Optimum Utilization of Biomass for the Production of Power and Fuels Using Gasification

The state of Qatar strives to diversify its energy portfolio whilst minimizing potential impacts on the environment from released wastes of multiple sectors. The current energy portfolio utilizes fossil fuels to drive the power sector which releases GHG’s into the atmosphere. There has been significant progress in diversifying the global energy mix in order to limit GHG emissions. Biomass, which is a CO₂ neutral organic fuel, serves as a potential energy source for the generation of sustainable heat and power. The objective of this paper is to design a system that will utilize waste biomass from Qatar built environment in the form of date palm residues, dry leaves, stems, sewage sludge, waste wood and livestock manure in an integrated system to generate a high-energy product gas which contains hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane. There is a strong sustainable development component where there is a reduction in biomass waste and consumption of raw material as natural gas consumption is reduced. As such, the biomass can be utilized to generate a valuable product, whilst reducing GHG’s and Qatar’s dependency on reserves of natural gas. Gasification is considered the preferred option for the processing of biomass where the product gas mixture (syngas) can be used to power generators/gas-turbines and produce clean energy since the process is carbon neutral. The syngas can be also used in the petrochemical industry to produce ammonia and methanol and reduce local dependency on natural gas. As part of this study, the performance of the biomass gasification process in the production of syngas and subsequent optimization of the process, considering multiple parameters such as the thermodynamic operating conditions and type of gasifier. In this study, a computer simulation model of the biomass gasifier was developed using Aspen Plus considering Qatar’s biomass characteristics. The process can be optimized to maximize the product purity or yield, profit, operating efficiency, quality of raw materials blends, and to minimize the carbon footprint and production time. Initial results demonstrate the possibility to utilize domestic feedstock in Qatar such as date palm residues amongst others to generate syngas. Furthermore, this study will determine the optimum blend of biomass feedstock which to be utilized in the existing gasification processes.