Performance of oil palm frond gasification using medium-scale downdraft gasification for electricity generation

Abstract

This paper focuses on the performance of Oil Palm Frond (OPF) gasification, using a medium-scale downdraft gasification system with a reactor capacity of 500 kg of feedstock. The gasification process was carried out at standard operating conditions, with a feed rate of 158 kg/h and a reactor temperature range of 700-800°C. The performance of OPF gasification was evaluated by monitoring the composition of syngas components, the calorific value of the syngas, the syngas flow rate, and the gasification cold gas efficiency. The results show that the OPF gasification performance improves when the reactor temperature is increased. The syngas calorific value, syngas flow rate and gasification cold gas efficiency are in the range of 4.49-5.15 MJ/Nm3, 207-311 m3/hour, and 37-65% respectively. In terms of the syngas composition, CO, H2, CH4, and CO2, are in the ranges 16.29-17.62%, 10.56-10.83%, 5.96-7.40%, and 17.96-18.35% respectively. The best syngas characteristics were obtained at the highest temperature of 770°C. At this temperature and feed rate, and using typical gas engine with 30% efficiency, the electricity that can be generated is calculated to be 136 kWe. Due to its favourable performance, OPF gasification with this scale is a promising process for renewable power generation.