746 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

Figure 13.24 Schematic of drum pyrolyser

used for this purpose (Figure 13.24). Loose biomass is placed inside it and the
air is distributed either by providing controlled air entries at various levels
(T E R I 1990) or by placing an inverted perforated cone inside the drum with
the chimney (Neinhuysm 2003). Loose dry biomass is placed around the in-
verted perforated cone placed inside the charring drum and is ignited. Once
the layer catches fire, more biomass is added layer by layer till the entire drum
is filled. White smoke vents out through the chimney extension. Once the
smoke turns from white (containing moisture) to grey colour, the chimney ex-
tension is removed and a lid is put on the drum to slowly extinguish the fire
inside it. It takes about two hours each for igniting the biomass and for cool-
ing down the drum for charcoal removal.

Biomass gasification
Thermochemical biomass gasification is a process of converting solid biomass
fuel into combustible gas (called producer gas) by means of partial oxidation
carried out in a reactor called gasifier. The first gasifier units were built in
France during 1850s. The first vehicle to be powered with producer gas was
made by J W Parker in Scotland in 1901. Producer gas plants (using coal or
peat), used during World War I, are described in detail in literature (Rambrush

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 747

1923). In 1921, George Imbert attracted considerable attention in France by

driving a car equipped with a gasifier from Strassbourg to Paris. Despite a
number of public rallies, a public test run by the French government, automo-
bile club, and research institutes, little interest was generated in gasifiers. The
application of gasifiers assumed significance and attention during World War
II due to the scarcity of petroleum products. By the end of the war in 1945
more than a million vehicles were in operation using gasifiers throughout the
world (Kaupp and Goss 1987). However, after the end of the war, they were
largely decommissioned as petroleum products once again became widely
available at cheap rates.
The energy crisis in 1970s brought renewed interest in gasification. The
technology was perceived as a relatively cheaper option in developing coun-
tries having sufficient sustainable biomass for small-scale industrial as well as
power-generation applications. In the beginning of the 1980s, more than 10
European manufacturers offered gasifier-based power plants with capacities
up to 250 kWe. Developing countries like Brazil, India, Indonesia, and the
Philippines started a gasifier implementation programme based on locally de-
veloped technologies. Gasification of biomass looks simple in principle and
many types of gasifiers have been developed. The production of gaseous fuel
from solid fuel offers easy handling, better control on combustion, and the
possibility of using it in internal combustion engines for shaft power or elec-
tricity production which makes gasification very appealing, especially for
small decentralized options. However, biomass fuels used in gasifiers vary
widely in physical and chemical properties, making gasifier design much more
complicated than what was envisaged by early developers.

Principle of gasification
Biomass gasification occurs through a sequence of complex thermochemical
reactions. In the first stage, partial combustion of biomass to produce gases
and char occurs along with the generation of heat. This heat is utilized in the
drying of biomass to evaporate its moisture as well as for pyrolysis reactions to
bring out volatile matter and to provide the heat energy necessary for further
endothermic reduction reactions to generate producer gas. This gas consists
of a mixture of combustible gases such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and
traces of methane and other hydrocarbons. Normally, air is used as a gasifying
agent; however, the use of oxygen can produce higher calorific value gas but is
not usually preferred due to the cost implications.

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 748 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

Gasification reactions
Gasification is a complex thermochemical process, which is difficult to un-
derstand. Splitting the gasifier into strictly distinct zones is not realistic, but
nevertheless conceptually essential. Various gasification reactions occur simul-
taneously in different parts of the gasifier. The broad stages involved in
gasification are described below.

Drying
Biomass fuels contain moisture ranging from 5% to 35%. At a temperature of
about 100 ºC, water from the fuel gets converted into steam. Fuels do not ex-
perience any kind of decomposition during the drying process.

Pyrolysis
Pyrolysis is the thermal decomposition of biomass fuels in the absence of
oxygen. It involves release of three kinds of products, namely, solid charcoal,
liquid tars, and gases whose proportion depends on the fuel type and the pre-
vailing operating conditions. It is to be noted that in any gasifier system, there
will be always a low temperature zone in which pyrolysis takes place generat-
ing condensable hydrocarbons (normally called tars).

