PRODUCER GAS

What Are the Differences Between Producer Gas and Syngas?

Producer gas is the mixture of gases produced by the gasification of organic material
such as biomass at relatively low temperatures (700 to 1000 deg C).

Producer gas is composed of

•carbon monoxide (CO),

•hydrogen (H2),
•carbon dioxide (CO2)
•methane (CH4) with
•nitrogen from the air.

•The composition of the gas can be modified by manipulation of gasification

parameters.

•Producer gas can be burned as a fuel gas such as in a boiler for heat

• or in an inter­nal combustion gas engine for electricity generation or combined heat

and power (CHP).
Syngas (synthesis gas)

Syn Gas is the prod­uct of high temperature steam or oxygen

gasification of organic material such as biomass.

It is a mixture of
• carbon monoxide (CO)
• hydrogen (H2),

• After remo val of impurities such as tars, syngas can be used to

• produce organic molecules such as synthetic natural gas

(SNG-methane (CH4))
• or liquid biofuels such as synthetic diesel (via Fischer-
Tropsch synthesis).
 What Is Gasification
• Gasification involves turning organic fuels (such as
biomass resources) into gaseous compounds
(producer gas or syngas) by supplying less oxygen
than is needed for com­plete combustion of the fuel.
• Gasifica­tion occurs at temperatures between 600deg
C and 1500 deg C
• Gasification produces a low- to medium-energy gas
depending upon the process type and operating
conditions.
• Gasification of biomass resources is already being
used to produce bioenergy and bioproducts for use in
dual-mode engines to produce power (e.g., for
irrigation) and to produce heat, steam and electricity.
 How Much Energy Can Be Produced by Gasification
•1 ha of wheat land produces about 6 – 8 T of wheat straw.

•1 kg of wheat straw contains about 4300kCal.

•1 kg of straw could produce 1.5 cum of gas with average calorific value of
1115 kCal/cum .

•1 ha of wheat land could produce 60 lakh cum of producer gas.

•1 ha of wheat land could produce 85 MMkCal.

•1 ha of wheat straw could replace 2260 kg of propane.

What Is the Gasification Mechanism?
• During gasification, the fuel (e.g., biomass
resources) is heated to a high temperature,
which results in the pro­duction of volatile
compounds (gases) and solid residues (char).
• The quan­tity and composition of the volatile
compounds depend on the reactor type,
temperature, the characteristics of the fuel
and the degree to which various chemical
reactions occur within the process.
Gasification is an incomplete combustion of
carbonaceous fuels, which can be represented
with the following sub-stoichiometric equation:

Biomass + Limited Air ------- Carbon Monoxide +

Hydrogen+ Methane
+ Carbon Dioxide
+ WaterVapor
+ Nitrogen
 Principals of gasification

150-400 deg C 400 – 600deg C 600-900 deg C 900 – 1500 deg C

•The primary reac­tions that occur in the presence of oxygen result in the
conversion of the fuel to carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.

•These reactions are very fast and release heat (EXOTHERMIC),

which provides the energy needed to sustain other gasifi­cation
reactions.

•Generally, these reactions are carried out in the pres­ence of

reactive agents such as oxygen, steam and hydrogen added to the
reactor to aid in the chemical conver­ sion of char to volatile
compounds.
Char Gasification

• Gasification of solid materials (char) occurs at high tem­peratures

(> 600 deg C) and produces gases, tars and ash.

• The char gasification reactions occur in parallel with the drying

and devolatisation steps.

• Three reactions govern the gasification of char they are:

(1) C + CO2 = 2CO +172 MJ/kmol

(2) C + H2O =CO + H2 +131 MJ/kmol

(3) C + 2H2 = CH4 -75 MJ/kmol

Types of Gasification Reactors(GASIFIERS)

• Two broad categories are

– fixed bed
– fluidized bed.
• Fixed bed reactors are those in which the fuels
move either countercurrent or concur­rent to
the flow of gasification medium (steam, air or
oxygen) as the fuel is converted to fuel gas.
• They are relatively simple to operate and
generally experience minimum erosion of the
reactor body.
Three basic fixed bed designs are

• updraft

• downdraft

• cross-draft gasifiers.
Updraft fixed bed gasifier

GRATE
UP DRAUGHT GASIFIER

• The air is added at the bottom, flowing in counter-current configuration

with the feedstock, which is introduced in the top

• The fuel passes successively through drying and pyrolysis where it is

decomposed into volatile gases and solid Char

• After pyrolysis has finished, the char is reduced by endothermic

gasification reactions.

