Renewable Energy Engineering: Solar, Wind and Biomass Energy Systems

Prof. Vaibhav V. Goud and Dr. R. Anandalakshmi

Department of Chemical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology – Guwahati

Lecture - 30
Gasification Process

Good morning everyone, welcome to part 2 of lecture 2 under module 8. In the previous
lecture, in that we initiated our discussion on the torrefaction and combustion processes. So,
in this lecture, we will continue our discussion in a similar line. So, we discuss another
thermo-chemical conversion process here that is gasification. So, the content of this particular
modular thermo-chemical conversion of biomass that is a gasification process.

(Refer Slide Time: 01:04)

So, as discussed earlier a wide range of technological options are available for the conversion
of biomass to a suitable kind of product for example, the energy. So, most of these
technologies are suitable for either 1 or few biomass resources and have limitation in terms of
total available energy and the form of energy. Like, if you consider the example of use of
firewood as a direct fuel for production of the heat.

Whereas, in case if the firewood can be converted into a denser pellet and can subsequently
be utilized as a fuel for heating purpose can give more energy efficiency rather than utilizing
the firewood as such, because the firewood has high moisture content. Whereas the denser
pellet has relatively low moisture content in the range of around like 4 to 5% only. As a
result, the energy efficiency of utilization of the denser pellet will be relatively high
compared to that of utilizing firewood as such for the heating purposes.

So, apart from that, if the material can be stirred into slurry and then digested to yield biogas
as a product. So, this is also one of the technological options which are available for the
biodegradation of the raw material to produce the gas. Or alternatively, the feed material can
be gasified using a thermo-chemical conversion technique that is gasification or it may be
incinerated to produce the heat and produce heat can be used for the steam generation.

So, these are some processes, which are available for the conversion of biomass to energy,
especially, electrical energy or the heat energy. So, we already discussed about these
techniques in the earlier lecture. However, in this lecture, the main focus is on the gaseous
fuel from the biomass. So, there are 2 most widely used technologies are available for the
conversion of biomass to a gaseous fuel that is a biochemical method and thermo-chemical
method.

To biochemical method involve the anaerobic digestion of the material to produce the biogas
as a product. Whereas, the thermo-chemical method, it involves the gasification of the
material in a gasifier to produce syngas as a product.

(Refer Slide Time: 03:08)

From the competitive analysis of these 2 techniques that is a biochemical method and a
thermo-chemical method; it appears that the renewable energy resources like derived from
the by-products of timber industry, agriculture residues, raw materials of the forest,
household waste can be gasified using following techniques that are a biochemical method
and thermo-chemical method.

So, if you look at the anaerobic digestion process, as we discussed earlier about this particular
technology as well, because of the heterogeneous nature of the feedstock material, this
particular materials first need to be converted into a slurry and then it will be digested in the
digester to produce the gas. And the gas obtained from the gasifier is mainly consist of the
CO2 and the CH4 in its composition along with the traces of other gases, it also contains the
H2S as a gas.

And the calorific value of the gas produced from the anaerobic digester is around 20 mega
joule per meter cube. And the gas produced from the gasifier can be used for the cooking
purpose as well as for street lighting purpose, but for engine application, further processing is
required. Whereas in case of thermo-chemical conversion process, so, the feedstock material
is thermo-chemically converted into a gasified product that is called as a syngas.

And the main constituents of the seam gas are CO, H2, CH4 and CO2 and the balance is
nitrogen. And the gas produced from the thermo-chemical conversion processes has the
heating value of around 4 to 5 mega joule per meter cube and the produce gas is relatively
clean gas can be used for the burning purpose. So, for IC engine use, further processing is
required for this kind of gas as well.

So, based on these 2 particular technologies, it appears that still the gasification is the best
suitable alternative for the conversion of biomass to a gaseous fuel because of its following
importance.

(Refer Slide Time: 05:12)

The gasification, it offers high flexibility in terms of various biomass materials as the
feedstock. So, in case of gasification, it is not limited to any specific kind of feedstock, the
material which contain high moisture can also be utilized for the gasification purpose in the
thermo-chemical gasification process. Apart from that the MSW can also be gasified to
produce the seniors.

So, this is what is the meaning of this sentence here that it offers a high flexibility in terms of
various biomass materials as the feedstock. And the second important point about this
technology is the thermo-chemical conversion efficiency of gasification, it is in the range of
70 to 90% and which is highest among various alternative technologies, which are discussed
in this lecture as well as in the previous lecture.

