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    Bio Mass Assignment

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    Matauka.F. Mufungulwa
    The document describes three thermal conversion processes for biomass: combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis. Combustion involves directly burning biomass or co-firing it with fossil fuels. Gasification uses partial combustion with restricted air/oxygen at high temperatures to produce a combustible gas. Pyrolysis uses external heat with no oxygen to break biomass down into steam, char, and a gas containing tars that requires cleaning.

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    Bio Mass Assignment

    Uploaded by

    Matauka.F. Mufungulwa
    7 views3 pages
    The document describes three thermal conversion processes for biomass: combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis. Combustion involves directly burning biomass or co-firing it with fossil fuels. Gasification uses partial combustion with restricted air/oxygen at high temperatures to produce a combustible gas. Pyrolysis uses external heat with no oxygen to break biomass down into steam, char, and a gas containing tars that requires cleaning.

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    The document describes three thermal conversion processes for biomass: combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis. Combustion involves directly burning biomass or co-firing it with fossil fuels. Gasification uses partial combustion with restricted air/oxygen at high temperatures to produce a combustible gas. Pyrolysis uses external heat with no oxygen to break biomass down into steam, char, and a gas containing tars that requires cleaning.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    7 views3 pages

    Bio Mass Assignment

    Uploaded by

    Matauka.F. Mufungulwa
    The document describes three thermal conversion processes for biomass: combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis. Combustion involves directly burning biomass or co-firing it with fossil fuels. Gasification uses partial combustion with restricted air/oxygen at high temperatures to produce a combustible gas. Pyrolysis uses external heat with no oxygen to break biomass down into steam, char, and a gas containing tars that requires cleaning.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 3

    THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA

    SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

    DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

    ASSIGNMENT: BIOMASS RESEARCH

    NAME: MATAUKA F. MUFUNGULWA

    COMPUTER NUMBER: 2019075822

    MAJOR: MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

    COURSE: MEC 5455

    LECTURER: MR M. MWABA
    1. Describe in detail the following thermal conversion processes
    I. Combustion
    Ans—

     Combustion is the most ancient and frequently applied way of using biomass as an energy source
    because of its low cost, ease of handling and high reliability.
     The biomass can either be fired directly (like when firewood is burned for heating or waste is
    incinerated) or co-fired with fossil fuels.
     Modern coal-fired plants are increasingly being designed for co-firing in order to reduce carbon
    dioxide emissions.
     Factors to be considered when designing a biomass combustion system include;
    i. The characteristics of the fuel to be used
    ii. Environment legislation
    iii. The cost
    iv. The performance of available equipment and
    v. The output required.
     During combustion, a biomass particle first loses its moisture at temperatures up to 100°C using
    heat given off by other particles.
     Then, as the dried particles heat up, volatile gases containing; Hydrocarbons, Carbon
    monoxide(CO), Methane(CH4) and other gaseous components are released.
     In the combustion process, these gases contribute about 70% of the heating value of biomass.
     Finally, the char oxides are released, leaving behind ash
     Both processes involve heating the feedstock in the presence of less oxygen than is
     required for complete combustion and hence produce a mixture of gas, liquid and char.
     Yields of the various outputs depend on the nature of biomass used, the rate of heating, the
    highest temperature reached, the way in which gases react with hot solids, the amount of water
    (as steam) and the presence or absence of other substances that may act as catalysts.
     At one extreme, processes can be optimized to produce charcoal.
     At the other, they can be designed to produce a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide
    (synthesis gas) suitable for use in the catalytic formation of a variety of liquid fuels.

    II. Gasification
    Ans

     Gasification is a high-temperature thermochemical process carried out under conditions that leads
    to combustible gas, rather than heat or a liquid.
     Modern gasifiers can use a large variety of feedstocks. The process involves partial combustion of
    the biomass feedstock with a restricted supply of air or oxygen at temperatures in the range 1200-
    1400°C.
     Ideally, pure oxygen would be used because this would lead to a product of high heating value
    consisting mainly of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide.
     However, most biomass gasifiers use air for costs reasons so the output is diluted with nitrogen
    and therefore has a low heating value.
     Whichever process is used the product can, after appropriate treatment, be burned directly or used
    in gas turbines or engines to produce electricity or mechanical work.
     The process can be varied to give a hydrogen-rich gas or synthesis gas which can be used to make
    other fuel products.

    III. Pyrolysis
    Ans--

     In pyrolysis, an external source of heat is used with no oxygen.


     Heat causes the biomass molecules to break down to form water (steam) and highly reactive low
    molecular weight fragments, many of which combine to form char.
     Hot char will react with steam to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen, giving a gas with a
    high heating value
     Some of the low- molecular weight compounds may be swept from the reactor, recombining to
    form tars as they cool.
     Fine particles of ash and partly carbonized biomass may also be carried in the gas steam.
     For this reason, the gas requires advanced cleaning before it can be used in a combustion engine
    or turbine.

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