Producer gas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Producer gas is fuel gas that is manufactured from material such as coal, as opposed to natural
gas. In this respect it is similar to other types of "manufactured" gas, such as coal gas, coke oven
gas, water gas and carburetted water gas. Producer gas was used primarily as an industrial fuel
for iron and steel manufacturing, such as firing coke ovens and blast furnaces, cement and
ceramic kilns, or for mechanical power through gas engines. It was characteristically low in
heating value but cheap to make, so that large amounts could be made and burnt.
In the USA, producer gas may be wood gas produced in a gasifier and used to power cars, town
gas, originally produced from coal, for sale to consumers, and syngas, used as a fuel source or
as an intermediate for the production of other chemicals.
In the United Kingdom, producer gas, also called suction gas, specifically means a fuel gas
made from coke, anthracite or other carbonaceous material. Air is passed over the red-hot
carbonaceous fuel and carbon monoxide is produced. The reaction is exothermic and proceeds
as follows:
2C + O2 + 3.73 N2 → 2CO+ 3.73 N2
The nitrogen in the air remains unchanged and dilutes the gas, giving it a very low calorific
value. The concentration of carbon monoxide in the "ideal" producer gas was considered to
be 34.7% carbon monoxide (carbonic oxide) and 65.3% nitrogen.[1] After "scrubbing", to
remove tar, the gas may be used to power gas turbines (which are well-suited to fuels of low
calorific value), spark ignited engines (where 100% petrol fuel replacement is possible) or
diesel internal combustion engines (where 15% to 40% of the original diesel fuel requirement
is still used to ignite the gas [2]). During World War II in Britain, plants were built in the form of
trailers for towing behind commercial vehicles, especially buses, to supply gas as a
replacement for petrol (gasoline) fuel.[3] A range of about 80 miles for every charge of
anthracite was achieved.[4]
In old movies and stories, when describing suicide by "turning on the gas" and leaving an
oven door open without lighting the flame, the reference was to coal gas or town gas. As this
gas contained a significant amount of carbon monoxide, it was quite toxic. Most town gas
was also odorized, if it did not have its own odor. Modern 'natural gas' used in homes is far
less toxic, and has a gassy odor added to it for identifying leaks.

