Biomass Gasification

This chapter discusses the state of the art in biomass gasification studies. It initially gives a brief account on the energy potential and characterization of different biomass fuels. A review of the mechanisms of biomass gasification process and influence of major operating conditions on syngas composition and heating value (HV) was presented. Consideration of syngas quality requirements for different downstream applications and the means of achieving the same through optimum operation were highlighted. The theoretical studies of gasification process mainly focused on prediction of syngas composition and investigating influence of various operating conditions on process output. The equilibrium modeling assumes conditions of the ideal, well-stirred reactor with sufficiently long residence time to allow the reactions to reach equilibrium. Kinetic models present detailed information on the residence time and kinetic limitations; however, equilibrium models were widely used as a valuable tool in predicting the thermodynamic limits of chemical processes

On the Diversification of Feedstock in Gasification of Oil Palm Fronds

Co-gasification of biomass can be beneficial since relying on only one type of biomass can interrupt operations if the supply of feedstock is disrupted for any reason. Despite this a gasifier system is usually designed for operation with only one specific feedstock. The gasifying of different biomasses can lead to failure or inefficiency. In this work the gasification of different forms of feedstock derived from oil palm frond was tested in an updraft gasifier that was specially designed for oil palm fronds. The feedstocks considered were dried frond blocks, briquetted fronds and overdried (at 150°C) frond blocks. The air flow rate was maintained to the value set for dried fronds in order to investigate the robustness of such configurations. The resulting syngas from the gasification was analyzed in terms of the composition of combustible gases and higher heating value (HHV). Overall, it was found that the altered forms of feedstock caused degradation in the syngas quality, which resulted in a decrease in the HHV of up to 65%

Application of Computer Aided Process Planning in Manufacturing Industries

In today’s economy, products and processes tend to increase in complexity of design and functionality. Furthermore, they are in need of high-sophisticated manufacturing and assembly processes. On the other hand, increasing competition results in the demand for shorter product life cycles and forces companies of cut down development and delivery times. Thus, modern manufacturing has to adapt to new requirements of this dynamic environment. In this context, innovative information technologies in general and flexible as well as adaptive concepts for process planning and production control in particular are of increasing importance for business success. Among the whole manufacturing cycle of a product, a sequence of manufacturing stages needs to be optimized using the increasingly available computing resources. Computer aided process planning is seen as the missing link between CAD and CAM, which relates to the translation of design tolerances into manufacturing tolerances to be executed in the shop floor. In this paper, the general topic of process planning, the implementation and theoretical foundation of CAPP, the role of CAPP in concurrent engineering (CE), various classifications of CAPP systems and its application in job shop type of industries is presented

Investigation Of Industrial Energy Efficiency: A Case Study

Developing economies are mostly unaware of the actual savings potential of energy conservation and are additionally restricted due to the application of outdated technology in their industrial production. This is partly because their industries have not been checked for proper energy use and conservation. Therefore, it is the intention of this paper to provide and apply tools on the procedure and methods involved to firstly assess possible deficiencies suspected of irrational consumption of energy bill. Also steps to be taken to raise possible required investment for energy conservation measures and their financial analysis like payback period will be included. The status of Industrial Energy Efficiency in Ethiopian Industries has been analyzed with a special focus on the leather sector taking Batu Tannery a case study. The various energy utilization and saving practices of the plant and its potential saving areas are identified. Though higher saving is possible through the introduction of modern technology, this study focuses on housekeeping and low investment measures that will gain fast results and will motivate the management for more in – depth energy conservation measures. This approach is found suitable for developing countries who suffer from lack of funds for higher investment in energy conservation programs and the use of renewable energy sources

Improving Energy Efficiency for the Vehicle Assembly Industry: A Discrete Event Simulation Approach

This paper presented a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model for investigating and improving energy efficiency in vehicle assembly line. The car manufacturing industry is one of the highest energy consuming industries. Using Rockwell Arena DES package; a detailed model was constructed for an actual vehicle assembly plant. The sources of energy considered in this research are electricity and fuel; which are the two main types of energy sources used in a typical vehicle assembly plant. The model depicts the performance measurement for process- specific energy measures of painting, welding, and assembling processes. Sound energy efficiency model within this industry has two-fold advantage: reducing CO2 emission and cost reduction associated with fuel and electricity consumption. The paper starts with an overview of challenges in energy consumption within the facilities of automotive assembly line and highlights the parameters for energy efficiency. The results of the simulation model indicated improvements for energy saving objectives and reduced costs

