A

Project Report on

“PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN GAS USING

GASIFICATION FROM BIOMASS.”

Is submitted to

The Gujarat Technological University

In Partial Fulfillment for award of Degree of

Diploma in Chemical Engineering.

Submitted By:

FAIZ SHAIKH
[166380305059]

Guided By:
Mr. SMIT CHRISTIAN
Chemical Engineering Department
Parul Institute of Engineering and Technology (Diploma Studies).

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

PARUL INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
(DIPLOMA STUDIES)
THE GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY.
 GUJARAT TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY
CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled, PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN GAS USING
GASIFICATION FROM BIOMASS. Submitted by MR. FAIZ SHAIKH. In partial fulfillment
for the award of degree of Diploma Engineering in CHEMICAL ENGINEERING to the Gujarat
Technological University, is the record of the work carried out by him under my supervision and
guidance. The matter presented here, to the best of my knowledge, has not been submitted
earlier for the award of any other degree or diploma.

Guide:
PROF. SMIT CHRISTIAN
Chemical Eng’g. Dept.;
PIET (Diploma Studies).

H.O.D:
PROF. PRABHA MODI
Chemical Eng’g. Dept.; PIET
(Diploma Studies).

Principal:
PROF. RUCHI
SHRIVASTAV
Chemical Eng’g. Dept.;
PIET (Diploma Studies).
 DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work, which is being presented in the Report, entitled (PRODUCTION OF
HYDROGEN GAS USING GASIFICATION FROM BIOMASS) is partial fulfillment for the award
of degree “Diploma Engineering” in Department of Chemical Engineering at PARUL INSTITUTE
OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (DIPLOMA STUDIES) is a record of our own
investigations carried out under the guidance of –

PROF. SMIT CHRISTIAN

Chemical Eng’g. Dept.;

I have not submitted the matter presented in this project anywhere for the award of any degree.

FAIZ SHAIKH
[166380305059]
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel immense pleasure and privilege to express my deep sense of

gratitude and feel indebted towards all those people who have helped, inspired

and encouraged me during the preparation of this report.

I am grateful to my supervisor, Prof. Smit Christian, for his kind

support, guidance and encouragement throughout the project work, also for

introducing to this topic.

I am also thankful to all the staff and faculty members of Chemical

Engineering Department, Parul Institute of Engineering and Technology

[Diploma Studies] for their consistent encouragement.

Last but not the least; I would like to thank whole heartedly my

parents and family members whose encouragement and unconditional support,

both on academic and personal front, enabled me to see the light of this day.

Thanking You,
MR. FAIZ SHAIKH
[166380305059]
 ABSTRACT

An energy efficient approach to hydrogen rich syn-gas production from biomass and
wastes is represented at relatively low temperature, around 6000C, in a continuous-feeding
fluidized bed Gasifier. The effects of different biomass materials, temperature, steam to
biomass ratio (S/B) and Equivalence Ratio (ER) on gas yield, gas composition, and carbon
conversion efficiency have been studied. Higher temperature contributed to higher gas
yield and carbon conversion. The steam introduction increased hydrogen yield by steam
reforming and water gas shift reaction. Rice husk, rice straw and rice straw were gasified
in the present work. Temperature during gasification was varied with 500-10000C. ER was
varied within 0.15 to 0.35 and steam to biomass ratio was varied within 1.35 to 2.5.
Minimum extra of 20% stoichiometric air is required for satisfactory performance of
gasifier.
Key words: Fluidized bed gasification, Syn-gas, Biomass, Steam to Biomass ratio,
Equivalence ratio.
 CONTENTS

Chapter 1 – INTRODUCTION (1 - 5)

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Biochemical Conversion

1.2 Thermo-che mical Conversion

1.3 Advantage of Biomass Gasification

1.3.1 Advantage of Biomass FBG

1.4 Objectives

1.5 Thesis Outline

Chapter 2 - LITERATURE SURVEY (6 - 15)

2.0 Literature S urvey

2.1 Direct Combustion of Biomass (Incineration)

2.2 Gasificatio n

2.3 Various Zo nes of Gasifier

2.3.1 Drying Zone

 2. Pyrolysis Zone

3. Reduction Zone

4. Oxidation/Combustion Zone

3. Classification of Gasifiers

4. Fluidized Bed Gasifier

2.6 Previous Work

Chapter 3 -DESIGN OF FLUIDISED BED GASIFIER (16 - 17)

3.1 Design Methodology

Chapter 4 – MATERIALS AND METHODS WITH ENERGY (18 - 22)

CALCULATION
4.1 Materials

4.1.1 Collection, Sizing, Drying of Biomass Sample and Bed

Material
4.1.2 Different Parts of Experiment Setup

4.2 Methods

4.2.1 Analysis of Physical Properties

4.2.2 Preliminary Analysis of the Biomass Samples

4.2.3 Ultimate Analysis

4.2.4 Proximate Analysis

4.2.5 Operating Procedure

4.2.6 Output Measurement and Scope of Experiment

4.3 Chemical Formula of Biomass

 4.4 Energy Balance and Mass Balance Calculations

Chapter 5 -DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION (23 - 27)

