Empty fruit bunch (EFB) gasification in an entrained flow gasification system

Abstract

Biomass has become one of the most commonly used renewable sources of energy in the last two decades. Empty fruit bunch (EFB) is one of the examples for the biomass that is used as a renewable energy source. From the palm oil processing industry, only 10% are the final products such as palm oil and palm kernel oil, while the remaining 90% are harvestable biomass waste in the form of EFB, palm kernel shell (PKS) and oil palm frond (OPF). This overload amount of biomass waste will cause an abundance of waste which will also affect the environment. To convert EFB into usable energy in ways that are more efficient, less polluting, and economical, gasification has merge as one of the most favorable technological innovations in synthesis gas (syngas) production. The main aim of this work is to study the EFB gasification in an entrained flow gasification process based on the different operating temperature (700°C to 900°C) and equivalence ratio, ER (0.2 -0.4), evaluated based on the production of gases such as hydrogen (H 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and methane (CH 4 ). It was found that as the temperature was increased from 700°C to 900°C, the production of H 2 and CO 2 increased while CO was decreased. The optimum ER value of 0.30 was found to attain the highest Cold Gas Efficiency (CGE) value of 74.03% at 900°C.

Circular Economy Approaches in the Palm Oil Industry: Enhancing Profitability through Waste Reduction and Product Diversification

“…Gasification technology is a leading solution that transforms organic waste like EFB and palm kernel shells into syngas, which can power gas turbines or internal combustion engines, reducing dependence on traditional fossil fuels [147]. Syngas can also be refined into synthetic biofuels, serving as an eco-friendly alternative in transportation and industrial sectors.…”

Influence of Pelletization and Moisture Content of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (EFBs) on Dynamic Gasification Performance

“…A more in-depth discussion of the benefits of autothermal reactor operation can be found at ref . Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, the largest global producers of crude palm oil (CPO), have extensively explored thermochemical processing of the EFB for the purpose of generating energy and other value-added products. − Gasification of EFB for the production of syngas is the most explored alternative with immediate use for power generation; ,, however, the success of its implementation depends heavily on the EFB pretreatment with humidity, particle size, and pelletization being some of the most sensitive parameters. In the literature, very few studies have explored the effect of EFB pretreatment on the performance of the gasification process , and even fewer were performed under autothermal conditions that are typical at the industrial scale.…”