Energy Engineering 18ME81

1. SOLAR ENERGY
1.0 Introduction
Sun is the primary source of energy. this energy results from the nuclear
reactions which are taking place within the mass of sun. The energy radiated by the
sun is in form of electromagnetic waves which include the heat, light and lot of
ultraviolet radiations. Solar energy reaching the earth in tropical zones is about 1
kWm2 per day. Solar energy is available in abundance in the Indian subcontinent. For
ten months of the year, six to eight hours a day, much of India receives high intensity
fairly uniform sunshine. The radiated heat energy by the sun can be utilized for both
domestic and commercial purposes such as water heating, water distillation,
refrigeration, drying, power generation etc. Solar energy is collected in a device called
solar energy collectors. The solar radiation is then transferred to a fluid passing in
contact with it.

Solar Radiation:
Solar radiation, often called the solar resource, is a general term for the
electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun. Solar radiation can be captured and
turned into useful forms of energy, such as heat and electricity, using a variety of
technologies. However, the technical feasibility and economical operation of these
technologies at a specific location depends on the available solar resource.
Basic Principles
Every location on Earth receives sunlight at least part of the year. The amount of solar
radiation that reaches any one spot on the Earth's surface varies according to:
• Geographic location
• Time of day
• Season
• Local landscape
• Local weather.
Solar radiation is radiant energy emitted by the sun from a nuclear fusion reaction that
creates electromagnetic energy. The spectrum of solar radiation is close to that of a
black body with a temperature of about 5800 K. About half of the radiation is in the
visible short-wave part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The other half is mostly in
the near-infrared part, with some in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum.
The units of measure are Watts per square meter.
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Solar Constant:
The total radiation energy received from the sun per unit time per unit area
perpendicular to the sun’s direction at the mean distance of tire earth from the sun. It
is most accurately measured from satellites where atmospheric effects are absent. The
value of the constant is approximately 1.366 kilowatts per square meter. The surface
of the earth receives about 10l4kW of solar energy from the sun. (1000 W/m2 per day
and 3.86 x 1026 watt at moment and 147.53 million km).

Solar Radiation Measurement Methods using Pyranometer and

Pyrheliometer

Here the radiation from the surrounding atmosphere passes through the glass dome
and falls onto the blackbody situated at the center of the instrument. Like before, the
temperature of the body rises after absorbing all the radiation and this rise will also be
experienced by the Thermocouple chain or Thermocouple module present directly
beneath the blackbody. So the one side of the module will be hot and another will be
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cold because of the heat sink. The thermocouple module generates a voltage and this
can be seen at the output terminals. This voltage received at the output terminals is
directly proportional to temperature difference according to the principle of a
thermocouple.
Pyrheliometer Working and Construction

In the circuit, it can be seen that the black body absorbs the radiation falling from the
lens and as discussed earlier a perfect black body completely absorbs any radiation
falls on it, so the radiation falling into the tube gets absorbed by the black object
entirely. Once the radiation gets absorbed the atoms in the body get excited because
of the increasing temperature of the entire body. This temperature increase will also
be experienced by the thermocouple junction ‘A’. Now with junction ‘A’ of the
thermocouple at high temperature and junction ‘B’ at low temperature, a current flow
takes place in its loop. This current in the loop will also flow through the
galvanometer which is in series and thereby causing a deviation in it. This deviation is
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proportional to current, which in turn is proportional to temperature difference at

junctions.

Flat plate collectors

Working:

Sun's rays falling on the transparent covers are transmitted to the absorbing plate. The
absorbing plate usually of Cu, Al or galvanized iron is painted dead black for
maximum absorption. The collector (plate) will absorb the sun energy and transfer it
to the fluid in the pipe beneath the collector plate. Use of flat mirrors on the sides
improves the output. Water from the overhead tank is made to flow through the water
tubes. Solar rays passes through the transparent cover and falls on the absorber plate.
Heat energy from the absorber plate is transferred to the cold water flowing through
the tubes. Warm water rises above the cold water because of low density and flows
into the heater tank.