5.1 Overall n on Results from ASPEN Plus

Discussio
Simulation
5.2 Different Parameters Studied During Experimentation

5.2.1 Temperature Distribution in the Gasifier

5.2.2 Effect of Reactor Temperature

5.2.3 Effect of Steam-to-Biomass Ratio (S/B)

5.2.4 Effect of Equivalence Ratio(ER)

5.3 Conclusion

REFERENCES (27 - 30)

 NOMENCLATURE

D Screw outlet diameter, m

Dp Mean particle size, m

G Acceleration due to gravity, m/sec2

H Fillet height ,m

H Expanded bed height, m

Hmf Bed height at minimum fluidization, m

Ht Overall height, m

ass flow rate of feed sample, kg/h

N Speed of screw, rpm

TDH Transport disengaging height, m

Uf Fluidization velocity, m/s

Ut Terminal velocity of particles, m/s

Umf Minimum fluidization velocity, m/s

S Step of screw, m
 CHAPTER ONE

1.0 Introduction
With increasing demand for energy, depleting primary energy sources (i.e. coal
and oil) and detoriating environment, it has become essential not only to use the

existing energy sources efficiently and thus conserve them, but also to develop

alternate or non-conventional sources of energy. Although India produces about

35 million tons of crude oil, its import of crude oil is also increasing about 24

million tons as a result of increase in energy demand. So in order to alleviate

India’s dependence on import of oil, it is becoming increasingly clear that there

is no option except to develop alternate or non-conventional sources of energy.

Of the various renewable energy sources available, biomass appears to offer a

promising solution to tackle the ever increasing energy demand (Basu, 2006).

Biomass is an organic matter produced by plants, both terrestrial (those grown

on land) and aquatic (those grown in water) and their derivatives. It includes

forest crops and residues, and animal manure. Biomass is the term used in the

context of energy for a range of products which have been derived from

photosynthesis. Thus everything which has been derived from the process of

photosynthesis is a potential source of energy.

Biomass constitutes a significant, clean and renewable energy source and has
very desirable option. Photosynthesis or photo-biological process is a continuous

Activity creating organic carbon that burns with less air pollution than fossil

1 |P a g e
 fuels. Photosynthesis helps to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and
generates oxygen, the life sustaining gas. Thus it helps to remove environmental

pollution. Since plants use carbon dioxide for their growth, greater sources on

biomass production may help to restore clean environment. Biomass energy is

thus environmentally a very acceptable resource. In various types of Biomass

samples, wood contains more calorific value, less ash content and the availability

of wood is abundant.

Technologies to convert biomass in to energy fall two categories as mention below.

i. Bio chemical conversion (anaerobic digestion, fermentation) process

ii. Thermo chemical conversion (combustion and gasification) process.

1.1 Biochemical Conversion

Anaerobic digestion uses bacteria to break down organic wastes (animal

manure, aquatic plants and etc.) in an oxygen free environmental to produce

biogas (methane CH4 and carbon dioxide CO2 gas). The container system used

(i.e. digester) varies greatly including single or multiple tanks, single or

multiphase, batch, packed bed, expanded bed, mixed bed and variable bed

systems. Efficiency of these systems is determined by the feed stock used,

temperature required and most importantly quality of gas produced (less CO2 the

better). The effluent from the anaerobic digestion process also provides a

valuable, fertilized product and contains less of its original odor. Fermentation is

the major process used to produce ethanol fuel. It involves enzymatic breakdown

by micro-organisms at low pressure and low temperature. It causes the

breakdown of complex molecules in organic compound under the influence of

2 |P a g e
 ferment such as yeast, bacteria, enzymes etc.

2. Thermo-chemical Conversion
Gasification and direct combustion are two examples of thermo-chemical

conversion process. Direct combustion is probably the most common conversion

process whereby solid biomass is burnt in a confined container, stove or boiler

and combustion is maintained by airflow through the combustion chamber.

Optimal airflow and properly dried biomass greatly enhance the efficiency of the

combustion process. Gasification is a process of turning solid biomass into

combustible gas. The solid biomass is partially burnt in presence of air or oxygen

to produce low or medium calorific value gases. Gasifier are very easy to operate,

easy to maintain and reliable in operation.

3. Advantages of Biomass Gasification

Advantages of biomass energy utilization include ensuring the sustainability of

energy supply in the long term as well as reducing the impact on the environment.

As biomass energy uses agricultural waste as fuel, it is considered “CO2 neutral”

and emissions of sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides are very low, making it a

good option as clean fuel for the environment. Indeed, among the technologies

available for using biomass for producing electricity, gasification is relatively

new. Gasification is primarily a thermo-chemical conversion of organic materials

at elevated temperature with partial oxidation. In gasification, the energy in

biomass or any other organic matter is converted to combustible gases (mixture

of CO, CH4 and H2), with char, water, and condensable as minor products. The

concern for climatic variations has triggered the interest in biomass gasification

3 |P a g e
 making fluidized bed gasifies as one the popular options, occupying nearly 20%

of their market.

1.3.1 Advantage of FBG

(i) Fluidized Bed gasifier can handle all types of dry small sized biomass wastes.

(ii) It can be operated batch wise and continuous manner.

