Effect of process parameters on circulating fluidized bed coal gasification using 3D full-loop CFD simulation

This article presents a 3D full-loop computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of a circulating fluidized bed gasifier (CFBG). The simulation results are validated against the experimental data and found to be in good agreement. Thereupon, the effect of the process parameters, ie, temperature, pressure, air/coal (A/C) ratio, and steam/coal (S/C) ratio, on the performance of the gasifier is analyzed. The effect of temperature on the hydrodynamics was found to be small. The CO and H₂ increase, whereas the CO₂ and H₂O decrease with an increase in temperature. While the effect of pressure on the outlet species mole fraction is negligible, the gas and solid axial velocity decrease with an increase in pressure. With an increasing A/C ratio or decreasing S/C ratio, the combustion products (CO₂ and H₂O) increase, whereas the gasification products (CO and H₂) decrease due to the increase in the O₂ concentration. In addition, temperature increases with an increase in the A/C ratio or a decrease in the S/C ratio. The feed velocity increases with an increasing A/C or S/C ratio, and, accordingly, the pressure increases and bed height decreases. The CH₄ decreases in all of the cases as it is being consumed in gasification as well as combustion reactions.     

Experimental test on a novel dual fluidised bed biomass gasifier for synthetic fuel production

This article presents a preliminary test on the 150 kW_th allothermal biomass gasifier at Mid Sweden University (MIUN) in Härnösand, Sweden. The MIUN gasifier is a combination of a fluidised bed gasifier and a CFB riser as a combustor with a design suitable for in-built tar/CH₄ catalytic reforming. The test was carried out by two steps: (1) fluid-dynamic study; (2) measurements of gas composition and tar. A novel solid circulation measurement system which works at high bed temperatures is developed in the presented work. The results show the dependency of bed material circulation rate on the superficial gas velocity in the combustor, the bed material inventory and the aeration of solids flow between the bottoms of the gasifier and the combustor. A strong influence of circulation rate on the temperature difference between the combustor and the gasifier was identified. The syngas analysis showed that, as steam/biomass (S/B) ratio increases, CH₄ content decreases and H₂/CO ratio increases. Furthermore the total tar content decreases with increasing steam/biomass ratio and increasing temperature. The biomass gasification technology at MIUN is simple, cheap, reliable, and can obtain a syngas of high CO + H₂ concentration with sufficient high ratio of H₂ to CO, which may be suitable for synthesis of methane, DME, FT-fuels or alcohol fuels. The measurement results of MIUN gasifier have been compared with other gasifiers. The main differences can be observed in the H₂ and the CO content, as well as the tar content. These can be explained by differences in the feed systems, operating temperature, S/B ratio or bed material catalytic effect, etc.     

Gasification characteristics of combustible wastes in a 5 ton/day fixed bed gasifier

The gasification characteristics of combustible wastes were determined in a 5 ton/day fixed bed gasifier (1.2 m I.D. and 2.8m high). The fixed bed gasifier consisted of air compressor, oxygen tank, MFC, fixed bed gasifier, cyclone, heat exchanger, solid/gas separator, water fluidized bed reactor and blower. To capture soot or unburned carbon from the gasification reaction, solid/gas separator and water fluidized bed were used. The experiments with 10–50 hours of operation were carried out to determine the effects of bed temperature, solid/oxygen ratio and oxidant on the gas composition, calorific value and carbon conversion. The calorific values of the produced gas decreased with an increase of bed temperature because combustion reaction happened more actively. The gas composition of partial oxidation of woodchip is CO: 34.4%, H₂: 10.7%, CH₄: 6.0%, CO₂: 48.9% and that of RPF is CO: 33.9%, H₂: 26.1%, CH₄: 10.7%, CO₂: 29.2%. The average calorific values of produced gas were about 1,933 kcal/Nm³, 2,863 kcal/Nm³, respectively. The maximum calorific values were 3,100 kcal/Nm³ at RPF/oxygen ratio: 7     