It has the following components:

(a) Absorbing plate

 Made of Copper, Aluminum or steel

 It is coated with material to enhance the absorption of solar radiation.
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 From the absorbing plates heat is transferred to tubes which carry either water
or air.
(b) Water tubes

 These are metallic tubes through which water circulates. Which are attached to
the absorber plate.
(c) Transparent cover

 Sheets of solar radiation transmitting materials placed above the absorbing

plate.
 They allow solar energy to reach the absorbing plate while reducing
convection, conduction and re-radiation heat losses.
 Made of a toughened glass, usually 4mm thick. Which helps in reflecting the
incident solar energy back to the absorber plate.
 Class cover permits the entry of solar radiation as it is transparent for
incoming short wave lengths.
(d) Insulation

 It minimizes and protects the absorbing plate from heat losses.

Focusing collectors

These collectors use highly reflective materials to collect and concentrate the heat
energy from solar radiation. These collectors are composed of parabolically shaped
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reflective sections connected into a long trough. A pipe that carries water is placed in
the center of this trough so that sunlight collected by the reflective material is focused
onto the pipe, heating the contents. These are very high-powered collectors and are
thus generally used to generate steam for Solar thermal power plants and are not used
in residential applications. These troughs can be extremely effective in generating
heat from the Sun, particularly those that can pivot, tracking the Sun in the sky to
ensure maximum sunlight collection.
These collectors require some form of mechanical equipment that constantly orients
the collectors towards the sun keeping the heat pipe absorber at the correct focal
point. This can be achieved by using a Tracking Solar Concentrator that aligns the
trough with the sun throughout the day, maximizing the solar heat gain.
The collector generally has a single rotation axis along the length of the trough which
can be orientated in an east-to-west direction, tracking the sun from north to south, or
orientated in a north-to-south direction and tracking the sun from east to west.
Parabolic troughs are generally aligned on a north-to-south axis, and are rotated to
track the sun as it moves across the sky each day from morning to night.

Solar Pond
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The solar pond works on a very simple principle. It is well-known that water or air is
heated they become lighter and rise upward e.g. a hot air balloon. Similarly, in an
ordinary pond, the sun‘s rays heat the water and the heated water from within the
pond rises and reaches the top but loses the heat into the atmosphere. The net result is
that the pond water remains at the atmospheric temperature. The solar pond restricts
this tendency by dissolving salt in the bottom layer of the pond making it too heavy to
rise.
A solar pond has three zones. The top zone is the surface zone, or UCZ (Upper
Convective Zone), which is at atmospheric temperature and has little salt content. The
bottom zone is very hot, 70°– 85° C, and is very salty. It is this zone that collects and
stores solar energy in the form of heat, and is, therefore, known as the storage zone or
LCZ (Lower Convective Zone). Separating these two zones is the important gradient
zone or NCZ (Non-Convective Zone). Here the salt content increases as depth
increases, thereby creating a salinity or density gradient. If we consider a particular
layer in this zone, water of that layer cannot rise, as the layer of water above has less
salt content and is, therefore, lighter. Similarly, the water from this layer cannot fall as
the water layer below has a higher salt content and is, therefore, heavier. This gradient
zone acts as a transparent insulator permitting sunlight to reach the bottom zone but
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also entrapping it there. The trapped (solar) energy is then withdrawn from the pond
in the form of hot brine from the storage zone.