And the output capacity of this particular process, it especially in the high output range. It is
controlled by the availability of the adequate feed materials rather than other technical
consideration. Apart from that, the outputs obtained from the gasifiers are suitable as a fuel to
all types of internal combustion engine with capacity in the range of around like 15 to 30%.

So, because of these advantages, this is considered as the best suitable technology among the
available technology for the conversion of raw material to a gaseous product. If you just look
at the history of gasification process, so, the gasification is a well established technology and
the first commercial application of which dates back to year 1830. So, this is a very well
established technology and it is being used for the production of the seam gas from date back
to even 1830.
And in the beginning years, the coal and the peat were used as a feedstock material. In the
18th century, the nascent idea of the process was to produce down gas for the lighting and the
cooking purpose. Around 1920, the major shift came in this area where it was used to
produce synthetic material. And this is what the main shift is happen in this particular
technology, where the producing gas was used to produce the synthetic chemical as well.

And during World War 2, the biomass gasification system, it played an important role and
when due to shortage of petroleum feedstock, the wood gas generators called gasogeneous
were used to power the motor vehicle. And even by a 1945, heavy vehicles were powered by
the gasification system. So, if you see the development happened in the gasification
technology, so, it is evident from this particular slide that how the technological development
happens in the gasification process.

And hence, because of this advantages and technological importance of this process, it is
widely being used for the production of the gas from the solid material. So, these are talks
about the history of the gasification and how this particular technology is evolved for the
production of the syngas from the waste material.

(Refer Slide Time: 08:47)

Now, apart from the advantages which are discussed in the previous slide, the gasification is
essentially converts the potential fuel from one form to the another. And apart from that,
there are other 3 motivation for such transformation of waste material to a high value or high
quality product. So, the first is, it increases the heating value of the fuel by rejecting the non-
combustible compound in the form of water and nitrogen.

So, this is what the advantage of this particular technology is where the low quality materials
can be converted into a high quality fuel. So, it reduces the carbon to hydrogen ratio in the
final product as well. And the biomass, it contains more oxygen with respect to carbon than
coal. And this influences the gasification process as the gasification is a partial oxidation
process. Hence, the oxygen which is required for the process can be supplied by the oxygen
containing material itself.

Apart from that, the fuels with high oxygen to carbon ratio have a smaller heating value. And
then those with the low oxygen to carbon ratio which can be seen from the graph, which is
shown here. If you look at this particular graph, this indicates the oxygen to carbon ratio
whereas, the y axis, it indicates the hydrogen to carbon ratio. So, in this case, the biomass has
oxygen to carbon ratio, it varies from even like 0.4 to 0.8. So, it has a vast range of oxygen to
carbon ratio.

And if you talk about even the hydrogen to carbon ratio, it is relatively high in case of
biomass as a material. Whereas, in case of coal, if you see here, so, coal has relatively low
oxygen to carbon ratio whereas, low hydrogen to carbon ratio, thus the material which
contain higher oxygen to carbon ratio, which has a relatively smaller heating value can be
converted into a high density material by converting this particular material using a thermo-
chemical conversion process that is a gasification.

(Refer Slide Time: 11:00)

So, let us discuss about this gasification technology in more detail. So, what is gasification?
The word gasification, it implies converting a solid or liquid feedstock into gaseous fuel by
thermo-chemical method without leaving any solid carbonaceous residue inside the reactor.
And the thermal conversion of organic material at elevated temperature and control
environment, it leads to virtually all the raw material being converted to gas.

And this particular process, it takes place in 2 stages. So, in the first stage, what happens is
the biomass is partially combusted to form the producer gas and charcoal and this is called as
a primary zone. Whereas, in the second stage, the CO2 and H2O produce in the first stage is
chemically reduced by the charcoal forming CO and H2. And the CO and H2 are the major
constituents of the gas producing the gasifier.

The composition of the gas, it mainly consists of 18 to 20% hydrogen, 19 to 21% carbon
monoxide, 2 to 3% is methane and 8 to 10% is CO2 and the rest is nitrogen. These stages are
specially separated in the gasifier and thus, gasifier design is very much dependent on the
feedstock characteristics. What kind of feedstock is being used for the gasification purpose?
Based on that, the gasifier need to be designed to achieve high process efficiency.