运用Gibbs自由能最小化方法模拟气流床煤气化炉

基于 Aspen Plus工业系统流程模拟软件 ,运用 Gibbs自由能最小化方法建立了气流床煤气化炉的模型 .研究了气化炉的主要操作参数 (即水煤浆浓度、氧煤比、碳转化率和气化温度 )对气化结果的影响 .对模拟结果进行了分析 ,发现模型基本正确 ,可应用于一些反应机理复杂的气化工艺的化学和热力学平衡计算 .模拟结果表明 ,氧煤比和水煤浆浓度是影响气化炉出口煤气组成的主要因素 ,气化炉温度随着氧煤比的增加而增加 ,也随着水煤浆浓度的增加而增加 .结果还表明 ,氧煤比对气化结果的影响比水煤浆浓度的影响更为显著     

Effect of Al2O3/CaO on the melting and mineral transformation of Ningdong coal ash

Coal ash melting characteristics has a direct impact on the smooth operation of entrained gasifier. Mineral conversion of coal ash is very significant to be investigated, because the mineral can affect the melting temperature and viscosity under high temperature conditions. In this paper, the effects of different Al₂O₃/CaO on the mineral conversion, melting temperature and viscosity of Ningdong coal ash are studied by the combination of experiment and simulation. The trend of melting temperature decreases firstly and rises with increasing Al₂O₃/CaO. The ash melting point reached to the lowest when the ratio is 1.23. XRD and Factsage software are used to analyze crystallization behavior of samples. The results show that the content of anorthite, albite and corundum increases and subsequently decreases, while the content of mullite decreases firstly and then rises with increasing Al₂O₃/CaO. High content with CaO can contribute to form albite and anorthite of low-melting. Besides, high content with Al₂O₃ can tend to produce mullite of high-melting. The results of experimental and simulation are basically the same, which lays a foundation for the melting characteristics of Ningdong coal ash and can provide technical support for the smooth operation of the entrained-gasifier.     

Effect of biomass particle size and air superficial velocity on the gasification process in a downdraft fixed bed gasifier. An experimental and modelling study

A one-dimensional stationary model of biomass gasification in a fixed bed downdraft gasifier is presented in this paper. The model is based on the mass and energy conservation equations and includes the energy exchange between solid and gaseous phases, and the heat transfer by radiation from the solid particles. Different gasification sub-processes are incorporated: biomass drying, pyrolysis, oxidation of char and volatile matter, chemical reduction of H₂, CO₂ and H₂O by char, and hydrocarbon reforming. The model was validated experimentally in a small-scale gasifier by comparing the experimental temperature fields, biomass burning rates and fuel/air equivalence ratios with predicted results. A good agreement between experimental and estimated results was achieved. The model can be used as a tool to study the influence of process parameters, such as biomass particle mean diameter, air flow velocity, gasifier geometry, composition and inlet temperature of the gasifying agent and biomass type, on the process propagation velocity (flame front velocity) and its efficiency. The maximum efficiency was obtained with the smaller particle size and lower air velocity. It was a consequence of the higher fuel/air ratio in the gasifier and so the production of a gas with a higher calorific value.     

Plastic waste elimination by co-gasification with coal and biomass in fluidized bed with air in pilot plant

Treatment of plastic waste by gasification in fluidized bed with air using dolomite as tar cracking catalyst has been studied. The gasifier has a 1 m high bed zone (diameter of 9.2 cm) followed by a 1 m high freeboard (diameter of 15.4 cm). The feedstock is composed of blends of plastic waste with pine wood sawdust and coal at flow rates of 1–4 kg/h. Operating variables studied were gasifier bed temperature (750–880 °C), equivalence ratio (0.30–0.46), feedstock composition and the influence of secondary air insertion in freeboard. Product distribution includes gas and char yields, gas composition (H₂, CO, CO₂, CH₄, light hydrocarbons), heating value and tar content in the flue gas. As a result, a gas with a medium hydrogen content (up to 15% dry basis) and low tar content (less than 0.5 g/m_n³) is obtained.     

