Gasification Information - What the Heck is that?

Gasification is a process that converts materials containing carbon such as petroleum, coal or biomass into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This is done at extremely high temperatures, up to 2,000 degrees centigrade with synthetic gas being the result. This syngas is a fuel all by itself.

Syngas is primarily carbon monoxide and hydrogen (more than 85 percent by volume) and smaller quantities of carbon dioxide and methane. Syngas can be used as a fuel to generate electricity or steam, or as a basic chemical building block for a multitude of uses. When mixed with air, syngas can be used in gasoline or diesel engines with few modifications to the engine.


Basically, gasification is a very efficient method for extracting energy from many different types of organic materials, and also used as a clean waste management. Several gasification processes for treatment of waste are under development as an alternative to the old incineration technique. With incineration the temperatures only reach nine hundred degrees centigrade and it tends to leave a lot of unwanted residue such as slags, ashes and filter dusts that can harm our environment. To dispose of these products is extremely expensive.


The advantage of gasification, or thermoselect gasification, is that it is an environmentally clean way of disposing of waste and in addition it generates energy in the process. Biomass gasification, usually not a useful fuel in itself, is one of newest technologies. Instead of filling up our landfills and oceans with our waste products, simply put, the waste material is compacted and then burned at these super high heats and the end result is a win - win for our planet. Our atmosphere does not suffer from pollution and in return we get usable energy sources.


Gasification of fossil fuels is currently widely used in many industries to generate electrical power, however almost any type of organic material can be used as the raw material for gasification, such as wood, biomass, or even plastic waste.


A major goal for waste gasification technologies is to reach a positive electric efficiency. In other words, the high efficiency of converting syngas to electric power is counteracted by the large power consumption it takes to processing the waste.


There are seven facilities operating successfully in Japan at this time.


We need to investigate Thermoselect Gasification for our communities before it is too late and our landfills are full!

Denise is a retired Paramedic / Firefighter. In 1997 she was honored to work a motorcade medical unit for Vice President Al Gore while he visited southwest Florida. That was the pivotal moment when she really became aware of the environment and the issues surrounding it. Since retirement,she has become an internet researcher and blogger on many issues that she is passionate about. Visit her blog at:
http://www.gasification-info.blogspot.com