Hydrogen-rich syngas was generated
from Jatropha curcas (J. curcas)
shell biomass char in a Fresnel lens
solar concentrator assembly using solar thermal energy. The assembly
had two lenses arranged in such a manner that the focal point of both
coincided at a glass reactor, having a specially designed water inlet
mechanism. A dual axis automatic solar tracking system working in
a closed loop was utilized for continuously maintaining the focal
point on the reactor so that the desired high temperature could be
obtained for the reaction. The maximum temperature of 1087 °C
with a geometrical concentration of 215× was reached at the focal
plane. The theoretical efficiency of the system was found to be 67.44%.
The simulated results of the predicted temperature were first verified
experimentally without any reaction mixture, and they differed with
an average error of 7.85%. J. curcas shell char was
then steam gasified at the focus. A maximum char bed temperature of
736 °C could be achieved during the reaction, and 42.77% hydrogen
gas was obtained in the combustible gas mixture. In this work, a cost-effective
and modular assembly for high-temperature solar steam gasification
is designed and fabricated to make the process attractive and environmentally
benign.