Oxidation
Air introduced in the oxidation zone contains inert gases such as nitrogen be-
sides oxygen and water vapour, which are considered to be non-reactive with
fuel constituents during the gasification process. The oxidation takes place
at about 700–1400 ºC . A heterogeneous reaction takes place in the oxidation
zone between solid carbonized fuel and oxygen in the air producing carbon di-
oxide and releasing a substantial amount of heat.

C + O2 = CO2 + 406 kJ/g.mole

This formula means that 12 kg of carbon burns completely with 32 kg

of oxygen to produce 406 MJ of heat. The plus sign indicates the release of
heat energy during the reaction. The hydrogen in the fuel reacts with the
oxygen in the air blast producing steam.

H 2 + 21 O 2 = H 2 O + 242 kJ / g.mol

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 749

Reduction
In the reduction zone of all types of gasifiers, a number of high-temperature
chemical reactions take place in the absence of oxygen or under a reducing
atmosphere. The principal reduction reactions that take place are:

Bouduard reaction

CO2 + C = 2CO – 172.6 kJ/g.mole

Water–gas reaction

C + H2O = CO + H2 – 131.4 kJ/g.mol

Shift reaction

CO2 + H2 = CO + H2O – 41.2 kJ/g.mol

Methane production reaction

(Weight of oxygen/weight
C +of2H
dry =fuel)
CHactual+ 75 kJ/g.mol
ER = 2 4
(Weight of oxygen/weight of dry fuel)stoichiometric
The sequence of these reactions in a typical downdraft gasifier is shown
in Figure 13.25. The equilibrium composition of a given solid fuel depends
upon the air supply per unit weight of the biomass. A dimensionless param-
eter, known as ER (equivalence ratio), is applied to characterize the air supply
conditions, and is usually defined as follows.

The denominator in the above equation is the oxygen required for com-
plete combustion of the fuel, and it varies from fuel to fuel. The mole fraction
(or volume fraction) of the various components of the producer gas as a func-
tion of ER is shown in Figure 13.26. It is generally observed that for effective
gasification, the ER should be in the range 0.2–0.4. If the ER value is less than
0.2, pyrolysis predominates the process and if it is above 0.4, combustion
predominates (Kaupp and Goss 1984).

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 750 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

Figure 13.25 Sequence of reactions in a downdraft gasifier

Prediction of gas composition

It can be observed from the earlier discussions that the Bouduard and the
water–gas reactions are the main reduction reactions requiring heat and
thereby result in the lowering of the gas temperature. The water shift reaction
describes the so-called water–gas equilibrium. For a given reaction tempera-
ture, the reaction between the products of concentration of carbon monoxide
and water and the products of concentration of carbon dioxide and hydrogen
are fixed by the value of the water gas equilibrium constant KWE.
[CO] × [H2 O]
K WE =
[CO2 ] × [H2 ]
The equilibrium composition of gas can only be achieved in practice in
cases having a sufficient reaction rate and reaction time. Normally, the
reaction rate decreases with a fall in temperature. For example, in the case of
the water–gas reaction, the reaction is said to be frozen below 700 ºC as the

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 751

Figure 13.26 Effect of air–fuel ratio on gas composition

Reprinted from GTZ publications
Source Kaupp and Goss (1984)

reaction rate drops significantly to a low level. The typical values of KWE for
various reaction temperatures are given in Table 13.8.
Equilibrium gas composition from a gasifier can theoretically be calcu-
lated through the mass balance of the four major in-going elements (carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen) and by assuming that the water–gas
equilibrium is reached at a given reactor temperature. An additional set of
relations can be obtained by further assuming that a constant amount of
methane is obtained in the producer gas per kilogram of dry fuel which
happens under prevailing operating conditions. This can help in calculat-
ing the gas composition for a wide range of input parameter such as the fuel
moisture content and the fraction of heat loss from the reactor (through con-
duction, convection, and radiation). Figures 13.27 and 13.28 show typical
equilibrium gas composition highlighting the effect of various operating

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 752 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

Table 13.8 Water–gas equilibrium constant at various reaction temperatures

Reaction temperature (ºC) Equilibrium constant (KWE)