Solar photovoltaics
Definition: The Photovoltaic cell is the semiconductor device that converts the light
into electrical energy. The voltage induces by the PV cell depends on the intensity of
light incident on it. The name Photovoltaic is because of their voltage producing
capability.
The electrons of the semiconductor material are joined together by the covalent bond.
The electromagnetic radiations are made of small energy particles called photons.
When the photons are incident on the semiconductor material, then the electrons
become energized and starts emitting.
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The semiconductor materials like arsenide, indium, cadmium, silicon, selenium and
gallium are used for making the PV cells. Mostly silicon and selenium are used for
making the cell.
Consider the figure below shows the constructions of the silicon photovoltaic cell.
The upper surface of the cell is made of the thin layer of the p-type material so that
the light can easily enter into the material. The metal rings are placed around p-type
and n-type material which acts as their positive and negative output terminals
respectively.
The multi-crystalline or monocrystalline semiconductor material make the single unit
of the PV cell. The mono-crystal cell is cut from the volume of the semiconductor
material. The multicell are obtained from the material which has many sides.

The output voltage and current obtained from the single unit of the cell is very less.
The magnitude of the output voltage is 0.6v, and that of the current is 0.8v. The
different combinations of cells are used for increasing the output efficiency. There are
three possible ways of combining the PV cells.

Biomass Energy
During its life cycle, organic matter like trees and plants collects energy from the sun
in a process called photosynthesis. As the organic matter – called biomass –
decomposes or is burned, that stored energy gets released as biomass energy.
Since organic matter can be replaced in a relatively short amount of time, biomass is
considered a renewable energy source. It’s also a very common one.
Here are some of the benefits of biomass energy:
 Biomass is widely available in many forms.
 Biomass energy is less expensive to produce than fossil fuels.
 Using biomass as an energy source reduces garbage in landfills.
 Since biomass only releases the CO2 that it captures, it’s 100% carbon neutral.
 Biomass energy helps mitigate the effects of climate change.

Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis, the process by which green plants and certain other organisms
transform light energy into chemical energy. During photosynthesis in green plants,
light energy is captured and used to convert water, carbon dioxide, and minerals into
oxygen and energy-rich organic compounds.
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Energy Plantations
Energy plantation is the practice of planting trees, purely for their use as fuel.
Terrestrial biomass i.e., the wood plants has been used since long time to generate fire
for cooking and other purposes. In recent years, to meet the demand of energy,
plantation of energy plants has been re-emphasized. It is well known fact that trees
have been intensively cut in Gangetic plains and coastal belts, leaving the area totally
denude. The same practice has also been done in Shfwalik region and foot-hills of
Himalayas. According to a report, if fuel/fire wood plants were not raised rapidly, by
2,000 AD more than 250 millions people would not be able to manage fuels for
cooking purpose and, therefore, they would be forced to burn animal dung which,
however, depends on availability of animals and agricultural crop residues.

Features of Energy Plantations

The attractive features of energy plantations are:
 Good amount of heat content of wood
 Wood low in sulphur and non-polluting
 Ash from burnt wood is a valuable fertiliser
 Raising plantations in erosion-prone lands helps to reduce soil erosion
 Help in rural employment generation

Significance of Energy Plantations

Energy plantations are the plants planted only for use as fuel. The woody plants have
been used since ancient times to generate fire for domestic and industrial purpose. In
recent years, to meet the ever growing demand of energy, plantation of energy plants
is been encouraged. We are all aware that trees are cut in many of the forest belts of
India like Gangetic plains, Siwalik region and foot-hills of Himalayas.
In terms of fuel wood production, India is the biggest, but the per capita fuel wood
production is very low. In India, people of hill area hardly get fire-wood plants and
they have to go to interior of forest to collect wood-falls. Also introduction of
technologies developed for plains is not achievable in these areas.
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For example, they cannot be motivated to use solar cooker, because of being solely
traditional and religious. Even gobar gas plant cannot be useful in hills, due to low
temperatures. Therefore, renewable source of energy is highly desirable for survival
of population in hills and for reducing the pressure on forests. And thus, energy
plantation has got great support in our country.
For obtaining good amount of biomass, afforestation and forest management
government has started many plans like social forestry, silviculture and agro-
horticulture practices in waste and barren lands. These programmes include growing
of drought resistant, salt resistant, pollutant resistant and high density energy
plantations (HDEP) in waste and barren
The technique used in high density energy plantations, HDEP is the practice of
planting trees at close spacing. Here the trees grow rapidly due to struggle for
survival. It provides fast and high returns with many opportunities of permanent
income and employment.
Factors affecting Bio digestion or Generation of gas
1 Temperature:
Effect of Temperature is important factor which affects biogas production. On
increasing the temperature biogas production increases. Season temperature affects
the biogas production. So during winter, less biogas is produced as compared to the
summer season. There are many bacteria’s which develops and helps in producing the
biogas. These bacteria also develop at various temperatures.

