Following fuel conversion during biomass gasification using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy diagnostics

The efficiency of the gasification process and product quality largely depend on the degree of fuel conversion. We present the real-time in-situ tunable diode laser measurements of main carbon and oxygen-containing species in the hot reactor core of a pilot-scale entrained flow biomass gasifier (EFG). The concentrations of CO, CO2, CH4, C2H2, H2O, soot, and gas temperature were measured during the air and oxygen-enriched gasification of stem wood at varying equivalence ratios. The experiments were made at the upper and lower optical ports inside a 4 m long, ceramic-lined, atmospheric EFG, allowing to access the degree of the fuel conversion inside the reactor. The exhaust composition was measured by micro-GC, FTIR, and low-pressure impactor. There was a good agreement between the data measured inside the reactor and at the exhaust for oxygen-enriched gasification implying that the chemical reactions are practically frozen downstream the optical ports. For air, the data indicated that the gasification reactions are still active at the measurement locations. Significant concentrations of C2H2, up to 5000 ppm, were found inside the reactor.