Researchers and engineers at the Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology have designed and manufactured a biomass downdraft gasifier.
After acquiring technical knowhow and skills of biomass gasification, Iranian engineers at IROST, affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, produced the gasifier that is used in power generation applications.
Basically a reactor, it produces 120 cubic meters of gas per hour, which can be used in heat generation systems or power generators instead of fossil fuels, ISNA reported.
A downdraft gasifier is a co-current reactor where air enters the gasifier at a certain height below the top. The produced gas flows downward (giving the name downdraft) and leaves through a bed of hot ash. The engine suction draws air through the bed of fuel, and gas is produced at the end.
Gasification is a time-tested, reliable, and flexible technology that converts carbonaceous materials, biomass, municipal waste, scrap tires and plastics into a clean high-energy gas. This is achieved by reacting the material at high temperatures (>700 °C), without combustion, with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam.
Gasification is a cleaner conversion process than combustion. Biomass gasification is a process of converting solid biomass (fuel developed from organic materials) into a gaseous combustible gas through a sequence of thermo-chemical reactions.
The most common biomass materials used for energy are plants, wood, and waste. Using a controlled process involving heat, steam, and oxygen, biomass is converted to hydrogen and other products, without combustion.
Biomass gasification is used to provide clean gaseous fuel for combustion in furnaces, boilers, and internal combustion engines for power generation and process heating.
Power generation from biomass has become a complement to conventional sources of energy due to its contribution to the reduction of greenhouse effect.
Mountain of Waste
Given that a huge amount of agricultural, urban and industrial waste is burned or buried in Iran, there is an opportunity to produce energy from such free resources and help reduce pollution in its various forms.
Garbage is traditionally buried in landfills. But as the Iranian population grows so does the mountain of waste. Recycling programs are in place in the big cities, but apparently are not enough.
Municipalities across the world, mainly in the developing world, are fighting against time to find sustainable solutions to the millions of tons of garbage that keeps on getting bigger.
Worldwide, waste-to-energy plants comprise nearly six out of every 10 facilities processing garbage from homes, schools and businesses.
Annually, 21 million tons of household waste, 32 million tons of industrial waste, 8 million tons of hazardous waste and 170,000 tons of medical waste is produced in Iran.
Urban authorities are taking small but steady steps to expand waste-to-energy facilities. Five WTE plants are operating in Tehran, Shiraz and Mashhad, and plans are underway to increase the facilities, following the government’s moves to substitute fossil-fuel power generation with environmentally-friendly methods.
According to data from the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (Satba), Iran has the capacity to generate more than 10,000 MW of electricity from biomass.
The Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology was founded in 1980 to support domestic researchers, inventors and industrialists.
As one of the leading bodies promoting science and technology, IROST strives to achieve independence in scientific progress and technology by supporting and exploiting the potentials of Iranian inventors, innovators, researchers and industrialists and respond to the increasing demand for S&T development.