FBG handling biomass produces syn-gas of high colorific value and solid

waste with less ash content. Time taken for ash conversion from biomass is less

and density of char is less. Waste from agro industry, timber industry, sugar

industry etc. can be used for power generation. In rural areas, biomass samples

are readily available for which power problem can also easily be solved with

proper gasification technology.

1.4 Objectives

Objective of the present work has been framed in the following manner.

a) Design of FBG

b) Production of H2 from biomass using FBG

c) Effect of biomass type on syn-gas composition

d) To study the effect of different parameters such as Steam to Biomass Ratio,

Equivalence Ratio (ER) and temperature on composition of syn-gas.

1.5 To carry out ASPEN Plus simulation for further validation of the Thesis Outline
The present work has been documented in the form of a systematic report.

The thesis report comprises the following chapters.

4 |P a g e
 i. Introduction

ii. Literature Survey

iii. Designing Fluidized Bed Biomass Gasifier.

iv. Materials and Methods with Energy Calculation

v. ASPEN Plus Simulation, Experimental Observations and Results

vi. Discussion and Conclusion mental data.

5 |P a g e
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE SURVEY

1. Biomass Energy Conversion

Biomass is abundantly available in all parts of the world. Need for

environmentally clean energy demands the use of biomass as an alternative

source for renewable energy for which the biomass is to be converted by special

technologies.

There are mainly two methods commonly used for biomass energy conversion

i. Direct Combustion (Incineration)

ii. Gasification

2.1 Direct Combustion of Biomass (Incineration)

Combustion is the process of burning (rapid oxidation accompanied by heat and

light). Combustion also includes slow oxidation accompanied by little heat and

no light. Incineration is the process of burning completely to ashes. The process

of combustion is applicable to solid liquid and gaseous fuels. Combustion or

burning is one of the most common processes in energy technology and

biomass conversion technology. Generally the combustion process is applied to

solid fuels including cultivated biomass and waste biomass. It is convenient and

economical to burn the solid, semi-dried biomass and obtain useful heat at the

location of biomass source. The heat obtained from the combustion of biomass

can be used for several useful processes such as cooking, industrial heat

6 |P a g e
 requirements, steam generation, generation of electrical energy from steam etc.
However, when the energy is to be transported over a long distance, it is more

economical to convert the biomass into liquid or gaseous fuels and then

transport them through pipeline or by tanks and use the fuels in liquid or

gaseous forms at the receiving end. Alternatively the biomass is converted to

electrical energy in a biomass thermal electrical power plant and the energy is

transmitted in electrical power to the load center (Corella et al. 2007). The

applications of biomass combustion process cover a wide range of ratings from

a fraction of kilowatt (for cooking) to a few megawatts (in municipal waste-to-

energy electrical power plant).

The energy route of combustion process is:

Dry Shredded Biomass Burning Heat of Combustion

Air

2.2 Gasification
A solid fuel is converted by a series of thermo-chemical process like drying,

pyrolysis, oxidation, and reduction to a gaseous fuel-synthesis gas. If

atmospheric air is normally used as the gasification agent, the synthesis gas

consists mainly of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and oxygen. A

typical composition of the gas obtained from wood gasification on volumetric

basis is as follows (Rai.2007).

Carbon monoxide 18 - 22%

Hydrogen 13 - 9%

7 |P a g e
 Methane 1 - 5%

Heavier hydrocarbons 0.2 - 0.4%

Carbon dioxide 9 -12%

Nitrogen 45 - 55%

Water vapor 4%

The above mentioned gas can be used for generation of power either in dual

fuel engines or in diesel engines with some modification.

As mentioned earlier, complete combustion takes place with excess air or at

least 100% theoretical air, whereas gasification process takes place with excess

carbon. The gasification of solid fuels containing carbon is accomplished in an

air sealed, closed chamber under slight vacuum or pressure relative to ambient

pressure. The fuel column is ignited at one point and exposed to the air blast.

The gas is drawn off at another location. Depending upon the positions of air

inlet and gas withdrawal point with reference to the fuel bed movement, three

types of gasifiers have been designed and operated to date. They are as follows:

(a) up-draft gasifier, (b) down-draft gasifier and (c) cross draft gasifier.

The advantages of a gasifier are:

i. It is very easy to operate the gasifier

ii. Its maintenance is easy

iii. It is simple in construction

8 |P a g e
 iv. Reliable in operation

3. Various Zones of Gasifier

The process of gasification taking place in various zones is distinguish

and represented by the variation of temperature and the process carried out in

each zone. The zones are classified as:

1. Drying zone

2. Pyrolysis zone

3. Reduction zone

4. Oxidation/ Combustion zone

The reactions taking place in different zones are also required to be discussed.

They are as follows. Gasification involves a series of endothermic reactions

supported by the heat produced from the combustion reaction. Gasification yields

combustible gases such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane through a

series of reactions. The following are four major gasification reactions (Basu,

2006).

1. Water gas reaction

2. Boudouard reaction

3. Shift conversion

4. Methanation

Brief descriptions of the reactions in different zones are given below.

2.3.1 DryingZone

The main operation in drying zone is the removal of moisture. The temperature

prevailing in this zone is 50°C-200°C. The radiant energy from the pyrolysis zone

9 |P a g e
 is the main energy for this zone. In general this zone occupies more volume of a

gasifier.