Study on Co-Gasification of Oil Palm Fronds and Wood

Over the decade, gasification experiment on different biomass materials has been carried out to investigate the biomass potential as one of the alternative sources of fuel. Although gasification has been proven to be successful in bringing out the potential of different biomass fuels, it commonly involves conversion of only one type of biomass materials for a single run. This paper discusses the co-gasification experiment of different composition of oil palm fronds (OPF) and wood using a downdraft gasifier. The conducted study focuses on the temperature profile within the reactor and also the characteristic of the dynamic temperature profile in each zone within the gasifier reactor. The temperature profile in the drying, pyrolysis, oxidation and reduction zone of the reactor was experimentally investigated. Effect of bridging on the temperature profile is also observed. The temperature profiles obtained are compared with literature result. In addition, syngas production was monitored by observing the flare produced during the operation. However, further experiment need to be done to investigate the composition of syngas produced during the co-gasification experiment

Modeling Energy Efficiency As A Green Logistics Component In Vehicle Assembly Line

This paper uses System Dynamics (SD) simulation to investigate the concept green logistics in terms of energy efficiency in automotive industry. The car manufacturing industry is considered to be one of the highest energy consuming industries. An efficient decision making model is proposed that capture the impacts of strategic decisions on energy consumption and environmental sustainability. The sources of energy considered in this research are electricity and fuel; which are the two main types of energy sources used in a typical vehicle assembly plant. The model depicts the performance measurement for process- specific energy measures of painting, welding, and assembling processes. SD is the chosen simulation method and the main green logistics issues considered are Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission and energy utilization. The model will assist decision makers acquire an in-depth understanding of relationship between high level planning and low level operation activities on production, environmental impacts and costs associated. The results of the SD model signify the existence of positive trade-offs between green practices of energy efficiency and the reduction of CO2 emission

Energy Audit and Waste Heat Recovery System Design for a Cement Rotary Kiln in Ethiopia: A Case Study

This paper deals with the energy audit and heat recovery system modeling and design , taking a cement factory in Ethiopia as a case study. The system is a dry type rotary kiln equipped with a sixth stage cyclone type preheater , pre - calciner and grate cooler. The kiln has a capacity of 3 , 000 tons/day. The energy auditing has been performed based on the data collected from control volume of the kiln system for a ten - month period . The result shows that 25.23% of the total heat input is released to the environment through the preheater and an other 15.58% through the cooler exhausts. The west heat recovery system (WHRS) can produce a gross power of 5.26 MW as long as the kiln is i n operation . The generated power can cover all the electrical energy consumption of the kiln system whether there is a power supply from the grid or not. Therefore, the company can save up to 536,222.10 USD per year due to the production of clinker using their own power source and avoiding the loss sustained by the company due to power interruption from the gri

Road Construction Equipment Management: A Case Study on Selected Industry

The major share of capital and equipment intensive operation goes to the road sector and the hydro – electric power projects. The construction sector in Ethiopia is developing at a fast rate and its capital budget is increasing from year to year. One of the reasons for this high growth is the number of new construction projects underway and those in the pipeline. In addition, the hydro-electric power projects the government has given a great emphasis to increase the current installed power of 780Mw to a total of 10,000Mw in the coming few years. These hydro-power projects are known for using a great deal of high investment heavy machineries. Therefore, the construction equipment management plays a great role in finalizing the projects with fewer budgets and no time over run. Considering the higher operation, maintenance and investment cost of construction equipment, it is important to have a carefully optimized decision making model that will help in the sizing and selection of the right combination of equipment for a given project. Even the rental versus purchase evaluation needs careful consideration of the project requirement and its duration. This study tries to analyze the existing situation taking a selected company as a case study with regard to construction equipment management. The study tries to cover the equipment management policy of the company, suppliers/manufacturers evaluation and selection criteria, types of purchase processes employed, as well as different make types and capacities of equipment owned by the company. Moreover, capacities of standard facilities available for the central maintenance workshop and replacement plan of equipment of the company in the coming five years will be investigated and commented on

Effect of Blending Ratio on Temperature Profile and Syngas Composition of Woody Biomass Co-gasification

Co-gasification of biomass is beneficial as only relying on one type of biomass causes interruption in gasification if the feedstock supply is disrupted for any reason. Therefore, co-gasification of different biomass materials is a potential way to overcome the problem. In this work, co-gasification of wood chips (WC) and coconut fronds (CF) was carried out in a downdraft gasifier at 400 L/min airflow rate. Three blends of WC/CF of 70:30, 50:50 and 30:70 ratios were considered with a maximum particle size of 2.5-3.0 cm. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of blending ratio on the temperature profile and syngas composition produced by the co-gasification of WC/CF blended feedstock. The results show that the temperature profile and syngas composition of 70:30 WC/CF blend was comparatively better. The average syngas composition of 70:30 WC/CF blend during steady state co-gasification operation was 20%, 12% and 3% for CO, H2 and CH4 respectively. Similarly, the average syngas composition of 50:50 WC/CF blend was around 21%, 8% and 0.7% for CO, H2, and CH4 respectively. While the 30:70 WC/CF blend encountered with bridging problem due to fibrous and low density CF. No more than 50% of fibrous and low density feedstock like CF is recommended in a blend for stable and progressive co-gasification