Abstract—A study using coconut husks for energy production was conducted in which a downdraft gasifier system was manufactured and applied to produce gas used to generate electric power. Apparatuses were designed and implemented to filter and clean the gas produced and the gasifier’s efficiency in producing gas for energy conversion evaluated. Evaluation parameters included reactor temperature, tar volume produced, bioreactor gas produced, gasification performance, and efficiency in energy production. The diesel fuel machine generated by gas had a capacity of 10 kW. Results show that using coconut husks can reduce diesel fuel consumption by 62%. In regions where coconut husk are not used productively, such as on some far islands, coconut husk waste can be effectively used to generate power by conversion into gas. Keywords—Coconut husks, biomass gasification, waste, energy. I. INTRODUCTION LECTRICAL energy is a vital necessity in today's economy. Unfortunately the electrical distribution network that has been developed is still not reaching all areas, including some islands or plantations that are beyond the reach of electricity. In some specific areas that are quite difficult to reach physically, or where there is little shelter, it is often considered very uneconomical for a national power company to get into these areas. Because of the high cost of installation and the vast distances, the cost required is too high for a power company to get into these areas in the short term. In the short term, electrification in these areas is more realistically done locally, in a sense not to be dependent on a national power company. What has always been a critical issue in the development of a power plant is determining a source of energy. With a local company, the amount of energy produced is not too large. However, the cost and availability of energy sources should be cheap and sustainable. This is Dedie Tooy 1 , is now with Agricultural Engineering Study Program, Agricultural Faculty, Sam Ratulangi University, Manado, Indonesia. (Email: dtooy@yahoo.com; dtooy@unsrat.ac.id) Leopold Nelwan 3 , is now with Bogor University of Agriculture, IPB, Bogor, Indonesia (e-mail: lonelwan@yahoo.com). Freeke Pangkerego 2 is now with Agricultural Engineering Study Program, Agricultural Faculty, Sam Ratulangi University Manado, Indonesia. (Email: fpangkerego@yahoo.com) Hanny Tambani 4 is now with the North Minahasa Institute of Research and Planning Development, Air Madidi – Indonesia (E-mail: hanny_tambani@yahoo.com ) mainly because the people residing in these remote areas generally doing not have strong financial resources. In some coconut-producing areas, away from the reach of a national power company, husk gasification of biomass feedstock has a high potential to be used as an energy source, as seen from the characteristics of coconut husks themselves [5]. Coconut husks are the outer portion of the fruit that wrap coconuts with a thickness of 5-6 c.m., consisting of the outermost layer (exocarpium) and the inner layer (endocarpium). Endocarpium contains tiny fibers that can be made into rope, sacks, pulp, mats, heat insulators, filters and other products. The coconut fruit yields 40 % coconut husks containing 30 % fiber, with dust making up the rest. The chemical composition of coconut husks consists of cellulose, lignin, pyroligneous acid, gas, charcoal, tar, tannin, and potassium [2]. Coconut dust has high lignin and cellulose content. The materials contained in the casing of coco dusts and coconut fibers are resistant to bacteria and fungi. They have a pH of 5.2 to 6.8 and are very difficult to disentangle. They will begin to biodegrade within a period of 10 years, so that one benefit is that coconut can be used in the long term. Lignin is a complex molecule composed of units of phenylphropane bound in a three-dimensional structure. Lignin is the most powerful material in biomass. Lignin is highly resistant to degradation, biological, enzymatic, or chemical. Because of the relatively high carbon content compared to cellulose and hemicellulose, lignin has high energy content [6]. In some places in the areas that produce coconut, coconut husks are considered as waste and are even burned. Though biomass waste has sufficient calorific value as fuel, it is plentiful in the coconut producing areas. Because it is only an agricultural waste, when in use, the cost of procurement for using coconut husks amount to just the cost of collection/ transportation. Thus, in terms of the availability and costs of coconut husks, they show potential for use as fuel in power plants. Adequate technology is necessary for the utilization of biomass energy for the production of mechanical energy/electricity. Gasification shows such promise. In gasification, the engine that can be used is a type of engine that has been popular in these communities, such as diesel, so that the installation and operation of a hybrid system can be Evaluation of Biomass Gasification Using Coconut Husks in Producing Energy to Generate Small-Scale Electricity Dedie Tooy 1 , Leopold Nelwan, 2 and Freeke Pangkerego 3 E Int'l Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Energy and Manufacturing Engineering (ICAEME’2014), June 9-10, 2014 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) http://dx.doi.org/10.15242/IIE.E0614056 84