WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.

E)
UNIT-II
Biomass Gasification: Gasifiers – Fixed bed system – Downdraft and updraft gasifiers –
Fluidized bed gasifiers – Design, construction and operation – Gasifier burner arrangement for
thermal heating – Gasifier engine arrangement and electrical power – Equilibrium and kinetic
consideration in gasifier operation.
Biomass Gasification

Gasification is the conversion of solid or liquid carbonaceous feedtstocks into a gaseous fuel
(synthesis gas, producer gas), principally CO, H 2, methane, and lighter gaseous hydrocarbons
1in association with CO2 and N2 depending on the process used. Gasification processes also
produce liquids (tars, oils, and other condensates) and solids (char, ash) from solid feedstocks.

Gasification processes are designed to generate fuel or synthesis gases as the primary product.
Fuel gases can be used in internal and external combustion engines, fuel cells, and other prime
movers. Gasification products can be used to produce methanol, Fischer‐Tropsch (FT) liquids,
and other fuel liquids and chemicals. Gasification of solids and combustion of
gasification‐derived fuel gases generates the same categories of products as direct combustion
of solids, but pollution control and conversion efficiencies may be improved.

The overall process is endothermic requiring energy input for the reactions to proceed. Most
gasification systems operate between 600°C and 1500°C. Gasifiers can be directly heated
(autothermal), indirectly heated (allothermal) and designed to operate at atmospheric or
elevated pressures.

Directly heated gasifiers generate the necessary heat‐of‐reaction by means of partial oxidation
of feedstock within the gasification reactor. Air is normally used for partial oxidation
gasification but oxygen (or oxygen enriched air) can be used which reduces or avoids nitrogen
gas carrying through and diluting the product gas.

With allothermal or indirect gasification, heat is supplied from an external heat source through
heat exchangers (i.e., heat pipes utilized by Agnion) or heated media transfer (i.e., hot bed sand
from dual fluidized bed reactors e.g., Repotec). Allothermal gasification systems allow little to
no diluent nitrogen in the product gas, and, if steam injection is used, results in significantly
higher H2/CO ratios which are favorable for the synthesis of certain chemical or liquid energy
carriers.

Principles of Gasification:
Gasification occurs in different steps as listed below:
 Evaporation of moisture by drying.
 Pyrolysis resulting in the production of gas, vaporised tars or oils and a solid char
residue.
 Gasification or partial oxidation of the solid char, tars and gases.

The common names of gasifiers (updraft, down draft, fluidized bed and entrained flow) reflect
the way the fuel flows and are supported and simultaneously the way the air/oxygen flows to the
fuels. In the gasification process heat can be supplied by direct combustion of the pyrolysis gases
(flaming pyrolysis in down draft) or by the combustion of the charcoal separately (updraft) or by

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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)
WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.E)
a combination (fluidized beds). Every gasifier and combustion device employs some form of
heat recycling to generate the 5 to 15% heat required for pyrolysis.

Sources of Heat for Gasification of Various Types of Gasifiers:

Type of Gasifier Source of Heat For Process
Updraft Combustion of Charcoal
Downdraft Partial combustion of Volatiles
Cross draft Partial combustion of Volatiles and Charcoal
Fluidized bed Partial combustion of Volatiles and Charcoal
Gasification Process:

During biomass gasification, the material is heated to a high temperature. This leads to a series
of physical and chemical changes that result in the production of volatile products and
carbonaceous residues. The amount and compositions of the volatile products depend on the
reactor temperature, type and characteristics of the biomass material. The composition of the
product gas also depends on the degree of equilibrium reached by the various gas-phase
reactions, particularly the
water-gas shift reaction. The
char gasification stage is
considered as the limiting
reaction step in biomass
gasification because of rapid
devolatilization of the char.
Gasification of char, in the
absence of catalyst, with
reactive gases such as O2,
H2O and CO2 occurs at high
temperatures between 700 –
1000ºC. When char is
gasified with steam, the gas
produced comprises mainly
of CO2, CO, H2 and CH4.
Steam may be added
externally or internally from
the dehydration of biomass.

