Exergy analysis of renewable light olefin production system via biomass gasification and methanol synthesis

The conceptual light olefin production system from biomass via gasification and methanol synthesis was simulated and its thermodynamic performance was evaluated through exergy analysis. The system was made up of gasification, gas composition adjustment, methanol synthesis, light olefin synthesis, steam & power generation and cooling water treatment. The in-depth exergy analysis was performed at the levels of system, subsystem and operation component respectively. The gasifier and the tail gas combustor were the main sources of irreversibility with exergy destruction ratios of 17.0% and 16.8% of the input exergy of biomass. The steam & power generation subsystem accounted for 43.4% of the overall exergy destruction, followed by 41.0% and 5.69% in the subsystems of gasification and gas composition adjustment respectively. The sensitivity evaluation of the operation parameters of gasifier indicates that the system efficiency could be improved by enhancing syngas yield and subsequent yield of light olefins. The overall exergetic efficiency of 30.5% is obtained at the mass ratios of steam to biomass and O₂-rich gas (95 vol%) to biomass (S/B and O/B) of 0.26 and 0.14 and gasification temperature at 725 °C.     

Thermal conversion efficiency of producing hydrogen enriched syngas from biomass steam gasification

This paper presents the results from an experimental study on the energy conversion efficiency of producing hydrogen enriched syngas through uncatalyzed steam biomass gasification. Wood pellets were gasified using a 100 kW_th fluidized bed gasifier at temperatures up to 850 °C. The syngas hydrogen concentration and cold gas efficiency were found to increase with both bed temperature and steam to biomass weight ratio, reaching a maximum of 51% and 124% respectively. The overall energy conversion to syngas (based on heating value) also increased with bed temperature but was inversely proportional to the steam to biomass ratio. The maximum energy conversion to syngas was found to be 68%. The conversion of energy to hydrogen (by heating value) increased with gasifier temperature and gas residence time, but was found to be independent of the S/B ratio. The maximum conversion of all energy sources to hydrogen was found to be 25%.     

Effect of operating parameters on performance of an integrated biomass gasifier,solid oxide fuel cells and micro gas turbine system

An integrated power system of biomass gasification with solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) and micro gas turbine has been investigated by thermodynamic model. A zero-dimensional electrochemical model of SOFC and one-dimensional chemical kinetics model of downdraft biomass gasifier have been developed to analyze overall performance of the power system. Effects of various parameters such as moisture content in biomass, equivalence ratio and mass flow rate of dry biomass on the overall performance of system have been studied by energy analysis.It is found that char in the biomass tends to be converted with decreasing of moisture content and increasing of equivalence ratio due to higher temperature in reduction zone of gasifier. Electric and combined heat and power efficiencies of the power system increase with decreasing of moisture content and increasing of equivalence ratio, the electrical efficiency of this system could reach a level of approximately 56%.Regarding entire conversion of char in gasifier and acceptable electrical efficiency above 45%, operating condition in this study is suggested to be in the range of moisture content less than 0.2, equivalence ratio more than 0.46 and mass flow rate of biomass less than 20  kg h⁻¹.     

10 MW生物质气化耦合超临界燃煤锅炉系统火用平衡分析

为有效评价生物质气化耦合燃煤锅炉系统能量转换过程,分析该系统的节能潜力,以某10 MW循环流化床生物质气化炉耦合大型超临界燃煤机组为例,建立了该耦合系统的火用分析控制体模型,利用Aspen plus平台对该系统实际运行过程进行火用平衡分析。结果表明：当前运行工况下,生物质气化过程火用损失是耦合系统最大的火用损失,达到42.28%,其次是可燃气体在燃煤锅炉内的燃烧及传热过程,为25.32%。因此系统运行过程中应采取优化运行措施,减小气化过程火用损失,同时气化炉应尽量与高参数的大型机组耦合运行,可燃气体选取在燃煤锅炉合适位置输入,以保证充分燃烧。     

A numerical model of a fluidized bed biomass gasifier

A one-dimensional, steady state, numerical model was developed for a fluidized bed biomass gasifier. The gasifier model consists of a fuel pyrolysis model, an oxidation model, a gasification model and a freeboard model. Given the bed temperature, ambient air flow rate and humidity ratio, fuel moisture content and reactor parameters, the model predicts the fuel feed rate for steady state operation, composition of the producer gas and fuel energy conversion. The gasifier model was validated with experimental results. The effects of major mechanisms (fuel pyrolysis and the chemical and the physical rate processes) were assessed in a sensitivity study of the gasification model. A parametric study was also conducted for the gasifier model. It is concluded that the model can be used for gasifier performance analysis.     

