HSTFAN13 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 However, fusion is currently still a pipe dream as in all experiments to date it takes more power to keep the fusion reaction going than can be gathered from the reaction. The laser-based NIF (national ignition facility) system is getting closer to a way of getting more power out than put in. But it could still be decades before a viable fusion system is up and running for domestic power generation. Until then fission is what we're stuck with, so any fission method that is inherently safer than current reactors and which also burns up all the fission waste needs to be considered. Yes there's a few reactors which use nuclear waste/byproducts There's different generations of nuclear reactors at the moment were gen.3/3+ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTFAN13 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Arguably it is better to use biomass than coal, but it still generates CO2. Being a byproduct of managed forestry, growing the biomass, along with the primary forestry products, helps, in theory, to reduce net CO2 levels but at best you make a very small dent in CO2 density. More interesting are the industrial photosynthesis experiments. In concept they use algae (and the sun) to consume smokestack CO2, and turn it into fuel/food but I'm not aware of any that are in serious production, nor an industrialized application for the algae derivative. Yes what there doing is capturing the CO2 from the combustion and using it to grow 'green algae' to use as a fuel(or food) there testing one in Germany Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Kazmierczak Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Getting back to the wagons. The bogies seem rather set back from the headstocks. Wonder if they'll suffer from buffer-locking? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTFAN13 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 The future is whatever makes money. Biomass imported to Teeside, Hull and mostly Immingham will mean many increased train movements due to the considerable bulk required. So larger wagons to reduce costs makes sense. Nuclear has a future here and more so in France, but in Germany the future is new coal-fired power stations to replace nuclear. In Germany there using what's know as supercritical/ultra supercritical plants which is more energy efficient around 40-50% and have less emissions than subcritical plants used here There was two supercritical boilers here at drakelow c power station(unit 11 and 12) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTFAN13 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Getting back to the wagons. The bogies seem rather set back from the headstocks. Wonder if they'll suffer from buffer-locking? When I first saw a video of them I though the same why are the bogies more towards the middle of the wagon Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
40044 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 When I first saw a video of them I though the same why are the bogies more towards the middle of the wagon If you look closely, you'll see that these new wagons have 4 sets of hopper doors per wagon; 2 between the bogies and 1 between each bogie and headstock. Ironbridge Power Station has also been converted to burn biomass, so far it's been railed in from Tyne Dock, Portbury, Ellesmere Port and Liverpool. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTFAN13 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 If you look closely, you'll see that these new wagons have 4 sets of hopper doors per wagon; 2 between the bogies and 1 between each bogie and headstock. Ironbridge Power Station has also been converted to burn biomass, so far it's been railed in from Tyne Dock, Portury, Ellesmere Port and Liverpool. Ahh many thanks for info about the hooper doors Also yeah I know about ironbridge With ironbridge though its only uses 75% biomas the other 25% is coal and ironbridge has to close before 2015 because its not fitted with FGD or any other emission cutting equipment Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
40044 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Ahh many thanks for info about the hooper doors Also yeah I know about ironbridge With ironbridge though its only uses 75% biomas the other 25% is coal and ironbridge has to close before 2015 because its not fitted with FGD or any other emission cutting equipment Ironbridge is now 100% biomass. The remaining coal stocks are either being covered over or taken out by lorry(!) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTFAN13 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Ironbridge is now 100% biomass. The remaining coal stocks are either being covered over or taken out by lorry(!) I've read that it's 100% but it uses coal to insure the most efficient operation Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTFAN13 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I've just read on drax website on their half year results 2013 that they have plans to convert a fourth unit More biomass wagons maybe? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I've just read on drax website on their half year results 2013 that they have plans to convert a fourth unit More biomass wagons maybe? Mmmmm - just think of all those redundant GW HST trailers that in a few years time they could just cut the roof off and fill with wood & rubbish for burning.............................. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium jjb1970 Posted July 31, 2013 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 31, 2013 I only found out via this web site that this wagon was designed by my employer, I didn't even realise we had a department that designed rolling stock! I did of course we have a major rail business but I was only under the impression they did verification and QA work, not rolling stock design. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Revolution Ben Posted July 31, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 31, 2013 Hi all, The arrangement of discharge chutes outside the bogies and a large "bulging" profile reminds me of the experimental RMC JHA hopper designed by Powell Duffryn (I think) in the early 1990s. http://paul3715.tripod.com/miscwag.htm cheers Ben A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
black and decker boy Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 Surely the logic of wood is that you don't just burn it, but you burn it and plant some more trees - that way you don't run out... (Notwithstanding that if you just burned it and didn't bother to renew, then it's not really a renewable is it...) That's clearly the plan but since when have humans kept to (sensible) world wide plans like that? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