In reactors operating at low

temperatures, low heating
rates and very high pressure,
secondary reactions are very
important because of long
residence time of the volatile
products in the reaction zone. Figure 1: Gasification Processes and Their Products

However, at low pressure, high temperature and high heating rates, most of the volatile
products escape instantaneously from the biomass during pyrolysis, hence reducing the
possibility of solid char-gas reaction.

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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)
WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.E)
1. Air gasification: This gasification uses air as the gasifying medium and it is considered as
the simplest gasification process. The char formed during pyrolysis stage within the reactor
is burned with a limited supply of air. The product gas contains mainly hydrogen and
carbon monoxide diluted with the nitrogen from the air. The product gas has a heating
value between 3.5 – 7.8 MJ/Nm3 , which makes it suitable for use in boilers and engines.
The reactor temperature in this gasification depends on the air flow rate and the biomass
feed rate. Low inlet air leads to very low bed temperature, resulting in lower gas and
higher tar yields.
2. Steam gasification: Steam gasification uses steam as the gasifying medium. Unlike air
gasification, the process requires an external heat source if steam is used as the sole
gasifying medium. However, Steam gasification produces gases with higher energy
content than air gasification. Oxygen in the air will help to provide the energy, by partial
oxidation of the biomass, required to devolatilize the biomass to produce various gases.
steam gasification provides a possibility for recycling waste using a bubbling fluidized bed
reactor.
3. Oxygen gasification: This process uses oxygen as the gasifying medium. The plant has a
high capital cost due to the high cost of the oxygen plant needed to supply the oxygen. the
uses of pure oxygen leads to the production of gases free of nitrogen and thus have a
medium energy. The gases can be distributed economically in pipeline network systems
and can be conveniently used for process heat or possibly as sysnthesis gas to produce
chemicals and fuels.
4. Hydrogen Gasification: This process uses hydrogen under high pressures to convert
feedstocks to gaseous fuels. The process is however not favourable because of the high price
of hydrogen gas.
Fixed Bed System

The fixed bed gasifier is the simplest and oldest type of gasifier. In a fixed bed gasifier the
feedstock is introduced into a vertical container, in the bottom part of which the gasification
reactions happen. As the biomass is consumed, the bed moves slowly downwards and the
individual particles go through different stages of the gasification process; due to this
behaviour, fixed bed gasifiers are also commonly referred to as moving bed gasifiers. There are
distinct layers in the gasifier where demoisturizing, devolatilization, reduction and oxidation
happen subsequently. Fixed bed gasifiers are generally rather inexpensive and simple. They
have high overall carbon conversion, high residence time of solids and low gas velocity, but
have limited scalability.

There are four main types of fixed bed gasifiers, which are updraught, downdraught, cross-
draught and open-core fixed bed gasifiers.

Updraught Fixed Bed Gasifier:

Design: The fixed bed updraft gasifier is considered the simplest configuration. Air (oxidant)
flows countercurrent to the feedstock. It is suitable for relatively high moisture fuels (as high as
60% wet basis) but produces a large amount of tar and pyrolysis products in the produced
gas. Consequently, this configuration is best suited for direct heat applications in which the gas
can be burned without much (or any) gas cleaning or tar removal. For power or fuels
applications, extensive gas cleaning would be required. Updraft systems have relatively high
carbon conversion efficiencies (low carbon / charcoal in the output) and are suitable for small to
medium scale.

