Hydrogen production by coal gasification in supercritical water with a fluidized bed reactor

The technology of supercritical water gasification of coal can converse coal to hydrogen-rich gaseous products effectively and cleanly. However, the slugging problem in the tubular reactor is the bottleneck of the development of continuous large-scale hydrogen production from coal. The reaction of coal gasification in supercritical water was analyzed from the point of view of thermodynamics. A chemical equilibrium model based on Gibbs free energy minimization was adopted to predict the yield of gaseous products and their fractions. The gasification reaction was calculated to be complete. A supercritical water gasification system with a fluidized bed reactor was applied to investigate the gasification of coal in supercritical water. 24 wt% coal-water-slurry was continuously transported and stably gasified without plugging problems; a hydrogen yield of 32.26  mol/kg was obtained and the hydrogen fraction was 69.78%. The effects of operational parameters upon the gasification characteristics were investigated. The recycle of the liquid residual from the gasification system was also studied.     

Hydrogen production from coal gasification in supercritical water with a continuous flowing system

The technology of supercritical water gasification can convert coal to hydrogen-rich gaseous product efficiently and cleanly. A novel continuous-flow system for coal gasification in supercritical water was developed successfully in State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering (SKLMF). The experimental device was designed for the temperature up to 800 °C and the pressure up to 30 MPa. The gasification characteristics of coal were investigated within the experimental condition range of temperature at 650–800 °C, pressure at 23–27 MPa and flow rate from 3 kg h⁻¹ to 7 kg h⁻¹. K₂CO₃ and Raney-Ni were used as catalyst and H₂O₂ as oxidant. The effects of main operation parameters (temperature, pressure, flow rate, catalyst, oxidant, concentration of coal slurry) upon gasification were carried out. The slurry of 16 wt% coal + 1.5 wt% CMC was successfully transported into the reactor and continuously gasified in supercritical water in the system. The hydrogen fraction reached up to 72.85%. The experimental results demonstrate the bright future of efficient and clean conversion of coal.     

Hydrogen production by catalytic gasification of coal in supercritical water with alkaline catalysts: Explore the way to complete gasification of coal

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of coal is a promising technology for clean coal utilization. In this paper, hydrogen production by catalytic gasification of coal in supercritical water (SCW) was carried out in a micro batch reactor with various alkaline catalysts: Na₂CO₃, K₂CO₃, Ca(OH)₂, NaOH and KOH. H₂ yield in relation to the alkaline catalyst was in the following order: K₂CO₃ ≈ KOH ≈ NaOH > Na₂CO₃ > Ca(OH)₂. Then, hydrogen production by catalytic gasification of coal with K₂CO₃ was systematically investigated in supercritical water. The influences of the main operating parameters including feed concentration, catalyst loading and reaction temperature on the gasification characteristics of coal were investigated. The experimental results showed that carbon gasification efficiency (CE, mass of carbon in gaseous product/mass of carbon in coal × 100%) and H₂ yield increased with increasing catalyst loading, increasing temperature, and decreasing coal concentration. In particular, coal was completely gasified at 700 °C when the weight ratio of K₂CO₃ to coal was 1, and it was encouraging that raw coal was converted into white residual. At last, a reaction mechanism based on oxygen transfer and intermediate hybrid mechanism was proposed to understand coal gasification in supercritical water.     

The effect of reformer gas mixture on the performance and emissions of an HSDI diesel engine

Exhaust gas assisted fuel reforming is an attractive on-board hydrogen production method, which can open new frontiers in diesel engines. Apart from hydrogen, and depending on the reactions promoted, the reformate typically contains a significant amount of carbon monoxide, which is produced as a by-product. Moreover, admission of reformed gas into the engine, through the inlet pipe, leads to an increase of intake air nitrogen to oxygen ratio. It is therefore necessary to study how a mixture of syngas and nitrogen affects the performance and emissions of a diesel engine, in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of supplying fuel reformer products into the engine.     