• Combustion of char occurs near the grate and the hot combustion gases
transfer heat to the rest of the process.

• Char conversion is high, as the char reacts with oxygen as a last sub-
process and char combustion reaction is faster than the char gasification
reactions
Updraft Gasifier
Pros
• High char conversion, as the char combustion occurs at the last
stage of the process.
• The gasification efficiency is high due to high char conversion
and due to that the gas exit temperature is relatively low (300-
400°C).
• The gasifier construction is robust and relatively easy in
operation
• Good fuel flexibility [size variation, moisture up to 60%]
Cons
• As pyrolysis takes place at rather low temperature, tars
production are significant
• High capital cost
Updraft gasifiers are suitable for moderate outputs [2 – 12 MW] such as direct
combustion applications
Up-draught gasification systems typically
produce a gas with a calorific value of

• 4-6 MJ/Nm³ with air as the oxidant

• 8-14 MJ/Nm³ with pure oxygen
• The tar content ranges from 50 g/Nm³ to 150
g/Nm³ .
NM3 is the value that a matter whether solid, liquid or gas of a
constant mass occupies under normal or standard conditions.

M3 is volume that it will occupy at the prevailing conditions of

temperature and pressure.
Downdraft fixed bed gasifier
In Downdraft fixed bed gasifiers

• The fuel is introduced at the top, and the air is introduced

through a set of nozzles on the side of the gasifier.

• The gas leaves the gasifier from the bottom and con­tains
substantially less tar than from updraft gasifiers.

• It reduces the need for cleaning and is, therefore, more

suitable for a wider variety of applications.
IN DOWN DRAUGHT GASIFIER

• The air and feed stream are flowing in co-current

• In the oxidation zone, both pyrolysis gas and part of the

char will burn

• Pyrolysis takes place above the combustion

• The heat generated from combustion is used for the

char reduction reactions, pyrolysis and drying

• The pyrolysis temperature is high.

• Tars produced will to a large extent crack to light

compounds
Characteristics of Downdraft Gasifiers

Pros

• Very low tars, as the pyrolysis zone temperature is high

• Good gas quality

• Modular design

• The gasifier construction and operation are simple

• Good fuel flexibility [size variation, moisture up to 60%]

Cons

• Limited scalability [0.5 MW / 500 kg/h]

• Precise fuel requirement [specific size, shape and moisture]

The product gas is suitable for IC-engine operation, for example powering small
villages or industries
The calorific value of the gas produced in down-
draught gasification systems

• the calorific value is 4 to 6 MJ/Nm³

• with air or 9-11 MJ/Nm³ with oxygen

• The tar content of down-draght gasification

systems ranges from 0.1- 2.4 g/Nm³.
CROSS DRAUGHT GASIFIER
Cross-draft fixed bed gasifiers exhibit many of the
operating characteristics of downdraft gasifiers.

• Air is introduced into the side of the gasifier near

the bottom
• The gas is drawn off on the opposite side.
• The oxidation and drying zones are concentrated
around the sides of the unit.
• Cross-draft gasifiers respond rapidly to load changes,
• Relatively simple to construct and produce gas
suitable for a number of applications.
• However, they are sensitive to changes in the fuel
composition and moisture content.
The operation of both up and downdraught gasifiers is influenced by the
following fuel properties

•Morphological properties

• physical properties

• chemical properties

Problems commonly encountered are:

• lack of bunkerflow

• slagging

• extreme pressure drop over the gasifier

FLUDIZED BED GASIFIER
IN FLUDIZED BED GASIFIER

• Air is blown through a bed of solid particles at a sufficient velocity to keep

these in a state of suspension.
• The bed is originally externally heated and the feedstock is introduced as
soon as a sufficiently high temperature is reached.
• The bed material is an inert medium such as sand or catalytic material
such as CaO
• The fuel particles are introduced at the bottom of the reactor, very
quickly mixed with the bed material and almost instantaneously heated
up to the bed temperature.
• As a result of this treatment the fuel is pyrolysed very fast, resulting in a
component mix with a relatively large amount of gaseous materials.
• Further gasification and tar-conversion reactions occur in the gas phase.
• Most systems are equipped with an internal cyclone in order to minimize
char blow-out as much as possible.
• Ash particles are also carried over the top of the reactor and have to be
removed from the gas stream if the gas is used in engine applications.
The major advantages of fluidized bed gasifier

