Investigation into the characteristics and possible applications of biomass gasification by-products from a downdraft gasifier system

• Main Author: Melapi, Aviwe
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: University of Fort Hare 2015
• Subjects: Biomass gasification > South Africa > Eastern Cape; Renewable energy sources > South Africa > Eastern Cape; Biomass energy > South Africa > Eastern Cape; Crop residue management > South Africa > Eastern Cape; Coal gasification > South Africa > Eastern Cape; Lignocellulose > Biodegradation > South Africa > Eastern Cape
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1020174

Biomass gasification has attracted the interest of researchers because it produces zero carbon to the atmosphere. This technology does not only produce syngas but also the byproducts which can be used for various application depending on quality.The study conducted at Melani village in Alice in the Eastern Cape of South Africa was aimed at investigating the possible applications of the gasification byproducts instead of being thrown away. Pine wood was employed as the parent feedstock material for the gasifier. Biomass gasification by-products were then collected for further analysis. The studied by-products included tar(condensate), char, soot and resin. These materials were also blended to produce strong materials.The essence of the blending was to generate ideal material that is strong but light at the same time.The elemental analysis of the samples performed by CHNS analyser revealed that carbon element is in large quantities in all samples. The FTIR spectra showed almost similar results for all the studied samples, since the samples are end products of lignocellulosegasification. SEM gave the sticky images of resin as well as porous char structures. Char showed a higher heating value of 35.37MJ/Kg when compared to other by-products samples.