Investigation of Biomass Gasifier Product Gas Composition and its Characterization

Abstract

Over the years, gasification technology has been established as one of the efficient thermochemical conversion processes catering to a wide variety of applications like thermal, power generation and liquid fuel production through Fischer–Tropsch route. However, there are issues with the conversion devices when the biomass feed material changes and hence understanding of product gas behaviour and its variability is important in order to utilize the biomass gasification technology effectively in the long run. The current chapter addresses these issues relating to biomass characterization, product gas estimation and utilization, and advances in this technology. Furthermore, an example of an equilibrium model formulation for prediction of product gas generated from rice husk has been presented, and a brief about reaction kinetics has been discussed. A comparison of model result and experimental data has also been briefly presented. The recent trends in biomass gasification research show a promising future for this technology. Moreover, techno-economic evaluations prove that biomass gasification is not only technically viable but also a sound economic option. It is expected that biomass gasification will contribute more to the global energy requirements and thus to the economy in the coming future.