2.3.2 Pyrolysis Zone

Water gas reaction is the partial oxidation of carbon by steam, which could come

from a host of different sources, such as water vapor associated with the incoming

air, vapor produced from the evaporation of water, and pyrolysis of the solid fuel.

Steam reacts with the hot carbon according to the heterogeneous water gas

reaction:

C + H2O = H2+ CO -131, 38 kJ/kg mol carbon

2.3.3 Reduction Zone

The carbon dioxide present in the gasifier reacts with char to produce CO

according to the following endothermic reaction, which is known as the

Boudouard reaction:

CO2 +C = 2CO -172, 58 kJ/mole carbon

2.3.4 Oxidation/combustion zone

Shift conversion and methanation are two major reactions taking place in this

zone. The heating value of hydrogen is higher than that of carbon monoxide.

Therefore, the reduction of steam by carbon monoxide to produce hydrogen is a

highly desirable reaction. CO + H2O = CO2+ H2 - 41, 98 kJ/mole carbon

This endothermic reaction, known as water–gas shift, results in an increase in

the ratio of hydrogen to carbon monoxide in the gas, and is employed in the

manufacture of synthesis gas.

Methane also form in the gasifier through the following overall reaction:

10 | P a g e
 C +2H2= CH4 +74, 90 kJ/mole carbon

This reaction can be accelerated by nickel-based catalyst at 11000C and 6 to 8

bar. Methane formation is preferred especially when the gasification products are

to be used as a feedstock for other chemical processes.

2.4 Classification of Gasifiers

Depending upon the bed movement, gasifiers are of two types i.e. fixed bed
gasifier and moving bed gasifiers. Again according to the mode of contact of

feedstock and gasifying medium the gasification system is classified in three

categories as described in Fig.2.1. All these are as moving bed type gasifiers with

different type contacts as follows:

1. Counter current (Up-draught)

2. Co-current (Down-draught)

3. Cross current (Cross-draught)

11 | P a g e
 Fig.2.1 The schematic diagram of all these types of gasifiers

2.5 Fluidized Bed Gasifier

Again according to the conditions prevailing in the bed, moving bed gasifiers are classified as

bubbling bed and fluidized bed gasifier. Since the fluidized bed allows an intensive mixing and

a good heat transfer, there are no distinguished reaction zones. Hence, drying, pyrolysis,

oxidation and reduction reactions take place simultaneously. The temperature distribution in

the fluidized bed is relatively constant and typically ranges between 700°C and 900°C.

12 | P a g e
 Fluidized bed Gasifiers are very easy to operate, easy to maintain, quick to start up, high
combustion efficiency, high output, rapid response to fuel input changes, uniform temperature

in the bed, low restart time, simple in construction and reliable in operation. Therefore the

present work is focused on Fluidized Bed Gasifier.

2.6 Previous Work

Ramirez et al. (2007) suggested on the basic design of a pilot scale Fluidized Bed Gasifier for
handling Rice Husk. According to them the gasifier was divided in seven parts or sub-systems

intending to produce an energetic gas. Experimental tests conducted with such a gasifier

showed that the developed procedure is adequate with a maximum deviation of 50% for the

operational performance variables.

Kumar et al. (2009) modified steam and air fluidized bench-scale FBG. The effects of furnace

temperature, steam to biomass ratio and equivalence ratio on gas composition, carbon

conversion efficiency and energy conversion efficiency of the product gas were studied by

them.

Murakami et al. (2006) discussed on some process fundamentals for biomass gasification in

dual fluidized bed. The dual fluidized bed gasification technology is prospective because it

produces high calorie product gas, free of N2 even when air is used to generate the heat

required for gasification via in situ combustion. The necessary process fundamentals for

development of a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) biomass gasifier coupled with pneumatic

transported riser (PTR) char combustor were also studied by them.

Natarajan et al. (1998) determined agglomeration tendencies of some common agricultural

residues in fluidized bed combustion and gasification system. It is observed that the

13 | P a g e
 combustion zone temperature is in the order of 900 – 10000C as in moving bed gasifiers and
800-9000C in fluidized bed gasifiers. The ashes of biomass feed stocks were observed to have

ash fusion temperatures in the range of 8000C to 15000C.

Rao et al. (2002) worked on thermo chemical characterization of various biomass samples

using down draft gasifier and fixed bed and fluidized bed gasifiers. They observed that

producer gas obtained is contaminated with tars, chars and ash particles to different degree

depending upon the reactor type and feed stock utilized. The moisture content varies over a

wide range from oven dry to about 90% on wet basis and ash content varies from 0.5 to 22%.

Highest heating value of 12-18 MJ.N/m3 was observed with producer gas.

Keijo (1995) studied co-combustion and gasification of various biomass samples using steam

gasification. Wood based fuel and waste agricultural wastes, waste paper etc. were used for

heat and power generation.