(Refer Slide Time: 12:48)

After understanding the gasification, let us see how the process of gasification it takes place
in the gasifier. So, if you see this particular schematic here, the gasifier is divided into 4
zones that is dry zone, pyrolysis zone, this is the oxidation zone and this is the reduction
zone. So, the producer gas in the gasifier is formed by partial combustion of the solid biomass
in a vertical flow back bed.

So, this is a vertical flow back bed reactor. In the conditional producer gas theory, following
processes takes place in sequence in the gasifier that is drying zone then followed by the
pyrolysis zone, where the material is get pyrolysed inside the gasifier and then the produce
material is oxidized in the oxidation zone followed by the reduction of the produce material
in the reduction zone.

So, that is why as mentioned the gasifier is sequentially divided in the 4 zone in the gasifier.
So, if you see in this particular process, the function of the drying zone in the gasifier is to
remove the moisture from the incoming feed material. So, if you see here, this is the biomass,
which is fed inside the gasifier and the function of this drying zone here is to remove the
moisture from the incoming feed material, below the dry zone is the pyrolysis zone, where
the draft feedstock material is converted into a residual carbon as a char.

So, if you see here, this is a residual carbon as a char, which is getting converted into a
pyrolysis zone, followed by it also produces some combustible gases along with the tar as the
product. So, the heat for the pyrolysis and the drying zone is supplied by the partial
combustion of this product in the oxidation zone. So, in the oxygen zone, the oxygen in the
air as well as in the steam, it reduces the carbon which is coming from the pyrolysis zone to
hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

And the CO2 form in the oxidation zone, it gets reduced to carbon monoxide in the reduction
zone. Therefore, the final composition of the producer gas, it mainly depends on the water
gas shift reaction, which approaches the chemical equilibrium corresponding to the exit gas
temperature. And because of that, this particular composition of the producer gas, it also
varies in the gasifier.

Apart from that if you see in this case, the heat of combustion in the oxidation zone, it also
transforms to a non-combustible material and it gets converted into molten slag. The molten
slag along with the ash is drained out continuously from the seals slack tap into the water
quench tank. So, as a result, the all the ash along with this particular slag is drained out
continuously from this particular aid, which is called as a seal slag tap. So, this is how the
gasification takes place in the gasifier.

So, now, as we discussed the gasification of the biomass is a very complex process. And it
mainly consists of consecutive heterogeneous and homogeneous reaction. So, if we look at
the type of reaction, which are taking place in the gasifier.

(Refer Slide Time: 16:27)

If you see here, the first is carbon reaction, followed by the oxidation reaction and then shift
reaction, methanation reaction and steam reforming reaction, where the entire methane is
getting converted into CO and the H2. So, if you see in this case, the first 4 reactions are
mainly the heterogeneous reaction, where the carbon in the char is getting reacted with the
gases like CO2, H2O, hydrogen and the oxygen and producing these gas compositions.

So, in oxidation reaction, the first reaction also is a heterogeneous reaction, where the carbon
in the char is getting oxidized with the oxygen in the air or the steam to produce CO2 as a gas.
And all the remaining reactions are in the gaseous phase that is what is called as a
homogeneous gas phase reaction, because here the CO gas is reacting with the oxygen.

Here, the methane is reacting with oxygen and hydrogen is reacting with oxygen and
producing corresponding gases as the product in the oxidation reaction, followed by the shoot
reaction. Here also the carbon monoxide is reacting with the water which is in the gas phase
producing CO2 and hydrogen as a gas. So, that is why this is also homogeneous reaction in
the gasifier, followed by the methanation reaction, where the methane formation is taking
place by the reaction of CO with the hydrogen.

And forming methane is the product, followed by the steam reforming reaction, where these
methane which are formed in the methanation reactions are getting converted into a CO and
the H2. These are talks about the conjugative heterogeneous and homogeneous reaction,
which are taking place in a gassy fire. Here, in this case, the plus Q, it represents the amount
of heat absorb in the reaction.

