Biodynamic Alchemy

Hi all

I have been reading drawdown recently it has sparked my interest in learning about all the ways in which to convert my time into creating systems and processes to convert waste materials in my area into energy usable end products.

It's rather addicting and my brain enjoys the challenge of adding in as many processes as possible in order to create some sort of ultimate cycle of inputs and outputs being accounted for (mostly theoretical at this stage but as I find time I am interested in doing some small scale tests of some of my theories and ideas).

Basically I want to see if I'm barking up the right tree or barking mad. Here are my concepts and processes as I see them (I'll edit or confirm them as I get more information).

Starting with Wood/Sugar/Water/Algae ending up with Coal/Lye/Algae/Ethanol/Methane/BioDiesel/Glycerol

Input Biomass and burn it anaerobically in order to output Heat + Coal
Input Biomass and burn it aerobically output heat + ash
Input Ash + Water + Draining materials output Lye (or just boil ash?)

Notes
Best practice being to have biomass be coppiced and burning branches and other materials that would commonly be bonfire material
Coal is pure carbon? and can be activated with microbiology to create biochar or used as a heat source or buried in the ground in an attempt to sequester carbon?


Input high sugar products + Yeast + Water to create Alcohol + Co2 + Rotten sugar free fruit
Input Alcohol + Heat output Ethanol
Input Co2 + Water + Algae + Sun output More Algae
Input Algae + Pressure/Hexane? + Lye + Alcohol/Methane output Biodiesel + Glycerol

System ideas

55 gallon drums with crushed apples in them. The Co2 from the fermenting fruit is piped through to algae that are attached to the pipe (the current thought is to have soft drink bottles screwed into the pipe). Any surplus co2 that the algae doesn't absorb is then bubbled through the leachate of a worm farm (to encourage microbial bacteria) or which biochar is also added into the worm system to enrich it.

Once alcohol is taken out of the tank then the tank becomes a digester and the Co2 collection system becomes a methane collection system (if it isn't lost in the alcohol creation process?)

Steam is generated as a byproduct of the biochar process that steam is pumped into the alcohol chamber to heat the liquid to the required temperature to create the ethanol

If anyone has done any systems like this or has any interesting information on how inputs of raw materials work into outputs that are usually purchased (books podcasts etc) or anything that has the specifics of what actually happens to chemical composition of materials as they are transmuted I would be greatly appreciative.

Jared Bosecke wrote:Hi all

I have been reading drawdown recently it has sparked my interest in learning about all the ways in which to convert my time into creating systems and processes to convert waste materials in my area into energy usable end products.

It's rather addicting and my brain enjoys the challenge of adding in as many processes as possible in order to create some sort of ultimate cycle of inputs and outputs being accounted for (mostly theoretical at this stage but as I find time I am interested in doing some small scale tests of some of my theories and ideas).

Basically I want to see if I'm barking up the right tree or barking mad. Here are my concepts and processes as I see them (I'll edit or confirm them as I get more information).

Starting with Wood/Sugar/Water/Algae ending up with Coal/Lye/Algae/Ethanol/Methane/BioDiesel/Glycerol

Input Biomass and burn it anaerobically in order to output Heat + Coal
Input Biomass and burn it aerobically output heat + ash
Input Ash + Water + Draining materials output Lye (or just boil ash?)

Notes
Best practice being to have biomass be coppiced and burning branches and other materials that would commonly be bonfire material
Coal is pure carbon? and can be activated with microbiology to create biochar or used as a heat source or buried in the ground in an attempt to sequester carbon?


Input high sugar products + Yeast + Water to create Alcohol + Co2 + Rotten sugar free fruit
Input Alcohol + Heat output Ethanol
Input Co2 + Water + Algae + Sun output More Algae
Input Algae + Pressure/Hexane? + Lye + Alcohol/Methane output Biodiesel + Glycerol

System ideas

55 gallon drums with crushed apples in them. The Co2 from the fermenting fruit is piped through to algae that are attached to the pipe (the current thought is to have soft drink bottles screwed into the pipe). Any surplus co2 that the algae doesn't absorb is then bubbled through the leachate of a worm farm (to encourage microbial bacteria) or which biochar is also added into the worm system to enrich it.

Once alcohol is taken out of the tank then the tank becomes a digester and the Co2 collection system becomes a methane collection system (if it isn't lost in the alcohol creation process?)

Steam is generated as a byproduct of the biochar process that steam is pumped into the alcohol chamber to heat the liquid to the required temperature to create the ethanol

If anyone has done any systems like this or has any interesting information on how inputs of raw materials work into outputs that are usually purchased (books podcasts etc) or anything that has the specifics of what actually happens to chemical composition of materials as they are transmuted I would be greatly appreciative.

Your not barking mad, its Just the alchemy terminology should be refrained from because of its connotation.

I am more inclined to use physics equations length, mass, time ,electric current, temperature, amount of substance, luminous intensity. and chemical equations using the periodic table. Hopefully I will be able to list Biodynamic bacteria into the chemical equations, as they work to create chemical reactions.

But methane, should be burnt and that carbon moved into the collection process, the science is somewhat backed but application and ratios,

"you could also consider the application of a bio digester with sulphur bacteria and methanogenic bacteria, from other waste sources intertwined into this bio digester, and creating sulfuric acid, and power, that could be sequestered.

and even the addition of soybean production externally now you have TNT production! earthworks baby! " my humour!

This may advance your adaption of the ancient Egyptians process!