Gasification technology uses heat, steam and sometimes pressure to convert various carbon based fuels into a synthetic gas composed of carbon monoxide, hydrogen and methane. In principle, gasification is the thermal decomposition of organic matter in an oxygen deficient environment producing a gas composition containing combustible gases, liquids and tars, charcoal and air. Gasification differs from combustion because it uses just 20% to 30% of the air or oxygen needed for complete fuel combustion. During gasification, the amount of air supplied to the gasifier is carefully controlled so that only a small portion of the fuel burns completely. This starved air process provides sufficient heat to pyrolize and chemically break down the balance of the fuel into a gas.

As fuel enters the gasifier, it moves through progressive stages of drying, pyrolysis, gasification and to the reduction to ash. Combustion air (20 - 30% of stoichiometric), steam and/or oxygen are introduced into the gasifier under the fuel pile. The process is maintained by continually monitoring underfire air and the fuel feed rate. Combustion temperatures in the fuel pile are tightly controlled and kept below the ash melting temperatures to ensure that there is no clinker formation formed and that ash flows freely. By converting low value fuels such as municipal solid waste (MSW – garbage), tires, woody forest products, biomass waste, pulp and paper waste into marketable fuels, the gases produced become a valuable asset.

Moss gasifiers produce an exceptionally clean syngas ensuring that heat exchangers remain clean and require minimal maintenance and downtime. Clean syngas can also be used to directly fire heating and drying applications such as veneer and rotary dryers, lumber dry kilns, lime kilns as well as boilers.

Our gasifiers produce extremely low particulate emissions that may eliminate the requirement for air pollution control equipment such as multiclones, electrostatic precipitators or baghouses depending on the fuel being burned and the installation jurisdiction air requirements. Gasifier temperatures above the fuel pile typically remain well under 1400°F (760° C.) during operation for most fuels. When these gases are combusted in our ignition zone, the final temperatures range in the 1600 - 2200° F. (871 - 1204° C.).

Some of the uses for Moss Energy producer syngas from solid and liquid waste are shown below:

  1. Direct and indirect firing of dryers
  2. Capability to incinerate VOC emissions from veneer dryer exhaust
  3. Direct firing lumber dry kilns with clean flue gas
  4. Capability to incinerate VOC emissions from ethanol plants grain dryer exhaust
  5. Indirect kiln heating using high temperature air-to-air heat exchangers
  6. Indirect kiln heating by using thermal oil, hot water or steam processes
  7. Direct firing syngas into power and packaged boilers
  8. Direct firing syngas into lime kilns

Alternative fuels have several environmental advantages over fossil fuel. There are two main advantages to using alternative fuels: One - They are a renewable resource providing a sustainable and dependable fuel supply and two - when combusted the fact that the amount of carbon dioxide (CO²) emitted during the burning process is typically 90% less than when burning fossil fuel. Most alternative fuels are CO² neutral.