Gasification of oak sawdust in the Synthesis Gas From Manure (SGFM) pilot plant at Texas Tech University has been evaluated. The SGFM reactor operates as a countercurrent fluidized bed in which a biomass feedstock is fed to the top of the reactor and is fluidized by an air-steam mixture fed to the bottom of the reactor. Using oak sawdust from Missouri as the feedstock, the gas yields were 1.1 to 1.4 L/g daf feed when the average reactor temperature was 600 to 800 °C. The gas contained about 4% C2H4 and 11% CH4. The gross heating value of the gas exceeded 11.2 MJ/m3 in all cases. The gasification of wood is compared to previous results obtained for cattle manure. The differences are due to the relative amounts of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in the feedstock.
A small pilot plant (capacity, 450 kg/day) has been constructed to evaluate gasification of manure by partial oxidation.The reactor operates as a countercurrent, fluidized bed in which an air-steam mixture is the fluidizing medium and manure is the only solid phase present. The product gas from this process contains a significant amount of hydrocarbons (CH4 ~10%, C2H4 ~6%) in addition to normal partial oxidation products. The net heating value of the dry gas exceeded 8.6 MJ/m3 (1 atm, 0 °C) in all cases. The net heating value of the C02-free gas (still containing nitrogen) exceeded 11.2 MJ/m3. The pilot plant design and operating procedure are described as are the results of the heat and material balances. This work confirms the technical feasibility and potential scale-up for producing a medium heating value gas suitable for fuel or for feed to a petrochemical production process at relatively high yields from cattle feedlot manure.
He received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Kansas State University {1969) and a Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin {1972). He served as a teaching assistant at the University of Texas and held an NDEA Title IV Fellowship.
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