Construction of the fluidized bed gas producer was completed in late March, and the first operational runs were made in April using walnut shells for fuel. Actual gas production time was 58 hours during calendar year 1982. On two occasions during these runs, a mixture of cubed and chopped rice straw was satisfactorily gasified. Unreliable operation of the fuel feed system prevented sustained operation. A double rotary gate feeder has been designed, constructed and installed to feed chopped rice straw or a mixture of cubed and chopped rice straw into the reaction chamber of the fluidized bed gas producer. This type of metering is frequently used in industry to reliably meter feed stock into a pressurized reactor.

Work on the design of a fixed bed gas producer for rice straw has led to the conclusion that it is not satisfactory. Progress has been made on a producer gas conditioning system using a filter that removes essentially all of the solid particulate. Modifications have been made on a portable farm power plant to prepare it for dual-fueled operation with producer gas generated by the fluidized bed gas producer from rice straw.

Rice straw was prepared for gasification by feeding whole bales into a course hammer mill type bale shredder and rotary cutter forage chopper. This reduced particle size is adequate for cubing and for feeding the straw into the fluidized bed gas producer. Major breakdowns were experienced with the forage chopper, shredder, and stationary cuber.

Development of a combuster to burn the full range of quantity and quality product gas has been completed. This has been necessary to assure the exhaust pollutant level was acceptable in the area where these studies need to be conducted. Throughout this year's testing period, 16 modifications have been made to the system. These modifications will permit reliable long-term operation for gasification of rice straw.