Chapter 2 - Process modeling and apparatus simulation for syngas production

Abstract

Syngas is a versatile mixture containing H2, CO, and CO2. It is at the base of the industrial production of bulk chemicals such as ammonia, urea, methanol, synthetic fuel, and their derivatives. Syngas production still exploits natural gas, coal, and fossil fuels; however, alternatives are appearing for the next future. For instance, biomasses, solid fuels such as plastics and solid urban wastes are becoming more and more appealing. For industrial purposes, it is fundamental to properly model both reforming and gasification/pyrolysis processes so that to reliably predict the syngas mixture composition and quality. To do this, modeling and process simulation play a key role. In this chapter, the importance of the adopted mathematical tool will be proven showing that an appropriate selection is needed. For instance, ad-hoc numerical tools are developed to properly model both kinetic reactions and transport phenomena (i.e., mass and heat transfer) involved in gasification/pyrolysis processes. While, concerning the natural gas reforming, authors provide some hints in the mathematical modeling for the reforming furnace providing both complex models and simplified ones. The last part of the present chapter is devoted to the process simulation. Some examples are proposed and details on the implementation are provided. Finally, the authors report the digital twin (i.e., dynamic simulation) of a steam reforming furnace for biogas reforming proving the importance of a robust control loop and providing a reliable start-up procedure for the furnace unit.