What is a Gasifier?
Usually a gasifier consists of a cylindrical container with space within for the feedstock, an air inlet, a gas exit and a grate. The gasifier’s design depends upon the type of feedstock to be used. A gasification system typically consists of the gasifier, purification or “scrubbing” units, the energy converter (a burner or internal combustion engine), a stack to vent emissions, and a wastewater disposal system. The newer systems, geared to energy recovery, combine the gasifier with a boiler or turbine to produce steam or electricity. The gas and turbines operate together as a combined cycle. Biomass gasifiers have the potential to be up to twice as efficient as conventional boilers at generating electricity. For even greater efficiency, heat from the gas turbine exhaust can be used to generate additional electricity with a steam cycle. These improvements in efficiency, combined with the higher cost of oil and natural gas, make environmentally clean biomass energy through gasification a more competitive alternative. Because modern technology uses a decentralized energy conversion system, the process now can be made to operate economically even on a relatively small scale.
