title: Gasification of agricultural residues in a demonstrative plant: corn cobs.
abstract: Biomass gasification couples the high power efficiency with the possibility of valuably using the byproducts heat and biochar. The use of agricultural wastes instead of woody feedstock extends the seasonal availability of biomasses. The downdraft type is the most used reactor but has narrow ranges of feedstock specifications (above all on moisture and particle size distribution), so tests on a demonstrative scale are conducted to prove the versatility of the gasifier. Measurements on pressure drops, syngas flow rate and composition are studied to assess the feasibility of such operations with corn cobs. Material and energy balances, and performance indexes are compared for the four tests carried out under different biomass loads (66-85 kg/h). A good operability of the plant and interesting results are obtained (gas specific production of 2 m3/kg, gas heating value 5.6-5.8 MJ/m3, cold gas efficiency in the range 66-68%, potential net power efficiency 21.1-21.6%).
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Industriale (DICI), Università di Pisa, L. Lazzarino, 56126 Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: e.biagini@ing.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Biagini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Industriale (DICI), Università di Pisa, L. Lazzarino, 56126 Pisa, Italy; Centro di Ricerca Interuniversitario Biomasse da Energia (CRIBE), Via vecchia di Marina, 6, 56122 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Barontini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Industriale (DICI), Università di Pisa, L. Lazzarino, 56126 Pisa, Italy; Centro di Ricerca Interuniversitario Biomasse da Energia (CRIBE), Via vecchia di Marina, 6, 56122 Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Leonardo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tognotti
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005740:Gases / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D006361:Heating / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008697:Methane / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D059206:Natural Gas; D010865:Pilot Projects; D035261:Plant Components, Aerial / Q000737:chemistry*; D012037:Refuse Disposal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D005740:Gases; D059206:Natural Gas; D008697:Methane
keywords: Biomass fuels; Biomass to energy; Cogeneration; Power production