Experiment on sawdust gasification using open top downdraft gasifier incorporated with internal combustion engine

An increase in world energy demand leads to a scarcity of fossil fuels. Producer gas from biomass sawdust gasification is one of the energy alternatives for the replacement of fossil fuels. The stability of producer gas from gasification is required for an application on internal combustion engine. The aim of the research is to develop and experiment on sawdust gasification system using open top downdraft gasifier incorporated with internal combustion engine to generate small-scale electricity. The gasifier feed was sawdust. The capacity of gasifier was about 2.5 kg per batch, and about 5 kg of sawdust was consumed per hour. The result of the study showed that combustible gas was produced after being in operation for 20 minutes. The application of producer gas on diesel engine could save about 50% on diesel oil.