Effect of Furnace Temperature on the Distribution of Tar during Gasification of Miscanthus
Emmanuel Yeri Kombe *
Department of Systems Power and Energy, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Scotland and Department of Energy Technology, School of Engineering and Technology, Kenyatta University, Kenya.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Biomass has been extensively recognised as a clean and sustainable energy source with the highest probability to substitute fossil fuel in the energy market. Its utilisation for energy generation is of particular interest to the world at large because of its potential to reduce global carbon dioxide emission. Concerning these considerations, gasification technology comes to the forefront of biomass conversion to various forms of energy for some reasons. Primarily, gasification offers a high flexibility in utilising different kinds of biomass feedstock to produce a combustible gas, making it more active process than pyrolysis and direct combustion. However, the major challenge associated with thermal gasification of biomass is tars and particulates formation. These compounds compromise the state of syngas, potentially harming end use systems especially those delicate to the quality of gas. In this research, tar sampling and analysis was performed based on a modified standard tar protocol followed by gas chromatography-flame ionisation detector (GC-FID) so as to quantify tar concentration in syngas produced from gasification of Miscanthus. Experiments was carried out at various furnace temperature in the range 350-650 , with temperature enhancement, the abundance of phenolic compounds increases.
Keywords: Biomass gasification, Tar compound fingerprints, GC-FID, Syngas.