Gasification Technology

Technology of Biomass Gasification

From the article:

Biomass has been a major energy source, prior to the discovery of fossil fuels like coal and petroleum. Even though its role is presently diminished in developed countries, it is still widely used in rural communities of the developing countries for their energy needs in terms of cooking and limited industrial use. Biomass, besides using in solid form, can be converted into gaseous form through gasification route.

Biomass is a natural substance available, which stores solar energy by the process of photosynthesis in the presence of sunlight. It chiefly contains cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, with an average composition of C6H10O5, with slight variations depending on the nature of the biomass. Theoretically, the ratio of air-to-fuel required for the complete combustion of the biomass, defined as stoichiometric combustion is 6:1 to 6.5:1, with the end products being CO2 and H2O. In gasification the combustion is carried at sub-stoichiometric conditions with air-to-fuel ratio being 1.5:1 to 1.8:1. The gas so obtained is called producer gas, which is combustible. This process is made possible in a device called gasifier, in a limited supply of air.

Gasification is a two-stage reaction consisting of oxidation and reduction processes. These processes occur under sub-stoichiometric conditions of air with biomass. The first part of sub-stoichiometric oxidation leads to the loss of volatiles from biomass and is exothermic; it results in peak temperatures of 1400 to 1500 K and generation of gaseous products like carbon monoxide, hydrogen in some proportions and carbon dioxide and water vapor which in turn are reduced in part to carbon monoxide and hydrogen by the hot bed of charcoal generated during the process of gasification. Reduction reaction is an endothermic reaction to generate combustible products like CO, H2 and CH4. Since char is generated during the gasification process the entire operation is self sustaining.