Syngas production from downdraft gasification of oil palm fronds

Study on gasification of OPF (oil palm fronds) is scarce although the biomass constitutes more than 24% of the total oil palm waste. The lack of research related to gasification of oil palm fronds calls for a study on gasification behaviour of the fuel. In this paper the effects of reactor temperature and ER (equivalence ratio) on gas composition, calorific value and gasification efficiency of downdraft gasification of OPF were investigated. The heating value of syngas and the values of cold gas and carbon conversion efficiencies of gasification obtained were found to be comparable with woody biomass. The study showed that oxidation zone temperature above 850°C is favourable for high concentration of the fuel components of syngas CO, H2 and CH4. Average syngas lower heating value of 5.2 MJ/Nm³ was obtained for operation with oxidation zone temperatures above 1000°C, while no significant change in heating value was observed for temperature higher than 1100°C. The average and peak heating values of 4.8 MJ/Nm³ and 5.5 MJ/Nm³, and cold gas efficiency of 70.2% at optimum equivalence ratio of 0.37 showed that OPF have a high potential as a fuel for gasification.