Hydrogen-Rich Syngas from Jatropha curcas Shell Biomass Char in Fresnel Lens Solar Concentrator Assembly

Abstract

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.

Review on Solar Hydrogen: Its Prospects and Limitations

“…A high-temperature solar reactor is developed for Jatropha curcas shell biomass char gasification. 11 In this reactor, two point focusing Fresnel lenses are utilized to concentrate solar irradiation and obtain a high temperature. Hydrogen-rich syngas is produced by this gasification process.…”