Design,fabrication and performance evaluation of updraft gasifier for small sized internal combustion engines

Energy is necessary for the existence of human beings and to support the modernization of the community. biomass has been one of the main energy sources of mankind ever since the dawn of civilization,though its significance subsided after the second world war due to the cheaper and easily useable fossil fuels (oil and gas). in developing countries,biomass is a main source of energy in rural areas. in pakistan,agriculture sector suffered very badly due to unavailability and high cost of energy. diesel engines and tractors are major sources of farm power,which increase the cost of production due to higher fuel prices,therefore,gasification could be the most reliable and best alternate to get the energy from the biomass. gasifiers are the reactors which convert the solid fuels into the gaseous fuels. in this study,an updraft gasifier was designed,fabricated and evaluated to run 15 to 18.6 kw (20-25 hp) diesel engine for irrigation tube well to reduce the cost of operation. the gasifier was evaluated by using different biomass fuels and completely randomized design (crd) was used to statistically analyze the collected data. the average gas produced by burning of rice husk,rice husk + saw dust and saw dust produced 2.13 m3/kg,2.30 m3/kg and 2.54 m3/kg producer gas,respectively in updraft gasifier. the engine running times (hours) recorded for rice husk,rice husk + sawdust and with sawdust were 1.66,1.78 and 1.90,respectively. the gas produced was used to run a 15 kw single cylinder diesel engine with dual fuel (25% diesel and 75% producer gas) at rated rpm successfully.