Tapping energy from ricehull has been found useful for a wide range of applications like irrigation for agricultural purposes. A gasifier system can use ricehull to produce what is called producer gas as source of alternative fuel for the prime mover to pump irrigation water for crop production.
The developed ricehull gasifier engine-pump system has 30 cm diameter reactor that uses average 8.5 kg/hr fresh ricehull to supply producer gas to a 16 hp gasoline engine. The system with an average power output of 6.57 hp can run continuously for a 2-hour pumping operation with an average 9.37 lps shallow tube well (STW) water discharge using 4' diameter pump. The specific gasification rate was 120.23 kghr -1 m2 and gasification efficiency was 25.79%.
An added air controller device facilitated the shifting of producer gas from gasoline fuel thus providing smooth and continuous performance. Incorporation of faucet and plastic hose automatically replaced used water in the scrubber enabling clean gas used by the engine. Excess gas returned to the scrubber chamber minimized the release of producer gas the environment. Gas components were gathered to determine the amount of gas used by the system for continuous operations. Data on gas intake temperature, velocity, and pressure of the system were gathered as well to provide information on the performance of the system.