TITLE:
Development of an Appropriate Rice-Based Biomass Gasifier as Source of Power for Farm Use
AUTHORS:
Alexis T. Belonio, Manuel Jose C. Regalado, Phoebe R. Castillo
KEYWORDS:
Biomass Gasification, Biomass Power Generation, Rice Husk Gasifier
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.5 No.12,
December
21,
2018
ABSTRACT: An appropriate rice-based (ARB) biomass gasifier was designed and de-veloped for farmers’ use. The gasification properties of rice-based biomass were determined before doing the design. The gasifier was built using salvage petrol drums, metal bars and concrete as primary construction materials. It has a 30 cm-diameter reactor insulated with refractory cement. A 10 cm-o cross flow scrubber with 30 cm-thick packed-bed filter is used for conditioning the gas. The gas is converted to mechanical power with the use of a four-stroke-cycle, spark ignition engine commonly used by farmers. The gasifier was tested and underwent series of modifications and improvements. Performance test and evaluation showed that the gasifier performs satisfactorily as per design. Raw rice husk was found to have greater advantage as fuel for the gasifier than rice straw. It can drive sta-tionary agricultural machines such as a 4-in. pump, a 30-cm biomass chip-per, and a 20-cm rubber creeping mill. It can also power a 3-kWe AC gen-erator for lighting and a 60-Amp DC alternator for charging batteries. The entire system can be built at a cost of P90,000.00 (USD1 = PHP50) using local materials and skills. Analysis showed that the operating cost of the gasifier is only P94.15 per day. A savings o P244.94 per day can be derived against the use of purely gasoline fuel for the engine. Payback period is 1.22 years.