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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)
WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.E)
Operation:
In the updraft (counter-current) gasifier the feedstock and the oxidant (e.g., air or steam) flow
in opposite directions.
 Biomass enters from the top and gasifying agent from the bottom. In Figure typical zones of
an updraft gasifier are shown. The biomass moves down through a drying zone (100 oC),
followed by a pyrolysis zone (300 oC) where char and gaseous species are produced. Char
continues to move down to react in the gasification or reforming zone (900oC) and finally it
is combusted in an oxidation zone (1400oC) at the bottom of the gasifier by the incoming
gasification agent.
 The gaseous pyrolysis products are carried upwards by the up-flowing hot gas stream. As
can be seen from the figure, the product gas consists mainly of these pyrolysis products and
the products of char oxidation that pass over a relatively cold drying region.
 The tar in the vapour either condenses on the relatively cold descending fuel or is carried
out of the reactor with the product gas; hence the high tar yield of this type of gasifier, even
up to 100 g m−3. The condensed tar is recycled back to the reaction zone, where it is further
cracked to gas and soot. Most of the tar present in the product gas must be removed for any
engine, turbine or synthesis application.
The advantages of updraft gasification include:
a) Simple, low cost process.
b) Ability to handle biomass with a high moisture and high inorganic content.
c) Proven technology.
d) Ability to process relatively small sized fuel particles and accepts some size variation in
the fuel feedstock
The major drawbacks of updraft gasification include:
a) High amounts of tar requiring extensive clean-up before producer gas applications.
b) High ash waste material difficult to gasify because of sintering problems also resulting
from ash melting characteristics.

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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)
WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.E)
Downdraft Fixed Bed Gasifier:

Design & Construction: In down draft gasifier air enters

at the combustion zone and the gas produced leaves near
the bottom of the gasifier. In this gasifier, the volatiles
and tar produced from the descending fixed bed have to
pass through the reduction zone, where they are cracked
and gasified. Also a throat construction provided in the
hearth ensures that the gaseous products pass through the
hottest zone. The gas produced contains less of tar and
more of ash. This gasification is suitable for fuels like
wood a1nd agriculture wastes.

Operation:
1. A downdraft reactor is a co-current reactor in which
the feedstock is introduced from the top and the
gasifying medium is fed from the sides of the reactor.
The reaction zones in this reactor are similar to those in
the updraft reactor, but the locations of the oxidation
and reduction zones are interchanged.
2. The pyrolysis products pass through the high
temperature oxidation zone, and therefore undergo
further decomposition. The final product gas leaves the
reactor from the bottom at high temperature and
contains lesser tar than the updraft reactor.
3. With downdraft gasification the gasification medium
flows through the gasification reactor in the direction
of the sinking bulk filling. The drying/pyrolysis zone
lies above the oxidation zone and is supplied with the
necessary process heat primarily through thermal
conduction in the bulk filling. In the oxidation zone
primarily vaporous pyrolysis products react with the
input gasification medium.
4. The gases (CO2 und H2O) leaking from the oxidation
zone are reduced to CO und H2 by the glowing
charcoal of the lower lying reduction zone. Through
these reactions, the endothermic Boudouardand the water gas reactions, a portion of the
sensitive heat of the smoke gases is converted again into chemical energy of the producer gas.
Here the gas temperatures sink to a level at which no further reaction of the charcoal with the
producer gas takes place. Consequently, there is always a layer of unreacted charcoal above
the ash grate that has to be discharged with the ash.
The advantages of downdraft gasification include
a) Up to 99.9 percent of the tar formed is consumed requiring minimal or no tar cleanup.
b) Minerals remain with the char/ash, reducing the need for a cyclone separator.
c) Proven, simple and low cost process.
The disadvantages of downdraft gasification are
a) Requires feed drying to a low moisture content (<20%)
b) Producer exiting the reactor is at high temperature.
c) Requires secondary heat recovery system.
d) 4-7 percent of carbon remains unconverted.

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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)
WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.E)
Crossdraft Fixed Bed Gasifier:

Design & Construction: Cross-draught fixed bed gasifier is

a modification of the downdraught gasifier, here the
gasification agent is introduced in one side of the reactor
and the flue gas exits at the other side. Cross-draught
gasifiers are practically used only in charcoal gasification,
in which the temperature is very high, around 1500 ◦C.
The high local temperature would result in vast material
problems in other types of fixed bed gasifiers, but in this
application the feedstock layer acts itself as an insulation
against the high temperatures. Cross-draught gasifiers
have very low tar-converting capability, which means that
the used charcoal must be of a very high quality if the
product gas is wished to be used in internal combustion
engines

Operation:
1. This is a co-current reactor in which the
feedstock is introduced from the top and the
gasifying medium is fed in from the side of
the reactor near the bottom while the product
gas exit from the opposite side. Normally, an
inlet air nozzle is used to bring the air into the
center of the combustion zone.
2. The air velocity is considerably higher in
crossdraft reactor, consequently have a hotter
combustion zone than updraft and downdraft
reactors. The oxidation and reduction zones
are both concentrated to a small volume
around the sides of the reactor.
3. Crossdraft reactor responds rapidly to local
changes. They are normally simpler to
construct and more suitable for running
engines than the other types of fixedbed
reactors due to very low tar production.
However, they are sensitive to changes in
biomass composition and moisture content.