Gasification of coal by a pilot flame in a modified fluidized bed

Coal is successfully gasified in the presence of a pilot flame in a modified fluidized bed. Except for the pilot flame, no external heat is required to operate this gasifier. The results showed that increasing the solid-to-air ratio in the feed increased the temperature and the products, carbon monoxide and hydrogen. About 95% of the volatile materials and 80% of the fixed carbon of the feed coal could be gasified by this pilot-flame gasification method. The ash could be efficiently separated during gasification by a distributor within the dead-zone collector of this gasifier.     

A non-isothermal model of a bubbling fluidised-bed coal gasifier

A previous one-dimensional numerical isothermal model of a fluidised-bed coal gasifier has been further improved to consider the non-isothermal behaviour of gases and heat transfer mechanisms in the fluidised-bed. Comparisons were made with data simulating the performance of a full-scale fluidised-bed coal gasifier, a 2 MWth pilot plant and a laboratory-scale bed. Simulation results indicate that comparisons of overall carbon conversions, operating bed temperatures and individual gas species predicted from both the non-isothermal and isothermal models with experimental data are favourable. The temperature profile of the gas phase predicted from the non-isothermal model follows the trend of the bubble temperature due to a large majority of the product gas flowing through the bed as bubbles. The temperature of cold feed gas is predicted to experience a heating up period at the lower part of the bed and homogeneous combustion in the gas phase results in a peak temperature in the gas phase. As a consequence of the higher solid temperature predicted from the non-isothermal model than from the isothermal model, the final product gas molar flow rate and fractional carbon conversion due to gasification predicted from the non-isothermal model are all higher giving better agreeing results compared with experimental data than those predicted from the isothermal model. In addition, these comparisons show that improvement in the predictive capabilities of the model depends on ability to predict the product CO/CO₂ ratio which is particularly important for low volatile coals or char.     

串行流化床煤气化试验

针对串行流化床煤气化技术特点,以水蒸气为气化剂,在串行流化床试验装置上进行煤气化特性的试验研究,考察了气化反应器温度、蒸汽煤比对煤气组成、热值、冷煤气效率和碳转化率的影响。结果表明,燃烧反应器内燃烧烟气不会串混至气化反应器,该煤气化技术能够稳定连续地从气化反应器获得不含N₂的高品质合成气。随着气化反应器温度的升高、蒸汽煤比的增加,煤气热值和冷煤气效率均会提高,但对碳转化率影响有所不同。在试验阶段获得的最高煤气热值为6.9 MJ•m^-3,冷煤气效率为68％,碳转化率为92％。     

气流床气化炉煤粉部分气化特性的研究

基于商业软件Aspen Plus,运用Gibbs自由能最小化方法建立了气流床部分气化模型,预测气化炉入口参数(空煤比、汽煤比、热损失和碳转换率)对出口合成气的影响特征,模拟结果表明,随空煤比的增大,粗煤气中有效气体成分含量先增大后减少;随汽煤比的增大,粗煤气中H2含量增多,有利于部分煤气化再燃;随碳转换率的增大,粗煤气中有效气体成分含量增加,但提高程度不明显,因此针对部分气化不刻意追求碳转换率.     

An integrated biomass-derived syngas/dimethyl ether process

A Cu-Zn-Al methanol catalyst combined with HZSM-5 was used for dimethyl ether (DME) synthesis from a biomass-derived syngas containing nitrogen. The syngas was produced by air-steam gasification of pine sawdust in a bubbling fluidized bed biomass gasifier with a dry reforming reaction over ultra-stable NiO-MgO catalyst packed in a downstream reactor for stoichiometric factor (H₂, CO, CO₂) adjustment. It constantly gave syngas with H2/CO ratio of 1.5 and containing trace CH₄ and CO₂ during a period of 150 h. The obtained N₂-containing biomass-derived syngas was used directly for DME synthesis. About 75% CO per-pass conversion and 66.7% DME selectivity could be achieved under the condition of 533 K, 4MPa and 1,000-4,000 h^-1. The maximized DME yield, 244 g DME/Kgbiomass (dry basis), was achieved under a gasification temperature of 1,073 K, ER (Equivalence Ratio) of 0.24, S/B (Steam to Biomass Ratio) of 0.72 and reforming temperature of 1,023 K with the addition of 0.54 Nm³ biogas/Kg_biomass (dry basis).     