2 Effect of C/N Ratio

Carbon mass to nitrogen mass ratio is called as C/N ratio. C/N ratio affects the
volume of the biogas produced. During acidification process bacteria’s develop under
acidic conditions so to produce acetic acid carbon and oxygen is required. When
anaerobic environment is deficient with oxygen then nitrogen is required for the
growth of micro-organisms. During hydrolysis ammonia is produced as byproduct
from nitrogenous compound. Proper hydrolysis is important for the production of
ammonia otherwise this will lead to a condition termed as ammonia toxicity.

3 Effect of pH
pH value is main factor in anaerobic digestion. Development of microbes during
anaerobic fermentation affected by pH. pH of digester content depends on carbon
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dioxide and volatile fatty acids. This is also affected by the temperature of reaction
medium.

4 Total Solid Concentrations

Total solids concentration is a measurement that includes the combination of total
dissolved solids and total suspended solids.

5 Hydraulic Retention Time:

It is average duration of time holding slurry in digester. Shorter Hydraulic Retention
time means less active bacteria and larger HRT needs larger digester which means
more cost and low efficiency.

Digestion:
Digestion is biological process that occurs in the absence of oxygen and in the
presence of anaerobic organisms at temperatures (35-70ºc) and atmospheric pressure.
The container in which, this process takes place is known as digester.
Anaerobic digestion:
The treatment of any slurry or sludge containing a large amount of organic matter
utilizing bacteria and other organisms under anaerobic condition is commonly
referred as anaerobic digestion or digestion. Anaerobic digestion consists of the
following three stages. The three stages are (i) the enzymatic hydrolysis, (ii) acid
formation and (iii) methane formation.
Enzymatic hydrolysis
In this stage, a group of facultative microorganisms acts upon the organic matter and
convert insoluble, complex, high molecular compounds of biomass into simple,
soluble, low molecular compounds. The organic substances such as polysaccharide,
protein and lipid are converted into mono-saccharide, peptide, amino acids, and fatty
acids. Then they are further converted into acetate, propionate and butyrate.
Acid formation
The micro organisms of facultative and anaerobic group collectively called as acid
formers, hydrolyze and ferment the productions of first phase i.e., water soluble
substances into volatile acid. The major component of the volatile acid is the acetic
acid. In addition to acetate or hydrogen and carbon dioxide, some other acids like
butyric acid and propionic acid are also produced.
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Methane formation
Finally, acetate or hydrogen plus carbon dioxide are converted into gas mixture of
methane (CH4) and CO2 by the bacteria, which are strictly anaerobes. These bacteria
are called methane fermentators. For efficient digestion, these acid formers and
methane fermentators must remain in a state of dynamic equilibrium. The remaining
indigestible matter is referred as “slurry”. The following are some approximate rules
used for sizing biogas plants or for estimating their performance:

