INVESTIGATION OF DOWNDRAFT CO-GASIFICATION OF PALM KERNEL SHELL AND POLYSTYRENE WITH AIR AS THE GASIFYING AGENT FOR PRODUCTION OF SYNTHESIS GAS

MOHAMAD JAMEL BASHA, MOHD HAFIF BASHA (2021) INVESTIGATION OF DOWNDRAFT CO-GASIFICATION OF PALM KERNEL SHELL AND POLYSTYRENE WITH AIR AS THE GASIFYING AGENT FOR PRODUCTION OF SYNTHESIS GAS. Doctoral thesis, Universiti Teknologi Petronas.

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Abstract

Palm kernel shell (PKS) and polystyrene is a promising combination of feedstock for co-gasification. PKS has high energy content, while the use of polystyrene as a co-feedstock can reduce polystyrene waste held in landfills. However, there were no previous study on the performance and characteristics of the air co-gasification of PKS and PS. The information on the performance and characteristics using this combination of feedstocks is important for the design of an industrial reactor. In this work, the characteristic of the air co-gasification of PKS and PS was investigated. The thermal decomposition behaviour of the co-gasification of PKS and PS was investigated, and it was found that for PKS, three stages of major decomposition was observed, while for PS, only one major decomposition stage was observed. For the PKS-PS mixture, four major decomposition stages were observed. The activation energy, EA of the gasification of PS obtained from the kinetic analysis ranged from 99.70 to 124.33 kJ/mol, while the EA for PKS ranged between 52.26 to 65.36 kJ/mol. The EA of PKS-PS mixture ranged between 41.61 to 69.76 kJ/mol. Investigation on the air co-gasification of PKS and PS using an electrically heated lab-scaled downdraft gasifier was performed. The range of temperature tested is from 700 to 900 °C, while the equivalence ratio (ER) tested are 0.07 to 0.27. The PS content of the mixed feedstock is varied from 0 to 30 wt%. The volume percentage of CO and H2 of the syngas increased with temperature, while CO2, CH4 and the tar generation decreased. High heating value (HHV) and gas produced is increased with higher temperature. Increasing ER increased the production of gas, but with reduced HHV. Generally, increasing PS content increased the HHV of the syngas. At higher temperature of 900 °C, increasing the PS content increased the percentage of the produced gas. However, at a lower temperature of 800 °C, increasing the PS content reduced the percentage of gas produced. Tar generation increased with increasing PS content. Process optimization using Response Surface Methodology with Box-Behnken design was performed using Design Expert software, to achieve the optimized conditions for the lowest tar generation, and highest gas yield and HHV. It was predicted and validated that process condition of 900 °C with 2.35 L/min air flow rate with PS content of 10 wt% achieved the given condition.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	Technology > Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General) Technology > Hydraulic engineering. Ocean engineering Technology > Mechanical engineering and machinery Technology > Chemical technology
Depositing User:	ENCIK SAIFUL FADZLY JAMALUDIN
Date Deposited:	30 Sep 2026 15:17
Last Modified:	30 Sep 2026 15:17
URI:	https://repositori.mohe.gov.my/id/eprint/467

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