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Electrical Power Generation from Heat Recovered at the Throat of a Downdraft Biomass Gasifier

Received: 9 June 2023     Accepted: 10 July 2023     Published: 20 July 2023
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Abstract

Gasification, a thermochemical process that takes place in gasifiers, is now understood as a process of transforming the solid components of biomass into combustible gases essentially consisting of carbon monoxide (CO) and dihydrogen (H2). This technology is relatively old and was widely used during the Second World War to deal with the shortage of fossil fuels in Europe. Although gasification was abandoned in favor of oil after the Second World War, this process is experiencing a great revival of interest today for the decentralized production of energy and for covering the energy needs of the disadvantaged strata in the developing countries. We aim to experiment with small-scale gasifiers with three objectives: to produce electrical energy, to improve the energy efficiency of biomass gasifiers and to do so essentially with materials accessible on the market in developing countries at affordable costs. In this study, we successfully designed, fabricated and tested a heat recovery system from a downdraft gasifier fueled with wood chunks. The gasifier use material finds at an affordable cost. Our downdraft gasifiers have a throat which is the hottest part of the apparatus. Almost all designers insulate the throat mainly for safety, environmental protection and efficiency considerations. Instead of insulating the throat, we designed a heat recovery system surrounding the throat and generated electrical power from high pressure water vapor produced from that throat. This recovered energy is a bonus energy from a downdraft gasifier and should be added to the gasifier energy balance, thus increase the overall efficiency This led us to supplemental electrical power generation from this type of gasifiers.

Published in American Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology (Volume 8, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12
Page(s) 133-140
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Downdraft Gasifier, Heat Recovery, Electrical Power

References
[1] Arthur M. James R., Wenqiao Yuan, Michael D. Boyette, Donghai Wang Airflow and insulation effects on simultaneous syngas and biochar production in a top-lit updraft biomass gasifier, 2017.
[2] T. B Reed and A Das, Handbook of Biomass Downdraft Gasifier Engine Systems, Solar Energy Research Institute p. 33, 1950. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/old/3022.pdf, accessed 06 january 2023.
[3] Hasan, J., Keshwani, D. R., Carter, S. F., Treasure, T. H., 2010. Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass to Power and Fuels. In Cheng J. (Ed.), Biomass to Renewable Energy Processes. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp. 437-489.
[4] A. Demirbas, “Combustion characteristics of different biomass fuels,” Progress in Energy and Combustion Science, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 219–230, 2004.
[5] T. A. Milne, N. Abatzoglou, R. J. Evans, Biomass Gasifier “Tars”: Their Nature, Formation, and conversion. NREL/TP-570- 255357 National Renewable Energy Laboratory Colorado, USA November 1998.
[6] T. B Reed and A Das, Handbook of Biomass Downdraft Gasifier Engine Systems, Solar Energy Research Institute, p. 122, 1950. https://www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/old/3022.pdf, accessed 06 January 2023.
[7] P. E. Akhator, A. I. Obanor and E. G. Sadjere, Design and development of a small-scale biomass downdraft gasifier, Nigerian Journal of Technology (NIJOTECH) Vol. 38, No. 4, October 2019, pp. 922–930 Print ISSN: 0331-8443, Electronic ISSN: 2467-8821 http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/njt.v38i4.15
[8] H. S. Mukunda, S. Dasappa, P. J. Paul, N. K. S. Rajan, and U. Shrinivasa, “Gasifiers and combustors for biomass - technology and field studies,” Energy for Sustainable Development, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 27-38, 1994.
[9] Alexandre LALEYE et Cheick O. SANOU, «Modélisation et régulation d'une turbine à vapeur dans une centrale thermique», d’ingénieur de conception, UNIVERSITE CHEIKH ANTA DIOP, 128p, 2005.
[10] MAZIGHI SIDALI ET HOCINE MOHAMED, «Etude et Simulation des défauts d’excitation d’un groupe turbine-alternateur 32 MVA», mémoire de master, Université SAAD DAHLAB de BLIDA, (2018), P21-22.
[11] François J., Abdelouahed L., Mauviel G., Feidt M., Rogaume C., Mirgaux O., Patisson F. and Dufour A., (2012), Estimation of the energy efficiency of a wood gasification CHP plant using Aspen Plus, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 29, 769-774.
[12] Le Minh Nhut, Young-Sub Moon, Youn Cheol Park. A Study on Energy Optimization of Heat Exchangers in a Gasification System. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Applications. Vol. 4, No. 3, 2016, pp. 123-129. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmea.20160403.14.
[13] Henriksen, U. B., Ahrenfeldt, J., Jensen, T. K., Gøbel, B., Bentzen, J. D., Hindsgaul, C., & Sørensen, L. H. (2003). The Design, Construction and Operation of a 75 kW Two-Stage Gasifier. In The 16. International Conference of Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation, and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems, ECOS 2003 (pp. 1081-1088). Technical University of Denmark.
[14] Abubakar A. Bukar, M. Ben Oumarou2, Babagana M. Tela, Abubakar M. Eljummah Assessment of Biomass Gasification: A Review of Basic Design Considerations American Journal of Energy Research, 2019, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1-14.
[15] Moriconia N., Larancia P., D’Amicoa M., Bartocci P., D'Alessandroa B., Cintib G., Baldinellib A., Discepolib G., Bidinic G., Desideric U., Cotanaa F. and Fantozzic F. Design and Preliminary Operation of a Gasification Plant for Micro-CHP with Internal Combustion Engine and SOFC. ELSEVIER, 69th Conference of the Italian Thermal Engineering Association. Energy Procedia 81, Pp. 298-308, 2014.
[16] M. A. Chawdhurya and K. Mahkamovb. Development of a Small Downdraft Biomass Gasifier for Developing Countries. JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH J. Sci. Res. 3 (1), 51-64 (2011) www.banglajol.info/index.php/JSR
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  • APA Style

