An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Gasification of Miscanthus Briquettes in a Double-Stage Downdraft Gasifier: Syngas, Tar, and Biochar Characterization

Tejasvi Sharma; Diego Yepes Maya; Francisco Regis M Nascimento; Yunye Shi; Albert Ratner; Electo Silva Lora; Lourival Mendes Neto; Jose Escobar Palacios; Rubenildo Vieira Andrade

doi:10.3390/en11113225

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An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Gasification of Miscanthus Briquettes in a Double-Stage Downdraft Gasifier: Syngas, Tar, and Biochar Characterization

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An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Gasification of Miscanthus Briquettes in a Double-Stage Downdraft Gasifier: Syngas, Tar, and Biochar Characterization

Tejasvi Sharma, Diego Yepes Maya, Francisco Regis M Nascimento, Yunye Shi, Albert Ratner, Electo Silva Lora, Lourival Mendes Neto, Jose Escobar Palacios and Rubenildo Vieira Andrade

Energies (Basel), Vol.11(11), p.3225

11/21/2018

DOI: 10.3390/en11113225

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Abstract

The goal of this work is to understand the gasification process for Miscanthus briquettes in a double-stage downdraft gasifier, and the impact of different Equivalence Ratios (ER) on syngas, biochar, and tar characteristics. The optimal ER was found to be 0.35, which yielded a syngas maximum heating value of 5.5 MJ/Nm3 with a syngas composition of 20.29% CO, 18.68% H2, and 0.86% CH4. To better understand the observed behavior, an equilibrium reaction model was created and validated using the experimental data. The model showed that the heating value decreased with increasing ER, and that hydrogen production peaked at ER = 0.37, while methane (CH4) became negligible above ER = 0.42. Tar and particle content in the gas produced at a certain temperature can now be predicted. To assess the biochar characteristics, surface structure image analysis and a surface area porosity analysis were carried out. Employing images from a scanning electron microscope (SEM), the biochar cell bonds and pore structures were examined and analyzed. By using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis of the surface porosity, the surface area to be 186.06 m2/g and the micro pore volume was calculated to be 0.07 m3/g. The final aspect of the analysis involved an evaluation of tar production. Combining current and prior data showed a logarithmic relationship between the amount of tar produced and the gasifier bed temperature, where the amount of tar produced decreased with increasing bed temperature. This results in very low tar levels, which is one of the known advantages for a double-stage downdraft gasifier over a single-stage system.

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Title: Subtitle: An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Gasification of Miscanthus Briquettes in a Double-Stage Downdraft Gasifier: Syngas, Tar, and Biochar Characterization
Creators: Tejasvi Sharma
Diego Yepes Maya
Francisco Regis M Nascimento
Yunye Shi
Albert Ratner
Electo Silva Lora
Lourival Mendes Neto
Jose Escobar Palacios
Rubenildo Vieira Andrade
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Energies (Basel), Vol.11(11), p.3225
DOI: 10.3390/en11113225
ISSN: 1996-1073
eISSN: 1996-1073
Grant note: DOI: 10.13039/501100002322, name: CAPES, award: 152583.
Language: English
Date published: 11/21/2018
Academic Unit: Iowa Technology Institute; Mechanical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984196620602771

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