Gasification of Leather Residues - Part I. Experimental Study via a Pilot Scale Air Blown Downdraft Gasifier

This article presents an experimental study on the gasification of leather residues from a tannery by using a throated 10 kW_e downdraft gasifier. The gasification process is conducted over a range of feed rates in the gasifier for the operating temperatures of 1,000°C and 1,100°C, slightly below atmospheric pressure. In this study, the experimental setup and procedure are also explained in detail. Moreover, the fuel characteristics, components in the produced gas, and side products from the gasification system were measured during the experiments and discussed. It was concluded that the briquetted leather residues were successfully gasified in a downdraft gasifier. However, the large briquette sizes of the leather residues occasionally formed bridging in the throat zone of the gasifier. Therefore the downdraft gasifier should be operated using smaller size briquettes to prevent the bridging in the throat zone in order to productively convert the leather residues into combustible gases.