Integrated energy systems

by Preben Maegaard, 2010
In the face of climate change and resource scarcity, the world’s energy system is
on the verge of a major transformation. In order to massively reduce CO2
emissions, there is a need to build a new energy system that is based on a greatly
expanded use of renewable energies. It is almost certain that in 20 or 30 years
time the world will have a very different energy system from the one that currently
exists.
The technological building blocks for the transition to a sustainable energy future
already exist in the form of decentralized cogeneration plants, wind turbines, large
and small biogas plants, solar energy and various types of biomass for energy
purposes. The primary task, therefore, is to integrate the various forms of
renewable energy, sometimes in combination with natural gas, in order to achieve
the maximum utilization of renewable energy sources and supplies.
The reality of renewable energy is that it is necessary to combine and integrate
technologies since no single renewable energy source can sufficiently stand-alone.
A comprehensive future conversion to renewable energy requires mobilization of all
forms of renewable energy installations, including both large and small plants. It is
not enough to base development on technologies which are currently cheapest, as
this could lead to a unilateral deployment of large wind turbines in particular.
A persistent global attachment to the dominant fossil-fuel based energy system
has limited the development of combined fluctuating solar and wind energies into
coherent, autonomous systems. One consequence of this is, for example, that
renewable energies, when generated in excess, remain unutilized, or even wasted.
Wind turbines in regions with high shares of wind energy, for example, may be
periodically shut down when the wind turbines produce too much power. Similarly,
when combined heat and power production coincide with excess wind energy, an
excess power capacity may occur. These problems will become increasingly
frequent as more wind turbines feed power into the grid and more CHP systems
are utilized. Electric boilers, however, have proved to be a low cost solution to
capture excess energy, by using excess wind power in fuel-efficient heat and
power systems.
A lack of balance between supply and demand of power means that there may
periodically be an increasing problem of excess power from the combined supply
from wind turbines, solar power and CHP. The problem, however, needs not to
exist but is caused by lack of political management and coordination. Appropriate
forms of public management and control of supply seems best to solve problems
associated with fluctuating and intermittent power production. What is required,
are political solutions with incentives for the wise use of this so-called surplus
power, avoiding selling at very low prices to neighbouring countries, the
establishment of major new transmission lines and integrated systems to match
with supply peaks when winds are strong.
The various renewable forms of energy (solar, wind, biomass) can provide an
alternative to fossil fuel when they are used in combination with one another. None
of the renewable energy forms are capable of covering the need for electricity,
heat and transportation if they used alone. There must be, however, a multiform
effort involving many kinds of supply systems, energy storage and saving
mechanisms, as well as appropriate user-management strategies.
The constant expansion of renewable energy not only provides realistic potential,
but ultimately could lead to an end of the combustion of fossil fuels. The economic
risk connected with investments in new conventional power plants will grow
significantly, especially with increased uncertainties in the future of fossil fuel
prices. Not least will be the growing risk of low utilization as their annual
production is being marginalized by increased use of decentralized renewable
energy forms.
Renewable energies will have the key role in the global push towards a carbon
dioxide-free future of energy production. Due to their in principle unlimited
potential, in comparison to the current global energy regime, they are treated in
this article as the primary source of supply for meeting the future demand for
electricity, heating and mobility, irrespective of their intermittent character. In
areas with high shares of wind or solar availability, these energies will more and
more be seen as base load that covers the supply of power by 100% and often
more.
Because biomass functions as an ideal long-term storage solution, and due to its
limited availability it is necessary that it be reserved for combustion in combined
heating/cooling and power stations with efficiencies of 85% or more. Their
primary function is for balancing by down-regulation in periods with excessive
power and by up-regulation when solar and wind energy cannot cover the base
loads.
Besides grid for electricity, in the future energy structure extensive pipe networks
for district heating and cooling will have ancillary functions. Due to their low
efficiencies of 40% or less conventional condensation power stations will not have
an important role to play.
Electricity storage will be an essential part of the integrated systems that see
power supply, mobility, heating and cooling as a whole together with existing
possibilities like demand-side management. These systems should be affordable,
sustainable, and efficient.
Some regions and even countries already have relatively high shares of fluctuating
power supply. By 2010 Denmark has seen 22% of its demand for electricity from
wind turbines which by 2015, will grow to around 35%. At low peak power
demand and high wind speeds the wind power can currently fully cover the
consumption of electricity; at the local level the share of wind power may even be
300% of actual consumption. Interregional compensation with strong connections
to neighbouring countries still plays an important role for up-regulation and down-
regulation; it may be a short term solution, however, as the present importers of
excess power most likely in the future will be less interested in buying power as
the deployment of fluctuating forms of renewable energy will only increase in
neighbouring countries as well. The reality is that outlets for periodical
overcapacities will be required globally.
Currently there exists many different energy storage systems, but only a few are
functional and commercially available. Moreover, these technologies need to be
compared by their investment volume, their losses and their potential for
centralized and decentralized applications. The storage solutions have to be
discussed by their limits, environmental effects, geographical requirements,
application focus, investment complexity, and efficiency. Furthermore storage
technologies have to be optimized in terms of size and capacity, responding time
and flexibility, as well as their cost-effectiveness.
The supplies of water, electricity, gas, heat and energy for transportation have in
common the fact that they are all daily necessities for domestic consumers, as well as
for industry and public sector institutions. Therefore, it is the case in many countries that
the same company, often a municipal company, may have supplied all these services for
several decades, a process which has generally worked to everyone's satisfaction.

Strategy of the Autonomous Energy System

January 2009

* Wind and solar energy are the
primary sources for heat and
electricity. Biomass is used for
back up.
* The power flow control directs
surplus electricity through the
thyristors to the electric boiler.
* When the electric boiler does not
supply sufficient wind generated heat,
the wood pellet stoker is activated.
* In case of no wind, and a need
for heat and electricity, the
combined heat and power unit,
CHP, running on plant oil, is
activated.
* Over production of wind and
solar generated heat is pumped
into the 10.000 litres hot water
storage tank to be used at a later
time.
See also diagram here.

Integrated RE for rural communities.

