Steam Powered Wood Chipper
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Basic concept: a steam engine is directly (mechanically) coupled to a wood chipper. No electricity is generated. The whole purpose is to process wood. A portion of the wood chips is used to power the steam engine. The heat-producing unit relies on pyrolysis rather than combustion of biomass. While this lowers the yield significantly, it generates biochar as a valuable by-product. The char can be sequestered locally, i.e. in forest soils.
The steam engine can be switched over to hydraulic output, driving hydraulic motors and allowing hydraulic implements to be run, such as:
- pulley of steel ropes which are used to bring large branches toward the machine
- chainsaw to cut logs into smaller pieces
- hydraulic log splitter
- spader to sequester biochar in soil
- electric generator, can power electric chainsaws, lights to work in darkness
- perhaps other GVCS elements such as The Liberator
The steam engine's boiler may also generate some superheated steam that is used to quickly dry the wood chips. Heat recovery (to heat more water for the steam engine) can make this very energy efficient.
Related: The Biochar Economy