Steam co-gasification of coal and biomass – Synergy in reactivity of fuel blends chars

Development of clean coal technologies is the answer to increasing energy demand and environmental concerns related to conventional coal processing technologies. The technologies of fossil fuel gasification are technically proven and commercially available. Attempts of utilization of waste materials and renewable energy resources in gasification-based energy generation systems has been made, but wide application of such systems is still hindered by issues inherently combined with the characteristics of the materials. These include discontinuous supplies of a fuel of limited resources and varying composition resulting in poor economy of small-scale systems and operating problems related to tars formation and corrosion, especially when biomass utilization is considered. In the light of the above co-gasification seems to offer several advantages through mitigation of undesired effects of both carbon-intensive utilization of coal and low efficient and troublesome operation of biomass/waste-fed gasification systems. The experimental results presented in the paper address the issues of determination of potential synergy effects resulting from the utilization of fuel blends composed of materials of various physical and chemical characteristics, which are still insufficiently discussed in the literature, especially when hydrogen-rich gas production in co-gasification is concerned. The results of reactivity tests of fuel blends of coal and energy crops biomass in the process of steam co-gasification in a laboratory scale fixed bed reactor at 700, 800 and 900 °C are given proving the synergy effect in co-gasification reflected in increased reactivity of fuel blends when compared to coal and biomass chars reactivity under similar process conditions.     

Effect of the blend ratio on the co-gasification of biomass and coal in a bubbling fluidized bed with CFD-DEM

Computational Fluid Dynamics-Discrete Element Method (CFD-DEM) is employed to describe the co-gasification of biomass and coal in bubbling fluidized bed coupled with chemical reaction kinetic model. Six sets of simulations are set up to study the effect of blend ratio on the amount of gasification products compared with experiments. The calorific value of syngas, carbon conversion efficiency, hydrogen conversion efficiency and cold gas efficiency are calculated. Compared with the separate gasification, the hydrogen efficiency and cold gas efficiency in the co-gasification are enhanced. When biomass accounts for 75%, the contents of CO gas and CO₂ gas are the lowest, while the contents of H₂ gas and CH₄ gas are the highest. The high calorific value, carbon conversion efficiency and hydrogen conversion efficiency reach the maximum under this blend ratio. The cold gas efficiency is not obviously affected by the blend ratio, and reaches the maximum when the biomass content is 50%.     

A review on reactivity characteristics and synergy behavior of biomass and coal Co-gasification

Co-gasification is a promising approach to the clean and high-efficiency co-utilization of biomass and coal with syngas (H₂+CO) production. Gasification reactivity is an important factor influencing the operation conditions choice, carbon conversion efficiency and syngas production performance. Coal-biomass interaction during co-gasification will directly result in the synergy behavior of different forms and intensities on co-gasification reactivity. Due to the fuel origin diversity, structural property difference and reaction process complexity of biomass and coal, a clear understanding of reactivity characteristics and synergy behavior of co-gasification is very essential for revealing co-gasification reaction mechanism and providing theoretical support for actual application. In this paper, the influences factors (such as feedstock type, blended ratio, gasification temperature, co-pyrolysis process, gasification reactor and biomass pretreatment) for co-gasification reactivity and the synergy behavior on co-gasification reactivity are summarized in details, and non-catalytic/catalytic synergy mechanisms for co-gasification are discussed. Previous researchers have acquired a plenty of meaning data, providing important reference for industrial application of co-gasification technology. However, volatile matter-char interaction mechanism during co-pyrolysis was still unclear, AAEM migration and transformation route during co-gasification are lack of in-situ analysis, transfer route and interaction of free radicals during co-gasification process were unknown, and co-gasification kinetics model containing dynamic synergistic/inhibition factors hasn't been established.     

Catalytic steam co-gasification of biomass and coal in a dual loop gasification system with olivine catalysts

A dual loop gasification system (DLG) has been previously proposed to facilitate tar destruction and H₂-rich gas production in steam gasification of biomass. To sustain the process auto-thermal, however, additional fuel with higher carbon content has to be supplied. Co-gasification of biomass in conjunction with coal is a preferred option. Herein, the heat balance of the steam co-gasification of pine sawdust and Shenmu bituminous coal in the DLG has been analyzed to verify the feasibility of the process with the help of Aspen Plus. Upon which, the co-gasification experiments in the DLG have been investigated with olivine as both solid heat carriers and in-situ tar destruction catalysts. The simulation results show that the self-heating of the DLG in the co-gasification is achieved at the coal blending ratio of 28%, gasification circulation ratio of 19 and reforming circulation ratio of 20 when the gasifier temperature 800 °C, reforming temperature 850 °C, combustor temperature 920 °C and S/C 1.1. The co-gasification experiments indicate that the tar is efficiently destructed in the DLG at the optimized reformer temperature and with olivine catalysts.     

