Impact of operating parameters on biomass gasification in a fluidized bed reactor: An Eulerian-Lagrangian approach

• Published in: Powder technology Vol. 333; pp. 304 - 316
• Main Authors: Wang, Shuai, Luo, Kun, Hu, Chenshu, Sun, Liyan, Fan, Jianren
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 15.06.2018; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Bed temperature; Biomass; Biomass gasification; Carbon dioxide; Composition effects; Computational fluid dynamics; Computer applications; Endothermic reactions; Eulerian-Lagrangian; Feedstock; Fluid flow; Fluidized beds; Fluxes; Gasification; Hydrodynamics; Mathematical models; Parameters; Raw materials; Reactors; Source code; Steam; Steam/biomass ratio; Synthesis gas; Vertical distribution; Biomass gasification; Feedstock; Steam/biomass ratio; Bed temperature; Eulerian-Lagrangian
• ISSN: 0032-5910; 1873-328X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.powtec.2018.04.027

In this paper, a reactive MP-PIC model is built on the open-source software package OpenFOAM to explore biomass gasification in a fluidized bed reactor. In this model, gas phase is solved under Eulerian frame while solid phase is regarded as Lagrangian computational particles. The general flow patterns, gas-solid fluxes, distribution of syngas composition, and effect of operating parameters on gasification performance are both qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. The results show that biomass particles are inclined to migrate and concentrate at the bed surface. Profiles of vertical gas fluxes show a single peak distribution while profiles of vertical solid fluxes present a “W” shape. The heterogeneous reactions mainly occur at the bed surface while the homogeneous reactions mostly take place above the bed surface. Higher temperature enforces the endothermic reactions for products formation. Increasing steam/biomass ratio increases H2 and CO2 formations but decreases CO formation. The four types of feedstock show a similar gasification performance with little variation in the syngas composition. As a priori test, it is demonstrated that the proposed model is reasonable to be used to investigate gas-solid hydrodynamics and reactive characteristics of biomass gasification in fluidized bed reactors. General flow patterns and syngas composition in biomass gasification are presented, meanwhile, numerical results agree well with experimental data. [Display omitted] •A reactive MP-PIC model is developed on OpenFOAM.•Gas-solid hydrodynamics highly relates with reactive characteristics.•Heterogeneous and homogeneous reactions occur in different regions.