Investigation of the Co-Gasification Behavior of Kentucky Coal and Palm Woody Biomass.

Gasification is a thermochemical conversion process of feedstock comprising hydrocarbons (coal, biomass, and waste materials) into useful products (syngas, fuel, and other chemicals). It is a solution for carbonaceous waste streams generated from various industries, e.g., farming, petroleum, and municipalities. Here co-gasification of two different feedstocks: imported bituminous-coal and local palm-woody-biomass is investigated. Their compositional behaviors are inferred by Thermalgravimetric and Flash elemental analyzers while heating values are determined by a bomb calorimeter. Equilibrium based gasification analysis is done based on multiple reactions along with elemental and energy balance at different coal/palm-wood ratios. Values sweep of temperatures and pressures are attempted seeking optimal gasification conditions. Results show the higher biomass fraction of woody-palm the lower is the gasification efficiency. However, woody-biomass being an abundant waste, co-gasifying it at 50% with coal is feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]