So, if you see here, where in all these reactions, the plus Q, it represents the amount of heat
absorbed during the reaction. Whereas, the minus Q, it represents the amount of heat which is
released during the reaction. Now, after understanding the process of gasification as well as
understanding the reaction which are taking place in the gasifier, let us try to understand the
equivalence ratio and its importance in the gasifier

(Refer Slide Time: 18:56)

With the help of the above reaction scheme and the equilibrium constant, it is possible to
predict the equilibrium composition of the gaseous product in the gasifier and the equilibrium
composition for a given solid fuel. It depends on the air supply per unit weight of the biomass
of the feedstock fed into the gasifier. And the dimensionless parameter, which is known as a
equivalence ratio is usually defined to characterize the air supply condition as follows.

So, this is the concept which are already discussed in the previous lecture that is in the
combustion, the same concept, we will be discussing here again. So, the equivalence ratio as
we know, it is the ratio of air to fuel ratio, which is in the stoichiometric amount to the air to
fuel ratio, which is actually required for the gasification reaction to takes place in the gasifier.
Because the stoichiometric amount is nothing but the exact amount of oxygen which is
required for the solid material to get gasified.

Whereas in the practical, it may not be so, and hence, excess air or the oxygen need to be
supplied. So, that the complete oxidation of the material will take place in the gasifier and
will achieve a high process efficiency. So, if you just rearrange these steps here, you will get
fit to air ratio which is actual, divided by fit to air ratio in the stoichiometric amount.

And the denominator in the above equation, this particular term here in the equation, it
represents the stoichiometric quantity of oxygen or the air is required for the process and it
varies from fuel to fuel. It is one of the important parameter in the gasification process. As I
mentioned, because of the diverse composition of the biomass, the air to fuel ratio in the
gasifier also varies, it all depends on the fuel to fuel basis.
It is generally observed that for the effective gasification and optimum equivalent ratio of
around 0.2 to 0.4 is desired. If it is less than or equal to 0.2, so, in that case, it results in
incomplete gasification, because of insufficient supply of oxygen in the gasifier. As a result,
the incomplete gasification will take place in the gasifier. And then it produces more char and
low calorific value product gas.

And it is termed as a pyrolysis dominant process. Because in this case, because of partial
supply of oxygen and that too is a incomplete gasification process. So, the pyrolysis will
dominate the entire process. If the value of this equivalent ratio is higher that is 0.4 or higher
than 0.4 or equal to 0.4, then in that case, it will alter the gasification into the combustion.
And the predominant process in this case is a combustion process, because of increasing the
oxygen supply in the gasifier.

So, what happens is like, the complete oxidation will take place and because of the excess
supply of the oxygen in the gasifier. There will be a combustion which will be happening
with the feedstock material. So, rather than producing the producer gas, it will produce the
flue gas as the product. So, this is all about the equivalence ratio and how it is important in
the gasifier.

So, once you understand the process of gasification as well as the importance of the
equivalence ratio in the gasifier, so, next point is like, how to classify the gasifier?

(Refer Slide Time: 22:27)

So, the gasifiers are classified based on the scheme of interaction of gasifying agent and the
solid fuel. The gasifiers are classified as the fixed bed gasifier, fluidized bed gasifier and then
entrained bed gasifier based on the scheme of interaction of the gasifying agent and the solid
fuel. So, if you first talk about, the fixed bed gasifiers are further sub-classified as up draft
gasifier, down draft gasifier and the cross draft gasifier.

And the basis of classification is direction of the flow of the gasifying agent in the gasifier.
But the issues involved, in this particular gasifier are the slagging and the bed agglomeration.
This is one issue in the fixed bed gasifier. Syngas exit blockage is another issue in the fixed
bed gasifier. And the slag mobility followed by the refractory degradation is another issue in
the fixed bed gasifier.

As we mentioned in the earlier slide that the heat of combustion in the oxidation zone, it
transforms to the non-combustible material in the gasifier, which results in the formation of
the molten slag. And the molten slag, which produced in the gasifier, it often blogs the path
of the producer gas in the gasifier as well as the mobility of the slag is an issue. Apart from
that, it also degrades the refractory in the gasifier.

So, the another class of gasifier is a fluidized bed gasifier and the fluidized bed gasifier
further sub-classified into a bubbling fluidized bed gasifier. This is a fluidized bed gasifier
and circulating fluidized bed gasifier. Even in this case, the basis of classification is velocity
of flow of the gasifying agent and operational issue involved in the fluidized bed gasifiers or
bed agglomeration and the defluidized of the material and ash deposition and the fouling. So
these are the operational issue in the fluidized bed gasifier.

