Effect of Temperature on the Gasification of Olive Bagasse Particles A. F. Almeida (1) , M. S. Vieira (1) , M. P. Neto (1) , I. M. Pereira (1) , A. M. Ribeiro (1) , A. C. Ribeiro (1) , R. M. Pilão (1) (1) CIETI, Instituto Superior de Engenharia do Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida 431, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal afdsa@isep.ipp.pt Abstract: In this experimental study the evolution of gas characteristics during the gasification of olive bagasse particles was investigated using a semi-batch fluidized-bed gasifier. Sand particles with a mean diameter of 375 μm were used as bed material and an air flow was used as the fluidizing agent. Experimental tests were conducted with particles of diameter ranging from in 1.25 to 2 mm. The material was characterised through elemental and proximate analysis, and the higher heating value was also measured. In each run, the major components of the gas phase were identified as CO, CO2, H2, CH4, O2 and N2. Gaseous samples were collected and analysed by gas chromatography. The effect of bed temperature on gasification performance was studied. The tests were conducted at bed temperatures in the range of 700ºC to 900ºC Experimental results showed that gasification with air at higher temperatures favoured gas production, Results also showed increases in the gasification performance parameters as the bed temperature is increased. 1. Introduction Gasification processes provide the opportunity to convert renewable biomass feedstock into clean fuel gases generally involves pyrolysis as well as combustion. This thermochemical process allows the conversion of the biomass into a combustible gas mixture through its partial oxidation at high temperatures, usually in the range of 800 to 900°C. Char, tar and non-condensable gas are representative by-products from gasification. Char is a residual solid material from devolatilization or pyrolysis of carbonaceous in biomass. Tars are variable mixture of phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic compounds. The resulting gas, known as producer gas, mainly contains carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane along with carbon dioxide and nitrogen [1]. Portugal holds a worldwide dominant position in the Olive Oil industry. The possibility of using residues from this industry for energy production is very important for this activity sector. In this experimental study, the evolution of gas characteristics during the gasification of olive bagasse particles was investigated. The influence of temperature on gasification performance parameters was evaluated. 2. Experimental Olive bagasse particles with particle size ranging from 1.25 to 2 mm were used as biomass feedstock for performing the experiments. The proximate and ultimate analyses are reported in Table I. The high level of volatile content is an indication of the raw material’s ability to be used in gasification processes. The semi-batch fluidized-bed reactor (Image 1) is made of stainless steel tube with an internal diameter of 54 mm and a height of 800 mm. The reactor is surrounded by a 3 kW electrical resistance which allows the temperature to be raised to the desired level. The gas distributor, at the bottom of the fluidizing column, is a uniformly perforated plate with holes of 0.6 mm diameter. Sand particles with diameters in the range of 250 μm to 500 μm were used as bed material. Air was used as a fluidising agent and the gas flow was measured with a rotameter. The reactor was equipped with an external condenser and a cyclone. A thermocouple and a pressure probe were used to monitor the fluidising conditions in the reactor. The gasification performance was studied by performing tests at a fixed air flow rate of 0.25 kg/h and using 3 g of biomass. The biomass batch load was fed in through a pipe ending near the bed surface. The tests were conducted at five different bed temperatures: 750ºC, 800ºC, 850ºC, 885ºC and 900ºC. During the gasification process, several samples of dry and clean gas were collected and analysed in a gas chromatograph (Dani 1000 DPC). The GC is fitted with an injector OPT333 suitable for packed columns and a thermal conductivity detector (TCD OPT266). A 60/80 Carboxen 1000 column was used with argon as carrier gas. The gases detected and quantified in the gasification process were H2, O2, N2, CO, CH4 and CO2.