As part of a sustainable energy initiative at Eastern Illinois University, a biomass gasification plant has been recently installed for steam generation. Gasification converts biomass through partial oxidation into a gaseous mixture that in part consists of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H2), known as synthesis gas or syngas. Additional gaseous products include, among other compounds, methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2); the latter resulting from complete biomass combustion. Cognizant of transportation and processing costs, we report gasification results from regional biomass feedstocks (both readily available and experimental), in air. In this work we have used a laboratory scale downdraft (Imbert) gasifier. A rough schematic is shown below.  The aforementioned gas phase products (CO, H2, CH4, CO2) are quantitatively monitored off-line using gas chromatography. In some cases off-line GC/MS was used for a more complete gas product analysis. In addition to feedstock type, the effect of reduction zone temperature on syngas production and composition is investigated. The role of additives is also explored.

Role of feedstock and process conditions on biomass gasification for synthesis gas production

246th National Meeting (2013)

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