Biomass Gasification

Biomass gasification converts biomass into syngas, or producer gas, a flammable mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, by reacting the biomass at temperatures typically above 700 degrees Celsius while carefully controlling the oxygen or steam present rather than allowing it to combust; because the resulting syngas can burn at a higher temperature than the biomass would burning directly, the process improves on the thermodynamic efficiency limits of direct combustion. The syngas can be burned in gas engines, converted into methanol and hydrogen, or turned into synthetic fuel through the Fischer Tropsch process, and gasifying biomass offers an alternative to landfilling or incinerating it that can reduce methane and particulate emissions. Gasification at an industrial scale dates to the early nineteenth century, and roughly nine million vehicles worldwide ran on producer gas during the Second World War when petroleum was scarce; because its feedstock is biomass, the process is considered a source of renewable energy.