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MSB: I have photos here of a system that was built in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia in the late 1970s. This gasifier was designed to burn whole round bales of straw. The tower the bales were placed in was round and large enough in diameter to take the bales, and high enough for three bales at one time. The fire was a controlled burn in the bottom of the chamber, and the gasses coming off were used to fuel a propane grain dryer and other propane heating devices on the farm. This was a continuous burn chamber, whereby one kept adding bales at the top. It had to be shut down weekly for cleaning, usually a wheelbarrow load. This system has since been dismantled as the designer and operator has since passed away. One of the problems they encountered was control of the fire. I talked just last year with the designer's son and he feels some of the new computer controls now out could have solved their problems. They almost had melt down a couple of times. The system also worked much better in the fall when round bales had not yet lost the round shape. Once bales had been stacked and no longer having a good round shape, it caused bridging problems as well as up draft problems. We concluded that just maybe some of the more dense bales of today may work better. There is a company in Nova Scotia, currently manufacturing and marketing a similar upright burner for round bales. I don't believe he is designing this as a gasifier but rather a heat source for hot water furnace. I have researched this quite a bit, basically interested in fuel for stationary applications. I've come to the conclusion that pelleting the fuel supply will be far more efficient than trying to burn whole round bales.
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