Energy & Fuels, Vol.31, No.8, 8335-8347, 2017
Hydrogen-Rich Syngas from Jatropha curcas Shell Biomass Char in Fresnel Lens Solar Concentrator Assembly
Hydrogen-rich syngas was generated from Jatropha curcas (J.curcas) shell biomass char in. a Fresnel lens solar concentrator assembly using solar thermal energy. The assembly had two lenses-arranged in such a manner that the focal point Of both coincided at a glass reactor, having a specially designed water inlet mechanism. A dual axis automatic solar tracking system working in a closed loop was utilized for continuously maintaining the focal point on the reactor so that the desired-high temperature could be obtained for the reaction. The maximum temperature of 1087 degrees C with a geometrical concentration of 215X was reached at the focal plane. The theoretical efficiency of the system was found to be 67.44%. The simulated, results of the predicted temperature were first verified experimentally without any reaction mixture, and they differed with an average error of 7.85%. J. curcas shell char was then steam gasified at the focus. A maximum char bed temperature of 736 degrees C could be achieved during the reaction, and 42.77% hydrogen: gas was obtained in the combustible gas mixture. In this work, a cost-effective and modular assembly for high-temperature solar steam gasification is designed and :fabricated to make the process attractive and environmentally benign.