• feedstock flexibility
• easy control of temperature, which can be kept below the
melting or fusion point of the ash (rice husks)
• Its ability to deal with fluffy and fine grained materials
(sawdust etc.) without the need of pre-processing.
Problems are
• feeding
• instability of the bed
• fly-ash sintering in the gas channels can occur with some
biomass fuels.
• high tar content of the product gas (up to 500 mg/m³ gas)
• the incomplete carbon burn-out
• poor response to load changes.
Fluidised bed gasification systems produce gases with low
to moderate calorific values similar to up- draught
gasification systems,

• 4-6 MJ/Nm³ with air

• 8-14 MJ/Nm³ with oxygen

• high tar content of the product gas (up to 500 mg/m³

gas)
ZONES IN A GASIFIER

• Drying Zone

• Pyrolysis Zone

• Reduction Zone

• Combustion Zone
.
DRYING ZONE (Bunker Section)

• Heat transfer from the lower parts of the gasifier,

causes drying of biomass fuel in the bunker section.

• The water vapour formed due to moisture

• E in biomass flows downward and add to the water

vapour formed in the oxidation zone.
Pyrolysis Zone

• At temperatures above 250°C, the biomass fuel starts pyrolysing.

• Biomass large molecules (such as cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin)

break down into medium size molecules and carbon (char) during the
heating of the feedstock.

• The pyrolysis products flow downwards into the hotter zones of the
gasifier.

• Some will be burned in the oxidation zone, and the rest will break down
to even smaller molecules of hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide,
ethane, ethylene, etc. if they remain in the hot zone long enough.
• If the residence time in the hot zone is too short or the temperature too
low, then medium sized molecules can escape and will condense as tars
and oils, in the low temperature parts of the system.
Oxidation Zone

• A burning (oxidation) zone is formed at the level where oxygen (air) is introduced.

• Reactions with oxygen are highly exothermic and result in a sharp rise of the
temperature up to 1200 - 1500 °C.

C +1/ 2 O2 = CO -111 MJ/kmol

CO +1/ 2 O2 = CO2 -283 MJ/kmol
C +O2 =CO2 -394 MJ/kmol

• An important function of the oxidation zone, apart from heat generation, is to

convert and oxidize virtually all condensable products from the pyrolysis zone.

• In order to avoid cold spots in the oxidation zone, air inlet velocities and the
reactor geometry must be well chosen.
Reduction zone
• The reaction products of the oxidation zone (hot gases and glowing
charcoal) move downward into the reduction zone.

• In this zone the sensible heat of the gases and charcoal is converted as
much as possible into chemical energy of the producer gas

• The end product of the chemical reactions that take place in the
reduction zone is a combustible gas which can be used as fuel gas in
burners and after dust and tat removal and cooling is suitable for
internal combustion engines.

C + CO2 = 2CO +172 MJ/kmol

C + H2O =CO + H2 +131 MJ/kmo
C + 2H2 = CH4 -75 MJ/kmol
• The ashes which result from gasification of the
biomass is occasionally be removed from the gasifier.

• Usually a moveable grate in the bottom of the

equipment is considered necessary.

• This makes it possible to stir the charcoal bed in the

reduction zone, and thus helps to prevent blockages
which can lead to obstruction of the gas flow.
COMBUSTION ZONE

The heavy volatile products of pyrolysis pass

through the combustion zone

• resulting in significant reduction in tar

content
 FUEL PROPERTIES FOR GASIFICATION

• - energy content
• - moisture content
• - volatile matter
• - ash content and ash chemical composition
• - reactivity
• - size and size distribution
• - bulk density
• - charring properties
How Much Air Is Required for the Gasification Process?

• For complete combustion, 0.5 kg biomass having 0 percent moisture

content (BONE DRY) needs about 2.1 of air.

• This is referred to as the stoichio­metric air.

• For gasification reactions, the usual prac­tice is to provide a fraction

of the stoichiometric air, which is referred to as an equivalence ratio
(ER).

