Berkeley report

Last week, we visited All Power Labs in Berkeley. I have been looking into feasibility of small-scale (on the order of 100's of kW) power generation in Alaska using biomass. Gasification seems to be the most promising avenue to achieve this. The idea is, instead of burning the wood and using the heat to generate steam, which is how big coal power plants work, cost-effectiveness can be obtained on a smaller scale by gasifying the fuel first and burning the gas in a gas turbine instead. All Power Labs originally designed their small gasifiers to be optimized for using palm kernel shells, which are a waste product in regions that produce palm. In Alaska, our fuel would be wood chips. All Power Labs has also been using walnut shells to make electricity, which makes sense in California!

While we were there, DL and I went to visit my Alma Mater. Although my mother theoretically lives in Berkeley, I don't believe I had set foot on campus since I graduated in 1999. Like most stable cities, the structure does not change (unlike in suburbia, where new developments pop up all the time). But the businesses, and the "feel" of neighborhoods do. Overall, I was struck by how beautiful it is (is always was, but I had forgotten!), and how prosperous it looked (this was a change!). The "rougher" neighborhoods had gone upscale, with fancy restaurants and very expensive stores. Berkeley is in a really breathtaking setting--rolling hills gradually climbing higher as you go farther inland, with beautiful views to the Bay from almost every west-facing vista. And it has gorgeous architecture, with both grand Victorians and quirky little houses. When my mother occasionally laments how "boring" the Silicon Valley neighborhoods are, it had never really struck home for me until this visit. Really, the pop-up McMansions of the South Bay cannot compare to Berkeley.

My mother has always loved Berkeley. When she first moved to the United States, it was the first place she had lived. So although my sister and I were San Francisco kids, she hauled us across the Bay Bridge quite often. She liked to shop for used clothes in Rockridge or on Solano Avenue. My sister and I would complain about how boring it was hanging out in some used clothing store, so afterwards, in compensation, she'd take us to Indian Rock or Tilden Park or the Rose Garden. Then to Zachary's for their famous deep-dish pizza. So in a way, I have been a Berkeley girl for much of my life, a San Francisco girl for most of it, a Fairbanks girl for slightly less time, and a Sili Valley girl for a scant 7 years! Okay, let's not have an existential crisis now. Let's post photos!

Here is the latest iteration of the gasifier. It is 25 kW:


A "byproduct" is biochar, which is basically wood charcoal. In Lower 48 applications, where grid power is inexpensive, apparently biochar *is* the product, as a soil amendment. They flare off the gas!


Etcheverry Hall, home of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. It's rather drab, isn't it?


McLaughlin Hall, home of the bureaucracy of the College of Engineering. I used to have to go there once or twice a semester to do Forms and Paperwork and other things of that nature. I've always thought it was very beautiful:


This sundial caught DL's eye. I had never noticed it before. Apparently it was a gift from the Class of 1877, and installed in 1917:


Stephen's Hall, where I used to do clerical work:


South Hall, the oldest building on campus, dating to 1873. Apparently, it was one of only two buildings at the time, North Hall and South Hall. I have never even seen a photo of North Hall, which was razed in 1917.


The woodwork inside South Hall is beautiful!


Obligatory shot of the Campanile:


Wheeler Hall. I've always loved this building. The interior stone steps have moon-shaped indentations in them from over 100 years of students:


The famous Sather Gate:


The Hearst Mining Building. I took E45, Intro to Materials Science, here! Always loved this old, cool, stony building, which was comfortable even on those "blistering" hot days when the temperatures would climb to the 80s! (Go ahead and laugh, I was a child of San Francisco fog!). My senior year, it was being renovated. On this visit, we saw posters and photos of the renovation, and how impressive it was! It involved a whole new foundation! DL said that it probably cost more than the building, but that they preserved history, which was nice.


The interior of the Mining building:


A crescent moon behind the Campanile:


While we were gone, Starbuck and Cricket hung out at Holy Dog:


Now they are back home on the couch, SNUGGLIN'! AAAAHHHH!!!


Have you ever noticed that THERE IS A HEART ON ROO'S CHEST?!? AAAHHHHH!!!