Molecular dynamics investigation on the gasification of a coal particle in supercritical water

Coal gasification technology in supercritical water provides a clean and efficient way to convert coal to H₂. In the present paper, the whole supercritical water（SWC）gasification process of a coal particle is studied with the reactive force field (ReaxFF) molecular dynamics (MD) method for the first time. First, the detailed reaction mechanism which can't be clearly illustrated in experiments, such as the evolution of the carbon structure during the gasification process and the detailed reaction mechanism of the main products, is obtained. According to the generation mechanism of H₂, it is found that the supercritical water gasification process of a coal particle can be divided into two stages with different reaction mechanisms, namely the rapid reaction stage and the stable reaction stage. Then, the effects of temperature and coal concentration in the reaction system on the yield of H₂ are studied. Finally, the transition of N in the coal particle is revealed, in which the precursors of NH₃ such as CN, CHN, and CHON are the basic molecular structures for nitrogen atoms during the gasification process at high temperature.     

Experimental investigation on organic functional groups evolution in hydrogen production process by coal gasification in supercritical water

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of coal has great application prospect for converting coal into hydrogen-rich gas efficiently and cleanly. However, the previous study on the reaction mechanism for SCWG of coal is relatively macroscopic rather than reflects the reaction essence deeply. The evolution of organic functional groups in Zhundong lignite (ZD), Hongliulin bitumite (HLL) and Ningxia anthracite (NX) during SCWG, as well as the correlation with gaseous products were analyzed quantitatively in this paper. It was found that the lower rank coal contained more free radicals and produced more H₂ with SCW. H₂ yield of the three types of coal exceeded 2 times the hydrogen content in coal at 800 °C. The organic functional groups evolve in 2–4 stages during SCWG process. The decomposition and gasification of organic functional groups mainly took place in low or medium temperature range. About 95% of C=O groups and 90% of aromatic C=C groups cracked and were gasified. Aromatic ether (C_ar-O) groups were formed in high temperature range. The reasonable functional relationship between the parameters of gaseous products and organic functional groups was established, providing a new approach to predict organic functional groups through gaseous products. This research may lay the foundation for further optimization design of reactor.     

Experimental investigation of the effects of simultaneous hydrogen and nitrogen addition on the emissions and combustion of a diesel engine

Overcoming diesel engine emissions trade-off effects, especially NO_x and Bosch smoke number (BSN), requires investigation of novel systems which can potentially serve the automobile industry towards further emissions reduction. Enrichment of the intake charge with H₂ + N₂ containing gas mixture, obtained from diesel fuel reforming system, can lead to new generation low polluting diesel engines.     

Direct injection of hydrogen main fuel and diesel pilot fuel in a retrofitted single-cylinder compression ignition engine

Up to 90% hydrogen energy fraction was achieved in a hydrogen diesel dual-fuel direct injection (H2DDI) light-duty single-cylinder compression ignition engine. An automotive-size inline single-cylinder diesel engine was modified to install an additional hydrogen direct injector. The engine was operated at a constant speed of 2000 revolutions per minute and fixed combustion phasing of ?10 crank angle degrees before top dead centre (°CA bTDC) while evaluating the power output, efficiency, combustion and engine-out emissions. A parametric study was conducted at an intermediate load with 20–90% hydrogen energy fraction and 180-0 °CA bTDC injection timing. High indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP) of up to 943 kPa and 57.2% indicated efficiency was achieved at 90% hydrogen energy fraction, at the expense of NO_x emissions. The hydrogen injection timing directly controls the mixture condition and combustion mode. Early hydrogen injection timings exhibited premixed combustion behaviour while late injection timings produced mixing-controlled combustion, with an intermediate point reached at 40 °CA bTDC hydrogen injection timing. At 90% hydrogen energy fraction, the earlier injection timing leads to higher IMEP/efficiency but the NO_x increase is inevitable due to enhanced premixed combustion. To keep the NO_x increase minimal and achieve the same combustion phasing of a diesel baseline, the 40 °CA bTDC hydrogen injection timing shows the best performance at which 85.9% CO₂ reduction and 13.3% IMEP/efficiency increase are achieved.     

