Effects of Oxygen and Steam Equivalence Ratios on Updraft Gasification of Biomass

Abstract

Several experimental datasets available on the gasification of different lignocellulosic feedstocks were used to correlate the flow of gasifying agents with the performance of updraft gasification in an autothermic 200 kWth pilot plant. The feedstocks used included eucalyptus wood chips, torrefied eucalyptus and spruce chips, lignin rich residues from biorefined straw and reed, shells of almond and hazelnut, which were gasified in flows of air, air and steam, oxygen, oxygen and steam. Thermal profiles inside the gasifier and gas quality in terms of incondensable gas and tar content were recorded and used to calculate the energy efficiency of converting solid feedstock into gaseous and liquid carriers. Common behaviors and parametric functionalities were identified to better understand the process and the most efficient tools to achieve the desired products. In analyzing data, the ratio steam to biomass was reported in terms of the equivalence ratio, ER(H2O) i.e., the fraction of the stoichiometric quantity required to convert the feedstock into H2 and CO2. The use of steam was useful to stabilize the process and to tune the H2/CO ratio in the syngas which reached the value of 2.08 in the case of oxy-steam gasification of lignin rich residues at ER(H2O) of 0.25. Larger use of steam depressed the process by lowering the average temperature of the bed, which instead increased steadily with ER(O2). The production of tar depends on the biomass type and a substantial reduction can be achieved with the torrefaction pretreatment. The same effect was observed increasing the residence time of the syngas in the reactor, typically achieved using oxygen instead of air as main gasification flow or reducing the ER(H2O). Oxy-steam gasification of torrefied wood led to the best results in terms of cold gas efficiency and low heating value when carried out in the ranger 0.23–0.27 of both the ERs.