Abstract
This study offers an extensive examination of the fundamental design parameters that influence the performance of biomass downdraft gasifiers. The impact of design parameters such as reactor dimensions, throat diameter, length of converging and diverging section and ratio of maximum to minimum diameter (dmax/dmin) were analysed using FORTRAN code, which was initially developed for 4 kW Imbert gasifier. Simulation results highlight that the optimal range of hearth loads for gasifier operation is influenced by both the gasifier’s size and the particle size of the feedstock. Increasing gasifier size from 20 mm to 100 mm throat diameter, while maintaining the same superficial air velocity (SAV), escalates hearth load and superficial velocity due to heightened biomass consumption, leading to higher hearth temperature and improved gas calorific value. Similar trends are observed across varying SAV values (0.35 m/s to 1.8 m/s), suggesting a need for lower SAV values in larger gasifiers, possibly with larger particle sizes. Additionally, altering the length of the converging and diverging sections impacts gas quality, with deviations from recommended values affecting ignition and overall performance, while dmax/dmin variations show no significant impact.
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