Syngas production from air gasification of banana peel in a top-lit updraft reactor

The banana peel, an abundant and available biomass resource, is mainly generated from banana chip plants. Its potential heating value was recovered through air gasification in a top-lift updraft (TLUD) gasifier stove for heat application, with three factors varied; air volumetric flow rate, particle size, and feed ratio. When the air flow rate was increased from 202 to 271 cm sup 3/s the following effects were obtained: increase in cold gas efficiency (CGE) from 44.61 to 70.03%, syngas flow rate from 2.97 to 5.86 Nm sup 3/hr, specific gasification rate from 120.72 to 155.93 kcal/m sup 3, H2 composition from 4.17 to 5.51% and decrease in CO 10.84 to 9.20%, and CO2 from 2.66 to 2.00%. in addition, when the particle size reduced from 85 to 22.5mm, the syngas heating value (HV) increased from 933.02 to 1177.73 kcal/m sup 3, and CH4 increased from 4.65 to 5.72%. varying the feed ratio did not affect the responses, which means that a mixture of banana and rice hull or pure banana peel can be used for the same purpose. Based from the value of CGE, syngas flow rate, syngas HV and other visual indicators (flame color, continuity, height of flared syngas and tar content), the treatments with mixture of 0.5 rice hull: 0.5 banana peel and pure banana peel (both with high air volumetric flow rate and small particle sizes) were the most favourable treatments for syngas production, with obtained compositions of CO (12.58%), H sub 2 (8.63%), and CH sub 4 (6.01%) and CO (12.28%), H sub 2 (7.86%), and CH sub 4 (6.16%), respectively. Further, 3E analysis was used to compare gasification, combustion and disposal via landfill. The results showed that gasification have the most expensive economic cost. However, it had the highest positive environmental cost, which makes it the best option to consider as the end use of banana peel.