The effect of air preheating in a biomass CFB gasifier using ASPEN Plus simulation

In the context of climate change, efficiency and energy security, biomass gasification is likely to play an important role. Circulating fluidised bed (CFB) technology was selected for the current study. The objective of this research is to develop a computer model of a CFB biomass gasifier that can predict gasifier performance under various operating conditions. An original model was developed using ASPEN Plus. The model is based on Gibbs free energy minimisation. The restricted equilibrium method was used to calibrate it against experimental data. This was achieved by specifying the temperature approach for the gasification reactions. The model predicts syn-gas composition, conversion efficiency and heating values in good agreement with experimental data. Operating parameters were varied over a wide range. Parameters such as equivalence ratio (ER), temperature, air preheating, biomass moisture and steam injection were found to influence syn-gas composition, heating value, and conversion efficiency. The results indicate an ER and temperature range over which hydrogen (H₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) are maximised, which in turn ensures a high heating value and cold gas efficiency (CGE). Gas heating value was found to decrease with ER. Air preheating increases H₂ and CO production, which increases gas heating value and CGE. Air preheating is more effective at low ERs. A critical air temperature exists after which additional preheating has little influence. Steam has better reactivity than fuel bound moisture. Increasing moisture degrades performance therefore the input fuel should be pre-dried. Steam injection should be employed if a H₂ rich syn-gas is desired.     

Process simulation of a hybrid SOFC/mGT and enriched air/steam fluidized bed gasifier power plant

The aim of this work is to experimentally and numerically analyze the performance of a integrated power plant composed by a steam oxygen fluidized bed biomass gasifier fed by woods, a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and a micro Gas Turbine (mGT). The numerical analysis is carried out by using ChemCAD software. In particular, SOFC and gasifier were modeled using proper developed Fortran subroutines interfaced to the basic software. The adopted SOFC model was already validated by the authors in previous works, while the gasifier model was here developed and validated by means of experimental activities carried out by using a bench scale gasifier. Different compounds (Benzene, Toluene, Naphthalene, Phenols) were chosen to analyze the tar evolution in the gaseous stream during the gasification process. Hot gas cleaning (based on catalytic ceramic filter candles inserted in the freeboard of the gasifier – UNIQUE concept) was adopted to remove tar and particulates from the fuel hot gas stream. Different moisture contents in the range between 10 and 30% (i.e. in a deviation of 10% around the usual wood moisture content of 20%) were numerically simulated as well as the degree of purity of the oxygen utilized in the power plant (between 25% and 95%, the rest being N₂). The power requirement for pure oxygen production leads to a reduction of the electrical efficiency of the whole power plant. For this reason, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to find the optimal operation conditions in order to maximise the syngas (H₂, CO) content in the produced gas, while maintaining a high overall electrical efficiency.     

Energy and exergy analysis of syngas production from different biomasses through air-steam gasification

Gasification is a thermo-chemical reaction which converts biomass into fuel gases in a reactor. The efficiency of conversion depends on the effective working of the gasifier. The first step in the conversion process is the selection of a suitable feedstock capable of generating more gaseous fuels. This paper analyses the performance of different biomasses during gasification through energy and exergy analysis. A quasi-equilibrium model is developed to simulate and compare the feasibility of different biomass materials as gasifier feedstock. Parametric studies are conducted to analyze the effect of temperature, steam to biomass ratio and equivalence ratio on energy and exergy efficiencies. Of the biomasses considered, sawdust has the highest energy and exergy efficiencies and lowest irreversibility. At a gasification temperature of 1000 K, the steam to biomass ratio of unity and the equivalence ratio of 0.25, the energy efficiency, exergy efficiency and irreversibility of sawdust are 35.62%, 36.98% and 10.62 MJ/kg, respectively. It is also inferred that the biomass with lower ash content and higher carbon content contributes to maximum energy and exergy efficiencies.     