    Nzihou Jean Fidele, Hamidou Salou, Imbga Kossi, Segda Bila Gerard, Ouattara Frederic, et al. (2023). Electrical Power Generation from Heat Recovered at the Throat of a Downdraft Biomass Gasifier. American Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology, 8(3), 133-140. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12

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    ACS Style

    Nzihou Jean Fidele; Hamidou Salou; Imbga Kossi; Segda Bila Gerard; Ouattara Frederic, et al. Electrical Power Generation from Heat Recovered at the Throat of a Downdraft Biomass Gasifier. Am. J. Sci. Eng. Technol. 2023, 8(3), 133-140. doi: 10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12

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    AMA Style

    Nzihou Jean Fidele, Hamidou Salou, Imbga Kossi, Segda Bila Gerard, Ouattara Frederic, et al. Electrical Power Generation from Heat Recovered at the Throat of a Downdraft Biomass Gasifier. Am J Sci Eng Technol. 2023;8(3):133-140. doi: 10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12,
      author = {Nzihou Jean Fidele and Hamidou Salou and Imbga Kossi and Segda Bila Gerard and Ouattara Frederic and Tiemtore Hamadou},
      title = {Electrical Power Generation from Heat Recovered at the Throat of a Downdraft Biomass Gasifier},
      journal = {American Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology},
      volume = {8},
      number = {3},
      pages = {133-140},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajset.20230803.12},
      abstract = {Gasification, a thermochemical process that takes place in gasifiers, is now understood as a process of transforming the solid components of biomass into combustible gases essentially consisting of carbon monoxide (CO) and dihydrogen (H2). This technology is relatively old and was widely used during the Second World War to deal with the shortage of fossil fuels in Europe. Although gasification was abandoned in favor of oil after the Second World War, this process is experiencing a great revival of interest today for the decentralized production of energy and for covering the energy needs of the disadvantaged strata in the developing countries. We aim to experiment with small-scale gasifiers with three objectives: to produce electrical energy, to improve the energy efficiency of biomass gasifiers and to do so essentially with materials accessible on the market in developing countries at affordable costs. In this study, we successfully designed, fabricated and tested a heat recovery system from a downdraft gasifier fueled with wood chunks. The gasifier use material finds at an affordable cost. Our downdraft gasifiers have a throat which is the hottest part of the apparatus. Almost all designers insulate the throat mainly for safety, environmental protection and efficiency considerations. Instead of insulating the throat, we designed a heat recovery system surrounding the throat and generated electrical power from high pressure water vapor produced from that throat. This recovered energy is a bonus energy from a downdraft gasifier and should be added to the gasifier energy balance, thus increase the overall efficiency This led us to supplemental electrical power generation from this type of gasifiers.},
     year = {2023}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Electrical Power Generation from Heat Recovered at the Throat of a Downdraft Biomass Gasifier
    AU  - Nzihou Jean Fidele
    AU  - Hamidou Salou
    AU  - Imbga Kossi
    AU  - Segda Bila Gerard
    AU  - Ouattara Frederic
    AU  - Tiemtore Hamadou
    Y1  - 2023/07/20
    PY  - 2023
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12
    T2  - American Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology
    JF  - American Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology
    JO  - American Journal of Science, Engineering and Technology
    SP  - 133
    EP  - 140
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2578-8353
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajset.20230803.12
    AB  - Gasification, a thermochemical process that takes place in gasifiers, is now understood as a process of transforming the solid components of biomass into combustible gases essentially consisting of carbon monoxide (CO) and dihydrogen (H2). This technology is relatively old and was widely used during the Second World War to deal with the shortage of fossil fuels in Europe. Although gasification was abandoned in favor of oil after the Second World War, this process is experiencing a great revival of interest today for the decentralized production of energy and for covering the energy needs of the disadvantaged strata in the developing countries. We aim to experiment with small-scale gasifiers with three objectives: to produce electrical energy, to improve the energy efficiency of biomass gasifiers and to do so essentially with materials accessible on the market in developing countries at affordable costs. In this study, we successfully designed, fabricated and tested a heat recovery system from a downdraft gasifier fueled with wood chunks. The gasifier use material finds at an affordable cost. Our downdraft gasifiers have a throat which is the hottest part of the apparatus. Almost all designers insulate the throat mainly for safety, environmental protection and efficiency considerations. Instead of insulating the throat, we designed a heat recovery system surrounding the throat and generated electrical power from high pressure water vapor produced from that throat. This recovered energy is a bonus energy from a downdraft gasifier and should be added to the gasifier energy balance, thus increase the overall efficiency This led us to supplemental electrical power generation from this type of gasifiers.
    VL  - 8
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Analytical Chemistry, Spatial Physics and Energetic Laboratory, Norbert Zongo University, Koudougou, Burkina Faso

  • Catholic University of West Africa, Academic University at Bobo-Dioulasso, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

  • Analytical Chemistry, Spatial Physics and Energetic Laboratory, Norbert Zongo University, Koudougou, Burkina Faso

  • Environnemental Physic and Chemistry Laboratory, Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  • Analytical Chemistry, Spatial Physics and Energetic Laboratory, Norbert Zongo University, Koudougou, Burkina Faso

  • Analytical Chemistry, Spatial Physics and Energetic Laboratory, Norbert Zongo University, Koudougou, Burkina Faso

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