And the last classification is entrained bed gasifier and the operational issue involved in the
entrained gasifier is slag mobility, again, the same issue of that of the fixed bed gasifier. The
refractory degradation in the gasifier and syngas cooler fouling and plugging. So, these are
the operational issue in the entrained bed gasifier. After understanding the classification of
the gasifier, now, let us discuss about this gasifier in detail.

(Refer Slide Time: 25:21)

So, first is fixed bed gasifier. So, the fixed bed gasifier here is classified based on the flow of
the gasifying medium inside the gasifier. And it is sub-classified as down draft gasifier, up
draft gasifier and the cross draft gasifier. So, in the up draft gasifier, it is further subdivided
into a closed stop gasifier and open top gasifier. So, in this case, the biomass is fed from the
top and the produce gas is forced to pass through in high temperature zone where the on bed
pyrolysis material can be cracked to produce the gaseous hydrocarbon as the fuel.

And mostly a clean gas is obtained from the down draft gasifier and it finds its use in thermal
and the engine application, but there are sudden issues also with the open and the close top
gasifier. So, in case of the close top, this is relatively old design, whereas open top is a reset
designed for the gasification of the biomass material. Similarly, reasonably dry wood is
required in case of the close top gasifier, whereas in case of the open top, reasonably moist
wood is also sufficient.
So, in case of the open top, even the reasonably moist wood can be gasified to produce the
gas. Better quality of the gas can be achieved in the close top. Whereas, in case of the open
top, superior quality gas can be achieved, as I mentioned, because the gas is forced to pass
through this high temperature zone here. And as a result, the unburned pyrolysis material
undergoes the cracking to produce the gaseous hydrocarbon as a fuel.

So, as a result, this particular material well passing through the gasification chamber, it also
get clean and then produce more or less a clean gas from this kind of gasifier. Similarly, if we
just talk about the up draft gasifier, so, in case of up draft gasifier, the biomass is also fed
from the top and the product gas is drawn off from the top of the gasifier as well.

So, as a result in this case, because of the movement of the gas from high temperature zone to
a low temperature zone along with that, it also carries significant amount of the tar and the
moisture because of the passing of the gas from the high temperature zone to the low
temperature zone. Where the outgoing gas, it also carries away the tar and the moisture
present in the feed material and relatively low temperature gas is obtained in the up draft
gasifier.

But, the issue with this particular gasifier is, it produce high tar, as I mentioned, because it
carried away the tar in the incoming material. Along with that, even the moisture content in
the producer gas is relatively high, although better quality of the gas can be also obtained
from the up draft gasifier. And if you look at the cross draft gasifier in case of cross draft
gasifier, the biomass is also fed from the top here.

Whereas in case of the cross draft gasifier, the oxidation of the feed material it takes place
just opposite to the exit of the producer gas. As a result, because of the short path of the
producer gas inside the gasifier, it produces a poor quality gas and even high tar quality gas
also, it is produced in case of cross draft gasifier. As a result, these kinds of gasifiers are not
in common use.

Now, once you understand the mechanism as well as the process of the down draft, up draft,
and cross draft gasifier, let us, discuss about this gasifier in more detail.
(Refer Slide Time: 29:07)

So, first is the down draft gasifier. So, if you see here, this is the schematic of the down draft
gasifier where the biomass is fed inside the gasifier from the top. And if you see here, this
particular gasifier is divided into 4 zones that is the drying zone, pyrolysis zone; this is the
oxidation zone and reduction zone. So, as I said, the gas produced in this particular gasifier is
forced to pass through the high temperature zone.

And then as a result, the unburned pyrolysis products are cracked in this particular zone here
to produce gaseous hydrocarbon as a fuel. So, in this case, the temperature in the drying zone
is around 350 degrees C, whereas, the temperature in the pyrolysis zone if you see here, it is
in the range of 350 to 600 degrees C. And in the oxidation zone, it reaches to around 1000 to
1200 degrees C where the oxidation of the pyrolysis product is taking place to form the CO
hydrogen and CO2 as a product.

The CO2 which is produced in this particular oxidation zone is further reduced to carbon
monoxide in the reduction zone where the temperature is in the range of 700 to 1000 degrees
C. So, if you see the operation of this particular gasifier here, so, exit gas from the gasifier is
allowed to pass through the annular jacket. So, that the efficient transfer of the heat will take
place to the gasifier and heat will also be transferred to the incoming solid material.

