International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Studies

E-ISSN22498974

Research Paper

PERFORMANCE OF BIOMASS GASIFIER USING WOOD

Prof.M.K.Chopra#1 , Shrikant Ulhas Chaudhari*2

1#

Address for Correspondence

H.O.D., Academic Dean, 2* PG Student M.E. Thermal Engg,, Department Of Mechanical Engg.
RKDF College Of Engg. Bhopal Affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi Technological University, Bhopal.(M.P)India
ABSTRACT
The world is facing a great problem of energy crises, because of overuse of conventional fuels in automobiles, power
generation and various thermal applications. Imposition of emissions norms by government regulating bodies to reduce
environment pollution lead to the search for cleaner burning fuel. Wood gas is expected to play an important role in meeting
the existing gap between the energy supply and energy demand, particularly in rural areas, in the present context of energy
crises. The technology of Biomass gasification has existed from more than seventy years. Subsequent to World War II, the
technology didnt gain popularity. It is reported that Europe exploited the gasification technology and its use in IC engine. In
American as well as Indian Sub continental a work is going on related to Producer gas IC engine.
In the present paper an attempt is made to study the viability of waste biomass as an alternate source of fuel, its scope and
limitation of gasification process. Also Design of Gasifier and its accessories and fabrication process of the gasifier. In the
current research work, the downdraft gasification system is developed in aim of producing a consistent quality of Producer
gas with less tar content. The gasifier system is developed which consists of Reactor, cyclone, filter and blower etc to supply
producer gas at a rate such that a power of 3.74 kW is developed by burning the gas..The gas produced in the gasifier is a
clean burning fuel having heating value of about 950-1200 kcal/m3. Hydrogen (18-20%) and carbon-monoxide (18-24%) are
the main constituents of the gas.
KEY WORDS Gasifier, combustion, biomass, producer gas

I. INTRODUCTION
Energy scarcity is a major problem in developing
countries. In India, a survey(The Hindu, 2005) showed
that in 2001, 56% of households did not have access
to electricity. Most of these regions are rural based
and the agricultural activity generates large amounts
of residue biomass and by-products. Agri-processing,
representing means for development also requires
energy; therefore, an efficient use of these residues
might contribute significantly in such ventures.
Traditionally, many agricultural residues and byproducts are used in processing operations by
combustion, which is the simplest and direct form of
converting the chemical energy in biomass to usable
energy. Wood saw dust in wood processing or bagasse
in sugarcane processing is classical examples.
However, the efficiency of conversion and the
convenience of energy utilization limit the system.
Thermo-chemical conversion comprises combustion
process; however other routes for biomass to energy
are also available. Gasification is a potential route that
may offer better efficiency and flexibility.
Gasification is the thermo chemical breakdown of
carbon-containing constituents of biomass to yield a
gaseous fuel (termed producer gas or syngas).
The technology was developed during early 1800s, but
energy crisis (such as the world wars) enhanced the
development and refining in this field. During such
times, coal and wood were the commonly used fuels
in these efforts. Compared to combustion which
requires minimal stoichiometric oxygen input
gasification occurs at partial oxidation conditions.
Gasification is considered as a clean burning process
with homogeneous heating, easy to control and
allowing good recovery of heat .The resulting
producer gases have the advantage of being easy to
handle. The entire gasification process is made up of
various chemical and physical processes such as
drying, pyrolysis and partial oxidation, reduction and
condensation. Some of the processes have been
described and modelled. However, gasification still
IJAERS/Vol. I/ Issue III/April-June, 2012/204-206

requires significant research and refinement to suit

higher energy demands and utilize available biomass.
II. NEED OF GASIFICATION
Energy crisis is a situation in which the nation suffers
from a disruption of energy supplies (in our case, Fuel)
accompanied by rapidly increasing prices that threaten
economic and national security. The treat to economic
security is represented by the possibility of declining
economic growth, increasing inflation, rising
unemployment and losing billions of dollars in
investment. Since certain amount of energy is lost in
gasification process it is necessary to justify the
gasification route instead of direct combustion route.
Besides the application point of view gaseous fuel is
clean, convenient and efficient to use. Use of cleaner
fuel improves the heat transfer efficiency. Due to
following reasons there is highly requirement of
gasification.

Gasification: Highly efficient process

Can be applied over a range of output ratings
(few to hundreds of kWs)
Can be used for thermal application and
electricity generation
Low initial investment and cost of power
generation
Allows better process control and convenient
Cleaner combustion of producer gas in
connected equipment
Eliminates all pollutants from biomass for use
as a fuel

International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Studies

III. WHAT IS GASIFICATION?
Gasification in its simplest definition is the conversion
of Solid Carbonaceous fuel into combustible gas
(main by CO & H2) by partial combustion i.e.
combustion in the presence of limited air. The mixture
of combustible gases thus produced is termed
Producer Gas. It is also called as Low Btu Gas or
Low Calorie Gas, because of its low energy content.
This gas is good enough for use in S.I. Engine or C.I.
Engine. Since it is a Low Calorie Gas, It not possible
to run C.I. Engine on 100% gas. A pilot jet is
necessary for ignition. However an S.I. Engine can
run on 100% gas because of an presence of an ignition
source namely sparkplug. The producer gas can be
generated from charcoal, coke, coal, wood peat or
from agricultural wastes such as corn, cobs, ground
nut shells, rice husk, saw dust and bagasse etc.

