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The Controversy of AT&SF Locomotive #3463
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are two goals for the development of torrefied biomass, sometimes called bio-coal:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -18.75pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 36.75pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.75pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">1)</span> <span style="font-size: small;">Perfect the fuel.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -18.75pt; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 36.75pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list 36.75pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">2)</span> <span style="font-size: small;">Perfect the agriculture and manufacturing process for the fuel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">From what I have read, the torrefied wood pellets have not yet been perfected as a fuel, but they are close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of this development work has been done making small batches in experimental laboratory apparatus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once it is perfected, a production system must be developed that will include the entire process from biomass agriculture to the pellet manufacturing plant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">The preferred feedstock would probably be switchgrass or giant king grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would require production land, cultivation, seed stock, planting, fertilizing, possibly pest control, possibly irrigation, harvesting, and transporting to the plant. </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the plant, the grass would be dried, shredded, cooked in the torrefication process, ground, and mechanically pressed into molded pellets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have seen no cost breakdown for this process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would be interesting to learn how many BTUs would be produced per acre per season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span style="font-family: verdana,geneva;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the references for this Coalition For Sustainable Rail states that they will spend $3 million redesigning and rebuilding the locomotive, and $5 million perfecting the torrefied fuel and developing the manufacturing process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></span></p>
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