Co-Gasification of Corn and Coconut Residues in Downdraft Gasifier

Reliance on a single biomass to generate electrical power can cause disruption due to the inconsistencies in the supply of biomass feedstock. Co-gasification of different biomass can mitigate the problem of inconsistence biomass supply. The aim of this study to investigate thermochemical properties of corn residues (CR) and coconut shells (CS) and syngas performance produced from co-gasification of CR and CS. Biomass materials were characterized in order to understand their physical properties in relation to thermochemical conversion. Co-gasification of CR and CS was carried out in externally heated downdraft gasifier at CR:CS ratio of 50:50, 40:60 and 20: 80. CO composition obtained from blended feedstock is higher as compared to the without blended feedstock. The CO₂ and CH₄ concentration were increased as CS proportion increased in blend. Biomass with higher moisture content plays important role in the H₂ production due to the supercritical water gasification. The blending ratio of CR and CS at 20:80 had a positive synergetic effect as evident by increase in the gas composition for CO, CH₄ and H₂. It is concluded that co-gasification results of CR and CS is practical and can be considered to complement each other.