GASIFICATION

PROCESSES
By

Dr. M. Salman Haider

Associate Professor
SCME, NUST
 Contents
o Define Gasification.
o Different Gasification Process.
o Explanation.
o Types of Gasifiers:-
a. Fixed bed Gasifier
i. Updraft or Counter Current Gasifier
ii. Downdraft or Co Current Gasifier.
iii. Cross - draft Gasifier.
b. Fluidized Bed Gasifier:-
i. Circulating Fluidized Bed Gasifier.
ii. Bubbling Fluidized Bed Gasifier.
o Application of gasifiers.
 Gasification
• Thermochemical process
• Converts carbon based raw material into producer or syngas.
• Carbonaceous material = Carbon monoxide, hydrogen and Carbon dioxide.
• Producer Gas:-
i. Generated at low temperature (<1000°c)
ii. Mixture of combustible(H2,CO,CH4) non-combustible (N2,CO2) gases.
• Syngas :-
i. Generated at higher temperature (above1200°C)
ii. mixture consisting of (H2,CO)
iii. This gas can be produced from producer gas by:-
Thermal Cracking
Catalytic reforming
Typical composition of Producer Gas
4 Processes involved in Gasification

• Four Processes:-
i. Combustion(oxidation)
ii. Reduction.
iii.Pyrolysis.
iv. Drying.
This is not necessary that
these processes will be in
the same order in all the
different types of Gasifiers.
Drying Process
It removes the moisture from biomass.
Moist Feedstock + Heat Dry Feedstock + H2O
Pyrolysis Process
Greek-derived elements pyro “fire” lysis “separating”
➢Occurs at temperatures above 430 °C.
➢It is endothermic process.
• Breakdown dry biomass into
i. Charcoal
ii. and various tar gasses and liquids (Takes place in the absence of air.)
➢leaves only carbon as a residue.

Dry Feedstock solid + Liquid + Gas

Tar, heavier H2O, CO2,
Char or Carbon
hydrocarbons CO, CH4,
and water aldehydes and
acids
Combustion Process

• lt is exothermic process.
• Combustible gases + O2 Heat+ water vapour+ CO2

1. C + ½ O2 CO
2. CO + ½ O2 CO2
3. H2 + ½ O2 H20
Reduction Process
• It direct reverse process of
combustion.
• Reduction in a gasifier:-
i. CO2+ H2O passes through
charcoal bed
ii. Carbon reactive with O2
iii. Stripping oxygen atoms off
combustion products
iv. CO2 reduced to two CO molecules
v. H2O reduced to H2 and CO
vi. H2 and CO are combustible fuel
gases
* tar cracking is the breakdown of tar into H2 , CO, and other flammable gases by exposure to high temperatures.
Types of Gasifiers
• Fix Bed Gasifier :-
i. Updraft or Counter Current Gasifier.
ii. Downdraft or co-current Gasifier.
iii.Cross-draft Gasifier.
• Fluidized bed Gasifier:-
i. Circulating Fluidized bed Gasifier.
ii. Bubbling Fluidized bed Gasifier.
Updraft Or Counter Current Gasifier
➢Simplest and most common types of gasifier
➢Biomass feed moves downwards
➢Gasifying agents move upwards to biomass
➢Ash is removed at bottom
i. Dry ash or slag
➢Hot gases pass through:-
i. Combustion at the bottom,
ii. Reduction
iii. Pyrolysis
iv. Drying zones of the bed.
➢Product exist from top at lower temperature.
Downdraft or C-Current Gasifier
➢Biomass feedstock is fed from the top
➢air is passed downwards
➢producer gas leaves from the bottom
• Biomass passes through:-
i. Drying Zone
ii. Pyrolysis Zone
iii. Combustion Zone
iv. Reduction Zone
• • Advantage:-
i. Producer gas = low tar content
ii. Suitable for gas engines.
• Disadvantage:-
• Oxidation zone position is critical design).
Cross-Draft Gasifier
➢Biomassfeed moves downwards
➢Air is introduced from the side
➢Producer gas leaves from the opposite side
➢start-up time - relatively short
➢High temperature can be attained.
➢ash bin, fire and reduction zone separated
➢Doesn't handle fuel - high tar content.
➢CO2 reduction is poor.
• Disadvantage:-
i. Gives lower efficiency ( no provision
internal exchange)
ii. product has low calorific value.
Fluidized Bed Gasifier
➢Solid fuel is broken into small pieces
➢Introduced over a gas distributor plate
through which oxidant flows upward.
➢Undergo:-
i. turbulent movement-promotes
uniform temperature.
ii. back-mixing.
➢Bed temperature must be below the ash
melting
➢900 and 1050 °C range
➢Pyrolysis ➔ raw syngas ➔ cyclotron ➔
reduction zone
Circulating Fluidized Bed Gasifier
• Handle high capacity of material
• Circulation of bed material & charcoal
takes place:-
• Reaction vessel ➔ cyclone ➔ returning
leg ➔ reaction vessel
• Cyclone separator removes ash
• Operated at high pressure ➔
Compression of gas takes place
• Used for gas turbine
• Gas velocity decreases
• decrease the char loss.
Bubbling Fluidized Bed Gasifier
➢Most popular designs for biomass gasification.
➢Gasifying agent introduced in two zones:-
i. First zone within the fluidized bed (to maintain
temperature)
ii. second zone is located above the bed (convert
entrained unconverted volatiles and char
particles into fuel gas)
➢Biomass is fed from the side into the hot bed
➢Gasifying agent is introduced upward
➢Velocity fast enough (0.5-1.0 m/s)
➢Agitation of bed material takes place.
➢Ash is separated from the syngas in gas-solid
➢separation units downstream.
➢The advantages of the bubbling fluidized-bed gasifier are:
i. It yields a uniform product gas.
ii. It exhibits a nearly uniform temperature distribution
throughout the reactor.
iii. It is able to accept a wide range of fuel particle sizes,
including fines.
iv. It provides high rates of heat transfer between inert material,
fuel, and gas.
v. A high conversion is possible with low tar and unconverted
carbon.
➢The disadvantages of bubbling fluidized-bed gasification are that
a large bubble size may result in gas bypass through the bed.
IGCC : Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle