Evaluation of biomass gasification in a ternary diagram

Abstract

The present paper addresses the development of an alternative approach to illustrate biomass gasification in a ternary diagram which is constructed using data from thermodynamic equilibrium modeling of air-blown atmospheric wood gasification. It allows the location of operation domains of slagging entrained-flow, fluidized-bed/dry-ash entrained-flow and fixed/moving-bed gasification systems depending on technical limitations mainly due to ash melting behavior. Performance parameters, e.g. cold gas efficiency or specific syngas production, and process parameters such as temperature and carbon conversion are displayed in the diagram depending on the three independent mass flows representing (1) the gasifying agent, (2) the dry biomass and (3) the moisture content of the biomass. The graphical approach indicates the existence of maxima for cold gas efficiency (84.9%), syngas yield (1.35 m3 (H2 + CO STP)/kg (waf)) and conversion of carbon to CO (81.1%) under dry air-blown conditions. The fluidized-bed/dry-ash entrained-flow processes have the potential to reach these global maxima since they can operate in the identified temperature range from 700 to 950 °C. Although using air as a gasifying agent, the same temperature range posses a potential of H2/CO ratios up to 2.0 at specific syngas productions of 1.15 m3 (H2 + CO STP)/kg (waf). Fixed/moving-bed and fluidized-bed systems can approach a dry product gas LHV from 3.0 to 5.5 MJ/m3 (dry STP). The ternary diagram was also used to study the increase of gasifying agent oxygen fraction from 21 to 99 vol.%. While the dry gas LHV can be increased significantly, the maxima of cold gas efficiency (+6.5%) and syngas yield (+7.4%) are elevated only slightly.