Effect of fuel blend composition on hydrogen yield in co-gasification of coal and non-woody biomass

In this study, torrefaction of sunflower seed cake and hydrogen production from torrefied sunflower seed cake via steam gasification were investigated. Torrefaction experiments were performed at 250, 300 and 350 °C for different times (10–30 min). Torrefaction at 300 °C for 30 min was selected to be optimum condition, considering the mass yield and energy densification ratio. Steam gasification of lignite, raw- and torrefied biomass, and their blends at different ratios were conducted at downdraft fixed bed reactor. For comparison, gasification experiments with pyrochar obtained at 500 °C were also performed. The maximum hydrogen yield of 100 mol/kg fuel was obtained steam gasification of pyrochar. The hydrogen yields of 84 and 75 mol/kg fuel were obtained from lignite and torrefied biomass, respectively. Remarkable synergic effect exhibited in co-gasification of lignite with raw biomass or torrefied biomass at a blending ratio of 1:1. In co-gasification, the highest hydrogen yield of 110 mol/kg fuel was obtained from torrefied biomass-lignite (1:1) blend, while a hydrogen yield from pyrochar-lignite (1:1) blend was 98 mol/kg. The overall results showed that in co-gasification of lignite with biomass, the yields of hydrogen depend on the volatiles content of raw biomass/torrefied biomass, besides alkaline earth metals (AAEMs) content.     

水蒸气气氛下生物质与聚丙烯共气化产气特性数值分析

搭建生物质与废塑料共气化动力学模型,并用实验数据对其进行验证。选用6种生物质和聚丙烯作为共气化反应物,以水蒸气为气化剂,计算气化温度在300～1000℃之间、气化压强在0.1～0.8 MPa之间、聚丙烯和松木锯末质量比例在0.5～2.5之间,以及不同生物质类型等对生物质和聚丙烯共气化产气特性的影响。结果表明：松木锯末气化中添加聚丙烯后,最高产气量和最大产气速率增加,最高产气总流量提高21.46%,最高产气速率提高4.64%,H₂和CO最高产量分别提高54.27%和79.51%;压强增加不利于提高共气化产气的H₂和CO含量,有利于提高CH₄含量;6种常见生物质和聚丙烯共气化产氢量大小顺序为：果皮>棉花秆≈玉米秸秆>杨树木屑>稻秆>条浒苔;聚丙烯掺混比率增加有利于提高H₂、CO和CH₄等组分产量。     

掺混比例对生物质和煤流化床共气化特性影响的试验研究

采用新型床料在鼓泡流化床中进行了2种典型的木本和草本生物质与烟煤的空气-水蒸气气化试验,研究了生物质掺混比例对燃气组分和热值、气化效率及碳转化率等参数的影响规律.结果表明:当松木屑的掺混比例从0%增大到100%时,H2和CO的体积含量分别增加了4.6%和4.4%,CO2的体积含量减少了3%,CH4和CnHm的含量也有所增加;当稻秸的掺混比例从0%增大到100%时,CO的体积含量先从25.8%上升至27.5%,再下降至25.3%,其他燃气组分的变化趋势与松木屑和煤气化的相类似;随着生物质掺混比例的增加,2种生物质和煤共气化的气化效率和碳转化率均有所提高,且在共气化过程中存在协同效应.     

Comparative analysis of biomass and coal based co-gasification processes with and without CO2 capture for HT-PEMFCs

With the seasonal availability and low energy density of biomass and the high environmental impact of coal, the co-gasification of biomass and coal is an alternative approach facilitating a trade-off between renewable and non-renewable resources. The aim of this study was to investigate hydrogen production from the co-gasification of biomass and coal integrated by means of the sorption-enhanced water gas shift reactor (G-SEWGS) for a high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC). The effects of the gasifier temperature, the steam to fuel ratio (S/F ratio), and the equivalence ratio (ER) on the hydrogen production performance and environmental impact of the G-SEWGS were theoretically analysed and compared with the conventional gasifier integrated with the water gas shift reactor (G-WGS) and the sorption-enhanced gasifier integrated with the water gas shift reactor (SEG-WGS). As compared to the conventional water gas shift reactor, the addition of a CaO sorbent in the modified water gas shift reactor not only reduces the amount of the CO₂ emission but also leads to an increase in the hydrogen concentration and hydrogen content. The G-SEWGS provides better performance in terms of its fuel processor efficiency and CO₂ emission than the G-WGS and the SEG-WGS. Also, the problem of sulphur compound in the hydrogen-rich gas can be reduced by using of the sorption-enhanced water gas shift reactor (SEWGS). The best system exergy efficiency, which was around 22% for the power generation, was determined from the HT-PEMFC integrated with the G-SEWGS. The main exergy destruction of around 70% of the total loss was caused by hydrogen production processes.     