Hydrogen-rich syngas production through coal and charcoal gasification using microwave steam and air plasma torch

In the present study, microwave plasma gasification of two kinds of coal and one kind of charcoal was performed with various O₂/fuel ratios of 0–0.544. Plasma-forming gases used under 5 kW microwave plasma power were steam and air. The changes in the syngas composition and gasification efficiency in relation to the location of the coal supply to the reactor were also compared. As the O₂/fuel ratio was increased, the H₂ and CH₄ contents in the syngas decreased, and CO and CO₂ increased. When steam plasma was used to gasify the fuel with the O₂/fuel ratio being zero, it was possible to produce syngas with a high content of hydrogen in excess of 60% with an H₂/CO ratio greater than 3. Depending on the O₂/fuel ratio, the composition of the syngas varied widely, and the H₂/CO ratio necessary for using the syngas to produce synthetic fuel could be adjusted by changing the O₂/fuel ratio alone. Carbon conversion increased as the O₂/fuel ratio was increased, and cold gas efficiency was maximized when the O₂/fuel ratio was 0.272. Charcoal with high carbon and fixed carbon content had a lower carbon conversion and cold gas efficiency than the coals used in this study.     

Influence of operating parameters on performance and emissions for a compression-ignition engine fueled by hydrogen/diesel mixtures

Hydrocarbon exhaust emissions are mainly recognized as a consequent of carbon-based fuel combustion in compression ignition (CI) engines. Alternative fuels can be coupled with hydrocarbon fuels to control the pollutant emissions and improve the engine performance. In this study, different parameters that influence the engine performance and emissions are illustrated with more details. This numerical work was carried out on a dual-fuel CI engine to study its performance and emission characteristics at different hydrogen energy ratios. The simulation model was run with diesel as injected fuel and hydrogen, along with air, as inducted fuel. Three-dimensional CFD software for numerical simulations was implemented to simulate the direct-injection CI engine. A reduced-reaction mechanism for n-heptane was considered in this work instead of diesel. The Hiroyasu-Nagel model was presented to examine the rate of soot formation inside the cylinder. This work investigates the effect of hydrogen variation on output efficiency, ignition delay, and emissions. More hydrogen present inside the engine cylinder led to lower soot emissions, higher thermal efficiency, and higher NO_x emissions. Ignition timing delayed as the hydrogen rate increased, due to a delay in OH radical formation. Strategies such as an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) method and diesel injection timing were considered as well, due to their potential effects on the engine outputs. The relationship among the engine outputs and the operation conditions were also considered.     

Numerical investigation of coal gasification in supercritical water with the ReaxFF molecular dynamics method

Studies on the coal gasification process in supercritical water (SCW) were carried out with the ReaxFF molecular dynamics (MD) method, in which the Wiser model of the coal molecule was adopted. The results show that hydrogen production increases with increase of temperature and water–coal mass ratio. It is also found that the coal molecule breaks into small fragments before it reacts with water molecules. The detailed chemical reactions and pathways of hydrogen generation during the gasification process are disclosed. H ions are found to be the main source of hydrogen generation, and C–H–O compounds or radicals are the most essential reactants throughout the reactions producing H₂ and H ions. OH ions can significantly accelerate the oxidization of organic fragments to produce C–H–O compounds and radicals, which explains how catalysts of alkali salts such as NaOH and KOH improve hydrogen production.     

Parametric analysis and assessment of a coal gasification plant for hydrogen production

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a parametric study to show the best steam to carbon ratio that produces the maximum system performance of an integrated gasifier for hydrogen production. The study focuses on the energy and exergetic efficiency of the system and hydrogen production. The work is completed using computer simulation models in Engineering Equation Solver software package. This software is used for its extensive thermodynamic properties library. An equilibrium based model is used to determine the performance of the system. The data is presented in graphs which show the chemical composition in molar fractions of the syngas, the overall energy and exergy efficiency of the system, and the hydrogen production rates. A study of these parameters is conducted by varying the steam to carbon ratio entering the gasifier and the ambient temperature. It is observed that the higher the steam to carbon ratio that is achieved the more hydrogen and more power the plant is able to produce. Because of this, the exergy and energy efficiency of the system increases as the steam to carbon ratio increases as well. It is also observed that the system favors a lower ambient temperature for maximum exergy efficiency and hydrogen production.     

