TITLE:
Gasification of Cashew Nut Shell Using Gasifier Stovein Mozambique
AUTHORS:
Miguel M. Uamusse, Kenneth M. Persson, Alberto J. Tsamba
KEYWORDS:
iomass, Cashew Nut Shells, Gasification, Mozambique
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Power and Energy Engineering,
Vol.2 No.7,
July
17,
2014
ABSTRACT: Mozambique
relies on wood biomass for meeting its household energy demand. This has been
for long referred to as one of the main causes of the ongoing deforestation,
mainly around the large cities and village. On the other hand, the country
produces large quantities of agricultural crops residue which are still not
being appropriately and integrally used as additional source of energy,
especially for communities in the countryside where these residues are
generated. Cashew nut shells (CNS) are among those residues. This kind of
feedstock is said to be of high energy content. However, its utilization as
energy source within the country is still poor.In Mozambique, 90% of the households depend on biomass for cooking. Biomass has
already emerged in the renewable energy area as one of the promising candidates
for the future energy source. Historically, biomass has been a major source of
fuel from the existence of making rapid urbanization, but widespread use of
fossil fuels in the industrialization has relegated it to a minor source of
energy. The CNS Gasifier Stove developed has a thermal efficiency of 35.5% and
an energy output of 2.19 kW. The corresponding values for LPG stove and
Kerosene stove are 53.53% (0.69 kW) and 39.3% (0.6 kW), respectively. Though
the use of CNS gasifier as a fuel is less efficient than the aforementioned one,
with the rising oil prices and the search for alternatives to contemporary
cooking fuels, it is still a viable alternative in this comparison.