Schiffer et al. (1995) gasified different biomass samples including pulp and paper sludge to

municipal sludge. They used high temperature winkler (HTW) process where solid feed stocks

are gasified in a fluidized bed at elevated pressure using oxygen plus steam or air as

gasification agents. They observed that biomass and waste materials often incorporate a higher

amount of volatile matter, different proportions and compositions of inorganic matter having a

significant variety of physical properties in comparison with coal. Therefore, gasification or

co-gasification of peat, wood, sewage sludge has consequences with regard to feed stock

preparation, gasification behavior, corrosion, emissions and residues. Thus, they recommended

that HTW process is favorable for the conversion of Biomass.

14 | P a g e
 Chern et al. (1998) used an empirical stoichiometric equation for wood chip gasification in a
commercial-scale moving bed downdraft gasifier. The equation is based on an analysis of

overall and elemental material balance for experimental data obtained with the gasifier. A

thermodynamic analysis of the gasifier has also been performed. Resultant empirical

efficiencies of the gasifier have been evaluated for four different operating models at three

different output temperatures. The resultant empirical stoichiometry was found to be in

agreement with the experimental observations.

Warnecke (2000) carried out a comparative study on gasification process between fluidized

and fixed bed gasifier using different feed samples. Other aspects such as technology involved

in the process, energy consumption for the process, environmental problem caused by the

process and overall economy of the process were also analyzed by him. It was concluded that

there is no significant advantage with fixed bed gasifier or fluidized bed gasifier.

15 | P a g e
 CHAPTER THREE

3.1 Design Methodology

Biomass at a rate of 10kg/hr was fed and gasified. The product gas compositions

were computed on dry, inert free basis and analyzed with respect to different

parameters.

Other parameters such as constant Steam to Biomass Ratio of 0.5, Equivalence

Ratio of 0.25 and biomass feed rate of 10 kg/hr were maintained constant.

Temperature was only varied. Effect of temperature on product gas composition

was studied by varying temperature within 500-7000C.

Variation of product gas composition against temperature has been shown in Fig.

16 | P a g e
17 | P a g e
 CHAPTER FOUR
MATERIALS AND METHODS WITH ENERGY CALCULATION

4.1 Materials
Different types of biomass are studied through proximate and ultimate analysis.

These samples are used in gasifier for production of hydrogen. The materials

are required to be sized for using in the fluidized bed gasifier.

4.1.1 Collection, Sizing, Drying Of Biomass Sample and Bed Material

The following raw materials and bed materials have been used in the

biomass gasification experiments.

Raw material (Biomass samples): Saw dust, Rice

husk, Rice straw Bed material: Sand

Fluidizing

Medium: Air

supply

Gasification

Medium: Steam

supply

Rice husk and saw dust were used directly in the gasifier as the available

materials were of proper sizes. But Rice straws were sized to required size by

cutting. The photographs of the samples are shown in Fig.4.1.

18 | P a g e
 Fig. 4.1 Biomass sample used for experiment

4.1.2 Different Parts of Experiment Setup

A blower with controlling valve is used for continuous air supply. A bubble cap

air distributer is provided at the bottom of gasifier. Two screw conveyers are

provided, one for feeding the biomass and second one is for feeding the bed

materials. Arrangement for LPG supply and firing point are also made. Three

drainage points are located at different heights of the gasifier. Detailed

explanations have already been discussed in Chapter-3.

4.2 Methods

4.2.1 Analysis of Physical Properties

There are some other properties like bulk density, mean particle size, sphericity
and porosity which were required to be measured for experimentation. These

were measured for the biomass samples, which are as shown in Table - 4.1.

Table - 4.1Physical Properties of Biomass and bed material was studied

Property Mean particle size (mm) Apparent density (kg/m3) Porosity Sphericity
Bed material
Sand 0.38 2650 0.44 0.77
Biomass

19 | P a g e
 Rice husk 0.53 426 0.81 0.37
Rice straw 2.6 153 0.46 0.56
Saw dust 0.81 244 0.7 0.45

4.2.2 Preliminary Analysis of the Biomass Samples

The following analyses have been carried out for the characterization of the different biomass
samples.

• Ultimate analysis

• Thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA)

• Proximate analysis

• Analysis of other properties

4.2.3 Ultimate Analysis

Determination of total carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur percentages in the biomass
sample is carried out by its ultimate analysis. With the ultimate analysis for all these biomass
samples, the following results as shown in Table - 4.2 were obtained.

Types of biomass Carbon (%) Hydrogen (%) Nitrogen (%) Sulfur (%) Oxygen (%)

Rice husk 38.45 4.96 0.82 0.18 55.59

Rice straw 36.6 4.55 0.47 0.21 58.17

Saw dust 45.78 5.32 0.18 0.07 48.65

20 | P a g e
 4.2.4 Proximate analysis

Determination of moisture content, volatile matter, ash content and fixed carbon in the biomass
sample is known as the proximate analysis.

4.2.5 Operating Procedure

Inert bed material is fed to the gasifier at first up to certain height. Biomass feed is fed continuously
by the screw conveyer carefully. A specified quantity of water is added into steam generator for
steam-generation. Feed stocks in the gasifier are then ignited by LPG to preheat the bed material
with in gasifier till the temperature reaches up to 550 - 6000C. The temperature of the bed material
within gasifier is increased gradually. By the time it reaches 8000C steam starts pinching. When
temperature at the neck and outer wall of furnace reaches 9000C gasifying agents are driven into
the gasifier and then the tests start up. The temperatures at 7 different locations at different intervals
of test are recorded. The gas yield is measured by a flow meter simultaneously. Usually, the steady
state is reached at around 15 minutes after startup and then gas sampling is carried out at an interval
of 10 minute. Every operating condition is repeated twice to assure the reliability of the
experimental results and the average of these observed values are considered as the experimental
results.

