Gasification of wood chips, agricultural residues, and waste in a commercial downdraft gasifier

In this study, gasification of different biomass feedstocks, including pine wood chips, sawdust, peanut hulls, and poultry litter (the latter three in pelletized form), was conducted in a 25 kW e commercially available, mobile downdraft gasifier. Ultimate and proximate analyses were carried out to characterize the biomass feedstocks used for gasification. The synthesis gas obtained from different feedstocks and different operating conditions (biomass flow rate and moisture content) was analyzed using an on-site gas analyzer. Gasification of peanut hull pellets showed the highest heating value (6.1 MJ per normal cubic meter, Nm ^-3) of synthesis gas, whereas poultry litter gasification gave the lowest heating value (4.8 MJ Nm ^-3). © 2011 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers ISSN 2151-0032.