As a result, the drying of the solid material will take place in the gasifier so, that to achieve
high thermal efficiency. So, the down draft gasifier is best suited for varieties of the feedstock
material ranging from MSW to high moisture containing material as well. So, dry wood
materials can also be gasifier in the down draft gasifier. Due to this design, the raw products
are forced to pass through the high temperature zone. As I discussed, all the product gas are
forced to pass through the high temperature zones.

If you see here, these are the high temperature zone and all the product gases has to pass
through this high temperature zone. So, as a result, what happens is like in this case, the
unburned pyrolysis products are getting cracked in this particular zone to produce a relatively
clean gas with a more hydrocarbon content. And that is what is the advantage of the down
draft gasifier.

So, in the steady state operation, the heat of combustion caused would shift to pyrolysis and
lose around 70 to 80% of their weight. The product of the pyrolysis chamber which is mainly
consist of the CO, hydrogen, CO2 and fraction of the methane, it gets oxidized in the
oxidation zone here to produce mainly CO and hydrogen as a product. And the CO2 produced
in the oxidation zone, it gets reduced in the reduction zone to produce carbon monoxide.

As a result, it produces relatively clean gas in the down draft gasifier. The down draft gasifier
also called the concurrent moving bed gasifier. And the ash as soon as the slag material,
which is produced during the gasification process is collected in the water quenching tank
here. This is a water quenching tank. So, after understanding the down draft gasifier let us
discuss the importance of the up draft gasifier as well.

(Refer Slide Time: 32:46)

So, the up draft gasifier is also called as a counter flow gasifier. Because in this case, the
biomass is also fed from the top and the producer gas is drawn off from the top of the gasifier
here. So, in this type of gasifier, the air enters at the combustion zone. So, this is the entry of
the air in the combustion zone here and produce gas leaves from the top of the gasifier as
shown here.

So, the produce gases coming out from the top of the gasifier here and this type of gasifier is
easy to build and operate. The up draft gasifier, it achieves higher process efficiency as the
hot gas pass through the fuel bed and it leaves at relatively low temperature from the gassy
bar. As a result, the gas produced from the gasifier practically has no ash, but it contains tar
and water vapor because of passing of gas through the unburned fuel.

Because when this gas is passing through the unburned fuel, so, along with the gas, it also
takes away the tar and water vapor, which are or you can say the moisture present in the
unburned fuel. As a result, it contains more tar and water vapor in the exit gas. The up draft
gasifier are suitable for tar free feedstock material and are not suitable for highly volatile
material, because the gas is allowed to pass through the top of the gasifier.

So, the incoming feed material, if it contains the high volatile material, so, most of the
volatile materials will be lost in the exit gas and will not take part in the reaction. That is why
these kinds of gasifiers are not suitable for the high volatile material. So, after understanding
the up draft gasifier now, let us discuss about the cross draft gasifier and how the operation of
the cross draft gasifier takes place.

(Refer Slide Time: 34:57)

So, this is a schematic of the cross draft gasifier. In this case, as the biomass is allowed to
enter inside the gasifier from the top and this is the air inlet to the gasifier and this particular
portion is the gas outlet from the gasifier. So, in case of cross draft gasifier, air enters the
gasifier through a water cooled nozzle, which is mounted on one side of the firebox. So, the
gasifier which is operating at a higher temperature, it confines its oxidation and reduction
zone, just next to the air nozzle.

And due to a short path length for the gasification reaction, these type of gasifier respond
most rapidly for changing the gas production, because there is hardly any residence time for
the produce gas in the gasifier. As a result, because of the short path lane of the gasification
reaction, this type of gasifier response most rapidly for change in the gas production. Because
there is no sufficient time for the gas to remain inside the gasifier.

After oxidation, it will undergo a reduction reaction here and immediately the gas will be exit
out from the gasifier. The high exit temperature of the gas and low CO2 reduction, it results in
poor quality gas and low efficiency as well. Because the gas produced from this particular
gasifier will have relatively high temperature and it will not undergo the CO2 conversion as
well. As a result, this particular gasifier and the product produced from this particular gasifier
will have poor quality as well as low efficiency.

