www.tjprc.org editor@tjprc.org A STUDY ON SYNGAS PRODUCTION FROM DIFFERENT BIOMASS FEEDSTOCKS BEDEWIBILAL & M. RAVIKUMAR Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, Samara University, Samara, Afar, Ethiopia ABSTRACT The gasification process usually begins with the drying process, and then followed by pyrolysis. The pyrolysis process leads to breaking down of the biomass into solid matter, the gaseous mixture (mainly CO 2 , CO, CH 4 and H 2 ) and liquid matter. The main focus on biomass gasification process is to efficiently convert the entire char constituent into a gaseous product of the syngas by using either steam or CO 2 . The simulations include; gasification temperature, pressure, reactor volume, Equivalence ratio and moisture content have been investigated. From the result of sensitivity analysis increase the temperature the production of H 2 and CO and the increase of moisture content of the biomass the lower heating value of the producer gas decrease. Based on the obtained result the maximum lower heating value of syngas was obtained at the gasification temperature of 800 0 C, steam to biomass ratio of 0.1 ,a pressure of 1 bar, 0.05 of moisture content and 0.02 m 3 of reactor volume. KEYWORDS: Biomass, Equivalence Ratio, Syngas, Pyrolysis Received: Mar 14, 2018; Accepted: Apr 04, 2018; Published: Apr 28, 2018; Paper Id.: IJCPTJUN20182 Introduction: Gasification is expected to be the future method of producing an energy carrier, and the production of syngas from biomass or waste would require gasification as an essential part of the overall process. Current Gasifiers can be classified into two types: fixed-bed gasifiers and fluidized-bed gasifier[1]. Biomass gasifiers are complex facilities, which make it difficult to investigate their various operating conditions. The characteristics of biomass greatly influence the performance of a biomass gasifier. A proper understanding of the physical and the chemical properties of biomass feedstock is essential for the design and operation of a biomass gasifier to be reliable. There are numerous models for biomass gasification has been developed. These models can be categorized into thermodynamic equilibrium models and kinetic models. The thermodynamic equilibrium models, also known as zero-dimensional models, are widely used among researchers to predict the composition of the produced syngas and the equilibrium temperature by assuming that the chemical reactions reach equilibrium. However, these models cannot provide highly accurate results and also cannot provide the concentration or temperature profiles inside the reactor. Kinetic models provide essential information on kinetic mechanisms to describe the chemical reactions involved in the biomass gasification, which is crucial in designing, evaluating and improving gasifiers. These models are based on the chemical reaction rates and are able to predict both overall and profiles of producer gas yield and compositions with time and location within the gasifier. However, as the models involve a number of reactions and transfer process, the models are computationally intensive [2]. Fluidized bed gasification is often adopted for a larger capacity of biomass feedstock. Fluidized bed gasification is more Original Article International Journal of Chemical & Petrochemical Technology (IJCPT) ISSN(P): 2277-4807; ISSN(E): 2319-4464 Vol. 8, Issue 1, Jun 2018, 9-18 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.