Model validation of a CFB biomass gasification model

The developed 1-dimensional biomass gasification mathematical model [1] was validated using the experimental results obtained from a circulating fluidized bed biomass gasifier. The reactor was operated on rice husk at various equivalence ratios (ER), fluidization velocities and biomass feed rates. The model gave reasonable predictions of the axial bed temperature profile, syngas composition and lower heating value (LHV), gas production rate, gasification efficiency and overall carbon conversion. The model was also validated by comparing the simulation results with two other different size circulating fluidized beds biomass gasifiers (CFBBGs) using different biomass feedstock, and it was concluded that the developed model can be applied to other CFBBGs using various biomass fuels and having comparable reactor geometries.     

Investigation and optimization of a Co-Generation plant integrated of gasifier,gas turbine and heat pipes using minimization of Gibbs free energy,Lagrange method and response surface methodology

A combined plant including a fluidized bed gasifier, a gas turbine, a domestic heat recovery, and heat pipes was proposed and investigated from the first and the second thermodynamic laws and environmental viewpoints. Two types of biomass (wheat straw and rice straw) were fed to the gasifier. A zero-dimensional model was validated against results available in the literature. Gibbs free energy minimization and Lagrange method of undetermined multipliers methods were utilized to obtain the unknown parameters. Effects of steam to biomass ratio of the steam biomass gasification, inlet turbine temperature, and compression ratio were investigated on the plant performances. Analysis of variance results and Pareto chart of the standardized effects were carried out for net power, total exergy efficiency, and carbon dioxide emission of the combined plant. The plant was optimized using response surface methodology. The results indicated that the compression ratio was the most effective parameter and the plant performance was enhanced by increasing the compression ratio. Wheat straw had better performance in comparison with rice straw. Increasing steam to biomass ratio improved the hydrogen production and decreased the cold gas efficiency. Net power was on maximum value at steam to biomass ratio of 1.0, inlet turbine temperature of 1173–1217 K, and compression ratio of 11–12.     

Experimental study on 75 kWth downdraft (biomass) gasifier system

Experimental study on 75 kW_th, downdraft (biomass) gasifier system has been carried out to obtain temperature profile, gas composition, calorific value and trends for pressure drop across the porous gasifier bed, cooling–cleaning train and across the system as a whole in both firing as well as non-firing mode. Some issues related to re-fabrication of damaged components/parts have been discussed in order to avoid any kind of leakage. In firing mode, the pressure drop across the porous bed, cooling–cleaning train, bed temperature profile, gas composition and gas calorific value are found to be sensitive to the gas flow rate. The rise in the bed temperature due to chemical reactions strongly influences the pressure drop through the porous gasifier bed. In non-firing mode, the extinguished gasifier bed arrangement (progressively decreasing particle size distribution) gives much higher resistance to flow as compared to a freshly charged gasifier bed (uniformly distributed particle size). The influence of ash deposition in fired-gasifier bed and tar deposition in sand filters is also examined on the pressure drop through them. The experimental data generated in this article may be useful for validation of any simulation codes for gasifiers and the pressure drop characteristics may be useful towards the coupling of a gasifier to the gas engine for motive power generation or decentralized electrification applications.     

50 kW生物质气化发电系统的设计

气化炉是生物质气化发电系统的核心设备。根据内燃式燃气发电机的性能参数和对燃气质量的要求,对下吸式生物质气化炉进行了设计。通过调整喉管区结构及配风喷嘴位置,可以提高气化炉的产气效率,提高产出气的品质。对系统的燃气净化部分和燃气发电机的选型做了简要介绍。     

Performance evaluation of 10 kWe pilot scale downdraft gasifier with different feedstock