And therefore, these type of gasifiers are not in common use. As I said earlier, that is the
reason the cross draft gasifiers are not in common use for the gasification process. So, after
understanding the fixed bed gasifier, let us discuss about the fluidized bed gasifier.
(Refer Slide Time: 37:01)

So, this is the schematic of the fluidized bed gasifier. So, the fluidized bed gasifier is
considered as the most versatile and it can operate on any biomass form. And that is what is
the advantage of the fluidized bed gasifier. It takes the advantage of excellent mixing
characteristics and high reaction rates of gas solid mixture in the gasifier. A fluidized bed
gasifier is a chamber with a bed of inner sand particles, which are supported by the distributor
plate.

The velocity of the air is progressively increase till the poor drag of air on the bed particle
support the entire weight of the bed here. And this moving mass of solid in this bed is called a
fluidized bed and the turbulence of the bed in this particular gasifier; it can be increased with
velocity which is about the minimum utilization velocity. And the availability of the high
area in the fluidized bed and constantly moving mass, it results in the good conversion
efficiency.

And lower operating temperature compared to that of the fixed bed gasifier and this results in
the good conversion efficiency in the fluidized bed gasifier. Moreover, it also gives clean
producer gas as the output from the fluidized bed gasifier. Now, once you understand the
fluidized gasifier, let us discuss about the circulating fluidized bed gasifier as well.

(Refer Slide Time: 38:37)

So, this is a schematic of the circulating fluidized bed gasifier. Where if you see here, the
circulating fluidized bed design is a very compact and it achieves a high throughput as well.
And inferior quality fuels can also be gasified to generate the fuel in the circulating bed
fluidized gasifier. High energy conversion ratio because of the intense gas solid mixing which
is taking place in the circulating fluidized bed gasifier recirculation of the unburned fuel back
into the gasifier.

It also results in the high conversion efficiency, because of the circulating nature of the raw
material, the unburned material will be collected in the cyclone will be recirculated back into
the gasifier for the oxidation purpose. So, as a result, it gives relatively high conversion
efficiency. The less pollution in terms of the NOx, Sox and the CO 2 due to the low
temperature operation in the circularity fluidized bed gasifier.

But there are also certain challenges in the circulating fluidized bed gasifier in terms of
complex gas solid flow phenomena. Another is like maintaining pressure balance in the loop
and overall solid circulation is another challenge here. The solid movement through the loop
seal for the continuous operation is one of the challenges of the circulating fluidized bed
gasifier.

And maintaining the uniform temperature along the height of the fast bed reactor is also a
challenge. So, the fuel gas cleaning as well as the ash disposal is also an issue in the
circulating fluidized bed gasifier. So, after understanding the circulating fluidized bed
gasifier, let us discuss about the bubbling fluidized bed gasifier.
(Refer Slide Time: 40:30)

These represent the bubbling fluidized bed gasifier and this particular part here it represented
the bubbles which are formed in the gasifier. So, in this case, if you see here, these kinds of
gasifier also achieve a high throughput and can operate on any kind of biomass material and
tolerate reasonably high moisture material as well. The less pollution again in terms of NOx,
SOx and CO2, because of the low temperature operation in the bubbling fluidized bed
gasifier.

More or less in this case also, there are certain challenges while operating this kind of gasifier
because of the complex process of gas solid multi phase flow and the chemical reaction and
the heat and mass transfer, this kind of gasifier need to be operated very effectively. And the
complex operation in terms of the precision of control of the operating parameter is
essentially needed in the bubbling fluidized bed gasifier. This is also one of the challenges in
the bubbling fluidized bed gasifier.

And unequal pressure distribution across the bed. Moreover, the hotspot and the
agglomeration and the slagging is taking place in the bed, which is another challenge in the
bubbling fluidized bed gasifier. And the elutriation of the solid fines and the loss of unburned
fuel particles from the bed is another major challenge of the bubbling fluidized bed gasifier.
So, these are talks about the different types of gasifier, which are used for the gasification
purpose.

(Refer Slide Time: 42:00)

So, after understanding the fluidized bed gasifier, let us see what the advantages of this
fluidized bed gasifier are. So, fuel flexibility is one of the advantage of the fluidized bed
gasifier and the type of oil with the calorific value in the range of say 800 to 8000 kilo calorie
per kilogram, can also be used to produce the syngas in the fluidized bed gasifier. Apart from
that the good heat storage capacity to always ensure the combustion inside the gasifier is the
major advantage of the fluidized bed gasifier.

