ECOMOW TECHNOLOGIES

Hardware System

EcoMow is a small self-fueled mower/harvester. It uses the grassy biomass that it harvests as fuel, and processes the biomass that it does not use into a dried pellet form which can be used for other applications such as heating or power generation.

The EcoMow design has a number of systems that give it the ability to process the biomass and use it as fuel. Unlike many conventional mowers that use a rotating blade, the EcoMow uses an electrically driven bar cutter. This allows the mower to operate without the need to maintain the kinetic energy required in a rotary blade system. The bar cutter is followed by pelletizer that presses the grass into pellets in a manner similar to a meat grinder except that higher pressures and temperatures are used.

Gasifier System

The formed pellets obtained by harvesting are dropped into a collection bin where they are progressively dried with hot air from the gasifier. Dried pellets are then converted to a fuel gas in a device called a gasifier.

The gasifier design used in the EcoMow is a partial combustion type, using high temperature to convert the gas pellets to a fuel usable in a conventional gas engine. The fuel is filtered, cooled, and mixed with air before it is used. An internal alternator generates power for electrically driven components and computer control, guidance, and communications.

The gasifier is modeled after an imbert downdraft design with its top sealed to prevent oxygen from getting in. Very wet biomass (such as grass) can be processed as long as the material is dry by the time it reaches the pyrolysis zone. Pyrolysis is the physics behind the gasifier, which consists of the decomposition of bio material in the presence of heat, but without oxygen. Hydrogen gas and gaseous hydrocarbons are liberated, leaving primarily carbon char. The output is highly flammable gas.