Gasification is a thermochemical conversion of carbonaceous biomass into the producer gas. Gasification of lignite, wood, sawdust briquette and their mixtures are investigated on a 10 kWe laboratory scale downdraft gasifier at atmospheric pressure. The air is used as a gasifying medium. The gasifier was operated on different particle sizes of lignite and lignite-wood ratio; 22–25 mm lignite particle size and lignite – wood ratio (70:30, w/w) were found to be optimum to overcome clinker formation and higher Cold Gas Efficiency (CGE). To avoid unwanted maintenance, it is essential to diminish the producer gas pollutants such as tar and particulate matter (PM) before injecting the producer gas into a turbine or a gas engine. A setup was developed to measure tar and PM from the producer gas. The gasifier performance was evaluated on various parameters such as tar, PM, fuel consumption, gas yield, gas composition, gas calorific value and CGE for all selected feedstock. The tar in the producer gas was found in the range of 201.30 mg Nm^?3 to 617.80 mg Nm^?3 whereas PM was found in the range of 36.76 mg Nm^?3 to 68.35 mg Nm^?3. CGE and gas calorific value were observed in the range between 64.99% and 71.62% and 4.64 MJ Nm^?3 to 5.29 MJ Nm^?3, respectively. Specific fuel consumption (SFC) was obtained in the range of 1.52 kg kWh^?1 to 1.84 kg kWh^?1. CGE with lignite – wood or sawdust briquette ratio (70:30, w/w) is found maximum whereas tar and PM are found minimum with wood and sawdust briquette feedstock in the present study.     

A downdraft high temperature steam-only solar gasifier of biomass char: A modelling study

A numerical model of a solar downdraft gasifier of biomass char (biochar) with steam based on the systems kinetics is developed. The model calculates the dynamic and steady state profiles, predicting the temperature and concentration profiles of gas and solid phases, based on the mass and heat balances. The Rosseland equation is used to calculate the radiative transfer within the bed. The char reactivity factor (CFR) is taken into account with an exponential variation. The bed heating dynamics as well as the steam velocity effects are tested. The model results are compared with different experimental results from a solar packed bed gasifier, and the temperature profile is compared to an experimental downdraft gasifier. Hydrogen is the principal product followed by carbon monoxide, the carbon dioxide production is small and the methane production is negligible, indicating a high quality syngas production. By applying the temperature gradient theory in the steam-only gasification process for a solar gasifier design, a solar downdraft gasifier improves the energy conversion efficiency by over 20% when compared to a solar packed bed gasifier. The model predictions are in good agreement with the experimental results found in the literature.     

Modelling of biomass gasifier and microturbine for the olive oil industry

The olive oil industry generates several solid wastes. Among these residues are olive tree leaves, prunings, and dried olive pomace (orujillo) from the extraction process. These renewable energy sources can be used for heat and power production. The aim of this paper consists of modelling and simulation of a small‐scale combined heat and power (CHP) plant (fuelled with olive industry wastes) incorporating a downdraft gasifier, gas cleaning and cooling subsystem, and a microturbine as the power generation unit. The gasifier was modelled with thermodynamic equilibrium calculations (fixed bed type, stratified and with an open top). This gasifier operates at atmospheric pressure with a reaction temperature about 800°C. Simulation results (biomass consumption, gasification efficiency, rated gas flow, calorific value, gas composition, etc.) are compared with a real gasification technology. The product gas obtained has a low heating value (4.8–5.0 MJ Nm^?3) and the CHP system provides 30 kW_e and 60 kW_th. High system overall CHP efficiencies around 50% are achievable with such a system. The proposed system has been modelled using Cycle‐Tempo software^®. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of feedstock drying on the performance and economics of a biomass gasifier–engine CHP system

The need to dry biomass feedstocks before they can be gasified can place a large energy and capital cost burden on small-to-medium scale biomass gasification plants for the production of heat and power. Drying may not always be unavoidable, but as biomass moisture content to the gasifier increases, the quality of the product gas deteriorates along with the overall performance of the whole system. This system modelling study addresses the influence of feedstock moisture content both before and after drying on the performance and cost of a biomass gasifier–engine system for combined heat and power at a given scale and feedstock cost. The scale range considered 0.5–$\text{3.0}\text{MW}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>e</mtext>}}$. The system comprises an updraft gasifier with external thermal and catalytic tar cracking reactors, gas clean-up and a spark-ignition gas engine. A spreadsheet-based system model is constructed, with individual worksheets corresponding to sub-models of system components, and a number of drying technology options and modes of operation are examined. Wherever possible, data supplied by manufacturers or taken from real systems is used in the construction of the sub-models, particularly in the derivation of cost functions.     