Kinetics,thermodynamics and synergistic effects analyses of petroleum coke and biomass wastes during H2O co-gasification

In this study, the H₂O co-gasification of petroleum coke (PC) with low (sulfur and V₂O₅ contents) and different five kinds of biomass wastes were conducted using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The biomass used were the agricultural wastes (rice husk (RH), rice stalk (RS), and cotton straw (CS)) and by-product wastes (sawdust (SD) and sugar cane bagasse (SCB)). Their reactivities, kinetics and thermodynamics parameters were investigated and compared in detail as well as a synergistic effect during co-gasification of the blends. The kinetics and thermodynamics parameters were estimated by using the homogeneous model (HM) or the first-order chemical reaction (O1) and shrinking core models (SCM) or Phase boundary controlled reactions (R2 and R3). It was found that the biomass wastes was significantly improved the blends gasification reactivity. The obvious significant synergistic effect was observed in the char gasification stage of the blends compared with the pyrolysis stage. Compared to other models the phase boundary controlled reaction (R2) was found to be the best model to predict the experimental data of the co-gasification process. For both reaction stages of single fuels, SD showed the lowest values of activation energy and thermodynamics parameters. The blends of PC: SD and PC: CS provided the lowest activation energy and thermodynamics parameters for the pyrolysis stage and the char gasification stage, respectively. The co-gasification of PC and biomass wastes are a promising technique for the efficient utilization of PC and biomass wastes.     

Hydrothermal co-gasification of sorghum biomass and çan lignite in mild conditions: An optimization study for high yield hydrogen production

In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) combined with a 3–factor and 3–level Box–Behnken design (BBD) was performed to obtain high yield hydrogen production from hydrothermal co–gasification of sorghum biomass and low rank Çan lignite in a batch type reactor at 500 °C. The individual and the combined effects of the process parameters of coal amount (%) of the coal/biomass mixtures, initial water volume (mL) of the reactor and amount of the coal/biomass mixtures (kg) on system pressure, total gas yield, hydrogen production and product distribution were determined. Water volume directly affected the system pressure and the reaction medium was supercritical water medium above 48.2 mL with a pressure of 22.06 MPa. The highest values of both total gas volume and hydrogen gas volume were reached by gasification of 5.0 g of feedstock. It has been observed that total gas volume and hydrogen volume were directly affected by the water volume in the reactor and the coal ratio of the coal-biomass mixtures. The highest total gas and hydrogen volumes can be achieved under the conditions where the higher levels of water volume of the reactor and lower levels of coal percentage of the coal/biomass mixture were combined. Optimum conditions for maximum hydrogen production with 5.0 g of coal/biomass mixture were determined with numerical optimization as coal percentage of 25.6% and initial water volume of 68.5 mL. By combining the impregnated K₂CO₃ (3%, (w/w)) and CaO catalysts an excellent hydrogen selectivity was achieved. The hydrogen selectivity was drastically increased from 32.0% to 70.8% by capturing more than 99% of CO₂ with a H₂/CO₂ mol ratio of 88.5.     

Co-gasification of coal gangue and pine sawdust on a self-made two-stage fixed bed: Effect of mixing ratio

In this paper, the synergistic effect of co-gasification for coal gangue and pine sawdust was studied on a self-made two-stage gasification fixed bed experimental device. The results indicated that there was synergistic effect between coal gangue and pine sawdust. With the gasification temperature was 850 °C, the catalytic reforming temperature was 900 °C, the steam flow was 2 ml/min and the mixing ratio of coal gangue and pine sawdust was 1:1. The co-gasification synergistic effect yields the best results, the H₂ volume fraction reached its highest value of 37.2%, with a synergistic coefficient of 0.22. Under this condition, the number of mesopores in co-gasification char was the largest and the absorbance of the hydroxyl (-OH) functional group was the smallest. The alkali metal (K, Ca) content reached a maximum of 22.18%, which was conducive to the formation of hydrogen.     

