THERMOCHEMICAL CONVERSION OF BIOMASS TO BIOFUELS VIA

GASIFICATION

The Thermochemical Conversion Process uses heat to break down biomass into
intermediates, such as gas or bio-oil that can be upgraded into fuel and other products.
One type of thermochemical conversion process is gasification, a method that uses heat
to turn biomass into a hydrogen and carbon monoxide- richgas called synthesis gas, or
syngas. This in turn is then converted into liquid transportation fuels or other products.
Gasification occurs at relatively high temperatures. Here’s one example of gasification
conversion process.
First Feedstock will be transported to biorefinery (A biorefinery is a facility that
integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, and
chemicals from biomass. The biorefinery concept is analogous to today's petroleum
refineries, which produce multiple fuels and products from petroleum.) where the
process and conversion takes place. So the process will start from
Wood materials such as forest residue is a common feedstock for the gasification
process. For best results, feedstock wood chips are no more than two inches in size
and have 20%-30% moisture content by weight, depending on the gasifier.
In the gasifier, the biomass is broken down into vapors in a carefully controlled
environment that typically contains oxygen and/or steam. The syngas produced, made
up of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Char, a solid byproduct of gasification, is typically
removed using a cyclone.
Cyclonic separation allows removal of particulates from a gas stream, without a filter, by
using a rotational effects in combination with gravity to collect the particles. Tars and
methane are also produced. Their quantity and composition depend on the gasification
environment. Tars are high molecular weight organic compounds. If they are not
removed, these tars will contaminate downstream equipment and inhibit fuel synthesis.
One way to remove methane and tars is by using special catalyst to convert the
compounds into additional syngas, thus eliminating the methane and tar problem while
also improving the efficiency of the process. Additional cleaning and conditioning steps
may be required to remove other contaminants such as ammonia, sulfur, and carbon
dioxide.
The syngas is then conditioned to produce the desired ratio of carbon monoxide and
hydrogen to achieve optimal chemical reactions in subsequent steps. The pressurized,
hot syngas is then passed over a catalyst to form a liquid. The catalyst is contained in a
reactor, and the syngas is passed through the reactor, where the carbon monoxide and
hydrogen molecules combine to form larger molecules. These molecules are
subsequently cooled, condensed and refined into clean, renewable transportation fuels
and other products.
So this finished product will be distributed to every gasoline station to use this in their
vehicles to work.

The Department of Energy has supported development of innovative technologies that

result in higher yields and superior quality of biomass syngas. These efforts have also
resulted in a much more thorough understanding of the gasification process. Enabled by
these advancements, industry is deploying gasification technologies that will bring
clean, renewable transportation fuels and other biomass-based products to the
marketplace.

Glossary:
A biofuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary processes from biomass,
rather than a fuel produced by the very slow geological processes involved in the
formation of fossil fuels, such as oil.
Biomass—renewable energy from plants and animals. Biomass is organic material that
comes from plants and animals, and it is a renewable source of energy.
Thermochemical conversion. Gasification process is carried out by treating carbon-
based material with either oxygen or steam to produce a gaseous fuel which requires
high temperature and pressure. It can be described as partial oxidation of the waste.
Residue- a small amount of something that remains after the main part has gone or
been taken or used.
Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Small
amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in
various commercial products. Moisture also refers to the amount of water vapour
present in the air.
Syngas, or synthesis gas, is a fuel gas mixture consisting primarily of hydrogen, carbon
monoxide, and very often some carbon dioxide. The name comes from its use as
intermediates in creating synthetic natural gas (SNG) and for producing ammonia or
methanol.
Char is the solid material that remains after light gases (e.g. coal gas) and tar have
been driven out or released from a carbonaceous material during the initial stage of
combustion, which is known as carbonization, charring, devolatilization or pyrolysis.
A cyclonic separation is a method of removing particulates from an air, gas or liquid
stream, without the use of filters, through vortex separation. When removing particulate
matter from liquid, a hydrocyclone is used; while from gas, a gas cyclone is used.
Tar. 1. (tär) 1. A dark, oily, viscous material, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons,
produced by the destructive distillation of organic substances such as wood, coal, or
peat.
Special Catalyst for ARGG Process- Applicable for processing raw oil with high residue
ratio, such as atmospheric residual oil, atmospheric residue with high vacuum residue
blending ratio, vacuum residue or deasphalted oil etc. This catalyst has strong heavy oil
transformation ability and good anti-heavy metal pollution ability.
Catalyst-  a substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself
being affected. A catalyst is a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction, but is not
consumed by the reaction; hence a catalyst can be recovered chemically unchanged at
the end of the reaction it has been used to speed up, or catalyze.
Biomass gasification works just like coal gasification: A feedstock enters a gasifier,
which cooks the carbon-containing material in a low-oxygen environment to produce
syngas.
Three designs are common in biomass gasification: updraft, downdraft and crossdraft.
In an updraft gasifier, wood enters the gasification chamber from above, falls onto a
grate and forms a fuel pile. Air enters from below the grate and flows up through the fuel
pile. The syngas, also known as producer gas in biomass circles, exits the top of the
chamber. In downdraft or crossdraft gasifiers, the air and syngas may enter and exit
at different locations.
Gas cleaning is an essential part of any gasification system. Cleaning removes the
contaminants mentioned above and other undesired compounds from the product gas.
It includes the separation of particles, the removal of tar and further removal of trace
contaminants depending on the final use for the gas.
A Gas Conditioning Skid is designed to pre-treat natural gas and other combustible
gasses prior to injecting into a critical process or a Gas Turbine Generator. The skid
performs two functions; remove all liquid droplets and solid contaminants from the gas,
and adjust the gas temperature to the injection requirements.
As biofuel is known as an alternative to diesel fuel, there are other uses. Many assume
that the material is used just for transportation. But biofuel can provide hydrogen, clean
up oil, work as cooking oil and more. Biofuels can work as an alternative to replacing
energy needs from vehicle fuel to central home heating.
Biomass is organic material made from plants
and animals. Biomass contains stored energy
from the sun. Plants absorb the sun's energy in a
process called photosynthesis. The chemical
energy in plants gets passed on to animals and
people that eat them. Biomass is a renewable
energy source because we can always grow more
trees and crops, and waste will always exist.
Some examples of biomass fuels are wood,
crops, manure, and some garbage.