Biomass Conversion Technologies

Biochemical Conversion Methods:
Biochemical processes, like anaerobic digestion, can produce clean energy in the form
of biogas which can be converted to power and heat using a gas engine or CHP
systems. Anaerobic digestion is a series of chemical reactions during which organic
material is decomposed through the metabolic pathways of naturally occurring
microorganisms in an oxygen depleted environment. In addition, wastes can also yield
biofuels, such as cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel, which can be used to replace
petroleum-based fuels.
Anaerobic digestion is the natural biological process which stabilizes organic waste in
the absence of air and transforms it into bio fertilizer and biogas. Anaerobic digestion
is a reliable technology for the treatment of wet, organic waste.
Organic waste from various sources is biochemically degraded in highly controlled,
oxygen-free conditions circumstances resulting in the production of biogas which can
be used to produce both electricity and heat. Almost any organic material can be
processed with anaerobic digestion. This includes biodegradable waste materials such
as municipal solid waste, animal manure, poultry litter, food wastes, sewage and
industrial wastes.
Thermochemical Conversion Methods
The three principal methods of thermochemical conversion of biomass are
combustion in excess air, gasification in reduced air, and pyrolysis in the absence of
air. Conventional combustion technologies raise steam through the combustion of
biomass. This steam may then be expanded through a conventional turbo-alternator to
produce electricity.
Co-firing or co-combustion of biomass wastes with coal and other fossil fuels can
provide a short-term, low-risk, low-cost option for producing renewable energy while
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simultaneously reducing the use of fossil fuels. Co-firing involves utilizing existing
power generating plants that are fired with fossil fuel (generally coal), and displacing
a small proportion of the fossil fuel with renewable biomass fuels.

Gasification of biomass takes place in a restricted supply of oxygen and occurs

through initial devolatilization of the biomass, combustion of the volatile material and
char, and further reduction to produce a fuel gas rich in carbon monoxide and
hydrogen. This combustible gas has a lower calorific value than natural gas but can
still be used as fuel for boilers, for engines, and potentially for combustion turbines
after cleaning the gas stream of tars and particulates.

Pyrolysis is the term given to the thermal degradation of wood in the absence of
oxygen. It enables biomass to be converted to a combination of biochar, syngas and
bio-oil. Pyrolysis technologies are generally categorized as “fast” or “slow” according
to the time taken for processing the feed into pyrolysis products. These products are
generated in roughly equal proportions with slow pyrolysis. Using fast pyrolysis, bio-
oil yield can be as high as 80 percent of the product on a dry fuel basis. Bio-oil can act
as a liquid fuel or as a feedstock for chemical production.

Classification of Biogas Plants

1. Single stage digester

The above figure shows a standard rate anaerobic digester. Reactors for anaerobic
digesters consist of closed tanks with air tight covers. Treatment plants processing
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less than 4000 cubic meters/day of wastewater often use standard rate digestion for
economic reasons or simplicity of operation. Sludge separates in the reactor as
shown, although some mixing occurs in the zone of active digestion and in the
supernatant because of withdrawal and return of heated sludge. Sludge is fed to the
reactor on an intermittent basis and the supernatant is withdrawn and returned to the
secondary treatment unit. The digested sludge accumulates in the bottom to await
removal to sludge disposal facilities.

2. Two stage Digestion Process

Two stage digestion or high rate digesters are more efficient and often require less
volume than single stage digesters. In the first stage the sludge is mechanically mixed
to ensure better contact between the organics and the bacteria. The unit is heated to
increase the metabolic rate of the microorganisms, thus speeding up the digestion
process. In the second stage the sludge is allowed to stratify and separate into layers.
Little gas is generated in the second stage. The second stage has a floating cap and is
equipped for gas recovery. The second stage is not heated because gas production
doesn't occur in this stage. The supernatant, scum and digested sludge are drawn out
of this unit.
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Floating Drum Biogas Digesters Khadi and Village Industry

Commission (KVIC)

