Biomass Conversion Process

Gasification

Biomass gasification is a process of converting solid biomass fuel into a gaseous combustible
gas, called producer gas or syngas (synthesis gas) through a sequence of thermo-chemical
reactions. A variety of biomass and waste-derived feedstocks can be gasified, with wood
pellets and chips, waste wood, plastics and aluminium, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW),
Refuse-derived fuel (RDF), agricultural and industrial wastes, sewage sludge, switch grass,
discarded seed corn, corn stover and other crop residues all being used.

The gasification process has a higher efficiency for producing power and heat for power
production compared to combustion. This process converts organic or fossil fuel based
carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide, hydrogen and carbon dioxide by reacting the
raw material at high temperatures (usually more than 700 C), without combustion, with a
controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam. The power derived from gasification and the
combustion of the product of gasification, producer gas, is considered to be a source of
renewable energy if the gasified compounds were obtained from biomass.

The advantage of gasification is that using the syngas is potentially more efficient than direct
combustion of the original fuel because it can be combusted at higher temperatures or even in
fuel cells, so that the thermodynamic upper limit to the efficiency defined by Carnot's rule is
higher or (in case of fuel cells) not applicable. Syngas may be burned directly in gas engines,
used to produce methanol and hydrogen, or converted via the FischerTropsch process into
synthetic fuel. Gasification can also begin with material which would otherwise have been
disposed of such as biodegradable waste. In addition, the high-temperature process refines
out corrosive ash elements such as chloride and potassium, allowing clean gas production
from otherwise problematic fuels. Gasification of fossil fuels is currently widely used on
industrial scales to generate electricity.

In a gasifier, the biomass material undergoes several different processes:

1) Drying:
In this phase, water-vapour is driven off the biomass.
The dehydration or drying process occurs at around 100 C. Typically the
resulting steam is mixed into the gas flow and may be involved with
subsequent chemical reactions, notably the water-gas reaction if the
temperature is sufficiently high.
 2) Pyrolysis:
As the temperature increases the dry biomass decomposes into organic
vapours, gases, carbon (char) and tars.
The pyrolysis (or devolatilization) process occurs at around 200-300 C.
Volatiles are released and char is produced, resulting in up to 70% weight loss
for coal. The process is dependent on the properties of the carbonaceous
material and determines the structure and composition of the char, which will
then undergo gasification reactions.
3) Reduction:
Water-vapour reacts with carbon, producing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and
methane. Carbon dioxide reacts with carbon to produce more carbon
monoxide.
4) Combustion:
Combustion: some of the char and tars burn with oxygen from air to give heat
and carbon dioxide. This heat enables the other stages of the gasification
process to take place.
The combustion process occurs as the volatile products and some of the char
react with oxygen to primarily form carbon dioxide and small amounts of
carbon monoxide, which provides heat for the subsequent gasification
reactions.

C+O2 =CO2

C represent a carbon-containing organic compound

O2 is oxygen
CO2 is carbon dioxide

5) Gasification:
Occurs as the char reacts with steam to produce carbon monoxide and
hydrogen.

C+ H 2 O=H 2 +CO

C represent a carbon-containing organic compound

H2O is water vapour
H2 is hydrogem
CO is carbon monoxide
This third reaction occurs more abundantly in reactors that increase the
residence time of the reactive gases and organic materials, as well as heat and
pressure. Catalysts are used in more sophisticated reactors to improve reaction
 rates, thus moving the system closer to the reaction equilibrium for a fixed
residence time.

There are 2 main types of biomass gasifiers, updraft gasifier and downdraft gasifier.

In an updraft gasifier, biomass is loaded at the top of the gasifier and air is blown in at the
bottom. This type of gasifier produces gas that is contaminated by tar and is therefore too
dirty to be used in an internal combustion engine.

In a downdraft gasifier, air is drawn downwards through the biomass. The main reactions
occur in a constriction or throat, where the tars and volatile gases break down into carbon
monoxide and hydrogen at a much higher temperature than in an updraft gasifier. The throat
is usually made from ceramic to withstand this temperature. Downdraft gasifiers produce
cleaner gas.

The producer gas from a gasifier can be burned to release heat. The heat released by producer
gas is quite low (about 4 MJ per kg compared to 50 MJ per kg for pure methane). The
producer gas leaves at a temperature of over 600C, and contains fine particles of char and
ash. The gas must be filtered to remove these particles and also cooled to below 100C to
condense tars, before it can be used in an engine. Some ash falls out from the base of the
plant. The power output from fixed bed gasification/engine systems ranges from about 10 kW
to 1,000 kW (electrical).
Producer gas like other gaseous fuels, gives greater control over power levels when compared
to solid fuels, leading to more efficient and cleaner operations and are used for:

Heat production
Generation of mechanical and electrical power
Further processing to liquid fuels or chemicals