600 0.38
700 0.62
800 0.92
900 1.27
1000 1.60

Source FAO (1986)

conditions like the fuel moisture content and the fraction of heat loss from
the reactor, respectively.
In a real gasifier, however, the composition of the gas differs greatly from
the equilibrium value and is generally dependent on the gasifier design. The
factors affecting the gas composition are temperature distribution in the fuel

Figure 13.27 Effect of wood moisture content on producer gas composition

Reproduced with permission from FAO
Source FAO (1986)

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 753

Figure 13.28 Effect of heat losses on producer gas composition

Reproduced with permission from FAO
Source FAO (1986)

bed, average gas residence time, and the residence time distribution. These
are, in turn, dependent upon the mode of air entry, dimensions of the gasifier,
and the quantum of heat loss to the surroundings. The modelling of the vari-
ous processes occurring in the gasifier requires not only knowledge of kinetics
but also an understanding of the heat and mass transfer processes occurring in
various zones of the gasifier. A brief description of some important factors
that affect the quality of producer gas generation in gasifiers is given below.

Fuel size
Fuel size affects the fuel movement within the reactor as well as the rate of re-
action and the energy intensity per unit volume. Large wood pieces provide a
smaller surface area per unit volume of the reactor, which, in turn, affects the
quality of gas as volatilization or pyrolysis becomes less intense. Too small a

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 754 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

size of biomass leads to an intense volatilization process leading to the forma-

tion of significant pyrolytic liquid that is not desirable in gasification. Larger
fuel sizes also increase the chances of fuel bridging which hampers smooth
fuel movement within the gasifier reactor. Therefore, fuel of one-fourth or
one-fifth of the smallest dimension of reactor cross-section is preferred to
avoid fuel bridging. Smaller fuel sizes result in a higher pressure drop across
the fuel-bed in the reactor. If pulverized fuel is used in a fixed-bed gasifier, the
fuel movement is not uniform and takes place in an uneven manner. Many
times, tunnelled gas pathways are generated in the fuel bed causing a tar
carryover without cracking, resulting in high tar content in the raw gas. Figure
13.29 shows the range of particle size requirement for various gasifier reactor
types. The top three designs in Figure 13.29, namely counter-current, cross-
flow and co-current pertain to fixed bed systems.

Fuel moisture content

With high moisture content, the net calorific value of the fuel decreases
and so does the calorific value of the producer gas, which reduces gasification
efficiency. Also, the tar fraction in the producer gas increases with an increase
in the moisture in the biomass. With high moisture content in the fuel, more
air is required to combust the biomass to generate requisite heat for drying–
heating of biomass as well as for achieving endothermic gasification
reactions. As a result, the carbon dioxide fraction in the gas increases and the

Figure 13.29 Fuel size requirements for various gasifier reactor types

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 755

Figure 13.30 Effect of fuel moisture on producer gas composition and quality
Reprinted from GTZ publications
Source GTZ (1986)

carbon monoxide reduces. Also, it becomes difficult to maintain high fuel-bed

temperatures with biomass having very high moisture content. The hydrogen
percentage in the gas increases slightly initially till about 20% moisture con-
tent, but then starts reducing again (Figure 13.30).

Fuel-bed temperature
A high fuel-bed temperature (above 800 ºC ) is preferred to achieve a high
carbon conversion of biomass and low tar content in the resultant product
gas. Figure 13.31 shows the importance of the presence of an active char bed
and higher temperature in the reactor zone for a theoretical situation in which
carbon dioxide reacts with char to produce carbon monoxide. As tempera-
tures increase, CO2 fraction will decrease and CO fraction will increase. In
reality, however, the shift reaction does not allow for zero levels of CO2. Tem-
perature affects not only the amount of tar formed but also the composition
of tar by influencing the chemical reactions involved in the gasification. High
temperatures help in achieving tar cracking under a reducing environment. It
is reported that higher temperatures favour the formation of fewer aromatic
tar species without substituting groups like benzene, naphthalene, etc.