Fluidized Bed Gasifier

Drying, pyrolysis and gasification occur simultaneously in fluidized bed due to their excellent
mixing and temperature uniformity. Fluidized bed reactors can be classified by configuration and
velocity of the gasifying medium as bubbling, circulating, spouted and swirling fluidized bed
reactors.
Design & Construction:
Fluidized bed reactors contain a bed of relatively small particles of inorganic material (often
sand or small diameter ceramic beads or gravel). The bed is ‘fluidized’ by blowing hot oxidant
up from the bottom. Individual particles are lifted by aerodynamic drag, and become suspended
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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)
WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.E)
or entrained on the gas stream at velocities for which the drag force becomes equal to or exceeds
the particle weight. When fluidized, the bed behaves much like a liquid. When the bed media is
hot enough, biomass is injected either into the bed and can begin to combust or gasify depending
on the amount of oxygen available

Operation: Air is blown through a bed of solid particles at a sufficient velocity to keep these in a
state of suspension. The bed is originally externally heated and the feedstock is introduced as
soon as a sufficiently high temperature is reached. The fuel particles are introduced at the bottom
of the reactor, very quickly mixed with the bed material and almost instantaneously heated up to
the bed temperature. In this treatment the fuel is pyrolysed very fast, resulting in a component
mix with a relatively large amount of gaseous materials. Further gasification and tar-conversion
reactions occur in the gas phase. Most systems are equipped with an internal cyclone in order to
minimize char blow-out as much as possible. Ash particles are also carried over the top of the
reactor and have to be removed from the gas stream if the gas is used in engine applications.
Fluid bed gasifiers were originally developed for large‐scale coal gasification. Advantages of
fluid bed systems include:
a) Higher volumetric specific capacity
because of well‐mixed, high‐heat
transfer and reaction rates
b) Larger capacities are possible (~ 5‐500
MWth – MegaWatt thermal feedstock
input).
c) Better feedstock flexibility (can accept
larger ranges of moisture, ash content,
particle size and bulk density).
d) Can tolerate somewhat lower ash
melting points because of lower reaction
temperatures (though bed will
agglomerate and lose fluidization if
temperature approaches ash melting
point).
e) Tar production is lower than for updraft
gasifiers but not as low as properly
operated downdraft designs.

Types of Fluidized Bed Gasifier

1. Bubbling Fluidized Beds

Construction: Bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) reactors have relatively slow velocity air, oxygen,
or steam flow (compared to circulating fluid beds) and have lower particle entrainment in the gas
leaving the reactor. The bed material is concentrated in the lower dense‐bed region because the
freeboard section above the bed has a larger diameter and lower gas velocity. The gas velocity in
the freeboard section is too low to continue to suspend bed particles, which fall back into the bed
region. The design is simple but has lower capacity and potentially less uniform reactor
temperature distribution than circulating fluidized beds.

