Abstract:

Gasification has proven to be an efficient technology to obtain clean bioenergy from biomass. A region like Sub-Sahara Africa which is still battling with energy poverty could benefit from the deployment of such technology. However, lack of local expertise has hampered successful establishment of such technology in the region despite having vast biomass resources. This work, therefore, intends to address this gap by developing and operating a pilot biomass gasification system to convert wood residues in Nigeria into synthesis gas (syngas) from which bioenergy can be generated. A preliminary study was carried out to determine wood wastes availability in the study area. Thereafter, a downdraft gasification system was developed and tested for syngas production using wood wastes as feedstock. Performance analyses of the gasifier system revealed a feedstock consumption rate was about 3.52kg/h, yielding syngas that burns with a stable blue flame for about 43 minutes. Feedstock availability assessment revealed a wood waste generation rate of about 3.778,02 tonnes per year in the study area, indicating enough feedstock availability. The average syngas yield was 2.955m3 per kg of wood waste consumed, while the average syngas LHV was 5.24MJ/m3. Several challenges, such as clogging of syngas filter and blocking of pipes due to tar accumulation, encountered were successfully solved, enabling the garnering of significant technical capacity in biomass gasification. This is believed could provide a crucial foundation for the implementation of such technology in developing countries like Nigeria.

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