Application of Gasifier

Gasification

Gasification is a process of conversion of the fuel or organic wastes/matter into a gas called producer gas. This process involves a sequence of chemical and thermal reactions like the oxidation and reduction. The producer gas also called syngas has a calorific value ranging from 1000 to 1200 kcal/Nm3. Other products include gases, tar, charcoal and many more. The products obtained from the gasification process are the primary gases. The names of these gases can be syngas, generator gas, wood gas, coal gas or others. Generally, named as biogas.

Gasification is one form of combustion, i.e. incomplete or choked combustion. The process takes place in the reactor called gasifier at high temperatures in presence or absence of oxygen. Later, the unburnt gases are moved out to burn elsewhere.

Gasifier Applications

The applications include diversity and can be economically viable too.

• Microscale applications

Generally, these gasifier applications gets classified for lower power ranges between 1 – 7 kW. This is the range used by most of the farmers for irrigation purpose in the developing countries.

The equipment must be simple, cheap, light in weight and easily transportable. Ideally, the charcoal gasifiers which are manufactured locally can meet such specific requirements.

• Small-scale applications

Generally, these gasifier applications gets classified for power ranges between 7 – 30 kW.

The size of such applications is appropriate for the villages in some developing countries. The cost should be minimal and it should need less maintenance and operations. Also, it should be reliable and economically sustainable. The designs should be simple. Moreover, the gasifiers serving such applications need proper testing.

• Medium scale applications

Generally, these gasifier applications gets classified for power ranges between 30 -500 kW.

These applications are widely used in the small to medium agricultural industries and forestry industries. Generally, they are used in sawmills, wood cutting industries, and in generating power. They can be used for supplying power to the remote areas.

The manufacturing, installations can be a bit costly as it requires high equipment and supply of fuels and such matter to the gasifier. Increase in demand for such type of equipment can result in lower productions costs. Also, it can impact the standardization of the parts.

The estimated cost of these applications depends on the type and amount of fuel and extensively on the level of automation. The costs can vary from 300 – 800 US$/kW for the manufactured reactors only, excluding the equipment.

• Large-scale applications

Generally, these gasifier applications gets classified for higher power ranges between 500 kW and above. Thus, they are costly and need the utmost care while construction and delivery.

Gasifiers that are costly and highly quipped such as the fixed bed installations serve these applications. The design is complex and thus needs to be developed by specialized construction firms and high engineering. The equipment is fully automated and has high customizations.

Other Gasifier Applications

Most of the gasifiers serve many other purposes such as generation of heat. This high demand and usage are because of the minimal requirements for the tar and moisture content.

As per the high demand of gasifiers and their applications, in future, it can spread across various industries like

• Pulp industries
• Cement industries
• Metallurgy
• Lime industries

and the like.

Waste to Energy(WTE) – Efficient Solution for Waste Management

A variety of technologies have been introduced for processing the organic wastes and unused fuels. The Waste to Energy(WTE) Implementations are one such solution that can help the sustainable management of wastes. However, this is still a new technology and a bit complex to implement in various regions.

Advantages of waste to energy:

• It is a usable solution in urban and rural areas.
• It reduces the amount of industrial or any waste sent to the landfills.
• It produces energy through the fuel gases with the best utilization of solid and liquid wastes.
• The solution should be financially viable.
• The solution should be feasible with the environmental norms.

Thus, with the increase in the industrial and municipal wastes, there has been a consequent increase in the demand of gasification processes. Moreover, new technologies such as Waste-to-energy also provide environment-friendly solutions for effective waste management and power and thermal generations.