Development of a novel updraft multifuel biomass gasifier

The paper reports the development of a novel multifuel biomass reactor for direct heating applications such as water heating, air heating or steam generation. Studies were conducted on the reactor to maximize its heat release rate by evaluation of the sensitivities of the fuel and charging parameters to firing rate. Maximum firing rates measured for the different fuels were in the range of 8–43 kg/h for the natural draft mode and 45–130 kg/h for the forced draft mode. It is observed that the heat release rate is enhanced by up to 360% by preheating of the charge, increase of the surface-area/volume ratio of the fuel charge, decrease of the charge per feed, and adoption of forced draft mode. For wood, a fuel preheat to 80°C, a surface-area/volume ratio of 600 m⁻¹ and a charge per feed of 0.5–1.0 kg give a higher heat release and minimize gas temperature fluctuations.