BIOMASS GASIFIERS

Presented by:
POOJA RAJAN CB.EN.U4EEE12031
SWETHA P
CB.EN.U4EEE12046
What is bio-mass
Biomass is biological material derived from living, or recently living

organisms
It is carbon based composed of organic molecules
Available as plant and animal biomass

Categories of biomass are:

i. Virgin wood, from forestry, arboricultural activities or from wood
processing
ii.Energy crops: high yield crops grown specifically for energy
applications
iii.Agricultural residues: residues from agriculture harvesting or
processing
iv.Food waste, from food and drink manufacture, preparation and
processing, and post-consumer waste
v. Industrial waste and co-products from manufacturing and
industrial processes.
Why biomass
 Due to limitations of biofuel production
technologies
 Biomass is a renewable, sustainable source
of energy
 Greater resource potential, more
economically viable
 Delivers a significant reduction in net carbon
emission
Biomass Gasification
 Heating biomass in a restricted supply of air produces
an energy-rich gas 

 It  is a process of converting solid biomass fuel into a

combustible gas (called producer gas) through a
sequence of thermo-chemical reactions

 This gas can be used to supply heat or to run engines

and generators

 It is an alternative option of thermal biomass

utilization for the production of heat and power.
Theory of gasification
 gasification, is partial combustion of solid
fuel (biomass) and takes place at
temperatures of about 10000 C.
 The reactor is called a gasifier
 combustion products from complete
combustion contain nitrogen, water vapor,
carbon dioxide and surplus of oxygen.
 In gasification where there incomplete
combustion and the products are Carbon
monoxide (CO), Hydrogen (H2) and traces of
Methane and non useful products like tar and
dust.
Process zone
 Pyrolysis zone
 Pyrolysis vaporizes the volatile component of the
feedstock (devolatilisation).
 Precursor for gasification
 Products depend upon the temperature, pressure,
residence time and heat loss
 200°C- water
 200 -280 °C CO2and water
 280-500 °C tar and gases
 500-700 °C gases with hydrogen
Reaction Chemistry
Combustion zone
C + O2 = CO2 (+ 393 MJ/kg mole)
 2H2 + O2 = 2H2 O (- 242 MJ/kg mole)

Reduction zone
C + CO2 = 2CO (- 164.9 MJ/kg mole)
 C + H2O = CO + H2 (- 122.6 MJ/kg mole)
 CO + H2O = CO + H2 (+ 42 MJ/kg mole)
 C + 2H2 = CH4 (+ 75 MJ/kg mole)
 CO2 + H2 = CO + H2O (- 42.3 MJ/kg mole)
Types of gasifiers
Fixed bed

Fluidized bed

Gasifiers can
be broadly
Entrained Flow
classified as
Twin bed

Plasma
1. Updraft gasifier
 clearly defined zones
for partial combustion,
reduction, and pyrolysis
 Air is introduced at the bottom
 The gas is drawn at higher

location 
 Applications
 Packaged Boilers
 Thermic Fluid heaters
 All kinds of Fryers
 Rotary type roasters
 Aluminum Melting
Advantages: Disadvantages:
- Great sensitivity
-Small pressure drop to tar and moisture
content
- good thermal
of fuel
efficiency
- relatively long
- little tendency
time required
towards slag
for start up of IC
formation
engine
2. Downdraft gasifier
 airis introduced into downward flowing
packed bed
 gas is drawn off at the

bottom
 suitable for internal

combustion engines
 can be used in applications

requiring moderate
temperatures
up to 600 Deg C
Applications:
-Continuous Baking ovens ( Bread, Biscuits, Paint)
-Batch type baking oven - rotary oven for bread
-Dryers & Curing - tea, coffee, mosquito coil, paper drying
-Boilers
-Thermic fluid heaters
-Internal combustion Engines

Advantages: Disadvantages:
- Flexible adaptation - Design tends to be
of gas tall
production to load - not feasible for
- low sensitivity to very small
charcoal particle size of fuel
dust and tar content
of fuel
Advantages: Disadvantages:
- Short design height - Very high sensitivity to slag
formation
- very fast response time to - high pressure drop
load
- flexible gas production
 Fluidized bed gasifiers

Bubbling
Dual
Fluidized bed
Fluidized bed
Circulating
Fluidized bed
Bubbling fluidized bed
-Hot bed of inert particles which are
fluidized by upward
movement of air

-Biomass is fed in from the side

-Operates at temperatures
below 900°C to avoid ash
melting and sticking

-Appropriate for medium size

project-25MW or less
Circulating fluidized bed
-A bed of fine inert material has air, oxygen or
steam blown upwards
-Biomass is fed in from the side
-The mixture of syngas and
particles are separated
using a cyclone
-Shorter residence time
for char and vapour
-Higher processing capacity
-Suitable for continuous operation
-Scalable to wide range of size
-cheaper to produce
Dual fluidized bed
-This system has two chambers – a gasifier and a
combustor
 Biomass is fed into the

gasification chamber,
-The char is burnt in
air combustion
chamber,
-This hot bed material
is then fed back into
the gasification
Chamber
- Cyclones remove any CFB chamber syngas or flue
gas
- Operates at temperatures below 900°C to avoid ash
melting and sticking.
 • wide variety of preferred feedstocks
Bubbli • wood pellets, chips, waste wood, plastics aluminum,
agricultural and industrial wastes, sewage
ng • danger of bed agglomeration
FB • size of 50-150mm
• moisture contents of 10-55%

• woody feedstocks, bark, peat and straw, plastics,

Circulati RDF, waste wood and shredded tier
• Size less than approximately 20mm
ng • moisture contents of 5-60%
FB • tolerant to fluctuations in feed quantity and
moisture

Dual • woody feedstocks (chips, pellets, wood residues

• feedstock requirements will follow those of the
FB • gasification chamber
3. Entrained flow
Powdered biomass is fed into a
gasifier with pressurized
oxygen and/or steam
A turbulent flame

converts biomass into

very high quality syngas
 The melted ash is
discharged as molten slag
wood (wood chips, forestry residues, sawdust,
waste wood, etc) as the preferred feedstock

plastics,RDF pellets, sorted MSW, sewage

sludge, straws and grasses

Due to the ash found in most biomass, these are

slagging reactors

short EF residence time- unconverted biomass,

high feedstock moisture content hence lower
gasification efficiency

EF biomass gasifier needs a fuel with about 15%

moisture content
gasifiers need a particle size of 50-100μm
Twin bed gasifier
Plasma gasifier
-Untreated biomass is
dropped into
the gasifier, coming into
contact with an
electrically
generated plasma,
-temperatures
1,500-5,000°C
-Organic matter
is converted into very high quality syngas
-plasma gasification uses plasma torches
Cooling and cleaning of gas
In order for the gas to be used it should
be cleaned of tar and dust and be cooled
temperature of gas coming out of
generator is normally between 300-5000C
This gas has to be cooled in order to raise
its energy density
Normally three types of filters are used in

this process.
They are classified as dry, moist and wet
 Cleaning and cooling filters

cyclone
filters wet scrubber cloth or
cork filter
particle size >5 gas is washed
μm by water condensatio
n of water on
60-65% Also acts as it stops the
particles >60 cooler gas flow
μm
Overall gasification process