Control of power producing engine in a biomass conversion system
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsLeslie Bromberg, Emmanouil Kasseris, Yu Chen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A biomass conversion system is disclosed. The system comprises a syngas generator, a cleanup engine and a power producing engine. The power producing engine is coupled to a load, such as an electrical generator. Methods of controlling the power producing engine in response to changes in load are disclosed. In certain embodiments, the air-to-fuel ratio, spark timing, and/or recirculation gases are varied to change the power of the power producing engine. In other embodiments, the power producing engine is throttled by limiting the amount of clean syngas that enters the engine.
Claims22
An integrated system for producing power from solid fuels, comprising:
- a syngas generator to form producer gas from solid fuels;
- a cleanup engine in communication with an outlet of the syngas generator to remove tar from the producer gas and create cleaned syngas;
- a power producing engine in communication with an outlet of the cleanup engine to generate power;
- a power engine fuel actuator disposed between the outlet from the cleanup engine and an inlet of the power producing engine, wherein the power engine fuel actuator is adjusted and pressure builds up at the outlet of the cleanup engine, and wherein the pressure serves to reduce a power output of the cleanup engine;
- a power engine air filter;
- a power engine air actuator in communication with the power engine air filter and an inlet of the power producing engine;
- a sensor to determine a speed of the power producing engine;
- and
- a controller in communication with the power engine fuel actuator, the power engine air actuator, and the sensor.
A method of controlling a system for producing power from solid fuels, wherein the system comprises:
- a syngas generator to form producer gas from solid fuels;
- a cleanup engine in communication with an outlet of the syngas generator to remove tar from the producer gas and create cleaned syngas;
- a power producing engine in communication with an outlet of the cleanup engine to generate power;
- a power engine fuel actuator disposed between the outlet from the cleanup engine and an inlet of the power producing engine;
- a power engine air filter;
- a power engine air actuator in communication with the power engine air filter and an inlet of the power producing engine;
- a sensor to determine a speed of the power producing engine;
- and
- a controller in communication with the power engine fuel actuator, the power engine air actuator, and the sensor, and wherein the method comprises:
- throttling the power engine fuel actuator and the power engine air actuator based on a speed of the power producing engine.
A method of controlling a system for producing power from solid fuels, wherein the system comprises:
- a syngas generator to form producer gas from solid fuels;
- a cleanup engine in communication with an outlet of the syngas generator to remove tar from the producer gas and create cleaned syngas;
- a power producing engine in communication with an outlet of the cleanup engine to generate power;
- a power engine fuel actuator disposed between the outlet from the cleanup engine and an inlet of the power producing engine;
- a power engine air filter;
- a power engine air actuator in communication with the power engine air filter and an inlet of the power producing engine;
- a sensor to determine a speed of the power producing engine;
- and
- a controller in communication with the power engine fuel actuator, the power engine air actuator, and the sensor, and wherein the system further comprises a recirculation actuator to allow syngas exhausted from the cleanup engine to recirculate to an inlet of the cleanup engine, the method comprising:
- controlling the recirculation actuator based on a speed of the power producing engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.