GASIFICATION OF OIL PALM FRONDS IN A DOWNDRAFT GASIFIER

The physical and chemical characteristics and ligno-cellulosic composition of
different biomass fuels widely vary resulting in variations on the performance and
output from gasification of each biomass. Hence, the gasification performance of a
given biomass material need to be studied in order to determine the range of operating
conditions suitable for its optimum conversion and to determine its potential as a
gasification fuel. The current research focuses on the performance study of downdraft
gasification of OPF and parametric investigation on the influence of various operating
conditions on resulting syngas composition and heating value. The study is carried out
using a lab scale downdraft gasifier of capacity 50 kW thermal output, operating in
batch feed manner.