black and decker boy Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I've just read on drax website on their half year results 2013 that they have plans to convert a fourth unit More biomass wagons maybe? The article said 200 on order. I have read somewhere recently that you need 4 trains of biomass for one train of coal for the equivalent output at the power station. No wonder GBRF want more 66s. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTFAN13 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 The article said 200 on order. I have read somewhere recently that you need 4 trains of biomass for one train of coal for the equivalent output at the power station. No wonder GBRF want more 66s. 200 wagons are for 3 units the fourth unit hasn't been confirmed what their doing at the moment is the engineering design for the forth unit If you look on the drax website and then click on the half year results 2013 document it will tell you about the forth unit Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerces Fobe2 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 I thinkng about my next layout to be based in Cornwall and featuring biomass trains -Trefelling! XF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southernman46 Posted July 31, 2013 Share Posted July 31, 2013 So will NR be parking these on the main line and filling them up from the forests they appear to be cultivating ? Think of all those saved lorry journeys.................. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
black and decker boy Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 So will NR be parking these on the main line and filling them up from the forests they appear to be cultivating ? Think of all those saved lorry journeys.................. Perhaps a new factory train to clear the buddleia..... Enter the high output tree shredder HOTS (patent pending) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob D2 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 I don't care how we get it, I need this new fangled electric - trickery to keep my prodigy up and running....I'd hate for my little trains to grind to a halt... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debs. Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 This "renewables" thing; it seems to be 'all smoke and mirrors'...........the economics of these replacement forms of energy; just doesn`t seem to add up without the magic of short-term subsidies politics. Britain has done joined up large-scale energy thinking in the past: the adoption of standardised voltages and frequencies, the construction of national electricity transmission grid and reliable local distribution networks, the building of many base-load power stations by the BEA/CEA & GEGB in the decades after WWII to ensure uniform resilience of supply, new large power stations built right next to new, high quality and productive/efficient deep-pits with direct conveyor transit fueling........efficient MGR rail-operations linking large coal reserves to distant power plants. Bearing in mind the many centuries of quality, accessible hard coal reserves that are known to exist: it would seem if only the political will forethought to adopt clean-burning technology had been made (and by the way; such technology has now been around for several decades!) we would perhaps now not be at the whim of such desperate modes of thinking; such as contracting, large, diesel standby generating sets to be dotted-about our nation`s countryside, so that domestic-energy assurances can be kept 'at any cost'............. Please excuse my hobby-horse: I`m the daughter of an electrical engineer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSTFAN13 Posted August 1, 2013 Share Posted August 1, 2013 This "renewables" thing; it seems to be 'all smoke and mirrors'...........the economics of these replacement forms of energy; just doesn`t seem to add up without the magic of short-term subsidies politics. Britain has done joined up large-scale energy thinking in the past: the adoption of standardised voltages and frequencies, the construction of national electricity transmission grid and reliable local distribution networks, the building of many base-load power stations by the BEA/CEA & GEGB in the decades after WWII to ensure uniform resilience of supply, new large power stations built right next to new, high quality and productive/efficient deep-pits with direct conveyor transit fueling........efficient MGR rail-operations linking large coal reserves to distant power plants. Bearing in mind the many centuries of quality, accessible hard coal reserves that are known to exist: it would seem if only the political will forethought to adopt clean-burning technology had been made (and by the way; such technology has now been around for several decades!) we would perhaps now not be at the whim of such desperate modes of thinking; such as contracting, large, diesel standby generating sets to be dotted-about our nation`s countryside, so that domestic-energy assurances can be kept 'at any cost'............. Please excuse my hobby-horse: I`m the daughter of an electrical engineer. One thing to add is most back up generators are at coal/oil/gas fired plants and they use open cycle gas turbines(OCGT) some back up generators are diesel / gas engines as you say Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
6Y99 Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 DBS Have the main bulk of the new Bio Mass traffic get ready for some disused sidins reopening Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 An interesting topic. Dust explosions are possible in a variety of places, flour mills and brewery malt mills being a couple not mentioned so the phenomenon is quite well recognised. If we were to make more of our timber products from UK sourced forests, rather than import a significant proportion, we would have more wood waste to use that didn't require transport over such distances. Unfortunately we just don't do joined-up thinking but allow the free market (or profiteering by another name) to define everything. There have been several cases of dust explosions at coal powered power stations. Certainly Battersea Station B had a dust explosion in the pipe between a ball mill and a boiler bifurcation, where pulverised coal dust exploded. Station A had standard boilers with automatic stokers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baby Deltic Posted August 2, 2013 Share Posted August 2, 2013 Perhaps a new factory train to clear the buddleia..... Enter the high output tree shredder HOTS (patent pending) If you want biomass, cut and burn bracken fern. The plant grows like the clappers, burns like the clappers and produces excellent potash. The railway is over-run with this aggressive weed, as are many hillsides and woodlands. It is probably the most abundant plant on the planet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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