Quantification of Tars, Particulates, and Higher Heating Values in Gases Produced from a Biomass Gasifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-1-2014
Abstract
Syngas from biomass gasifiers contains impurities such as tars and particulates, which can create difficulties for the downstream processes (e.g., internal combustion engines and the Fischer-Tropsch process). To design an efficient and effective gas cleaning system, it is important to accurately quantify the tars and particulates. The absence of an ASTM procedure for tars and particulates produced from a gasifier led to the development and testing of the protocol presented in this study. Syngas was generated from woodchips using a pilot-scale downdraft gasifier, which was designed and constructed in-house. The sampled impurities were analyzed using mass gravimetry, solvent evaporation, and weight differential methods. The higher heating value of the exiting gases was estimated from the syngas composition. The average tar and particulate concentrations of the sample runs were 1.8 to 3.1 g/m3 and 5.2 to 6.4 g/m3, respectively. The higher heating values of the syngas ranged between 4.38 and 4.55 MJ/m3.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
BioResources
First Page
5627
Last Page
5635
Recommended Citation
Akudo, C., & Theegala, C. (2014). Quantification of Tars, Particulates, and Higher Heating Values in Gases Produced from a Biomass Gasifier. BioResources, 9 (3), 5627-5635. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.9.3.5627-5635