The Development of an Enhanced Biomass Gasifier Stove

摘要

The demand for clean and safe energy has necessitated alternative to fossil fuels. This work focuses on the design, development and construction of a forced-air, top-lit, updraft biomass gasifier stove. It consists of two broad sections, namely the mechanical section and the electronics section, within which the microcontroller section is incorporated. The electronic section allows the switching between ac mains and battery operation modes for the fan. The biomass fuel for the present design is palm kernel shell. Various section modules were effectively coupled together to form the stove. The fuel, palm kernel shells, was evaluated using the combustion zone test and fuel conversion rate. After construction, the performance of the stove was compared with that of kerosene and liquefied gas stove using water boiling test. Results obtained showed that the biomass stove is faster than the kerosene stove and compares favourably well with the gas stove.