水煤浆热解气与氨复合还原超低NOx排放控制技术

为达到火电厂大气污染物排放标准,应控制燃煤锅炉烟气中污染物排放,研发污染物控制技术和超低排放技术。针对烟气中NOx的治理,提出了水煤浆热解气与氨复合还原超低NOx排放技术,并针对水煤浆气化炉控制,提出一个有效气流量和气化炉温度协同控制策略。以煤浆流量和空气流量为输入量、有效气流量和气化炉温度为输出量,建立水煤浆气化炉双输入、双输出耦合模型。在双回路完全解耦的基础上,设计单回路控制系统并进行适当优化,实现热解气的稳定制备和气化炉的安全运行。     

An experimental study on air gasification of biomass micron fuel (BMF) in a cyclone gasifier

Biomass micron fuel (BMF) produced from feedstock (energy crops, agricultural wastes, forestry residues and so on) through an efficient crushing process is a kind of powdery biomass fuel with particle size of less than 250 μm. Based on the properties of BMF, a cyclone gasifier concept has been considered in our laboratory for biomass gasification. The concept combines and integrates partial oxidation, fast pyrolysis, gasification, and tar cracking, as well as a shift reaction, with the purpose of producing a high quality of gas. In this paper, characteristics of BMF air gasification were studied in the gasifier. Without outer heat energy input, the whole process is supplied with energy produced by partial combustion of BMF in the gasifier using a hypostoichiometric amount of air. The effects of equivalence ratio (ER) and biomass particle size on gasification temperature, gas composition, gas yield, low-heating value (LHV), carbon conversion and gasification efficiency were studied. The results showed that higher ER led to higher gasification temperature and contributed to high H₂-content, but too high ER lowered fuel gas content and degraded fuel gas quality. A smaller particle was more favorable for higher gas yield, LHV, carbon conversion and gasification efficiency. And the BMF air gasification in the cyclone gasifier with the energy self-sufficiency is reliable.     

Development and thermodynamic assessment of a novel solar and biomass energy based integrated plant for liquid hydrogen production

In this paper, a combined power plant based on the dish collector and biomass gasifier has been designed to produce liquefied hydrogen and beneficial outputs. The proposed solar and biomass energy based combined power system consists of seven different subplants, such as solar power process, biomass gasification plant, gas turbine cycle, hydrogen generation and liquefaction system, Kalina cycle, organic Rankine cycle, and single-effect absorption plant with ejector. The main useful outputs from the combined plant include power, liquid hydrogen, heating-cooling, and hot water. To evaluate the efficiency of integrated solar energy plant, energetic and exergetic effectiveness of both the whole plant and the sub-plants are performed. For this solar and biomass gasification based combined plant, the generation rates for useful outputs covering the total electricity, cooling, heating and hydrogen, and hot water are obtained as nearly 3.9 MW, 6584 kW, 4206 kW, and 0.087 kg/s in the base design situations. The energy and exergy performances of the whole system are calculated as 51.93% and 47.14%. Also, the functional exergy of the whole system is calculated as 9.18% for the base working parameters. In addition to calculating thermodynamic efficiencies, a parametric plant is conducted to examine the impacts of reference temperature, solar radiation intensity, gasifier temperature, combustion temperature, compression ratio of Brayton cycle, inlet temperature of separator 2, organic Rankine cycle turbine and pump input temperature, and gas turbine input temperature on the combined plant performance.     

Dual fuel mode operation in diesel engines using renewable fuels: Rubber seed oil and coir-pith producer gas

Partial combustion of biomass in the gasifier generates producer gas that can be used as supplementary or sole fuel for internal combustion engines. Dual fuel mode operation using coir-pith derived producer gas and rubber seed oil as pilot fuel was analyzed for various producer gas–air flow ratios and at different load conditions. The engine is experimentally optimized with respect to maximum pilot fuel savings in the dual fuel mode operation. The performance and emission characteristics of the dual fuel engine are compared with that of diesel engine at different load conditions. Specific energy consumption in the dual-fuel mode of operation with oil-coir-pith operation is found to be in the higher side at all load conditions. Exhaust emission was found to be higher in the case of dual fuel mode of operation as compared to neat diesel/oil operation. Engine performance characteristics are inferior in fully renewable fueled engine operation but it suitable for stationary engine application, particularly power generation.