Boiling coal in water: Hydrogen production and power generation system with zero net CO2 emission based on coal and supercritical water gasification

Coal is the single most important fuel for power generation today. Nowadays, most coal is consumed by means of “burning coal in air” and pollutants such as NO_x, SO_x, CO₂, PM2.5 etc. are inevitably formed and mixed with excessive amount of inner gases, so the pollutant emission reduction system is complicated and the cost is high. IGCC is promising because coal is gasified before utilization. However, the coal gasifier mostly operates in gas environments, so special equipments are needed for the purification of the raw gas and CO₂ emission reduction. Coal and supercritical water gasification process is another promising way to convert coal efficiently and cleanly to H₂ and pure CO₂. The gasification process is referred to as “boiling coal in water” and pollutants containing S and N deposit as solid residual and can be discharged from the gasifier. A novel thermodynamics cycle power generation system was proposed by us in State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering (SKLMFPE) of Xi'an jiaotong University (XJTU), which is based on coal and supercritical water gasification and multi-staged steam turbine reheated by hydrogen combustion. It is characterized by its high coal-electricity efficiency, zero net CO₂ emission and no pollutants. A series of experimental devices from quartz tube system to a pilot scale have been established to realize the complete gasification of coal in SKLMFPE. It proved the prospects of coal and supercritical water gasification process and the novel thermodynamics cycle power generation system.     

A comprehensive review on hydrogen production from coal gasification: Challenges and Opportunities

This paper comparatively discusses hydrogen production options through coal gasification, including plasma methods, and evaluate them for practical applications. In this regard, it focuses on numerous aspects of hydrogen production from coal gasification, including (i) state of the art and comparative evaluation, (ii) environmental and economic dimensions, (iii) energetic and exergetic aspects, (iv) challenges, opportunities and future directions. Furthermore, this review paper outlines what differences it brings in and what contributions it makes to the current literature about such a significant domain of potential hydrogen production which can be used as clean fuel, energy carrier and feedstock. Accordingly, this comprehensive review offers some results as follows: (i) plasma gasification system produces higher amount of hydrogen from other gasification processes, (ii) less amounts of solid wastes (slag, ash, tar, etc.) are released during plasma gasification process compared to other gasification processes, and (iii) it is overall more sustainable Thus, plasma gasification is proposed as a potential option for hydrogen fuel production from coals and for practical application in energy sector. As a case study, some plasma gasifiers in the literature are analyzed in terms of the exergetic sustainability. Furthermore, the case study results show that the exergetic sustainability index decreases from 0.642 to 0.186, and the exergetic efficiency drops from 0.342 to 0.156, while the environmental impact factor increases from 1.556 to 5.372 with an increase of waste exergy ratio from 0.839 to 0.532, respectively.     

An experimental investigation on engine performance and emissions of a supercharged H2-diesel dual-fuel engine

This study investigated the engine performance and emissions of a supercharged engine fueled by hydrogen and ignited by a pilot amount of diesel fuel in dual-fuel mode. The engine was tested for use as a cogeneration engine, so power output while maintaining a reasonable thermal efficiency was important. Experiments were carried out at a constant pilot injection pressure and pilot quantity for different fuel-air equivalence ratios and at various injection timings without and with charge dilution. The experimental strategy was to optimize the injection timing to maximize engine power at different fuel-air equivalence ratios without knocking and within the limit of the maximum cylinder pressure. The engine was tested first with hydrogen-operation condition up to the maximum possible fuel-air equivalence ratio of 0.3. A maximum IMEP of 908 kPa and a thermal efficiency of about 42% were obtained. Equivalence ratio could not be further increased due to knocking of the engine. The emission of CO was only about 5 ppm, and that of HC was about 15 ppm. However, the NOx emissions were high, 100–200 ppm or more. The charge dilution by N₂ was then performed to obtain lower NOx emissions. The 100% reduction of NOx was achieved. Due to the dilution by N₂ gas, higher amount of energy could be supplied from hydrogen without knocking, and about 13% higher IMEP was produced than without charge dilution.     

Emission analysis of diesel engine fueled with soybean biodiesel and its water blends

The present study is carried out to formulate stable water-in-soybean biodiesel emulsion fuel and investigate its emission characteristics in a single cylinder diesel engine. Four types of emulsion fuels, which consist of a different percentage of water (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%) in soybean biodiesel, were prepared with suitable surfactant and properties were measured. The physicochemical properties are on par with EN 14214 standards. The experimental result of test fuels indicates that the soybean biodiesel promotes a lower level of hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO) and smoke emissions compared to base diesel except for nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission. Increase in water concentration with soybean biodiesel significantly reduces the NOx emission and smoke opacity. The HC and CO emissions are further reduced with emulsified biodiesel up to 10% water concentration and beyond that limit, marginal increases are recorded. Overall, it is observed that inclusion of water with soybean biodiesel reduces the HC, CO, NOx and smoke emissions when compared to base diesel and soybean biodiesel, and 10% water in soybean biodiesel is an appropriate solution to reduce the overall emissions in the soybean-fuelled diesel engine.     

