Design, development and testing of small downdraft gasifiers for domestic cookstoves

The design methodology available in the literature for downdraft gasifiers of large capacity (∼40–600 kW_th) is not directly applicable to very small sized gasifiers. In the present work, design and development of small downdraft gasifiers of 4 kW_th and 2.5 kW_th nominal capacities, for domestic cookstove application, have been carried out by non-linear extrapolation of data in literature for large gasifiers. The prototypes thus developed were found to give maximum gasification efficiency close to 80%. Extensive experimentation was conducted in the laboratory to study the effect of two operating parameters, viz., gasification air flow rate and the fuel particle size, on the performance of these gasifiers. The performance parameters studied included calorific value of the gas, gasification efficiency, air-biomass ratio and the hearth load. Through detailed analysis of the results, it has been shown that the two operating parameters affect the gasifier performance primarily through their impact on reactor temperature and the total particle surface area available for the reactions. This explains the observation of an optimal gasification air flow rate for best gasification efficiency. It is also shown that the producer gas flow rate varies linearly with gasification air flow rate for a wide range of operating conditions on different sizes of gasifiers. It is also seen that different sizes of the gasifiers can have a different hearth load corresponding to best efficiency. - Highlights: • Developed a design methodology for small downdraft gasifiers by adapting guidelines meant for larger gasifiers. • Developed two prototypes of gasifiers: 4 kW_th and 2.5 kW_th with gasification efficiency ∼80%. • Reactor temperature and total particle surface area available for reactions affect the gasifier performance. • The optimal gasification air flow rate and particle size for best gasification efficiency are explained using the above. • Producer gas versus air flow rate gives a single straight line for different gasifiers, fuel types and sizes.