Planning Guidelines, Technologies Contents

and Applications Preface. Index of figures. Index of
tables. Foreword.
By
1. Introduction.
Nasir El Bassam, International
Research Center for Renewable 2. Overview of energy requirements
Energy (IFEED), Sievershausen,
Germany (www.ifeed.org)
Preben Maegaard, Nordic
Folkecenter for Renewable Energy,
Hurup Thy, Denmark
(www.folkecenter.net)
Preface by Dr. Hermann Scheer,
World Council for Renewable
Energies (www.wcre.org)
Published August 2004
Description
More than two billion people
worldwide have currently no access
to grid electricity or other efficient
energy supply. This is one third of
humanity and the majority live in
rural areas. The productivity and
health of these people are
diminished by reliance on
traditional fuels and technologies,
with women and children suffering
most.
Energy is the key element to
empower people and ensure water,
food and fodder supply as well as
rural development. Therefore
access to energy should be treated
as the fundamental right to
everybody. Renewable energy has
the potential to bring power, not
only in the literal sense, to
communities by transforming their
prospects.
This book offers options that meet
the needs of people and
communities for energy and engage
them in identifying and planning
their own provision especially in the
unserved regions in the developing
countries but also during the
transition from the fossil and
atomic fuels to the renewable
energies in the industrialized part
of the world.
The book describes updated
renewable energy technologies and
offers strategies and guidelines for
the planning and implementation of
sustainable energy supply for
for rural communities.
2.1 Heat. 2.2 Electric power. 2.3
Water. 2.4 Lighting. 2.5 Cooking.
2.6 Health and sanitation. 2.7
Communications. 2.8
Transportation. 2.9 Agriculture.
2.10 Basic and extended needs.
3. Calculating energy and food
production potential and
requirements.
3.1 Modelling approaches. 3.2 Data
acquisition. 3.3 Determination of
energy and food requirements. 3.4
Energy potential analysis. 3.5 Data
collection and processing for energy
utilization. 3.6 Wind energy. 3.7
Biomass. 3.8 Energetic use of
biomass.
4. Planning of integrated energy
systems for rural communities.
4.1 Scenario 1. 4.2 Scenario 2. 4.3
Case study I: Implementation of
IEF under climatic conditions of
Central Europe. 4.4 Case study II:
Arid and semi arid regions.
5. Renewable energy resources and
technologies.
5.1 Biomass and bioenergy. 5.2
Regional availability. 5.3
Deployment of biogas: Denmark as
a case study. 5.4 Plant oils. 5.5
Ethanol. 5.6 Combustion. 5.7
Gasification. 5.8 Pyrolysis. 5.9
Cogeneration. 5.10 Wind energy.
5.11 Solar energy. 5.12
Hydropower. 5.13 Geothermal
energy. 5.14 Marine energy
(general). 5.15 Ocean thermal
energy. 5.16 Tidal energy. 5.17
Wave energy. 5.18 Hydrogen. 5.19
Fuel cells. 5.20 Stirling engines for
power and heat generation. 5.21
Tractors as power generator (dual
uses). 5.22 Batteries. 5.23
Alternative transportation fuels.
6. Applications of renewable energy
technologies.
6.1 Cookers and stoves. 6.2 Air
conditioning, cooling, refrigeration
individuals and communities.
Energi box - decentralized renewable energy.
"Die Energiebox - Ursprünge
demokratischer Energieversorgung"
is the title of a new film, which
shows that decentralized,
renewable energy is the solution to
the energy supply of the future.
In the film is Denmark mentioned
as a pioneer within wind
energy. Among others are Poul la
Cour and Nordic Folkecenter for
Renewable Energy, as taking part
in this.
and ice making. 6.3 Solar powered
village scale potable water system.
6.4 Telecommunication. 6.5
Mobility and alternative fuel
vehicles.
7. System integration.
7.1 The integrated energy farm.
7.2 New achievement in the
utilization of biomass for energy in
China.
8. Buildings and energy saving.
9. Environmental assessment.
10. Economic dimensions.
10.1 Economic aspects. 10.2
Recent and future market. 10.3
Financing and investment. 10.4
Development. 10.5 Marketing
strategy.
11. Legislative structures.
The director at Folkecenter Preben
Maegaard, member of the German
Bundestag dr. Hermann Scheer and
leader of Grundtvig Stiftung in
Potsdam Ulrich Jochimsen are part
of the film.
Click here and view the 17 minutes
long film.
The film is produced by Volker
Hoffmann and Klaus Overhoff and
is in German.
Hybrid renewable energy system
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please
help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced
material may be challenged and removed. (November 2010) (Learn how and
when to remove this template message)

Hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES) are becoming popular as stand-alone power
systems for providing electricity in remote areas due to advances in renewable
energytechnologies and subsequent rise in prices of petroleum products. A hybrid energy
 system, or hybrid power, usually consists of two or more renewable energy sources used
together to provide increased system efficiency as well as greater balance in energy supply.[1]

Contents
[hide]

 1Examples
o 1.1Biomass-wind-fuel cell
o 1.2Photovoltaic and wind
o 1.3Completely Renewable Idea
 2Drawbacks
 3How to Overcome?
 4Areas Of Research
 5Regulation
 6Need for research
 7See also
 8References
 9External links

