Eco-efficient combustion in the top-lit updraft biomass gasification process

The article presents a solution for solving the problems of eco-efficient combustion of pelletized or chopped and dried agricultural and forest residual biomass, using the TopLit UpDraft (TLUD) gasification process. By using this solution, thermal energy is produced, and about 10�20% residual charcoal, not transformed into gas, called biochar, too. Biochar is a good amendment for agricultural soils and reduces the concentration of CO2 in the environment by capturing carbon in the soil for long periods. Biochar acts in the soil like a sponge that can absorb up to five times its own weight; it stores water and nutrients and allows microorganisms to settle inside its pores. A bench for testing combustion in TLUD gasifiers, developed in is equipped with a data acquisition program, designed in LabView, with a user-friendly our laboratory, is presented; it graphical interface that displays all acquired parameters and the related graphs in real time for various operating modes and for various types of biomass. The production temperature and the amount of air in the gasifier are the main factors that impinge on the physico-chemical properties of the biochar. The data acquired from two combustion tests carried out with a primary air / secondary air ratio of 1/3 and 1/2, respectively, are presented, from which it turns out that that gasification (in our case, gasification of pellets) with lower speed results in a larger amount of biochar, hence a more eco-efficient combustion, with significant benefits for the environment.