ICE SEAM 2013 Conference Melaka

1. Gasification of Empty Fruit Bunch Briquette
in a fixed bed tubular reactor for H2 production.
- Bemgba Bevan Nyakuma -

2. Co-authors
Mojtaba Mazangi, Tuan Amran Tuan
Abdullah, Anwar Johari, Arshad Ahmad, Olagoke
Oladokun
Institute of Hydrogen Economy, Faculty of
Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.
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3. Contents
• Introduction
• Materials & Methods
• Results & Discussion
• Conclusion
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4. Introduction
• Palm oil waste valorisation has potential socioeconomic &
environmental benefits for Malaysia.
• Current conversion technologies have become inefficient &
outdated.
• bulky nature, high moisture and alkali content require expensive pretreatment & processing
• Increase conversion efficiencies and meet global energy
demands, sustainability & environmental standards.
• More efficient conversion techniques and fuels need to be explored.
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5. Introduction
• Biomass gasification is a promising route for the valorisation
of palm waste.
• Gasification of EFB briquette can improve thermal
conversion efficiency & reduce agglomeration.
• Solid uniform nature improves energy density, energy
content, moisture, storage and handling.
• Thermochemical & physical properties of EFB Briquette have
been investigated.
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6. Aim of the study
Investigate the gasification of EFB briquette in a fixed bed
tubular reactor for hydrogen (H2) production.
Fuel characterization, gas composition, carbon conversion
efficiency, cold gas efficiency & heating value of the
producer gas.
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7. Materials & Methods
• EFB briquette  Felda Semenchu Sdn Bhd, Johor, Malaysia.
• Pulverized high speed grinding machine  1000 µm screen.
• Ultimate analysis  LECO CHNS elemental analyser (Model
LECO 932).
• Proximate analysis  ASTM D3173, D3174, D3175 standard
techniques.
• HHV  Bomb calorimetry  IKA Bomb Calorimeter (Model
C2000).
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8. Materials & Methods
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9. Results & Discussion
• Empirical formula of CH1.59O0.88 calculated  ultimate analysis.
• Low moisture, ash content, but high volatile matter & fixed carbon.
• HHV = 17.57 MJ/kg  lower than coal, due to the high oxygen content.
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10. Effect of temperature on product gas composition
•
Temperature significantly influences yield
and composition of products.
• Effect of gasification temperature from
600 C - 700 C & ER = 0.4 investigated.
•
Gas composition showing only the main
gasification products H2, CO, CO2, CH4 is
presented.
• H2 increased from 17.17 to 29.67 mol. %
• CO2 increased from 15.07 to 17.31 mol. %
• CH4 decreased from 6.39 to 6.29 mol. %
• CO decreased from 11.42 to 10.65 mol. %.
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11. Effect of temperature on product gas composition
Effect of temperature on gas composition can
also be explained by Le Chatelier’s principle.
• H2 increased from 17.17 to 29.67 mol. %
• CO2 increased from 15.07 to 17.31 mol. %
• CH4 decreased (6.39 to 6.29 mol. %) & CO
decreased (11.42 to 10.65 mol. %).
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12. Effect of temperature heating value of producer gas
•
HHV can be calculated from the expression;
= [H2 % x 30.52 + CO % x 30.18 + CH4 % x 95 ) x 4.1868 ] (MJ⁄Nm3)
•
Producer gas HHV from air gasification 4 to 7 MJ/Nm3.
•
Producer gas HHV increased from 6.18 to 7.64 MJ/Nm3.
• Increase in HHV due to increase in gas comp. of combustible gases H2 & CO.
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13. Effect of temperature on gasification performance
• Gasification performance can be examined
by cold gas efficiency (CGE) & carbon
conversion efficiency (CCE).
CGE = (HHV product gas)/(HHV biomass) X
100 %
CCE = (C content CO + CO2 + CH4)/(C content
in biomass) X 100 %
CCE determined  molar gas composition of
CO, CO2 and CH4 in the producer gas
CGE 35.19 % to 43.50 %
However, CCE increased only marginally from
31.85 % to 32.84 % observed at 700 C.
Higher temperatures  required to ensure
higher CCE for EFB briquette gasification 
fixed bed tubular reactor.
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14. Conclusion
• EFB briquette  fixed bed tubular reactor  effects of temperature on gas
composition, heating value, CCE, CGE
• H2 gas composition increased from 17.17 mol. % to 29.67 mol. % with
increasing temperature from 600 C - 700 C at ER= 0.4; HHV of the producer
gas increased from 6.18 MJ/Nm3 to 7.64 MJ/Nm3
• Cold gas efficiency increased from 35.19 % to 43.50 %; Carbon conversion
efficiency (CCE) increased only marginally from 31.85 % to 32.84 %
• Significant quantity of char (~ 21 %) was produced per unit mass of EFB
briquette.
• The results suggest that higher temperatures are required to increase the
overall efficiency of EFB briquette gasification.
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15. Thank you
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