Gasification of oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) briquettes for bio-syngas production

Abstract

Gasification of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFB) briquettes was investigated in an air blown 4.5 kW allothermal fluidized bed gasifier to examine the effects of bed temperature (600-800 °C) and equivalence ratio (λ = 0.25) on bio-syngas yield and composition. In addition, physicochemical and thermochemical characterization of the fuel properties of the OPEFB briquettes were also examined. The results demonstrate that pelletization improved the solid biomass fuel (SBF) properties of OPEFB including moisture content and higher heating value (HHV). The gasification of OPEFB briquettes produced bio-syngas comprising H2, CO, CO2, CH4 as well as solid biochar with a HHV higher than the original OPEFB briquettes. The highest yield of H2 was obtained at 600 °C while HHV of the bio-syngas was within the range 4-8 MJ/Nm3 for air gasification in fluidized bed gasifiers. In addition, agglomeration of bed materials did not occur during OPEFB briquettes gasification despite its high bed agglomeration potential (BAP). In conclusion, the gasification of OPEFB briquettes into bio-syngas and biochar is a practical route for bioenergy production in Malaysia.