Measurements of the laminar flame speed of the sewage sludge gasification gases

Biomass is one of the major sources of energy that is estimated to contribute between 10% and 14% of the world's energy supply. Over the past several years, several countries have established policy targets to increase their production of renewable energy from biomass. The thermo-chemical conversion of biomass consists of four main processes: combustion, co-combustion, gasification and pyrolysis. The most promising and perspective technology is gasification. Gasification has several advantages over a traditional combustion process. As a consequence of the reducing atmosphere, gasification prevents emissions of sulphur and nitrogen oxides, heavy metals and the potential production of chlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans. A smaller volume of gas is produced compared to the volume of flue gas from combustion because gasification is characterized by an environment containing low levels of the gasification agent. As a result of the thermochemical decomposition of organic matter of biomass achieved a gas, which can be used in many ways. It can be burned in the engine, gas turbine or boiler, it can also be a substrate for the chemical processes. However, gas from gasification may, be characterized by high variability in composition depending on the process conditions and fuel composition before process. For this reason, its use may pose some difficulties. For example, it may be the design of burners and combustion chambers to ensure environmentally and energy efficient disposal. For this reason it is extremely important to know the basic properties of the gas. Laminar flame speed is a key parameter to be taken into account during designing equipment for the gas utilization. The paper presents the results of experimental investigation of the laminar flame speed of two type of sewage sludge gasification gases. Bunsen burner method was used. The results show that there are optimum conditions for conducting combustion of the biomass gasification gases, with which it is possible to carry out the stable process with effective heat release. The results indicate that low calorific gases from the thermal processing of biomass can be a source of fuel for the production of the final forms of energy.