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 756 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

Figure 13.31 Effect of reaction zone temperature on gas quality and composition
Reprinted from GTZ publications
Source Kaupp and Goss (1984)

(Kinoshita, Wang, and Zhou 1994). Besides, the temperature also influences
the formation of ammonia and nitrogen, the levels of which depend on various
temperature-dependent thermochemical reactions occurring inside the
gasifier reactor. With sawdust fuel, more than 50% reduction in ammonia was
reported when the gasifier reactor temperature was increased from 750 to
900 ºC (Wang, Padban, Ye, et al. 1999; Zhou, Masutani, Ishimura, et al. 2000).
However, several other factors like moisture content and properties of the
feed material limit the gasifier operating temperature that largely influences
the entire gasification process. Figure 13.32 shows a typical temperature range
for different feed materials that influence various important factors such as
the gas heating value, char conversion, and the risk of sintering apart from tar
content in the producer gas.

Residence time and gas superficial velocity

Often the effect of residence time is overlooked while designing a gasifier. In
order to generate good quality gas at various fuel burning rates (or gas-produc-
ing rates), there is a need to ensure sufficient time for the completion of
gasifier reactions within the reactor zone. Gas residence times of 0.1–0.5 s
have been used for designing the combustion–reduction zone lengths.

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 757

Figure 13.32 Typical gasification temperatures for various feedstocks and their influence
on some critical factors

The SV (superficial velocity), is one of the most important design pa-

rameters controlling the gas energy content, production, or fuel consumption
rate as well as the tar and char production rate. The gasifier superficial velocity
Vs is defined as

Gas production rate

Superficial velocity = (Nm 3 are
Other terms which /h m 2
used) to describe the superficial velocity are hearth
Cross sectional area
load and specific gasification rate, expressed as kg/(h)(m2) or Nm3/(cm2)(h). It
controls the rate at which air and then gas pass through the gasifier reactor
which, in turn, has an effect on the heat transfer around each particle during
flaming pyrolysis of volatiles, combustion, tar cracking, and charcoal gasifica-
tion. At low superficial velocities, particles are heated slowly to a low
pyrolysis temperature (about 600 ºC). These particles essentially remain iso-
thermal producing more charcoal and large quantities of volatile tars. At high
superficial velocities, the outer surface of particles may become incandescent
(>800 ºC ) and still pyrolysis can continue at a cooler particle centre. Thus, the
escaping gases can react with charcoal (simultaneous pyrolysis and gasifica-
tion), reducing the charcoal yield and increasing the gas yield with lower tar
content (Figures 13.33 and 13.34).
For heat applications, the tars in the producer gas are useful fuels having
a high calorific value (provided they are not allowed to condense before reach-
ing the burner). Thus, a gasifier with low SV as in the case of inverted
downdraft gasifier stove can provide a simple design for cooking applications
and can also produce more charcoal. However, for power generation applica-
tions, the gasifier needs to be operated with a high SV for minimizing tar and
charcoal production. Since SV is independent of gasifier size, it can also be a

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 758 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

Figure 13.33 Charcoal yield from gasifier as function of superficial velocity

[Reproduced with permission from Biomass Energy Foundation]
Source Reed, Walt, Ellis, et al. (1999)

Figure 13.34 Tar yield from gasifier as function of superficial velocity

[Reproduced with permission from Biomass Energy Foundation]
Source Reed, Walt, Ellis, et al. (1999)

good parameter for comparing the performance of gasifiers with different

dimensions.

Ash content and ash fusion temperatures

Mineral content in the fuel that remains in oxidized form even after the com-
pletion of combustion is generally called ash. However, in the case of gasifiers,
the ash also contains some amount of unburnt fuel in char form. Thus,
biomass having a high ash content lowers the amount of energy available from
the gasifier and also requires a larger volume for accommodating ash or
frequent removal of ash during gasifier operations. Materials with high ash
content are problematic to handle as they can lead to the problem of clinker