4.2.6 Output Measurement and Scope of Experiment

The aim of the present investigation is to improve and optimize the gasification

efficiency by varying the percentage of stoichiometric air and steam supply.

Effect of equivalence ratio, reaction temperature and steam to biomass ratio on

the production as well as the composition of syn-gas is also observed during the

experimental work. Outputs from different biomass samples used as feed material

are also analyzed for future improvement.

Scope of this experiment is aimed to

21 | P a g e
 i. Improve the calorific value of syn gas/Increase the percentage of H2 and CH4

ii. Reduce the char content in solid waste

iii. Make the process more economical and eco friendly

3. Chemical Formula of Biomass

The calculation of chemical formula is important to determine the stoichiometric

amount of air required for the combustion of the biomass samples.

4. Energy Balance and Mass Balance Calculations

Based on the properties of the different biomass samples, the energy balance and mass balance
calculations were carried out.

22 | P a g e
 CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

1. Discussions

2. Overall Discussion on Results from ASPEN plus Simulation

The effect of different system parameters (viz. temperature, S/B,ER) on the yield of product gas was

studied using a fluidized bed gasifier. The experimentally observed data were validated using ASPEN

plus simulator. Experimental observations and simulated results were found to be matching in most of

the cases. But the concentration of the components were found to be different in some cases. The reason

may be the impractical assumptions made for ASPEN plus simulation. Since gasification is an

endothermic reaction, the product gas composition is sensitive towards temperature change. It is

observed that the concentration of H2 increases with increase in temperature. The concentration of CO

remains almost constant over the entire range of temperature i.e. 6000C-9000C. Higher temperature

provides more favorable condition for cracking and steam reforming of methane. Therefore it is

observed that the concentration of methane decreases with increase in temperature and there is

increase in concentration of hydrogen. The CO2 concentration decreases with increase in temperature

as higher temperature favors endothermic formation of CO from CO2 via boudouard reaction.

Equivalence ratio is found to be the most important parameter of gasification. The effect of

equivalence ratio on product gas composition is studiedin the range 0.2 to 0.36 at 7000C with steam to

biomass ratio of 0.5. The Fig.-

5.3 shows that concentration CO2 is directly proportional to the equivalence ratio. With increase in

equivalence ratio, complete combustion of carbon takes place producing more CO2 and this leads to

decrease in concentration of CO. Therefore less H2 is produced from water gas shift reaction leading to

23
a| P a g e in concentration of H2. Methane concentration remains almost constant over this range of
decrease
 equivalence ratio. Steam to biomass ratio also plays an important role in gasification of biomass. The

effect of steam to biomass ratio on product gas composition was studied over the range of 0.5 - 1.5 at
7000C with equivalence ratio 0.26. Higher steam to biomass ratio favors more conversion of CO to CO2

and H2 through water gas shift reaction. Thus with increase in steam to biomass ratio H2 and

CO2concentration increases with a decrease in CO concentration in the product gas. Higher steam to

biomass also ratio provides more favorable condition for steam reforming of methane. As a result

methane concentration decreases with increase in steam to biomass ratio.

5.2 Different Parameter Studied in Experiment

Setup

5.2.1 Temperature Distribution in the

Gasifier

Temperature distribution along the height of the gasifier is shown in Fig. 5.5. From Fig. 5.5 it is found

that the feed sample needs a longer time in the drying zone and pyrolysis zone to attain high temperature

than in the combustion and reduction zones. The reason may be that initially the bed material is at room

temperature. Feed along with the air is supplied to the gasified for proper fluidization before supplying

the heat. Thus bed material is dried from room temperature to required temperature and then subjected

to pyrolysis. Therefore attainment of high temperature in drying and pyrolysis zones are time taking.

But attainment of high temperature in combustion and reduction zone is not time taking as bed material

is already at high temperature. At a steady state temperature of drying zone is about 1500C - 3000C,

while temperature of the pyrolysis zone remains about 6000C. The steady temperatures of the pyrolysis

zone, combustion zone and reduction zone are 6000C, 7000C – 10000C and 8000C, respectively. From

the temperature curve of the combustion zone, it is found out that there appears a fluctuation, which is

an occasional phenomenon and possibly caused by O2 deflagrating because of local accumulation.

24 | P a g e
 Reason may be the use of air as the gasifying agent which is air supplied by a high power blower. This
reveals that when a fluidized bed gasifier operates in normal conditions, the flow of air should be

changed step by step to avoid a sudden O2 accumulation and assure operation safety at the startup stage

of each run. Besides, a proper distribution of air intake system is necessary to make air enter into the

gasifier uniformly and avoid local accumulation. As gases flows through the bed and biomass

intermixing zone different reactions occur in the different zones. In the drying zone, temperature is

about150–3000C. In the pyrolysis zone, temperature is about 6000C, pyrolysis of biomass results in the

production of char, tar and gas. In the combustion zone, because of the presence of oxygen, oxidization

reactions of biomass pyrolysis products provides the required heat for the whole gasification. In the

reduction and catalyst zones, secondary reactions of biomass pyrolysis and oxidization products take

place, i.e. Cracking, reforming and tar decomposition. Nearly all these reactions are endothermic.