Examples[edit]
Biomass-wind-fuel cell[edit]
For example, let us consider a load of 100% power supply and there is no renewable system to
fulfill this need, so two or more renewable energy system can be combined. For example, 60%
from a biomass system, 20% from wind system and the remainder from fuel cells. Thus
combining all these renewable energy systems may provide 100% of the power and energy
requirements for the load, such as a home or business.
Photovoltaic and wind[edit]

Block diagram of a PV/wind hybrid energy system

Another example of a hybrid energy system is a photovoltaic array coupled with a wind
turbine.[2] This would create more output from the wind turbine during the winter, whereas during
the summer, the solar panels would produce their peak output. Hybrid energy systems often yield
greater economic and environmental returns than wind, solar, geothermal or trigeneration stand-
alone systems by themselves.
Completely Renewable Idea[edit]
Completely Renewable Hybrid Power Plant (solar, wind, biomass, hydrogen) A hybrid power
plant consisting of these four renewable energy sources can be made into operation by proper
utilization of these resources in a completely controlled manner. Hybrid Energy Europe-USA.
Caffese in Europe introduce hybridizing HVDC transmission with Marine hydro pumped Energy
Storage via elpipes. The project of Caffese is 3 marine big lakes producing 1800 GW and
transmission with elpipes. A part 1200 GW produce water fuels-wind fuels-solar fuels 210 billion
liter year. (IEEE Power and Engineering Society-General Meeting Feb.9.2011,Arpa-E,Doe
USA,MSE Italy,European Commission-Energy-Caffese plan and Consortium)

Drawbacks[edit]
Most of us already know how a solar/wind/biomass power generating system works, all these
generating systems have some or the other drawbacks, like Solar panels are too costly and the
production cost of power by using them is generally higher than the conventional process, it is
not available in the night or cloudy days. Similarly Wind turbines can’t operate in high or low wind
speeds and Biomass plant collapses at low temperatures.

How to Overcome?[edit]
So if all the three are combined into one hybrid power generating system the drawbacks can be
avoided partially/completely, depending on the control units. As the one or more drawbacks can
be overcome by the other, as in northern hemisphere it is generally seen that in windy days the
solar power is limited and vice versa and in summer and rainy season the biomass plant can
operate in a full flagged so the power generation can be maintained in the above stated
condition. The cost of solar panel can be subsided by using glass lenses, mirrors to heat up a
fluid, that can rotate the common turbine used by wind and other sources. Now the question
arises what about the winter nights or cloudy winter days with very low wind speeds. Here comes
the activity of the Hydrogen. As we know the process of electrolysis can produce hydrogen by
breaking water into hydrogen and oxygen, it can be stored; hydrogen is also a good fuel and
burns with oxygen to give water. Hydrogen can be used to maintain the temperature of the
biomass reservoir in winter so that it can produce biogas in optimum amount for the power
generation. As stated above biogas is a good source in summer; in this period the solar energy
available is also at its peak, so if the demand and supply is properly checked and calculated the
excess energy can be used in the production of hydrogen and can be stored. In sunny, windy
&hot day, the turbine operates with full speed as the supply is maximum, and this excess power
can be consumed for the process of manufacturing hydrogen. In winter, the power consumption
is also low so the supply limit is low, and obtained with lesser consumption. Driving hybrid cars
will disable this outcome.

Areas Of Research[edit]
 Amount of Hydrogen produce by amount of power utilized and reusing the hydrogen for
maintaining the temperature. Is it cost efficient?
 Limited to areas near equatorial regions (23deg N-23deg S), at low altitudes.
 Infrastructure cost may be high.

Regulation[edit]
To get constant power supply, the output of the renewables may be connected to
the rechargeable battery bank and then to the load. If the load is alternating current (AC), then
an inverter is used to convert the direct current (DC) supply from the battery to the AC load.
Consideration about voltage transition among modules starting from Wind Generator,Battery
Charger Controller and Inverter should be subject to voltage standard which mainly focus about
voltage compatibility.

Need for research[edit]

The key to cost reductions of this order is, of course, the right sort of support for innovation and
development - something that has been lacking for the past and, arguably, is still only patchy at
present. Research and development efforts in solar, wind, and other renewable energy
technologies are required to continue for:

 improving their performance,

 establishing techniques for accurately predicting their output
 reliably integrating them with other conventional generating sources
Economic aspects of these technologies are sufficiently promising to include them in developing
power generation capacity for developing countries.