Quick startup and high combustion efficiency is another advantage of the fluidized bed
gasifier. It also has high output rate. The consistent rate of commercial is another important
advantage of the fluidized bed gasifier as I mentioned, because of the uniform distribution of
the solid biomass as well as the gasifying medium in the fluidized bed gasifier, it ensures the
consistent rate of combustion in the gasifier.

The uses of fuel with high moisture content can also be preferred in the fluidized bed gasifier.
The rapid response to fuel input changes is another importance of the fluidized bed gasifier
and because of low temperature commercial corrosion caused by alkali compounds in ash,
significantly reduced in case of the fluidized bed gasifier. Because this kind of gasifiers, it
relatively operate at a lower temperature than the fluidized bed gasifier.

The uniform temperature throughout the furnace volume provides the high process efficiency
and reduced emission in the form of harmful nitrous oxide. Because the process is carried out
at a lower temperature range as a result, it reduces the emission of harmful gases from the
gasifier in the form of nitrous oxide. Sulphur dioxide emission can be reduced to acceptable
level with less expense as well and this is one of the important advantage of the fluidized bed
gasifier.

So, after understanding the different classification of the gasifier as well as the advantage of
the fluidized bed gasifier, if we just compare the gasification process with that of the
combustion.

(Refer Slide Time: 44:13)

So, if you see here on small table has been tabulated, which shows the comparative analysis
of the combustion with the gasification process, in the terms of amount of the flue gas. So, in
case of combustion, the amount of the flue gas obtaining is more, whereas in case of the
gasification, it is less concentration of CO2. In the combustion, produce gas is lower,
whereas, in case of the gasification, it is higher.

The SO2 emission in the form of SOx is higher in the combustion process whereas, in case of
gasification it is lower, as we already discussed just now. The NOx emission is also higher in
case of combustion whereas in gasification, it is lower because the temperature in the
gasification is relatively lower than that of the combustion process. And the generation of the
solid waste, it is higher in this case.

Whereas in case of the gasifier, it is lower because most of the carbon in the solid fuel is
undergoes the gasification that is oxidation and reduction process. As a result, it does not
produce any unburned carbon in the gasifier, or without leaving any carbonaceous residues
material, the entire material takes part in the reaction and produces into the gas as the
product.

The mode of transportation in this case, it is difficult here, but it is very easy in case of the
gasifier product and the value added product cannot be generated from the combustion
product because it is mostly a flue gas. Whereas, the gasified product can be further process
to produce valuable chemical as well as convenient product. The application of the gas
produced from the combustion process has very narrow range.

It can be used either as a heat source or can be used to produce the steam. Whereas, the
gaseous product produced from the gasification process has wide range of application, it can
be used as a heat source apart from that it can be used in IC engine after further processing,
more or it can be further converted into a valuable product or a valuable chemical as well.

So, let me correct this point here because the carbon dioxide production in the combustion
process is relatively higher than that in the gasification process. Whereas, the carbon dioxide
production in the gasification process is relatively lower. Now, if you look at the gaseous
product produced in the combustion as well as in the gasification process, so, the carbon in
the solid fuel material is getting converted into CO in the gasification and CO2 in the
combustion process.

Whereas, the hydrogen is getting converted into H2O as a stable product in the combustion
process because of the complete oxidation of the hydrogen in the combustion process.
Because of the reduction reaction, the hydrogen in this case is getting reduced to H 2 in the
gasification process and the nitrogen is coming out as such without taking part in the reaction,
whereas, in this case, it is forming as a NOx.

In this case, it produces H2S, if the sulphur is present in the some of the biomass, then it will
result in the formation of the H2S here. In this case, it will form SOx because of the complete
oxidation of the sulphur compound in the biomass if any. And the oxygen if it is in excess,
then it will come out as it is from the combustion chamber whereas; it is a partial combustion
process.
So, as a result the un-utilize oxygen will not come out from the gasification process, because
this entire process is carried out in the limited supply of the oxygen. So, this is how the
composition of the gaseous product varies in the combustion and gasification process. So,
with this I guess it is clear now, how the gasification operation takes place in the gasifier. So,
with this we stop here.

In the next lecture, we will discuss about another thermo-chemical conversion process that is
pyrolysis and chemical conversion processes.

(Refer Slide Time: 48:00)

Thank you. Regarding this lecture if you have any doubt, feel free to contact me at
vvgoud@[Link]. Thank you.