Therefore the temperature of reduction drops from 8000c to about 6000C in this zone. Thus the design of

gasified leads to a sudden expansion phenomenon which reduces the out let gas temperature up to 45 -

550C although the gas is allowed to pass through a high efficiency cyclone separator to separate the dust

particles.

5.2.2 Effect of Reactor Temperature

It is known that temperature plays an important role in gasification. In the present work, the reactor

temperature is increased from 500 to 10000C with 500C increments to investigate the effect of

temperature on gas composition and hydrogen yield. The experimental results are presented in Table-

B-2, 3, 4 (Appendix-B) and Figure 5.6, 5.7, 5.8 for three different biomass feeds. From Table-B-2, 3, 4

(Appendix-B); it is found out that the H2 concentration increases with temperature and that the content

of CH4 and CO shows a decreasing trend with increase in temperature which indicates that more CH4

and CO react with steam to produce additional H2 through these reactions. As Table-B-2, 3, 4

25 | P a g e
 (Appendix-B) shows, there are still a large quantity of CO in the syn-gas, from which it can be confirmed
that shift reaction happens simultaneously in the steam gasification process. Fig.5.12 indicates that

under operating condition of S/B = 0 i.e. without steam supply, Equivalence Ratio = 0.25 and Feed Rate

= 10kg/hr, hydrogen yield increases from 21.50% to 40.58% for rice husk,18.49 % to 35.55% for rice

straw and 19.93 % to 39.64% for saw dust in volume % on N2 and O2 freebasis.

3. Effect of Steam-to-Biomass Ratio (S/B)

To study the effect of steam to biomass reaction on hydrogen yield. The steam rate was varied from 0.5

to 2.5 while keeping all other conditions constant as Operating temperature =8000C, Equivalence Ratio

= 0.25 and Feed Rate 10kg/hr. The test results are presented in Table-B-8, 9, 10 (Appendix-B) and

Fig.5.13, 5.14, 5.15 for Rice Husk, Rice Straw and Saw Dust respectively. Over an S/B range of 2 to

2.5, hydrogen yield has a nearly linear increase. . Syn-gas and hydrogen yield begin to decrease when

the S/B exceeds 2.5. This can be justified by the fact that additional low temperature steam fed into the

reactor causes the reaction temperature to decrease thereby, causing the gas yield to decrease.

4. Effect of Equivalence Ratio(ER)

As it is known, equivalence ratio is defined as the actual oxygen-to-fuel ratio divided by the stoichiometric

oxygen-to-fuel ratio needed for complete combustion. In the present study, ER is varied from 0.15 to 0.35

by changing the air flow rate and keeping the other conditions constant as Operating temperature = 800
0C, Steam to Biomass Ratio =1.5 and Feed Rate 10kg/hr.

3. Conclusion
In general 20% of stoichiometric air is required for gasification which gives certain percentage of

efficiency. The increase in stoichiometric air percentage increases the percentage of efficiency. Varying

the types of wood also affects the percentage of efficiency. Therefore by varying the percentage of

stoichiometric air and wood the performance of gasifier can be studied and thus the gasification efficiency

26 | P a g e
can be optimized. Biomass gasification offers the most attractive alternative energy system. Most
preferred fuels for gasification have been charcoal and biomass. However biomass residues are the most

appropriate fuels for on-farm systems and offer the greatest challenge to researchers and gasification

system manufacturers. Most extensively used and researched systems have been based on downdraft

gasification. However it appears that for fuels with high ash content fluidized bed combustion may offer

better solution. At present no reliable and economically feasible system exists. Biggest challenge of

gasification systems lies in developing a reliable and economical gas purification system. The increase of

air supply up to certain percentage reduces the percentage of char content and increase the temperature of

the producer gas. The increase of air supply up to certain percentage thus increases the percentage of CH4

which contains more colorific value. Thus using biomass as fuel will cause no damage to the environment.

REFERENCES

1.Aznar M. P., Caballero Ml A., Corella J., Gregorio M. and Toledo J.M., “Hydrogen Production by

Biomass Gasification with Steam - O2 Mixtures Followed by a Catalytic Steam Reformer and a CO Shift

System”, Energy & Fuels, 20, 1305-1309, (2006).

2.Basu P., “Combustion and Gasification in Fluidized beds”, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, New

York, Year of Publication (2006).

3.Chatterjee P.K., Datta A.B. and Kundu K.M., “Fluidized Bed Gasification of Coal,” The Canadian

Journal of Chemical Engineering, 73, 204 –210, (1995).

4.Corella J., Toledo J. M. and Molina G., “A Review on Dual Fluidized-Bed Biomass Gasifiers”, Ind.

Eng. Chem. Res., 46, 6831-6839, (2007).