• With dry biomass, best results are normally achieved at ERs of

about 0.25, with a “typical” range of perhaps 0.20 to 0.33.

• Therefore, for normal gasification, 1 kg of biomass needs about 2.3

kg of air.
 PRODUCT GAS CLEANING TECHNOLOGIES
Raw producer gas from biomass gasification contains
• Particluate matter
• Tar
• Alkali metals
• Chlorine compounds such as HCl,
• Nitrogen compounds such as ammonia and HCN,
• Sulphur compounds such as H2S and COS,
• as well other contaminants

The original chemical composition of the biomass feedstock and the operating
conditions determine the amounts of these contaminants

Typical concentration range may be

• 1 – 150 g/ Nm3 for tars,

• 500 – 30 000 ppm for NH3
• 20 – 200 ppm for H2S
Tar
• Tar is a highly viscous liquid that condenses in the low- temperature
zones of a gasifier.
• Causes clogging of gas passage and leading to system disruption.
• It is the most undesirable component .
Methods for reduction or elimination of tar can be divided into two broad
groups
• In situ (or primary) tar reduction, which aims at avoiding tar formation
in the reactor;
• Post- gasification (or secondary) reduction, which strips the product gas
of the tar already produced.
A combination of in situ and post-gasification tar reductions can prove to be
more effective.

The two basic post-gasification methods are

• physical removal
• and cracking (catalytic or thermal).
Physical Tar Removal
Physical removal approaches treat tar as dust particles or mist from the
product gas
• which require the tar to be condensed before separation.
• The energy content of the tar is often lost in this process and the post-
disposal of collected tar can also be a problem.
Physical tar removal can be accomplished by
• Cyclones separators
• Barrier filters
• Wet electrostatic precipitators (ESPs)
• Wet scrubbers.

The application depends on

• load concentrations of particulates and tar,

• particle size distribution
• particulate tolerance of downstream users.
• Cyclones separators are not very efficient when removing small tar droplets.

• Barrier filters are basically porous material which can capture certain amount of tar
when the product gas goes through the filters.

• However, serious condensation and the growing pressure drop across the filter can be
annoying problems.

• Catalyst grains can be integrated as a fixed bed inside the filter to promote the
simultaneous removal of particulate matters (PMs) and tar.

• Wet Electrostatic Precipetators have very high (90%) collection efficiency.

• Can capture particle size down to 0.5 mm with a very low-pressure drop,
• It requires high capital and running cost.

• Wet scrubbers has a much lower capital cost,

• can achieve a high collection efficiency up to 90% .
• However, the efficiency drops sharply with particles 1 mm.
• They also consume a large amount of spray liquid and fan power, which
makes the running cost relatively high.
Ammonia

• Ammonia (NH3) and HCN are the most significant pollutant from fuel
nitrogen conversion in biomass gasification and are the main precursors
to NOx emissions in downstream burners, gas engines or gas turbines
• Biomass with relatively high N contents generates a product gas with
NH3 contents within the range of 500 – 30 000 ppm
• Level of conversion from NH3 to NOx can be as high as 50% when the
gasification gas stream is burned for electricity generation
Ammonia can be removed by
• Wet scrubbing technology which has been widely adopted in the existing
biomass gasification processes.
• tar separation by wet scrubbing is very efficient, the NH3 separation
efficiencies in the possible operation range of the scrubber are limited
to 50%
Catalytic Convectors processes effectively remove NH3 by converting it to
N2, H2 and H2O.
Sulphur compounds

• Sulphur compounds are converted from sulphur content present

in the feedstock under biomass gasification conditions in to
Hydrogen sulphide.

• The H2S concentration may be of the order of 100 ppm.

• Even though it is quite low, for certain applications, an efficient

removal is still required to meet stringent standards.

• For in- stance, the sulphur level in product gas should be reduced
to 8 ppm at the inlet of the gas turbine to protect downstream
process equipments and avoid troublesome operation problems
•
• Sulphur compounds can be removed by various methods
depending on the required quality of the final product gas.

• Besides the in situcapture in the gasification process where

mostly calcium-based absorbents such as limestone or
dolomite are used,

• Downstream capture approaches are feasible for sulphur

removal and is done by reacting with metal oxide-based
absorbents like the metal oxides of Fe, Zn, Mn, Mo, V, Ca, Sr,
Ba, Co, Cu and W
Particulate Matters

• PMs that are present in the product gas can also be a serious problem
for some end-users.

