Ries, Matthew2018-03-142018-03-142017-06https://hdl.handle.net/11299/194641University of Minnesota M.S.M.E. thesis. June 2017. Major: Mechanical Engineering. Advisor: William Northrop. 1 computer file (PDF); vii, 114 pages.Biomass is one of the most abundant, easily accessible energy resources on the planet. However, much of the world’s available biomass is not fully utilized because it is distributed and is often left to rot or burn in open piles. Therefore, this material is not deemed economically worthwhile to transport to a large energy facility. Unused biomass emits large quantities of greenhouse gases and health hazards into the surrounding environment. One potential use for this wasted biomass is small-scale gasification, which can produce heat and electricity while simultaneously reducing harmful pollutants and reduce operating costs compared to commercial plants. The Power Pallet, a small-scale gasifier-generator system produced by All Power Labs (Berkeley, CA), is designed to produce up to 20kWe of electricity and can be easily transported due to its compact design. The purpose of this research is to quantify emissions factors of CO2, CO, CxHy, NOx, and PM from the Power Pallet system and compare them to current biomass usage methods. Results indicate that the Power Pallet significantly reduces CO2 compared to ordinary combustion processes because of the high carbon content stored in the biochar created as a byproduct of the gasification process. CO and PM emissions are also reduced compared to open burning and wood fired stoves due to a more carefully controlled combustion process. The net greenhouse effect of the gasifier was found to be lower than the other methods. However, large-scale biomass plants still emit lower CO, NOx, and PM emissions than distributed systems like the Power Pallet because of the additional exhaust cleaning technologies found on these plants. Additionally, it became clear over the course of testing that several improvements need to be made to increase efficiency, further reduce emissions, and increase ease of use to help this technology can realistically compete with existing technologies on a widespread scale.enBiomassEmission FactorGasificationLifecycleThesis or Dissertation