IV. BASIC PROCESS CHEMISTRY

The producer gas is formed by the partial
combustion of solid biomass in a vertical flow
packed bed reactor. In conventional producer gas
theory, the reactions take place in three zones of a
deep fuel bed namely the oxidation, reduction and
distillation zones. In the oxidation zone the
oxygen in the air-steam blast reacts with the
carbon in the fuel to reduce carbon to form
hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The CO2 coming
from the oxidation zone is also reduced to carbon
monoxide in the reduction zone. The final gas
composition relies on the water-gas shift reaction
CO + H2O--- CO2 + H2
1) Conversion of solid fuel into combustible gas
mixture called Producer gas (CO+H2+CH4)
2) Involves Partial combustion of biomass
3) Four distinct processes in gasifier viz.
Drying
Pyrolysis
Combustion
Reduction
Understanding of the various complex reactions
occurring in a gasifier has so far been
incomplete". However, the following reactions
explain fairly well the process of gasification.
C + O2---- CO2 + 393800 kJ/kg mol
(Combustion)
C+H20---CO+H2 -131400 kJ/kg mol (Water gas)
CO+H20---CO2+H2+41200 kJ/kg mol(Water
shift reaction)
C+ CO2---- 2CO - 172600 kJ/kg mol (Boudouard
reaction)
C+ 2H20---- CO2 + 2Hi - 78700 kJ/kg mol
IJAERS/Vol. I/ Issue III/April-June, 2012/204-206

E-ISSN22498974

C+2H2----CH4+75000kJ/kg mol(Methane reac.)

Fig:1 gasification basic process chemistry

schematic
TABLE I. PROPERTIES OF PRODUCER GAS
USING WOODYBIOMASS

V. EXPERIMENTATION
SET
UP
OF
GASIFIER
The experimental work was carried out on downdraft
open top woody biomass gasifier having diameter 250
mm (reactor diameter). The set up consists of Gasifier,
coolingcleaning system, blower and burner to flare
the gas produced. This gasifier was designed for
engine application. Accordingly, the capacity and rate
of gasification were calculated to suit 3.75 kW engine.
The experimental set-up is shown in Fig.2.

Fig. 2 Experimental Set up of Gasifier

Gasifier Plant-

VI. EXPERIMENTAL WORK

As i performed various tests on the design set-up i
have done some improvements on the system.
1) The first set-up had a blower with air flow rate of
70 m3/min and power of 2 H.P; this resulted in
complete combustion of biomass and more wastage of
power. So, to obtain partial combustion of biomass i
installed a new blower with air flow rate of 50 m3/min
and power of 1 H.P. The specifications of both
blowers are as given below.
SPECIFICATIONS
A) Old Blower:1) Phase- 3 Phase
2) RPM- 2880

International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Studies

3) HP- 2
4) Flow rate-70 m3/hr
B) New Blower:1) phase- 3 Phase
2) RPM- 2880
3) HP- 1
4) Flow rate-50 m3/hr
2) The previously used size of biomass i.e. wood chips
was 2 2 3 inch. This size of biomass was causing
problem of flow wood chips properly. The flow used
to stop after initial burning for half an hour, to this it
was not possible to carry out the test for long duration.
After number of tests i have found out that for proper
flow of wood chips the economical size is 1 1 1
inch.
3) In the first design set-up there were lots of leakages
which resulted in making the outlet gas lean and due
to which the burning of producer gas at outlet was not
possible. Now I have eliminated all the leakages by
conducting soap test.
4) The existing set-up had a burner system in which
there was a pipe connected to the outlet and it had
nearly 8 holes on it. For testing the gas at outlet we
had to hold the flame there itself. This system was not
proper because the residence time of the gas at the
outlet was very small and also the flow rate was very
high due to which flame would not burn. Now i have
put up a new burner system which has a vessel of size
150 mm diameters and length of 150 mm. This helps
in providing residence time to gas at outlet and also
the velocity is reduced properly.
VII. RESULT
The producer gas analysis is done on Gas
chromatograph using TCDC (Thermal conductivity
Detector) or HWD(Hot Wire Detector).The gas
sample analyzed on porapak -Q, 2m length column by
using following gas chromatograph conditions.
1) Oven temperature = 500C
2) Injection temperature =1000 C
3) Detector temperature =1000C
4) Gas flow of hydrogen =30 ml / min.
TABLE II RESULT TABLE OF PRODUCER GAS
ANALYSIS USING GAS CHROMATOGRAPH

- For above test 5ml sample is used.

VIII. CONCLUSION
On performing various trials on the set up of Gasifier,
i have come to conclusion that producer gas obtained
can be a combustible gas of good quality by
considering the following factors:
All leakages must be avoided
To avoid accumulation of tar inside the
components of the system a proper filter
should be used
As a future scope proper burner arrangement
should be used
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Parikh P.P, State of Art Report on Gasification of
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Energy, Govt. of India , Dept. of Mechanical Engg.,
I.I.T, Bombay.

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