A gasification system for receiving biomass feedstock and gasifying the biomass feedstock to produce char, the gasification system comprising:
- a conditioning zone for receiving biomass fuel and at least one of preheating or drying the biomass fuel, the conditioning zone including:
- a conditioning chamber defining a first live floor and a drying volume above the first live floor and in fluid communication with the first live floor, the conditioning chamber having a first end for receiving the biomass fuel on the first live floor and a second end for expelling the biomass fuel from the first live floor,
- a first plurality of augers arranged side-by-side within the conditioning chamber on the first live floor, each one of the first plurality of augers having:
- helical flighting extending longitudinally from the first end of the conditioning chamber to the second end of the conditioning chamber, the helical flighting turned in an opposing direction to each adjacent one of the first plurality of augers, and
- a plurality of paddles intermittently interrupting the longitudinal extension of the helical flighting for turning over the biomass fuel as the biomass fuel is moved across the first live floor by the first plurality of augers,
- a first auger drive unit for driving the first plurality of augers from the first end of the conditioning chamber, the first auger drive unit configured to drive the first plurality of augers to push the biomass fuel from the first end of the conditioning chamber to the second end of the conditioning chamber, the first auger drive unit controllable to drive the first plurality of augers to maintain a steady volume of the biomass fuel within the conditioning chamber;
- a reaction zone for receiving the conditioned biomass fuel from the conditioning zone and oxidizing the conditioned biomass fuel to produce char;
- a cooling zone for receiving the char from the reaction zone and cooling the char, the reaction zone and the cooling zone together including:
- a reaction chamber and a cooling chamber defining a second live floor and a gas recovery volume above the second live floor and in fluid communication with the second live floor, the reaction chamber and the cooling chamber having a first end for receiving the conditioned biomass fuel on the second live floor and a second end for expelling the char from the second live floor,
- a second plurality of augers arranged side-by-side within the reaction chamber and the cooling chamber on the second live floor, each one of the second plurality of augers having:
- helical flighting extending longitudinally from the first end of the reaction chamber and the cooling chamber to the second end of the reaction chamber and the cooling chamber, the helical flighting turned in an opposing direction to each adjacent one of the second plurality of augers, and
- a plurality of paddles intermittently interrupting the longitudinal extension of the helical flighting for turning over the biomass fuel as the biomass fuel is moved across the second live floor by the second plurality of augers,
- a second auger drive unit for driving the second plurality of augers from the second end of the reaction chamber and the cooling chamber, the second auger drive unit configured to drive the second plurality of augers to pull the biomass fuel from the first end of the reaction chamber and the cooling chamber to the second end of the reaction chamber and the cooling chamber, the second auger drive unit controllable to drive the second plurality of augers to maintain a steady volume of the biomass fuel within the reaction chamber and the cooling chamber;
- and
- a reaction zone wall disposed between the reaction zone and the cooling zone for restricting the flow of char from the reaction zone to the cooling zone.