1. Introduction

Rapid depletion of fossil fuels has necessitated an urgent need for alternative sources

of energy to cater the continuously increasing energy demand. Another key reason to

reduce our consumption of fossil fuels is the growing global warming phenomena.

Environmentally friendly power generation technologies will play an important role in

future power supply. The renewable energy technologies include power generation

from renewable energy sources, such as wind, PV(photovoltaic), MH(micro hydro),

biomass, ocean wave, geothermal and tides.

In general, the key reason for the deployment of the above energy systems are their

benefits, such as supply security, reduced carbon emission, improved power quality,

reliability and employment opportunity to the local people. Since the RE resources are

intermittent in nature therefore, hybrid combinations of two or more power generation

technologies, along with storage can improve system performance.

Hybrid Renewable Energy System (HRES) combines two or more renewable

energy resources with some conventional source (diesel or petrol generator) along with

storage, in order to fulfill the demand of an area. An example of PV-wind diesel

generator HRES is shown in fig.1.

2. Methedology

It is essential to have a well-defined and standardized frame work/steps taken for

hybrid system based power generation for rural electrification. These steps are as

follows:

a. Demand Assessment: Using accurate load forecasting of remote villages, the

load demand can be fetched. Load assessment can also be done by interviewing

gram pradhans, school teachers, local people, workers etc. During load survey,

following factors may be considered:

Demand for street lighting,

Number of houses, schools, health centers, commercial establishment and their

energy requirement, number of small scale industries and their energy demand,

Miscellaneous demand.

b. Resource Assessment: Resource assessment can be done by calculating

potential available in wind, MHP, solar, Biomass, Biogas, and other renewable
energy resources using meteorological data available.

c. Barriers/Constraints:

Annual electricity demand,

Reliability,

Net Present cost,

Environmental factors,

Employment.

d. Demand is fulfilled by Hybrid renewable energy system. This can be done by

combining one or more renewable energy sources with conventional energy

sources. Some Hybrid renewable system configurations are as follows:

PV/Wind/diesel generator HRES,

PV/wind/fuel cell HRES

Wind/battery HRES

Biomass/wind/diesel generator HRES

PV/Wind/Biomass/fuel cell HRES

e. Once the system configuration is selected, optimization is performed with

suitable optimization technique.

Criteria for Hybrid System Optimizations

rder to select an optimum combination for hybrid system to meet the load demand, 3. Criteria for
Hybrid System Optimizations

In order to select an optimum combination for hybrid system to meet the load demand,

evaluation must be carried out on the basis of power reliability and system life-cycle

cost.

3.1 Power reliability analysis

Power reliability is considered an important step in hybrid system design process. The

hybrid energy system must satisfy the load in the most economical and cost effective
way. There are various methods used to calculate the reliability of the hybrid system.

Loss of power supply probability (LPSP) [1,2], Loss of Load Probability (LOLP),

System Performance Level (SPL) [4], and Loss of Load Hours (LOLH). LPSP is the

probability that an insufficient power supply results when the hybrid system is unable

to satisfy the load demand. The LOLP is a measure of the probability that the system

demand will exceed the system’s power supply capacity in a given time period. The

SPL is defined as the probability that the load cannot be satisfied [3]. Al-Ashwal and

Moghram [4] presented a method for the assessment on the basis of the loss of load

risk (LOLR) to decide a proportion for solar and wind energy in a hybrid system. risk (LOLR) to decide
a proportion for solar and wind energy in a hybrid system.

3.2 System cost analysis

There are several economic criteria for the system cost analysis, such as Net present

Cost, Levelised Cost of Energy [5] and life-cycle cost [6].The Net present Cost is

defined as the total present value which includes the initial cost of all the system

components, the cost of any component’s replacement that occur within the project

lifetime and the cost of maintenance. The life of PV modules is generally considered as

the life of the system [7].

The Levelised cost of energy is defined as the ratio of the total annualized cost of

the system to the annual electricity delivered by the system.

4. Unit Sizing Optimization

Unit sizing of Hybrid RE/AE systems is important and essential task and has been

studied extensively in [8,9]. It is basically a method of determining the size of the

hybrid system components by minimizing the system cost while maintaining system

reliability.

Over sizing the system components will enhance the system cost whereas under

sizing can lead to failure of power supply or insufficient power delivered to the load.