Performance optimization of two-staged gasification system for woody biomass

The performance of a small-scale two-staged gasification system is reported. In this system wood chips are gasified with a fixed bed gasifier and then tar in the produced gas is reformed in a non-catalytic reformer, finally the production gas is used to generate electricity. In this system, the gasifying agents are high temperature air and steam supplied into the gasifier and the reformer. This paper reports on optimum gasification air ratio (defined as the ratio of the oxygen mole supplied into the gasifier to the oxygen mole required for complete combustion of biomass), reforming air ratio (defined as the ratio of the oxygen mole supplied in the reformer to the oxygen mole required for the complete combustion of biomass) and steam ratio (defined as the ratio of the steam mole supplied into the gasifier to the carbon mole in biomass supplied into the gasifier) for producing required gas supplied into a dual-fueled diesel engine. The results showed that, under optimum conditions, the higher heating value of the reformed gas was 3.9 MJ/m³_N; the cold gas efficiency (defined as the ratio of HHV reformed gas × reformed gas flow rate to HHV biomass × biomass feed rate) of the gasification system was 66%, and the gross thermal efficiency of the overall system was 27%.     

Steam‐air blown bubbling fluidized bed biomass gasification (BFBBG): Multi‐scale models and experimental validation

During fluidized bed biomass gasification, complex gas‐solid mixing patterns and numerous chemical and physical phenomena make identification of optimal operating conditions challenging. In this work, a parametric experimental campaign was carried out alongside the development of a coupled reactor network model which successfully integrates the individually validated sub‐models to predict steady‐state reactor performance metrics and outputs. The experiments utilized an integrated gasification system consisting of an externally‐heated, bench‐scale, 4‐in., 5 kWth, fluidized bed steam/air blown gasifier fed with woody biomass equipped with a molecular beam mass spectrometer to directly measure tar species. The operating temperature (750–850°C) and air/fuel equivalence ratio (ER = 0–0.157) were independently varied to isolate their effects. Elevating temperature is shown to improve the char gasification rate and reduce tar concentrations. Air strongly impacts the composition of tar, accelerating the conversion of lighter polycyclic‐aromatic hydrocarbons into soot precursors, while also improving the overall carbon conversion. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 1543–1565, 2017     

Coal combustion characteristics in a circulating fast fluidized bed

The effect of coal size (0.73–1.03 mm), excess air ratio (1.0–1.4), operating bed temperature (750–900‡C), coal feeding rate (1–3 kg/h), and coal recycle rate (20–40 kg/h) on combustion efficiency, temperature profiles along the bed height and flue gas composition have been determined in a bubbling and circulating fluidized bed combustor (7.8 cm-ID x 2.6 m-high). Combustion efficiency increases with increasing excess air ratio and operating bed temperature and it decreases with increasing particle size in the bubbling and circulating fluidzing beds. In general, temperature profiles and combustion efficiency are more uniform and higher in a circulating bed than those in bubbling bed. Combustion efficiency also increases with increasing recycle rate of unburned coal in the circulating bed. The ratio of CO/CO₂ of flue gas decreases with increasing bed temperature and excess air ratio, whereas the ratio of O₂(CO + CO₂) decreases with bed temperature in both bubbling and circulating fluidized beds.     

Analysis of lurgi gasification of two U.S. Coals

A mathematical model of moving bed coal gasification is used to determine the performance of two U.S. coals in a pressurized Lurgi gasifier. Air and oxygen blasts are considered.Optimum feed conditions are highly dependent on coal type and oxidant, with high activity Wyoming coal requiring less oxygen and less steam to gasify a given amount of fixed carbon than low activity Illinois coal. The different steam to oxygen ratios for the two coals result in markedly different H₂/CO ratios in the product gas.Optimum operation requires that the combustion zone be maintained at a given distance above the ash grate.Calculations in the neighborhood of the optimum define process variables that can be used to infer deviations from optimum conditions.     