Comparison of co–gasification efficiencies of coal,lignocellulosic biomass and biomass hydrolysate for high yield hydrogen production

The diversity in the chemical composition of lignocellulosic feedstocks can affect the conversion technologies employed for hydrogen production. Gasification and co–gasification activities of lignocellulosic biomass, biomass hydrolysate, and coal were evaluated for hydrogen rich gas production. The hydrolysates of biomass materials showed the best performance for gasification. The results indicated that biomass hydrolysates obtained from lignocellulosic biomass were more sensitive to degradation and therefore, produced more hydrogen and gaseous products than that of lignocellulosic biomass. The effects of feed (kenaf and sorghum hydrolysate), flow rate (0.3–2.0 mL/min) and temperature (700–900 °C) on hydrogen production and gasification yields were investigated. It was observed that 0.5 mL/min the optimum feed flow rate for the maximum total gas and hydrogen production. Synergism effects were observed for co–gasification of coal/biomass and coal/biomass hydrolysate. In all co–gasification processes, the main component of the gas mixture was hydrogen (≥70%).     

Steam gasification of energy crops of high cultivation potential in Poland to hydrogen-rich gas

In the paper energy crops of considerable cultivation potential in Poland, namely: Salix viminalis, Helianthus tuberosus, Sida hermaphrodita, Spartina pectinata, Andropogon gerardi and Miscanthus X giganteus were tested in terms of steam gasification reactivity of biomass chars, as well as yields and composition of product gas in steam gasification and lime-enhanced steam gasification in a laboratory scale fixed bed reactor at 650 °, 700 ° and 800 °C.The highest value of reactivity for 50% of carbon conversion, R₅₀, was observed for Sida hermaphrodita, regardless the process temperature.Application of CaO for in-situ CO₂ capture in steam gasification of biomass chars resulted in hydrogen content increase at 650 °C to the levels comparable with the ones reached at 800 °C without carbonation reaction. Also hydrogen and total gas yields increased in tests of lime-enhanced gasification.     

A comprehensive mathematical model of a serial composite process for biomass and coal Co-gasification

A comprehensive mathematical model to simulate a serial composite process for biomass and coal co-gasification has been built. The process is divided into combustion stage and gasification stage in the same gasifier, it is a new process for the co-gasification of biomass and coal. The model is based on reaction kinetic, hydrodynamics, mass and energy balances, it is a one-dimensional, K-L three-phase, unsteady state model. The model is divided into two sub-models, one is the combustion sub-model, the other is the coal-biomass serial gasification sub-model. Combustion sub-model includes coal pyrolysis, dense phase combustion, and dilute phase combustion model. Gasification sub-model includes biomass pyrolysis, dense phase coal gasification, dense phase biomass gasification, and dilute phase gasification model. The model studies the effects of key parameters on gasification properties, including gasification temperature, S/B, B/C, and predicts the composition of product gas and gas calorific value along the reactor's axis at different time. The model predictions agree well with experimental results and can be used to study and optimize the operation of the process.     

Assessment of flexible energy vectors poly-generation based on coal and biomass/solid wastes co-gasification with carbon capture

This paper evaluates biomass and solid wastes co-gasification with coal for energy vectors poly-generation with carbon capture. The evaluated co-gasification cases were evaluated in term of key plant performance indicators for generation of totally or partially decarbonized energy vectors (power, hydrogen, substitute natural gas, liquid fuels by Fischer–Tropsch synthesis). The work streamlines one significant advantage of gasification process, namely the capability to process lower grade fuels on condition of high energy efficiency. Introduction in the evaluated IGCC-based schemes of carbon capture step (based on pre-combustion capture) significantly reduces CO₂ emissions, the carbon capture rate being higher than 90% for decarbonized energy vectors (power and hydrogen) and in the range of 47–60% for partially decarbonized energy vectors (SNG, liquid fuels). Various plant concepts were assessed (e.g. 420–425 MW net power with 0–200 MW_th flexible hydrogen output, 800 MW_th SNG, 700 MW_th liquid fuel, all of them with CCS). The paper evaluates fuel blending for optimizing gasification performance. A detailed techno-economic evaluation for hydrogen and power co-generation with CCS was also presented.     

Co-gasification reactivity of petroleum coke with coal and coal liquefaction residue

In this work, experimental study on co-gasification of petroleum coke with coal and coal liquefaction residue (CLR) under CO₂ atmosphere was investigated in a temperature-programmed reactor. The effect of ashes from coal/CLR and metallic oxide on gasification reactivity of petroleum coke was also investigated. The calculated and experimental gasification conversion was compared to analysis the synergetic effect during co-gasification. The results indicated that the petroleum coke has a much lower reactivity than that of coal/CLR chars, while it can be greatly improved by co-gasifying with coal/CLR. The synergetic effect on co-gasification of petroleum coke with coal/CLR was presented as the progress of co-gasification reaction. It was found that the synergetic effect can be enhanced with increasing coal proportion. However, as the increase of coal rank, the synergetic effect gradually weakened during the co-gasification process. In the selected coal/CLR samples, the low rank coal and CLR exhibited a better effect when co-gasifying with petroleum coke. The difference of synergetic effect was probably attributed to the catalytic effect of mineral matters in different coal/CLR. According to composition analyses of various ashes and the co-gasification reactivity of samples, it can be concluded that high content of active components such as Ca- and Fe-in coal/CLR was beneficial to co-gasifying with petroleum coke, while high content of inert Si- and Al- components in coal tended to resist the reaction.     