Sizing optimization can be done in various ways as listed below:

 Software tools

Probabilistic approach

Graphical construction method

Iterative technique

Artificial Intelligence method

Artificial Intelligence method

1) Simulation and Optimization software

Simulation tools are the most common tools for evaluating the performance of the

Hybrid systems. Optimum configuration can be found by using computer simulations,

by comparing the performance and energy production cost of different system

configurations. Several software tools are available for designing of the hybrid

systems, such as HOMER, HYBRID2, HOGA and HYBRIDS.

HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) is user friendly

software produced by national renewable energy laboratory. It uses hourly simulations

HOMER (Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables) is user friendly

software produced by national renewable energy laboratory. It uses hourly simulations

and environmental data for the assessment of the hybrid renewable energy system and

performs optimization based on Net Present Cost. HOMER has been used extensively

in various case studies

HOGA is hybrid system simulation software developed by the Electric Engineering

Department of the University of Zaragoza Spain. The simulation is carried out using 1-

h intervals.

HYBRID2 is the hybrid system simulation software developed by Renewable

Hydraulic ram
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 This article is about the water pump. For the vehicle extraction tool, see Hydraulic rescue tools.
For the piston-based actuator, see hydraulic cylinder.

Figure 1: A hydraulic ram that drives a fountain at the Centre for Alternative Technology

A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It takes in water at
one "hydraulic head" (pressure) and flow rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic head and
lower flow rate. The device uses the water hammer effect to develop pressure that allows a
portion of the input water that powers the pump to be lifted to a point higher than where the water
originally started. The hydraulic ram is sometimes used in remote areas, where there is both a
source of low-head hydropower and a need for pumping water to a destination higher in elevation
than the source. In this situation, the ram is often useful, since it requires no outside source
of power other than the kinetic energy of flowing water.

Contents
[hide]

 1History
 2Construction and principle of operation
o 2.1Sequence of operation
o 2.2Efficiency
o 2.3Drive and delivery pipe design
o 2.4Starting operation
o 2.5Common operational problems
 3Water-powered pump
 4See also
 5References
 6Further reading
 7External links

History[edit]
A ram pump in Vogn, Nordjylland, Denmark

In 1772, John Whitehurst of Cheshire, United Kingdom, invented a manually controlled precursor
of the hydraulic ram called the "pulsation engine" and installed the first one at Oulton,
Cheshire to raise water to a height of 4.9 metres (16 ft).[1][2] In 1783, he installed another
in Ireland. He did not patent it, and details are obscure, but it is known to have had an air vessel.
The first self-acting ram pump was invented by the Frenchman Joseph Michel Montgolfier (best
known as a co-inventor of the hot air balloon) in 1796 for raising water in his paper
mill at Voiron.[3] His friend Matthew Boulton took out a British patent on his behalf in 1797. The
sons of Montgolfier obtained a British patent for an improved version in 1816,[4] and this was
acquired, together with Whitehurst's design, in 1820 by Josiah Easton, a Somerset-born
engineer who had just moved to London.
Easton's firm, inherited by his son James (1796–1871), grew during the nineteenth century to
become one of the more important engineering manufacturers in the United Kingdom, with a
large works at Erith, Kent. They specialised in water supply and sewerage systems worldwide, as
well as land drainage projects. Eastons had a good business supplying rams for water supply
purposes to large country houses, farms, and village communities. Some of their installations still
survived as of 2004, one such example being at the hamlet of Toller Whelme, in Dorset.
The firm closed in 1909, but the ram business was continued by James R Easton. In 1929, it was
acquired by Green & Carter[citation needed] [5] of Winchester, Hampshire, who were engaged in the
manufacturing and installation of Vulcan and Vacher Rams.

Hydraulic ram, System Lambach now at Roscheider Hof Open Air Museum

The first US patent was issued to Joseph Cerneau (or Curneau) and Stephen (Étienne) S.
Hallet (1755-1825) in 1809.[6][7] US interest in hydraulic rams picked up around 1840, as further
patents were issued and domestic companies started offering rams for sale. Toward the end of
the 19th century, interest waned as electricity and electric pumps became widely available.
By the end of the twentieth century interest in hydraulic rams has revived, due to the needs
of sustainable technology in developing countries, and energy conservation in developed ones. A
good example is AID Foundation International in the Philippines, who won an Ashden Award for
their work developing ram pumps that could be easily maintained for use in remote
villages.[8] The hydraulic ram principle has been used in some proposals for exploiting wave
power, one of which was discussed as long ago as 1931 by Hanns Günther in his book In
hundert Jahren.[9]
Some later ram designs in the UK called compound rams were designed to pump treated water
using an untreated drive water source, which overcomes some of the problems of having
drinking water sourced from an open stream.[10]