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 759

forming in the fuel-bed, especially if the ash has a low fusion point. Also,
several inorganic matters such as mud, sand, and grit are picked up during
collection and harvesting. It is not unusual considering the practice of
handling agro-based biomass. This may not pose any problems in combustion
devices/furnaces but can cause serious blockage of the entire reactor due
to ash fusion inside at higher temperatures, thereby hampering the fuel
movement and the gasification process. The common belief that wood is low
in ash is not correct and there are several types of wood and agro-residues that
have a higher ash content than even some varieties of coal. Based on the ash
content, biomass can be classified as low ash (<5%), medium ash (5%–10%),
and high ash (>10%) material (Table 13.9).
The melting point of ash is more responsible for the slagging behaviour
of the fuel and the degree of slagging is more severe in biomass fuels having a
high ash content. High-ash content biomass residues such as rice husk and
similar fuels having a high ash fusion temperature generally do not pose the
problems of clinker formation. However, high ash content retards heat and
mass transfer rates, resulting in incomplete conversion of carbon in the case of
insufficient residence time within the reactor and/or lack of agitation of the

Table 13.9 Biomass classification based on ash content (%)

Ash Medium Ash High Ash

Low ash type content ash type content ash type content

Powdery material
Eucalyptus sawdust 0.4 — — Industrial bamboo dust 9.8
Saw-mill dust 1.3 — — Jute dust 19.9
Sugarcane leaves 9.5
Coir pith 15.4

Granular material
Bagasse 1.8 Arecanut shell 5.1 Sweet sorghum bagasse 20.0
Coconut shell 1.9 Cotton shell 4.6 Rice husk 22.4
Groundnut shell 3.6 Coffee husk 5.8 Tea waste 19.8
Acacia 0.6 Sugarcane leaves 7.7 (decaffeinated)
Pine needle 1.5 — — MSW 27.5–70.0

Stalk-like material
Arhar stalks 3.4 Ragi stick 7.1 Jowar stalk 9.5
Corn cob 1.2 Sweet sorghum stalk 7.4 Rice straw 20.0
Jute stick 1.2 Castor stick 5.4 Ficus 10.9
Lantana camara 3.5 Congress grass 4.2
Mulberry sticks 2.5 (Parthenium
hystophorus)

Source Iyer, Rao, and Grover (2002)

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 760 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

fuel bed. On the other hand, fuels such as corncobs, groundnut shell, and co-
conut coir have a low to medium ash content but also have low ash
deformation temperatures in the range of 800–1200 ºC that can lead to
clinker formation. Materials such as cotton stalk, arhar stalk, acacia, bamboo,
and pine needle are more suitable as gasifier fuels due to their low to medium
ash content and very high ash deformation temperatures (Table 13.10). Meth-
ods of determining ash deformation and ash fusion temperatures are
described in Iyer, Rao, and Grover (2002).

Gasifier reactor types

While the various reactors used for biomass gasification can be classified in
many different ways, the density factor (ratio of dense biomass phase to total
reactor volume) is a simple and effective method of classification. Thus,
gasifiers can be classified as

dense phase reactors and

lean phase reactors

In dense phase reactors, such as fixed bed reactors (updraft, downdraft,

cross-draft, etc.), the biomass or feedstock occupies maximum reactor volume
with typical density factors of around 0.3–0.8. On the contrary, in lean phase
reactors, such as fluidized bed reactors, the biomass occupies very little reac-
tor volume—of the order of 0.05–0.2 (Table 13.11).

Table 13.10 Ash fusion and deformation temperatures of biomass

Biomass Ash deformation Ash fusion

fuel temperature (ºC) temperature (ºC)

Arhar stalk 1250–1300 1460–1500

Bagasse 1300–1350 1420–1450
Coffee husk 950 1020
Coir pith 850 930
Cotton stalk 1320–1380 1400–1450
Corn cob 800–900 950–1050
Groundnut shell 1180–1200 1220–1250
Jute stick 1300–1350 1400–1450
Kikar (acacia) 1300–1350 1380–1400
Mustard shell 1350–1400 1400–1450
Pine needle 1250–1300 1350–1400
Rice husk 1430–1500 1650–1680
Rice straw 1350 1450

Source Iyer, Rao, and Grover (2002)

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 761

Dense phase reactors

These are the most common gasifier types having a long history and were the
first to be produced commercially due to the advantage of simplicity in con-
struction as well as operation. One of the important characteristics of these
reactors is that they have fairly distinct reaction zones within the reactor such
as drying, pyrolysis, combustion, and reduction. However, the relative posi-
tion of these zones varies with the fuel characteristics and operating
conditions.

