Biomass char gasification kinetic rates compared to data, including ash effects

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This investigation provides both experimental and theoretical analyses of biomass char gasification kinetics over 1150–1350 °C in the environment of CO2, H2O and combinations of these reactants. The experimental data include continuous measurements of particle mass, external and internal temperatures, shape, and size with periodic but not continuous measurements of char porosity, pore size distribution, and pore surface area. The model describes heterogeneous char gasification for poplar wood, corn stover and switchgrass in different shapes and industrially relevant sizes (12.5 mm and smaller). Nonlinear least-squares regression produces optimized power-law model parameters for global kinetics that describe biomass char gasification with respect to both CO2 and H2O separately and in combination. A single set of kinetic parameters describes reaction rates for all three fuels. Model simulations agree with measured data at all stages of char conversion even though the observed mass loss rates change significantly with conversion. The change in rate with conversion depends strongly on ash content, and this investigation provides a simple and theoretically based reaction rate expression that includes the effect of inert ash occupying an increasing portion of the reactive surface with increased conversion.