Principles of operation of the Papa hydraulic ram pump

In 1996 an English engineer, Frederick Philip Selwyn, patented a ‘fluid pressure amplifier’ which
differed in many ways to the contemporary ram technology by the development of a venturi
effect waste valve.[11]
Known as the Papa pump, this utilises the low pressure generated by high velocity water flow
around a curve-shaped elastomeric valve (with low pressure loss) to allow a valve design that
enables rapid closure and with a relatively small cross sectional area and low weight. The venturi
valve is configured as a ring section positioned around the supply inlet of the pump with the
delivery outlet of the pump being directly in line. The design allowed the pump structure to be
concentric and therefore inherently strong and upon closure of the valve, permits efficient water
delivery by acting in line with the supply via a second smaller venturi effect delivery non return
valve. The elastomeric material and operation of these valves also allows them to self-return
without weight or spring assistance. A pressure vessel installed on a tee connected to the
delivery port of the pump provides the pulsed flow accumulation means. This unique technology
and design dramatically reduced the weight, manufacturing cost and number of components
required - as well as provided an overall improvement in efficiency.
Additional patents granted to Selwyn have since been developed by UK companies Papa Ltd
and Water Powered Technologies Ltd[12] of Bude, Cornwall, further enhancing the technology to
include a composite material injection-moulded pump allowing for relatively low cost mass
production whilst maintaining high strength, low weight and high performance previously only
attainable with metal units.
Other novel developments include an automatic regulator valve which can be simply installed to
the pumps to allow the maximum utilisation of water supply from low or seasonally variable water
sources without the need to manually adjust the pumps - as well as much larger pump versions
with 1 metre diameter inlets for large river, marine tidal and flood applications. Systems have
also been developed and utilised for rainwater harvesting, water treatment and other water
utility applications.
The new scalable technology, manufacturing processes and materials and the ability to integrate
with other systems should allow the 21st century ram pump to regain its recognition as a world
leader in energy efficient water supply as well as new roles in energy generation, irrigation and
flood support networks.

Construction and principle of operation[edit]

A traditional hydraulic ram has only two moving parts, a spring or weight loaded
"waste" valve sometimes known as the "clack" valve and a "delivery" check valve, making it
cheap to build, easy to maintain, and very reliable. The Papa hydraulic ram pump also has only
two moving parts. However, these are not mechanical but instead rely on the elastomeric
properties of the main valve and non-return valve which are low-cost, reliable and easy to
replace. In addition, there is a drive pipe supplying water from an elevated source and a delivery
pipe, taking a portion of the water that comes through the drive pipe to an elevation higher than
the source.
Sequence of operation[edit]

Figure 2: Basic components of a hydraulic ram:

1. Inlet – drive pipe
2. Free flow at waste valve
3. Outlet – delivery pipe
4. Waste valve
5. Delivery check valve
6. Pressure vessel