Hydrogen production from low temperature supercritical water Co-Gasification of low rank lignites with biomass

Co–gasification of low rank lignite (Çan) with sorghum energy crop was investigated under low temperature conditions with supercritical water (773 K, 26.9 MPa). The effects of the water volume in the reactor, blending ratios of the coal/sorghum mixtures, the use of different catalysts, and the variation of feedstock concentrations on the gasification efficiency, product distribution, and hydrogen yields were evaluated. Synergistic effects were observed for both the gasification efficiency and the hydrogen yield with a coal content of 25 wt% in the coal/biomass mixture. Increasing the initial water volume, decreasing the feedstock concentration, and using the alkali metal catalysts Na₂CO₃ and K₂CO₃ significantly increased the gasification efficiency and the hydrogen yield. In experiments with CaO, almost all the carbon dioxide formed was isolated from the gas product during gasification, and the hydrogen yield was more than 70%. The liquid products were mainly composed of alkylphenols and their derivatives.     

Experimental study on syngas production by co-gasification of coal and biomass in a fluidized bed

The main results of an experimental work on co-gasification of a Chinese bituminous coal and two types of biomass in a bench-scale fluidized bed are reported in the present study. Experiments were performed at different oxygen equivalence ratio, steam/carbon ratio and biomass/coal ratio. In addition, stabilization of co-gasification process was investigated. It was found that a relatively low oxygen equivalence ratio favors the increase of syngas yield (CO + H₂). There is a maximum value in the curve of syngas yield versus steam/carbon ratio. Moreover, the content of H₂ in gas increases with the increase of biomass ratio while that of CO and syngas yield decrease. A continuous stable operation can be gained.     

Co–gasification of coal/biomass blends in 50 kWe circulating fluidized bed gasifier

This paper reports gasification of coal/biomass blends in a pilot scale (50 kWe) air-blown circulating fluidized bed gasifier. Yardsticks for gasification performance are net yield, LHV and composition and tar content of producer gas, cold gas efficiency (CGE) and carbon conversion efficiency (CCE). Net LHV decreased with increasing equivalence ratio (ER) whereas CCE and CGE increased. Max gas yield (1.91 Nm³/kg) and least tar yield (5.61 g/kg of dry fuel) was obtained for coal biomass composition of 60:40 wt% at 800 °C. Catalytic effect of alkali and alkaline earth metals in biomass enhanced char and tar conversion for coal/biomass blend of 60:40 wt% at ER = 0.29, with CGE and CCE of 44% and 84%, respectively. Gasification of 60:40 wt% coal/biomass blend with dolomite (10 wt%, in-bed) gave higher gas yield (2.11 Nm³/kg) and H₂ content (12.63 vol%) of producer gas with reduced tar content (4.3 g/kg dry fuel).     

Effect of blending ratio and catalyst loading on co-gasification of wood chips and coconut waste

Catalytic co-gasification is an important tar reforming technique, which may appreciably improve the quality of syngas through tar reforming reaction. In this study, wood chips (WC) were co-gasified with two coconut wastes, namely coconut shells (CS) and coconut fronds (CF), in a downdraft gasifier. The dolomite and limestone were used as tar reforming mediums. The effect of the blending ratio, catalyst type, biomass type and catalyst to biomass loading on gas composition and heating value of the syngas was investigated for different WC/CS and WC/CF blends. The results revealed that the WC/CS blending ratio of 70:30 produces the highest H₂ amount (11.70 vol.%), which was 31% higher than the H₂ amount of the other blends. The HHV_syngas of 70:30 blend was measured about 4.96 MJ/Nm³, which was also higher among all the tested blends. The co-gasification of 70:30 blend of WC/CS, when compared with same blending ratio WC/CF, produced two times higher CO, 60% higher H₂ and 75% higher HHV_syngas. During catalytic co-gasification of WC/CS blends with dolomite and limestone, the dolomite yielded 24%, 13.8% and 25.6% increment in CO, H₂, and CH₄, respectively. It is concluded that the coconut wastes can be substituted or co-gasified with wood after carrying out some major changes in a gasifier geometry.