Publication

Abstract : Gasification of arecanut husk (AH) was performed in a downdraft gasifier with preheated air through waste heat recovery. The effect of air flowrate (20–40 L/min) and AH particle size (<2–10 mm) on gasification performance was studied using response surface methodology. Gasifying air was preheated to 190–230 °C from the waste heat of syngas. Air flowrate was found to have a greater influence on gasification characteristics than particle size. Under optimized conditions (31 L/min and < 2 mm), the CO (%), H2 (%), CO2 (%), CH4 (%), Yg (m3/kg), and ηcg (%) were 21.92, 14.72, 12.62, 2.75, 2, and 62.07, respectively. Further, the effect of air preheating was investigated at the optimized conditions. Air preheating improved the performance of AH gasification by increasing the CO, H2, and ηcg by 17.38, 22.42, and 15.4%, respectively. This study shows that recovering the waste heat of syngas is a promising option for enhancing gasification performance.