A simplified hydraulic ram is shown in Figure 2. Initially, the waste valve [4] is open (i.e. lowered)
because of its own weight, and the delivery valve [5] is closed under the pressure caused by the
water column from the outlet [3]. The water in the inlet pipe [1] starts to flow under the force
of gravity and picks up speed and kinetic energy until the increasing drag force lifts the waste
valve's weight and closes it. The momentum of the water flow in the inlet pipe against the now
closed waste valve causes a water hammer that raises the pressure in the pump beyond the
pressure caused by the water column pressing down from the outlet. This pressure differential
now opens the delivery valve [5], and forces some water to flow into the delivery pipe [3].
Because this water is being forced uphill through the delivery pipe farther than it is falling
downhill from the source, the flow slows; when the flow reverses, the delivery check valve [5]
closes. Meanwhile, the water hammer from the closing of the waste valve also produces a
pressure pulse which propagates back up the inlet pipe to the source where it converts to a
suction pulse that propagates back down the inlet pipe. This suction pulse, with the weight or
spring on the valve, pulls the waste valve back open and allows the process to begin again.
A pressure vessel [6] containing air cushions the hydraulic pressure shock when the waste valve
closes, and it also improves the pumping efficiency by allowing a more constant flow through the
delivery pipe. Although the pump could in theory work without it, the efficiency would drop
drastically and the pump would be subject to extraordinary stresses that could shorten its life
considerably. One problem is that the pressurized air will gradually dissolve into the water until
none remains. One solution to this problem is to have the air separated from the water by an
elastic diaphragm (similar to an expansion tank); however, this solution can be problematic in
developing countries where replacements are difficult to procure. Another solution is to have a
mechanism such as a snifting valve that automatically inserts a small bubble of air when the
suction pulse described above reaches the pump.[13] Another solution is to insert an inner tube of
a car or bicycle tire into the pressure vessel with some air in it and the valve closed. This tube is
in effect the same as the diaphragm, but it is implemented with more widely available materials.
The air in the tube cushions the shock of the water the same as the air in other configurations
does.
Efficiency[edit]
A typical energy efficiency is 60%, but up to 80% is possible. This should not be confused with
the volumetric efficiency, which relates the volume of water delivered to total water taken from
the source. The portion of water available at the delivery pipe will be reduced by the ratio of the
delivery head to the supply head. Thus if the source is 2 meters above the ram and the water is
lifted to 10 meters above the ram, only 20% of the supplied water can be available, the other
80% being spilled via the waste valve. These ratios assume 100% energy efficiency. Actual
water delivered will be further reduced by the energy efficiency factor. In the above example, if
the energy efficiency is 70%, the water delivered will be 70% of 20%, i.e. 14%. Assuming a 2-to-
1 supply head to delivery head ratio and 70% efficiency, the delivered water would be 70% of
50%, i.e. 35%. Very high ratios of delivery to supply head usually result in lowered energy
efficiency. Suppliers of rams often provide tables giving expected volume ratios based on actual
tests.
Drive and delivery pipe design[edit]
Since both efficiency and reliable cycling depend on water hammer effects, the drive pipe design
is important. It should be between 3 and 7 times longer than the vertical distance between the
source and the ram. Commercial rams may have an input fitting designed to accommodate this
optimum slope.[14] The diameter of the supply pipe would normally match the diameter of the input
fitting on the ram, which in turn is based on its pumping capacity. The drive pipe should be of
constant diameter and material, and should be as straight as possible. Where bends are
necessary, they should be smooth, large diameter curves. Even a large spiral is allowed,
but elbows are to be avoided. PVC will work in some installations, but steel pipe is preferred,
although much more expensive. If valves are used they should be a free flow type such as a ball
valve or gate valve.
The delivery pipe is much less critical since the pressure vessel prevents water hammer effects
from traveling up it. Its overall design would be determined by the allowable pressure drop based
on the expected flow. Typically the pipe size will be about half that of the supply pipe, but for very
long runs a larger size may be indicated. PVC pipe and any necessary valves are not a problem.
Starting operation[edit]
A ram newly placed into operation or which has stopped cycling must be started as follows.[citation
needed]
If the waste valve is in the raised (closed) position, which is most common, it must be
pushed down manually into the open position and released. If the flow is sufficient, it will then
cycle at least once. If it does not continue to cycle, it must be pushed down repeatedly until it
cycles continuously on its own, usually after three or four manual cycles. If the ram stops with the
waste valve in the down (open) position it must be lifted manually and kept up for as long as
necessary for the supply pipe to fill with water and for any air bubbles to travel up the pipe to the
source. This may take a minute or more. Then it can be started manually by pushing it down a
few times as described above. Having a valve on the delivery pipe at the ram makes starting
easier. Close the valve until the ram starts cycling, then gradually open it to fill the delivery pipe.
If opened too quickly it will stop the cycling. Once the delivery pipe is full the valve can be left
open.
Common operational problems[edit]
Failure to deliver sufficient water may be due to improper adjustment of the waste valve, having
too little air in the pressure vessel, or simply attempting to raise the water higher than the level of
which the ram is capable.
The ram may be damaged by freezing in winter, or loss of air in the pressure vessel leading to
excess stress on the ram parts. These failures will require welding or other repair methods and
perhaps parts replacement.
It is not uncommon for an operating ram to require occasional restarts. The cycling may stop due
to poor adjustment of the waste valve, or insufficient water flow at the source. Air can enter if the
supply water level is not at least a few inches above the input end of the supply pipe. Other
problems are blockage of the valves with debris, or improper installation, such as using a supply
pipe of non uniform diameter or material, having sharp bends or a rough interior, or one that is
too long or short for the drop, or is made of an insufficiently rigid material. A PVC supply pipe will
work in some installations but is not as optimal as steel.

Water-powered pump[edit]
An alternative to the hydraulic ram is the water-powered pump. It can be used if a high flow rate
at high head ratio is required. A water-powered pump unit is a hydraulic turbine coupled to a
water pump. The motive power needed by the pump is generated by the hydraulic turbine from
the available low head water energy.[15]