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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)
WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.E)
Operation:
The bed is heated initially to a high
temperature before the feedstock is introduced.
The bed material aids in heat transfers and
may provide a catalyst or gas cleaning action.
The bed material is kept in a state of
suspension by blowing in the gasifying agent
at a controlled flow rate through the distributor
plate.
Advantages
a) Strong gas-solid contact.
b) Excellent heat transfer characteristics
c) Better temperature control
d) Large heat storage capacity
e) High turbulence
f) High volumetric capacity
Disadvantages
a) Large pressure drop
b) Particle entrainment
c) Corrosion of reactor body
2. Circulating fluidizing bed (CFB)
Construction:
A circulating fluidized bed reactor has long
gas residence time which makes it specially
suitable for the gasification of biomass and
fuels with high volatiles. This gasifier
typically comprises a riser, which serves as
the reactor, a cyclone and a device for
recirculating solids. The gas velocity is
higher than in BFB reactors, allowing large
scale migration of solids out of the CFB
riser. These solids are captured and
continuously returned to the base of the
riser. The hot gases from the CFB reactor
pass through a cyclone, which separates
most of the solid particles entrained in
them, and the loop seal returns the solid
particles to the bottom of the reactor.
Operation:
The feedstock is fed into the bed, which is
fluidized with gasification agent similarly
to a BFB installation. Due to the larger
fluidization velocity, the formed suspension
occupies the whole volume of the reactor;
the entrained ash and char particles are
removed from the flow in a cyclone located
after the actual reactor. The matter that is
collected in the cyclone is returned to the
bed, thus extending the residence time of
the solids. The feedstock is a variable mixture of refuse derived fuel and biomass.

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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)
WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.E)
Advantages
a) higher processing capacity
b) better gas-solid contact
c) the ability to handle cohesive solids that might be difficult to gasify in bubbling fluidized
beds
3. Spouted Fluidized Bed
A spouted fluidized bed reactor comprises a bed of coarse particles. The gasifying medium is
injected through a relatively large opening at the base of the reactor. The velocity is made high
enough to force the particles to rise in a fountain at the center of the bed and develop a cyclic
motion on the bed as a whole. The bed motion can be assisted by additional air at the base to
produce a spouted fluidized bed. This type of reactor had been used to gasify varies ranks of coal
in air-steam and/or oxygen-steam mixtures at atmospheric and elevated pressures. The minimum
particle diameter at which spouting appears practical is about 1mm

4. Swirling Fluidized Bed

A swirling fluidized bed reactor consists of a bed of granular materials in a cylindrical column.
Primary air is fed in at the bottom of the bed through a distributor plate with enough velocity to
fluidized the bed material in a bubbling regime. Secondary air is injected through a pair of
openings into the freeboard region of the column to create a swirl. The secondary swirling air
helps to achieve high relative movement between the air and the feedstock particles. A
centrifugal action prevents the feedstock particles above a certain minimum size from being
eliminated and ensures that they are retained in the combustion chamber. This increases the gas
residence time and the degree of mixing which increases the rate of reactions on the freeboard.
This type of reactor is mainly suited for steam gasification.

5. Entrained Flow Gasifier (EF):

In this technology, the solid or liquid fuel fed to the entrained flow gasifier is gasified with
oxygen. Reaction occurs in a dense cloud of aerosol at high temperatures and usually high
pressures. Low methane and tar production but high oxygen requirements are other features of
the EF-gasifier, which make it most suitable for H2 -rich gas production. EF-gasifiers are the
only attractive option for extremely large (> 1,000 MW thermal) bio-refinery systems.

The gasification temperature of an entrained-flow reactor generally well exceeds 1000°C. This
allows the production of a gas that is nearly tar-free and has a very low methane content. A
properly designed and operated entrained flow reactor can have a carbon conversion rate close to
100%. The product gas, being very hot, must be cooled in downstream heat exchanger that
produces superheated steam required for gasification.

Operation:
The feedstock and gasifying medium are mostly fed from the top of the reactor. The feedstock
need to be fine because of short residence time in the reactor. The high velocity jet of the
medium forms a recirculating zone near the entry point. Fine feedstock particles, having been
rapidly heated by radiative heat from the hot walls of the reactor chamber and from the hot gases
downstream, start to burn in the oxygen. The bulk of the feedstock is consumed near the entrance
zone through devolatilization. The combustion reaction consumes nearly all of the supplied
oxygen, so the residual char undergoes gasification reactions in CO2 and H2O environment
downstream of this zone. These reactions are relatively slow compared to the devolatilization

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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)
WASTE TO ENERGY UNIT – II M.E. (T.E)
reaction, so the char takes much longer
to complete its conversion to gases.
Hence, a large reactor length is
required.

Gasifier burner arrangement for thermal heating

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Huda Noorien, Asst Prof. (DCET)