Feasibility Study of Using Producer Gas from Wood Pellet Operated with Spark-ignition Engine Generators in different Compression Ratio

Abstract

The research aims to investigate the engine performance and the cost of energy usage from using producer gas (PG) comparing with gasohol 91 (G91), as operated with the spark ignition engine generators at different compression ratio (CR). PG was generated from wood pellet by a small downdraft gasifier, and CR was increased from 8.6 to 9.0. Results found that the maximum engine speed was at 2,128 rpm. At the maximum load, the use of higher CR as using PG showing that the electrical power was added by 1.36 kW. The electrical efficiency was increased by 2.21%, and the specific energy consumption was reduced by 20.81% as compared with lower CR. Nevertheless, the use of high CR as using PG had lower engine performance than G91 due to the calorific-value limitation from using PG. Importantly, the analysis of the energy usage cost indicating that the cost of energy usage from using PG was lower than G91 as decreased by 55.42%. Although the engine performance from using PG is lower than G91, it offers cost savings over the use of G91. Therefore, it is an option for future applications.