Yeah they do