Table 13.11 Comparison of dense and lean phase gasifier reactors

General advantages
Dense phase gasifiers Lean phase gasifiers

High carbon conversion
Very good gas–solid

Low ash carryover contact and mixing

Large residence time of solids
High throughputs

Relatively simple construction
High specific capacity

Specific advantages
Updraft Fluidized bed Entrained flow

Low gas outlet temperature
Good temperature
Produces low-tar gas

High thermal efficiency control and little methane

Suitable for direct firing
Low-medium tar
High feedstock
yield utilization due to

Tolerates variations high reaction rates
in fuel quality
Downdraft
Can operate at

Low tar yield partial load

Easily started and
stopped

General disadvantages
Dense phase gasifiers Lean phase gasifiers

Low specific capacity
Low feedstock inventory

Poor turn-down capability
Extensive particulates

Uniformily sized feedstock clean-up required
required with minimum of fines

Ash fusion and clinker formation
on grate

Specific disadvantages
Updraft Fluidized bed Entrained flow

High tar yield
Carbon loss
High outlet gas
Downdraft with ash temperature

Unsuitable for high moisture fuels
Low operating
Slagging
temperature

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 762 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

Updraft or counter-current gasifier

In the counter-current moving bed reactor, also called the updraft gasifier,
the air flows counter to the downward fuel flow and enters into the gasifier
from below the grate and flows in the upward direction within the gasifier.
The different zones for partial combustion, reduction, and distillation in an
updraft gasifier are shown in Figure 13.35. The gas produced in the reduction
zone leaves the gasifier reactor together with the pyrolysis products and the
steam from the drying zone. The resulting combustible producer gas is rich in
hydrocarbons (tars) and, therefore, has a relatively higher calorific value.
Therefore, it is more suitable for thermal applications, such as direct heating
in industrial furnaces, as it gives higher operating thermal efficiencies. If it is
to be used for electricity generation by IC (internal combustion) engines, it
has to be cleaned thoroughly.
In some updraft gasifiers, steam is injected or evaporated into the hot
partial combustion zone, which has a beneficial effect on gas quality and also
helps in preventing the lower portion of the gasifier from overheating. Gener-
ally, sensible heat of the producer gas or radiative heat from the gasifier shell is
used for generating the necessary amount of steam.

Figure 13.35 Updraft gasifier

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 763

The characteristics of the updraft gasifier are as follows.

It has reasonably well defined zones for various reactions.

Its efficiency is high because hot gases pass through the entire fuel bed and
leave at lower temperatures. The sensible heat of hot gas is used for the
reduction, pyrolysis, and drying processes.

Products from pyrolysis and drying, containing water vapour, tar, and
volatiles, leave the gasifier without passing through high temperature zones
and, therefore, do not get cracked. Hence, elaborate gas cleaning is
required before use, making it less suitable for engine operation.

Unsuitable for high volatile fuels such as cashew nut shells.

Downdraft or co-current gasifier

In the co-current moving bed reactor or downdraft gasifier, the air enters at the
middle level of the gasifier above the grate and the resulting gases flow down
cocurrently through the gasifier reactor. All the decomposition products from
the pyrolysis and drying zones are forced to pass through the oxidation zone
(Figure 13.36). This leads to thermal cracking of the volatiles, resulting in re-
duced tar content in the producer gas. Therefore, it is very attractive to use
this gas for engine applications. There is a constriction in the older designs at
the level of the oxidation zone to force the pyrolysis products through a con-
centrated high temperature zone to achieve a high degree of cracking. This
concentrated oxidation zone can cause sintering or slagging of ash, resulting in
clinker formation and consequent blocking of the constricted area and/or
channel formation. Continuously rotating grates or other mechanical shak-
ing may be required to avoid this problem. Compared to the updraft gasifier,
the disadvantages of a downdraft gasifier are higher gas outlet temperatures
and somewhat lower thermal efficiency. Additional steam injection is not com-
mon in downdraft gasifiers. They can be operated at a very high specific
gasification rate (or hearth load) in the range 2900–3900 kg/h m2 which corre-
sponds to about 1 Nm3/h m2. The highest reported was 5020 kg/h m2. The
starting ignition time required for downdraft gasifiers is lower as compared
to updraft gasifiers but is still perceived to be long as it is in the range
15–20 minutes. It also has relatively better load following capability (ability
to quickly extend the partial combustion zone to produce the requisite higher
gas quantity).

