Investigation of parameters influencing gas production and gasification kinetics of Ziguinchor biomass

This study presents the gasification of three types of biomass residues (wood, stem and shells) under CO2 and water steam, using the different analyses X-ray fluorescence (XRF). Generally, the experiments are carried out using XRF installations and a fixed bed reactor system. The tests are carried out on wood, stems, and shells, because of their energy contents (Lower heating value LHV), and their high availability in the Ziguinchor region (Senegal). The solid residues obtained after pyrolysis were used to carry out the gasification tests. Thus, several gasification tests were carried out and the results were interpreted using the Arrhenius equation. Two kinetic models (Volume Reaction Model, and Shrinking Core Model) were used to explain the influence of experimental parameters (nature of biomass, reagent type, and temperature) on synthesis gas production. From the experimental results, it is found that the nature of the sample, the reagent, and the variation in temperature have significant effect on the char kinetics conversion. In addition to the differences in the chemical composition of the raw sample, ash and char density, an explanation on the parameters effects, which vary the conversion kinetics during the gasification tests is given. The purpose of this work is to understand the kinetic variations of raw materials in the fixed bed reactor during gasification.   Key words: Biomass residues, gasification, kinetic conversion, ash chemical composition.