Abstract:
Red mulberry (Morus rubra) tree is found in many parts of the globe but its
dead branches are ineffectively used in many countries for cooking and heating purposes. The literature indicates that biomass gasification study derived
from red mulberry (Morus rubra) wood is not yet investigated. With this
objective, in the present work, gasification characteristics of dead red mulberry
(Morus rubra) wood under dry and chopped condition is assessed.
A downdraft biomass gasifier powering a 10 kW generator has been used to
study the producer gas generated when dried branches of dead red mulberry
(Morus rubra) wood is used as fuel. Further, provisions are also provided to
produce flame for cooking and other heating applications. In the present
study, various parameters such as producer gas content, calorific value (CV),
cold gas efficiency, equivalence ratio, and flame profiles are studied to optimize the operation of the downdraft biomass gasifier. The present study
reveals that maximum CV and cold gas efficiency of the present biomass are
5.846 MJ/m3 and 68.45%, respectively, corresponding to an optimum equivalence ratio 0.296. Performance comparison of the present biomass is done
against other types of biomasses reported in various literatures. It is highlighted that the present source of biomass gasification offers competitive
performance with the earlier biomass resources. The present resource can be
efficiently used to produce power generation and cooking in remote areas
where it is currently being utilized inefficiently.
