Biomass Gasifier For Thermal Applications

Ramachandra L.1, Pavitra S. Upadhya2, Vinaykumar Hooli 3

1

Faculty, Students

2, 3

Abstract:
Growth of science and technology has two-fold effect on human societies. On one hand it has opened new horizons in order to convert resources into newer products and services that improve the quality of life on the other hand conventional energy resources are fast depleting with increased cost and increased impact on environmental pollution. Energy being one of the primary needs for human existence, future development crucially depends on its long-term availability in increasing quantities from sources that are dependable, safe and environmentally sound. This paper reports about the thermal applications of the biomass gasifier and the employment opportunities it creates. In gasification, biomass is decomposed in thermocouple process having various combinations of pressure and temperature with the limited supply of air/oxygen. The gas produced during this process is the syngas (synthetic gas) or the producer gas which is a mixture of carbon-monoxide, methane, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and other hydrocarbons. The gasification technology, on the basis of its application, has a tremendous potential as the process outputs can be converted into electrical, mechanical and/or heat energy. The producer gas can be used as fuel in industries where fuel oil or coal/lignite is being used to generate process heat or run furnaces and kilns. In dairy industry, gasification system installed to generate electrical energy may have a heat recovery system in order to meet the hot water requirements in the diary. In tea and cardamom industry, gasifier can be used to supply the heat to maintain the required temperature in the processing units. This paper summarizes about such above said applications of gasifier. Biomass resource is available in abundance, fuels such as manufacturing wood wastes, forest residues, agricultural wastes like stalks and roots of various crops, maize cobs, energy crops, bagasse from sugarcane process, olive husks, live stock residues (cattle, pigs and poultry) and food processing residues can all be used for energy generation. These materials need to be collected/gathered, processed (live stock waste must be pelletized, sugarcane leaves must be briquetted, etc) and supplied to the industries where they are used as the raw material in gasifier. This creates opening for the employment opportunities, especially to the rural people, who can access these materials easily. As the gasifier is not a standard product, it does not have sales outlet as that available for other products. Manufacturer himself has to supply it to the industries. Instead of this, a network of outlets can be developed to market the gasifier and also demonstrate its use to the society. Industrial adoption of this new technology not only has the potential for higher efficiency, lower capital cost, and safer operation than conventional operations that burn biomass for cogeneration but also has the potential to provide employment to a large population. Keywords: biomass gasifier, thermal applications, employment opportunities, biomass resource, supply, market