The characteristics of the downdraft gasifier are as follows.

Tars and volatiles pass through the high temperature bed in the oxida-
tion zone before leaving and hence get cracked. Thus, the output gases are
relatively clean requiring a less elaborate gas-cleaning system.

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 764 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

Figure 13.36 Downdraft gasifier

The gas leaves at relatively high temperatures of about 400–500 ºC, hence
the gasifier operating thermal efficiency is less than that in the updraft
gasifier.

Not suitable for high-ash, high-moisture, and low-ash fusion temperature
fuels.

Cross-draft gasifier
In a cross-draft gasifier, air enters from one side of the gasifier reactor and
leaves from the other side (Figure 13.37). Cross-draft gasifiers have very few ap-
plications and can hardly be credited with any advantage beyond good
permeability of the bed.

The characteristics of this type of gasifier are as follows.

Grate not required

Single air tier

Ash formed due to high temperature; falls to the bottom and does not
hinder operation

High exit temperature of gas and low carbon dioxide reduction results in
poor quality of the gas and low efficiency

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 Thermochemical conversion of biomass • 765

Figure 13.37 Cross-draft gasifier

Not much research occured. However, it probably produces lesser tar than
updraft gasifier and has a narrow turn-down ratio.

Fluidized bed and other lean phase reactors

Lean phase reactors have recently been adopted from pulverized coal gasifiers.
In lean phase gasifiers, distinct reaction zones do not exist like in dense phase
reactors. All the reactions, namely drying, oxidation, pyrolysis, and reduction
take place effectively in the same region. Among the lean phase reactors, the
most commonly used reactor types are the fluidized bed and entrained flow
reactors. Recently, other reactor designs like cyclonic reactors have been
experimented with.
Fluidized bed reactors are more attractive than the dense phase reactors
due to their high heat and mass transfer rates and good mixing of the solid
phase giving a uniformly high (800–1000 ºC) bed temperature. The fluidized
bed reactor/gasifier is essentially a hot bed of sand particles agitated con-
stantly by the gasifying agent, steam, and inert gas. The fluidizing gas is
distributed through nozzles located at the bottom of the bed. Although it
has a somewhat higher throughput per unit of reactor volume than the
moving bed, its main disadvantages are a high outlet gas temperature and an
entrainment of charcoal fines, and it requires a complex control system

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 766 • Renewable energy engineering and technology

because of the low biomass hold-up in the bed. These systems are, however,
most appropriate for biomass whose particle sizes range from 0.1 to 1 cm (see
Figure 13.29) and are normally suitable for small applications comprising
high carbon loss with entrained ash. The loss of fluidization due to sintering
of ash is a common problem, which can be controlled by maintaining higher
bed temperatures of the order of 800–900 ºC. Sintering occurs due to the
agglomeration of alkali metals from biomass ash with the silica in the sand.
In the entrained flow gasifier reactors, no inert material is present but
finely reduced fuelstock is required. They are normally used for large-capacity
(30 tonnes/hour) fast-circulating bed gasifiers for the paper and pulp industry.
Tables 13.12 and 13.13 give typical operational data and the producer gas
composition and quality in different gasifier reactors. The performance char-
acteristics of various air gasifier reactors are compiled in Annexe 1.

Guidelines for designing downdraft gasifiers

This section gives a general review of the design characteristics of an Imbert
type downdraft gasifier on the basis of the Swedish experience.
The design of an Imbert type downdraft gasifier is based on specific gasi-
fication rate, also called the hearth load GH. It is defined as the amount of
producer gas to be obtained per unit cross-sectional area of the throat, which
is the smallest area of cross-section in the reactor. It is normally expressed in
terms of Nm3/h cm2, where N indicates that the gas volume is calculated at
normal pressure and temperature conditions. It is reported that the gasifier
can be operated with GH in the range 0.1–0.9 Nm3/h cm2. Normal Imbert

Figure 13.38 Design parameters for Imbert-type gasifiers

RB-13.p65 766 30/11/2007, 4:46 PM