Comparison between blended mode and fumigation mode on combustion,performance and emissions of a diesel engine fueled with ternary fuel (diesel-biodiesel-ethanol) based on engine speed

According to the literature, there is in lack of a comprehensive study to compare the combustion, performance and emissions of a diesel engine using diesel, biodiesel and ethanol fuels (DBE) in the blended mode and fumigation mode under various engine speeds. This study was conducted to fill this knowledge gap by comparing the effect of blended, fumigation and combined fumigation + blended (F + B) modes on the combustion, performance and emissions of a diesel engine under a constant engine load (50% of full torque) with five engine speeds ranging from 1400 rpm to 2200 rpm. A constant overall fuel composition of 80% diesel, 5% biodiesel and 15% ethanol, by volume % (D80B5E15), was utilized to provide the same fuel for comparing the three fueling modes.According to the average results of five engine speeds, the blended mode has higher peak heat release rate (HRR), ignition delay (ID), brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake specific nitrogen monoxide (BSNO) and brake specific nitrogen oxides (BSNO_X), but lower duration of combustion (DOC), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake specific carbon dioxide (BSCO₂), brake specific carbon monoxide (BSCO), brake specific hydrocarbon (BSHC), brake specific nitrogen dioxide (BSNO₂), brake specific particulate matter (BSPM), total number concentration (TNC) and geometric mean diameter (GMD), and similar peak in-cylinder pressure compared to the fumigation mode. In addition, for almost all the parameters, results obtained in the F + B mode are in between those of the blended and fumigation modes. In regard to the effect of engine speed, the results reveal that the increase in engine speed causes reduction in peak in-cylinder pressure, BTE, BSHC, BSNO_X, BSNO and BSNO₂, but increase in peak HRR, ID, DOC, BSFC, BSCO₂, BSPM and TNC, and similar BSCO and GMD for almost all the tested fueling modes. It can be inferred that the blended mode is the suitable fueling mode, compared with the fumigation mode, under the operating conditions investigated in this study.     

Hydrogen generation by gasification of phenol and alcohols in supercritical water

The conversion of phenol, cyclohexanol (a hydrogenated analog of phenol for comparison with phenol), and ethanol into gas products in supercritical water (SCW) was studied with the goal to compare the reactivity of their aqueous solutions with the structural features obtained by the method of classical molecular dynamics. Transformation of phenol and alcohols occurs in different ways. In the case of alcohols, the conversion of 75–100% is achieved at 600 °C with noticeable gasification. At the same time, the conversion of phenol is only 47% and no gas products are formed at all. The complete conversion of phenol is achieved at a temperature of 750 °C, while the degree of gasification does not exceed 30%. It is shown that an increase in the phenol gasification degree is possible by pre-catalytic hydrogenation of phenol into cyclohexanol.     

The comparison of engine performance and exhaust emission characteristics of sesame oil–diesel fuel mixture with diesel fuel in a direct injection diesel engine

The use of vegetable oils as a fuel in diesel engines causes some problems due to their high viscosity compared with conventional diesel fuel. Various techniques and methods are used to solve the problems resulting from high viscosity. One of these techniques is fuel blending. In this study, a blend of 50% sesame oil and 50% diesel fuel was used as an alternative fuel in a direct injection diesel engine. Engine performance and exhaust emissions were investigated and compared with the ordinary diesel fuel in a diesel engine. The experimental results show that the engine power and torque of the mixture of sesame oil–diesel fuel are close to the values obtained from diesel fuel and the amounts of exhaust emissions are lower than those of diesel fuel. Hence, it is seen that blend of sesame oil and diesel fuel can be used as an alternative fuel successfully in a diesel engine without any modification and also it is an environmental friendly fuel in terms of emission parameters.     

燃油电厂应用水煤浆燃料改造关键技术研究

介绍了万丰热电厂2号燃油锅炉改烧水煤浆的改造内容、水煤浆供浆系统的工艺流程、水煤浆试验的结果,说明水煤浆是一种有效的代油燃料,在电站锅炉中可推广应用。