HYDROGEN AND METHANE GAS CONTENT IN SYNGAS FROM THE PYROLYSIS OF MELALEUCA CAJUPUTI AND SHOREA WOOD

Abstract

The increasing demand for energy and the depletion of fossil energy supplies require research to find renewable energy sources. Biomass is a very potential energy source and biomass gasification is a technique to produce syngas. Melaleuca Cajuputi (Gelam) and Shorea sp (Meranti) are one of the types wood plant that are widely available in Indonesia. This study aims to reveal the potential of biomass from swamp-growing plants, Melaleuca Cajuputi, and land-growing plants, Shorea, through a gasification process to produce syngas containing hydrogen and methane gas. Pyrolysis of biomass, Melaleuca Cajuputi and Shorea sawdust, using a fixed bed reactor at a temperature varying from 200 °C to 450 °C with a heating rate of 10 °C/minute for one hour. Hydrogen gas and methane gas resulting from pyrolysis were analyzed to determine the characteristics of the syngas produced. FTIR test was performed to support the experimental analysis. The experimental results show that Melaleuca Cajuputi wood has a lower peak FTIR intensity than Shorea wood. Melaleuca Cajuputi produces more hydrogen, while Shorea wood produces more methane gas. The highest hydrogen gas content was produced from Melaleuca Cajuputi and Shorea at temperatures of 315 °C at 1746 ppm and 1503 ppm at 367 °C respectively. Meanwhile, the highest methane gas content was produced by Shorea and Melaleuca Cajuputi wood, 200,000 ppm at 370 °C and 63,200 ppm at 318 °C respectively. The intensity of functional groups from biomass affects the gas produced from pyrolysis.