Gaseous Emissions Using Producer Gas as Fuel in Reciprocating Engines

In the recent times issues like the Green House Gas (GHG) emission reduction and carbon-trading through Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) have gained large prominence as a part of climate change. Biomass gasification is one such technology which is environmentally benign and holds large promise for the future. These technologies are currently being utilized for power generation applications at a number of industrial sites in India and abroad. This paper summarizes the work conducted using biomass derived producer gas in reciprocating internal combustion engines. The producer gas for the experimental work is derived from the well-established open top, re-burn, down draft gasification system, which is proven to generate consistent quality, ultraclean producer gas. This paper discusses the actual emission measurements in terms of NOx and CO on (a) dual–fuel engine (compression ignition engine) – using high speed diesel and producer gas fuel, (b) gas engine (spark ignited engine) – using 100% ultra clean producer gas. In the case of dual-fuel operation it is found that the NOx levels are lower compared to operations with pure diesel fuel on account of lower peak flame temperature, whereas the CO levels were higher due to combustion inefficiencies. In the case of gas alone operation it is found to be environmentally benign in terms of emissions; NOx and CO levels are found to be much lower than most of the existing emissions norms of various countries including the United States and European Union.