This mainly consists of a digester or pit for fermentation and a floating drum for the
collection of gas. Digester is 3.5-6.5 m in depth and 1.2 to 1.6 m in diameter. There is
a partition wall in the center, which divides the digester vertically and submerges in
the slurry when it is full. The digester is connected to the inlet and outlet by two
pipes. Through the inlet, the dung is mixed with water (4:5) and loaded into the
digester. The fermented material will flow out through outlet pipe. The outlet is
generally connected to a compost pit. The gas generation takes place slowly and in
two stages. In the first stage, the complex, organic substances contained in the waste
are acted upon by a certain kind of bacteria, called acid formers and broken up into
small-chain simple acids. In the second stage, these acids are acted upon by another
kind of bacteria, called methane formers and produce methane and carbon dioxide.
The gas holder is a drum constructed of mild steel sheets. This is cylindrical in shape
with concave. The top is supported radically with angular iron. The holder fits into the
digester like a stopper. It sinks into the slurry due to its own weight and rests upon the
ring constructed for this purpose. When gas is generated the holder rises and floats
freely on the surface of slurry. A central guide pipe is provided to prevent the holder
from tilting. The holder also acts as a seal for the gas. The gas pressure varies between
7 and 9 cm of water column. Under shallow water table conditions, the adopted
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diameter of digester is more and depth is reduced. The cost of drum is about 40% of
total cost of plant. It requires periodical maintenance.

Janta Fixed Dome Biogas Plant

The design of this plant is of Chinese origin but it has been introduced under the name
“Janata biogas plant” by Gobar Gas Research Station, Ajitmal in view of its reduced
cost. This is a plant where no steel is used, there is no moving part in it and
maintenance cost is low. The plant can be constructed by village mason taking some
pre-explained precautions and using all the indigenously available building materials.
Good quality of bricks and cement should be used to avoid the afterward structural
problems like cracking of the dome and leakage of gas. This model have a higher
capacity when compared with KVIC model, hence it can be used as a community
biogas plant. This design has longer life than KVIC models. Substrates other than
cattle dung such as municipal waste and plant residues can also be used in janata type
plants. The plant consists of an underground well sort of digester made of bricks and
cement having a dome shaped roof which remains below the ground level is shown in
figure. At almost middle of the digester, there are two rectangular openings facing
each other and coming up to a little above the ground level, act as an inlet and outlet
of the plant. Dome shaped roof is fitted with a pipe at its top which is the gas outlet of
the plant. The principle of gas production is same as that of KVIC model. The biogas
is collected in the restricted space of the fixed dome, hence the pressure of gas is
much higher, which is around 90 cm of water column.
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Deenbhandu model

Schematic diagram of a Deenabandhu biogas plant entire biogas programme of India

as it reduced the cost of the plant half of that of KVIC model and brought biogas
technology within the reach of even the poorer sections of the population. The cost
reduction has been achieved by minimizing the surface area through joining the
segments of two spheres of different diameters at their bases. The cost of a
Deenbandhu plant having a capacity of 2 m3/day is about Rs.8000-00. The
Deenbandhu biogas plant has a hemispherical fixed-dome type of gas holder, unlike
the floating dome of of the KVIC-design is shown. The dome is made from pre-
fabricated ferrocement or reinforced concrete and attached to the digester, which has a
curved bottom. The slurry is fed from a mixing tank through an inlet pipe connected
to the digester. After fermentation, the biogas collects in the space under the dome. It
is taken out for use through a pipe connected to the top of the dome, while the sludge,
which is a by-product, comes out through an opening in the side of the digester.
About 90 percent of the biogas plants in India are of the Deenbandhu type.

Gasification
Gasification is the process of converting organic materials (anything containing
carbon) into a gas form known as Syngas or Producer Gas. Gasification has been
around for hundreds of years. Initially developed to produce town gas for lighting and
cooking in the 1800s, this was replaced by electricity and natural gas.
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Updraught or counter current gasifier

