Analysis of syngas production rate in empty fruit bunch steam gasification with varying control factors

Biomass gasification is a prevailing approach for mitigating irreversible fossil fuel depletion. In this study, palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was steam-gasified in a fixed-bed, batch-fed gasifier, and the effect of four control factors-namely torrefaction temperature for EFB pretreatment, gasification temperature, carrier-gas flow rate, and steam flow rate-on syngas production were investigated. The results showed that steam flow rate is the least influential control factor, with no effect on syngas composition or yield. The gasification temperature of biomass significantly affects the composition of syngas generated during steam gasification, and the H2/CO ratio increases by approximately 50% with an increase in temperature ranging from 680 °C to 780 °C. The higher H2/CO ratio at a lower gasification temperature increased the energy density of the combustible constituents of the syngas by 3.43%.