Numerical simulation of 3D fluidized bed biomass gasification based on CPFD

Based on computational particle fluid dynamics (CPFD), a three-dimensional bubbling fluidized bed steam-air mixed gasification numerical model was established, and it was verified with experiment trials. The results show that the simulation and experiment have good consistency. Based on the model, the gas distribution and temperature distribution in the gasifier were studied; meanwhile, the biomass properties (particle size, water content, types) and operating conditions (gasification temperature, bed height) were investigated. The results show that there is an optimal value for the impact of biomass particle size on gasification performance, with an average particle size of 0.6 mm being the best; a higher water content will reduce the output of combustible gas and is not conducive to the gasification reaction. Among the four types of biomass, sawdust gasification has the highest efficiency, the largest combustible gas production, and the highest gas calorific value. Rice husk is second only to sawdust but its carbon conversion rate is higher than that of sawdust; increasing the gasification temperature can increase the proportion of combustible gas and increase gasification efficiency; while the change of initial bed height can change the ratio of H₂/CO. This experiment provides a theoretical reference for biomass steam/air gasification, which is helpful for the selection and processing of biomass raw materials, and also facilitates the amplification and optimization of the gasifier.     

Metallic iron as a tar breakdown catalyst related to atmospheric,fluidised bed gasification of biomass

Tar formation is a major drawback when biomass is converted in a gasifier to obtain gas aimed for utilisation in power production plants or for production of chemicals. Catalytic cracking is an efficient method to diminish the tar content in the gas mixture. In this study, the capability of metallic iron and iron oxides to catalytically crack tars has been experimentally examined. To obtain metallic iron, small grains of hematite (Fe₂O₃) were placed in a secondary reactor downstream the gasifier and reduced in situ prior to catalytic operation. The fuel used in the atmospheric fluidised bed gasifier was Swedish birch with a moisture content of approximately 7 wt%.The influence of temperature in the range 700–900 °C and λ values (i.e. equivalence ratio, ER) between 0 and 0.20 have been investigated. In essence, the results show that raising the temperature in the catalytic bed to approximately 900 °C yields almost 100% tar breakdown. Moreover, increasing the λ value also improves the overall tar cracking activity. The iron oxides did not demonstrate any catalytic activity.     

昭通褐煤气化扩大试验研究

针对昭通褐煤的特点 ,在气化煤量为 0 .3t/h的焦载热流化床气化扩大试验装置上进行了试验研究 .研究结果表明 ,煤气中焦油量很小 ,有利于煤气生产的后期处理 ;与移动床气化和普通流化床气化相比 ,煤气热值和气化产率都有较大增加 ,煤气热值已接近城市煤气的要求 ;加大气化煤量可增加提升段燃烧的易燃成分 ,从而提高了燃烧温度和气化温度 ;气化煤量的变化对褐煤气化产率和产量的影响较大 .对于开发昭通褐煤资源来说 ,采用本工艺技术生产城市煤气是一个较佳的方案 .     

基于CPFD方法的流化床生物质气化数值模拟

基于计算颗粒流体动力学(CPFD)建立了三维鼓泡流化床水蒸气-空气混合气化的数值模型,并进行了模型验证,结果表明模拟和实验具有良好的一致性。在该模型的基础上,研究了气化炉内气体分布以及温度分布;同时探究了生物质属性(颗粒粒径、含水率、种类)以及操作条件(气化温度、床料高度)对气化特性的影响。结果表明,生物质颗粒粒径对气化性能的影响存在一个最优值,平均粒径为0.6 mm是最佳的;较高的含水率会降低可燃气体产量,不利于气化反应的进行;四种生物质中,锯末气化的效率最高、可燃气体产量最大、气体热值最高,稻壳仅次于锯末但其碳转化率高于锯末;提高气化温度可以增加可燃气体的比例、提高气化效率;而初始床层高度的变化可以改变H₂/CO的比例。本实验为生物质水蒸气/空气气化提供了理论参考,有助于生物质原料的选取和处理,也有助于气化炉的放大和优化。