Abstract: A compact biomass gasification apparatus is capable of gasifying a wide variety of biomass materials, without regard to their size and/or the water content of those materials, and also capable of substantially removing the tar component generated in a gasification process. A biomass gasification apparatus primarily includes an externally heated rotary kiln-type thermal cracking unit (2) indirectly heating and thermally cracking a biomass material to generate a tar-containing pyrolysis gas and char from the biomass material, and a gasification unit (3) receiving the tar-containing pyrolysis gas and char from the thermal cracking unit (2) and thermally cracking the tar component in the pyrolysis gas and gasifying the char by an oxidation gas being introduced therein.

Abstract: A biomass gasification system, which generates fuel gas from the thermal treatment of biomass in a gasification furnace thermally powered by a thermal airflow generator, incorporates a slag feed system which supplies slag S generated in the gasification furnace to the thermal airflow generator for use as combustible fuel therein. A vertical hopper is installed to the slag feed system for accumulating the slag to provide a sealing function which separates and seals the respective internal environments of the gasification furnace and thermal airflow generator. A detector is provided in the form of electrodes 9, 10 and 11 which are used to monitor the amount of slag in the vertical hopper by contacting the slag to establish conductivity in the electrode circuit.