Production of producer gas from sugarcane bagasse and carpentry waste and its sustainable use in a dual fuel CI engine: A performance, emission, and noise investigation

Abstract

Due to ever increasing use of conventional fuels and improper utilization of renewables, air pollution and GHG (Green House Gas) emissions are the primary areas of concern. Due to this, the world is now shifting interest towards the synthesis and use of alternate fuels; that can replace the conventional fuels. Present work focuses on an experimental investigation, which is carried out on two different biomass materials – sugarcane bagasse and carpentry waste in 1:1 ratio. Biomass samples were used to synthesize producer gas in a downdraft gasifier with a gas flow rate of 5.07 Nm3/h. Producer gas was blended with diesel and fired in a dual fuel CI engine. Engine performance was smooth while it was tested for six load variations for noise characteristics and various performance and emission parameters. A maximum reduction in diesel consumption by 45.7% and NOx emissions by 69.5% was reported with a slight increase (∼3.4 dB) in the noise.