The air intake is at the bottom and the gas leaves at the top. Near the grate at the
bottom the combustion reactions occur, which are followed by reduction reactions
somewhat higher up in the gasifier. In the upper part of the gasifier, heating and
pyrolysis of the feedstock occur as a result of heat transfer by forced convection and
radiation from the lower zones. The tars and volatiles produced during this process
will be carried in the gas stream. Ashes are removed from the bottom of the gasifier.
The major advantages of this type of gasifier are its simplicity, high charcoal burn-out
and internal heat exchange leading to low gas exit temperatures and high equipment
efficiency, as well as the possibility of operation with many types of feedstock
(sawdust, cereal hulls, etc.) .
Major drawbacks result from the possibility of "channeling" in the equipment, which
can lead to oxygen break-through and dangerous, explosive situations and the
necessity to install automatic moving grates, as well as from the problems associated
with disposal of the tar-containing condensates that result from the gas cleaning
operations. The latter is of minor importance if the gas is used for direct heat
applications, in which case the tars are simply burnt.
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Downdraught or co-current gasifiers

On their way down the acid and tarry distillation products from the fuel must pass
through a glowing bed of charcoal and therefore are converted into permanent gases
hydrogen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and methane.

Depending on the temperature of the hot zone and the residence time of the tarry
vapours, a more or less complete breakdown of the tars is achieved.

The main advantage of downdraught gasifiers lies in the possibility of producing a

tar-free gas suitable for engine applications.
In practice, however, a tar-free gas is seldom if ever achieved over the whole
operating range of the equipment: tar-free operating turn-down ratios of a factor 3 are
considered standard; a factor 5-6 is considered excellent.
Because of the lower level of organic components in the condensate, downdraught
gasifiers suffer less from environmental objections than updraught gasifiers.
A major drawback of downdraught equipment lies in its inability to operate on a
number of unprocessed fuels. In particular, fluffy, low density materials give rise to
flow problems and excessive pressure drop, and the solid fuel must be pelletized or
briquetted before use. Downdraught gasifiers also suffer from the problems associated
with high ash content fuels (slagging) to a larger extent than updraught gasifiers.
Minor drawbacks of the downdraught system, as compared to updraught, are
somewhat lower efficiency resulting from the lack of internal heat exchange as well
as the lower heating value of the gas. Besides this, the necessity to maintain uniform
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high temperatures over a given cross-sectional area makes impractical the use of
downdraught gasifiers in a power range above about 350 kW (shaft power).

Cross-draught gasifier

Cross-draught gasifiers, schematically illustrated in Figure 2.9 are an adaptation for

the use of charcoal. Charcoal gasification results in very high temperatures (1500 °C
and higher) in the oxidation zone which can lead to material problems. In cross
draught gasifiers insulation against these high temperatures is provided by the fuel
(charcoal) itself.
Advantages of the system lie in the very small scale at which it can be operated.
Installations below 10 kW (shaft power) can under certain conditions be economically
feasible. The reason is the very simple gas-cleaning train (only a cyclone and a hot
filter) which can be employed when using this type of gasifier in conjunction with
small engines.
A disadvantage of cross-draught gasifiers is their minimal tar-converting capabilities
and the consequent need for high quality (low volatile content) charcoal.
It is because of the uncertainty of charcoal quality that a number of charcoal gasifiers
employ the downdraught principle, in order to maintain at least a minimal tar-
cracking capability.
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Fluidized bed gasifier

The operation of both up and downdraught gasifiers is influenced by the

morphological, physical and chemical properties of the fuel. Problems commonly
encountered are: lack of bunkerflow, slagging and extreme pressure drop over the
gasifier
A design approach aiming at the removal of the above difficulties is the fluidized bed
gasifier illustrated schematically in above Fig.
Air is blown through a bed of solid particles at a sufficient velocity to keep these in a
state of suspension. The bed is originally externally heated and the feedstock is
introduced as soon as a sufficiently high temperature is reached. The fuel particles are
introduced at the bottom of the reactor, very quickly mixed with the bed material and
almost instantaneously heated up to the bed temperature. As a result of this treatment
the fuel is pyrolysed very fast, resulting in a component mix with a relatively large
amount of gaseous materials. Further gasification and tar-conversion reactions occur
in the gas phase. Most systems are equipped with an internal cyclone in order to
minimize char blow-out as much as possible. Ash particles are also carried over the
top of the reactor and have to be removed from the gas stream if the gas is used in
engine applications.