Gasification Performances of Torrefied and Raw Bagasse

SEMINAR SERIES ORGANIZED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING AND CHEMICAL SCIENCES

Gasification Performances of Torrefied and Raw Bagasse - A Comparative Analysis

Meet Anthony Anukam, Postdoc at Pro2BE. 

Sugarcane bagasse, a biomass material, is receiving much attention as feedstock for energy production through gasification.

The challenges of using sugarcane bagasse include its low heating value, high content of inorganic elements, and irregular size and shape.

These challenges have negatively affected the possibility of its widespread application.

Torrefaction is a thermal pretreatment method, where the biomass is subjected to heating between 200-300°C in the absence of oxygen. With torrefaction, the heating value and carbon content of biomass greatly improves.

This study compared torrefied and raw sugarcane bagasse, with the aim of establishing differences in gasification performance and conversion efficiencies. The gasification processes was modelled using a computer simulation.

The results showed that torrefaction greatly improved the characteristics of bagasse and thus enabled a higher gasification efficiency.