27 | P a g e
5.Corella J., Orio A. and Aznar P., “Biomass Gasification With Air in Fluidized Bed: Reforming of
the Gas Composition with Commercial Steam Reforming Catalysts”, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 37, 4617-

4624, (1998).

6.Frederic P., Florent C. and Mohand T., “Thermo Chemical Equilibrium Modeling of a Biomass

Gasifying Process Using ASPEN PLUS”, International Journal Of Chemical Reactor Engineering,

Volume 7, Article A40, (2009).

7.Kumar A., Kent E., David, D. Jones. And Milford, A. Hanna. , “Steam–Air Fluidized Bed Gasification

of Distillers Grains: Effects of Steam to Biomass Ratio, Equivalence Ratio and Gasification

Temperature”, Bio resource Technology, 100, 2062–2068, (2009).

8.Kunii D. and Levenspiel O., “Fluidization Engineering”, (Second edition) Butterworth- Heinemann,

Elsevier, New Delhi, India, (2005).

9.Lendon T.R. Mc, Lui A. P., Pineault R.L., Beer S.K. and Richardson S.W., “High Pressure Co-

Gasification of Coal and Biomass in a Fluidized Bed”, Biomass and Bio energy, 26, 377

– 388, (2004).

10.Li X.T., Grace J.R., Lim C.J., Watkinson A.P., Chenb H.P., Kimc J.R., “Biomass Gasification in a

Circulating Fluidized Bed”, Biomass and Bio-energy, 26, 171 – 193, (2004).

11.Lv, P., Chang J., Xiong Z., Huang H., Chuangzhi W. U. and Zhu Y. C. J.,“ Biomass Air- Steam

Gasification in a Fluidized Bed to Produce Hydrogen-Rich Gas”, Energy & Fuels, 17, 677-682, ( 2003).

12.Lv P.M., Xiong Z.H., Chang J., Wu C.Z. , Chen Y. and Zhu J.X., “An Experimental Study on

Biomass Air–Steam Gasification in a Fluidized Bed”, Bio resource Technology, 95–101, (2004).

28 | P a g e
13.Lv P., Yuan Z., Ma L., Wu C., Chen Y. and Zhu J., “Hydrogen-Rich Gas Production from Biomass

Air and Oxygen/Steam Gasification in a Downdraft Gasifier”, Renewable Energy, 32, 2173–2185, (2007).

14.Mathieu P. and Dubuisson R., “Performance Analysis of a Biomass Gasifier”, Energy Conversion and

Management, 43, 1291–1299, (2002).

15.Meng Ni., Dennis Y.C. L., Michael K.H. L. and Sumathy K., “An Overview of Hydrogen Production

from Biomass”, Fuel Processing Technology, 87, 461 – 472, (2006).

16.Murakami T., Guangwen Xu., Toshiyuki S., Yoshiaki M., Hidehisa T. and Toshiro F., “Some Process

Fundamentals of Biomass Gasification in Dual Fluidized Bed” Fuel 86, 244–255, (2007).

17.Nath K. and Das D., “Hydrogen from Biomass”, Current Science, Vol. 85, No. 3, 10 August, (2003).

18.Natarajan E., Ohman. M., Gabra, M., Nordin. A., Liliedahl. T. and Rao, A.N., “Experimental

Determination of Bed Agglomeration Tendencies of Some Common Agricultural Residues in Fluidized

Bed Combustion and Gasification”, Biomass and Bioenergy, Elsevier Science Ltd., 15 (2), 163-169,

(1998).

19.Nikoo M.B. and Mahinpey N., “Simulation Of Biomass Gasification in Fluidized Bed Reactor Using

ASPEN PLUS”, Biomass and Bioenergy, 32, 1245–1254, (2008).

20.Pfeifer C., Rauch R. and Hofbauer H., “In-Bed Catalytic Tar Reduction in a Dual Fluidized Bed

Biomass Steam Gasifier”, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 43, 1634-1640, ( 2004).

21.Ramirez J. J., Martinez J.D. and Petro S.L., “Basic Design of a Fluidized Bed Gasifier for Rice Husk

on a Pilot Scale” Latin American Applied Research 37, 299-306, (2007).

29 | P a g e
22.Rai G.D., “Non-conventional Source of Energy”, Khanna Publication, New Delhi, 393 - 414,

(2007).

23.Roy G.K., “Solved Examples in Chemical Engineering”, Khanna Publication, New Delhi, (1994).

24.Sinnott R. K., “Chemical Engineering Design Vol-6”, Printed at Butterworth Heinemann, An Imprint

of Elsevier, Linacre house, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP, 30 Cooperative Drive, MA 01803, 450

– 457, (1999).

25.Souza-Santos, M., “Modeling and Simulation in Combustion and Gasification of Solids Fuels”,

Notas de Aula, UNICAMP, Campinas, Brazil (1996).

26.Vriesman P., Heginuz E. and Sjostrom K., “Biomass Gasification in a Laboratory Scale a FBG:

Influence of the Location of the Feeding Point on the Fuel-N Conversion”, Fuel, 79 1371–1378, (2000).

27.Warnecke R., “Gasification of Fixed Bed and Fluidized Bed Gasifier”, Biomass and Bio Energy, Vol.

18, 489-497, (2000).

30 | P a g e
31 | P a g e