The structure of the agnion Heatpipe-Reformers
The fuel (solid biomass like residuals from timber processing, wood chips, pellets, landscaping material and similar sources) is fed through a lock system into the fluidized bed gasifier, the actual reformer. In a fluidized bed, gas is blown through a sand layer to create a fluidized state; the agnion Heatpipe-Reformer employs steam for this purpose.
In such a fluidized, highly turbulent sand layer the fuel particles perfectly mix and begin – at temperatures around 800°C – to form a gas mixture made up of hydrogen and carbon monoxide.
The substantial innovation of the Heatpipe-Reformer concept lies in the fact that the core problem of heat input is solved in an extremely simple, compact and cost-effective way through the so-called Heatpipes. Thanks to the Heatpipes it is possible to transmit the necessary heat fluxes with a low temperature gradient and high specific performance from the combustion chamber to the Reformer.
Heat pipes for efficient heat input
Heat pipes are sealed pipes filled with a working fluid. The working fluid – for example sodium or potassium – evaporates in the heating zone and condenses in the cooling zone of the heat pipe. The heat transfer coefficients in this process are considerably higher compared with pipes filled with flue gas so that the heat input is only limited by the (already very high) heat transfer from the pipe surface to the fluidized bed.
