Groundnut shell gasification performance in a fluidized bed gasifier with bubbling air as gasification medium

Area of Science:

• * Chemical Engineering
• * Renewable Energy Technologies

Background:

• * Groundnut shells (GNS) are abundant agricultural wastes with potential for energy generation.
• * Fluidized bed gasification offers an efficient method for converting biomass into syngas.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To evaluate the gasification performance of groundnut shells in a fluidized bed gasifier.
• * To determine optimal operating conditions for maximizing gas yield and efficiency.

Main Methods:

• * Utilized a fluidized bed gasifier with river sand as bed material and air as the gasification medium.
• * Investigated varying equivalence ratios (ER) from 0.29 to 0.33, bed temperatures (650–800°C), and feedstock rates (36–31.7 kg/h).
• * Employed cyclones for product gas cleaning and cooling.

Main Results:

• * The optimal equivalence ratio (ER) was determined to be 0.31, maintaining a stable bed temperature (714.4°C ± 5–10%).
• * Achieved a cold gas efficiency of 71.8% at the optimal ER.
• * Attained a carbon conversion efficiency (CCE) of 91% under optimal conditions.

Conclusions:

• * Fluidized bed gasification is effective for converting groundnut shells into valuable syngas.
• * An ER of 0.31 provides the most stable and efficient gasification process for GNS.
• * The study demonstrates high cold gas efficiency and CCE, highlighting the potential of GNS as a sustainable energy source.