A Thermo-Mechanical Model for a Counterflow Biomass Gasifier

Abstract

This article presents a thermo-mechanical approach to investigate heat transfer between solid and fluid phases in a model gasifier. A two-temperature equation approach is applied in addition to a macroscopic model for laminar flow through a porous moving bed. Transport equations are discretized using the control-volume method and the system of algebraic equations is relaxed via the SIMPLE algorithm. The effects on inter-phase heat transfer due to variation of medium permeability, thermal conductivity and thermal capacity are analyzed. Results indicate that for smaller medium permeabilities, as well as for higher solid-to-fluid thermal capacity and thermal conductivity ratios, enhancement of heat transfer between phases is observed.