Abstract
The performance of a top-lit updraft gasifier affected by biomass (pine wood) particle size, moisture content and compactness was studied in terms of the biochar yield, biomass burning rate, syngas composition and tar content. The highest biochar yield increase (from 12.2% to 21.8%) was achieved by varying the particle size from 7 to 30 mm, however, larger particles triggered tar generation that reached its maximum of 93.5 g/m3 syngas at 30-mm biomass particles; in contrast, the hydrogen content in syngas was at its minimum of 2.89% at this condition. The increase in moisture content from 10% to 22% reduced biochar yield from 12% to 9.9%. It also reduced the tar content from 12.9 to 6.2 g/m3 which was found to be the lowest range of tar content in this work. Similarly, the carbon monoxide composition in syngas decreased to its minimum of 11.16% at moisture content of 22%. Finally, the biomass compactness increased biochar yield up to 17% when the packing mass was 3 kg. However, the addition of compactness also increased the tar content in syngas, but little effect was noticed in syngas composition.
Highlights
The use of lignocellulosic biomass to produce energy and biomaterials has increased significantly in the last decades [1,2]
As the size of the particles further increased from 7 to 17 mm, the yield of biochar started to increase from 12% to 19.8%
The addition of moisture to the biomass represented reduction in the burning rate that promoted the utilization of carbon that resulted in decrease in biochar yield
Summary
The use of lignocellulosic biomass to produce energy and biomaterials has increased significantly in the last decades [1,2]. Biochar and syngas are some examples of well-known products from biomass conversion processes. Biochar is the result of the thermal devolatilization or pyrolysis of biomass in an oxygen-limited condition at temperatures higher than 300 ̋ C [5]. This carbon rich material can have high absorption capacity, and, can be used to purify liquid and gas media [6,7]. The thermochemical conversion of biomass as a result of incomplete combustion may produce syngas, which is a mixture of H2 and CO, in addition to other non-combustible gases, such as CO2 and N2 [9].
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