• The gas quality for successful IC Engine operation has been postulated as
being below 50 mg/Nm3 for the PM.

• Catalysts used for cleaning product gases have been demonstrated to be

negatively affected by PMs.

• PM can be physically removed using ceramic candle filters at high

temperatures.
Alkali Metal Salts

• Compared with fossil fuels, biomass is rich in alkali salts that typically vaporize
at high gasifier temperatures but condense downstream below 600 degC.

• Alkali salts can cause serious corrosion problems

• The alkali will condense into fine solid particles and can be subsequently
captured in a cyclone, ESPs or filters when the gas temperature is below
600degC.

• The hot gas can also be passed through a bed of active bauxite to remove
alkali when cooling of gas is not permitted.
Gas cooling
Major factors to be taken into consideration are the

• sensible heat in the gas,

• the water vapour content of the gas
• its heat of condensation
• the effects of fouling of the cooler.

GAS COOLERS

• natural convection coolers,

• forced convection coolers
• water coolers.

Natural convection coolers consist of a simple length of pipe. They are simple to
use and clean and require no additional energy input. They can be rather bulky,
though this problem can be partly offset by using fined pipe in order to increase
the conductive surface.
Forced convection coolers

• They are equipped with a fan which forces the cooling air to
flow around the gas pipes.
• This type of cooler can be much smaller than the natural
convection coolers.
• Its disadvantages are the extra energy input to the fan and
the necessity to use gas cooling pipes of small diameters,
which can lead to fouling problems.

Water coolers

• scrubber - a water scrubber or bubbler is used

• heat exchanger- in a water cooled heat exchanger, a source
of fresh water is continuously cools the gas.
 Production of mechanical or electrical power from
stationary engines for use in agriculture
• Gasifiers connected to stationary engines offer the
possibility of using biomass to generate mechanical or
electrical power in the range from a few kW up to a few MW.

• Producer gas of engine quality needs a sufficiently high

heating value (above 4200 KJ/m³ ), must be virtually tar and
dust free in order to minimize engine wear, and should be as
cool as possible in order to maximize the engine's gas intake
and power output.

Engine Types
• Dual fuel CI engines
• Gas Engines
Schematic of Producer Gas Production , Cleaning and Use in Engines
 Calculation of the power output of a producer gas engine

The gasifier for a gas engine of the following specifications:

• Bore (B): 84.14 mm
• Stroke (L): 80 mm
• Displacement (D): 0.00356 cum
• RPM : 1500
• Max. air/gas intake: 1/2XRPSX D = 0.045 m³/s
• Air/gas ratio (stoichiometric): 1.1: 1.0
• Max. gas intake: (1.0/2.1 ) X 0.045= 0.0212 m³/s
• The real gas intake is 0.0212 x V, in which
V = volumetric efficiency (%) of the engine and is depends on:

•rpm of the engine

•design of the air inlet manifold of the engine
•fouling of the air inlet manifold of the engine

At 1500 rpm, for a well designed and clean air inlet manifold V can be taken at 0.8

Therefore the real gas intake is: 0.0212 x 0.8 = 0.017 m³/s

The heat value of the gas is taken at: 4800 kJ/m³

Therefore the thermal power in the gas is:

Pg = 0.017 x 4800 = 8-1.6 kJ/s = 81.4 kW

The engine efficiency depends partly on the engine's compression ratio.

• For a compression ratio of 9.5 : 1

• Estimated efficiency of 30 percent.

The maximum mechanical output of this engine is:

PM max. = 81.4 x 0.3 = 24.4 kW

The maximum electrical output at 80% efficiency

PE max. = 24.4 x 0.8 = 19.54 or 20 kW

 C I Engine Dual Fuel Operation

• Diesel savings around 70 to75%

• The specific fuel consumption may be about 1 kg of biomass and

46 g of diesel per kilowatt hour of electricity, amounting to an
overall efficiency of 22% in the dual fuel compared with 28% in the
diesel engine operation.

• The overall energy balance indicates that the heat loss through the
engine exhaust is high in the case of dual fuel mode of operation.

• The specific energy consumption is 17 MJ/kWh in the dual fuel

mode.