Extensive Experimental Characterization with Kinetic Data for the Gasification Simulation of Solid Biofuels

Abstract

In this study, biomass–specific gasification data is experimentally collected for numerical simulations of fixed–bed reactors. Since biomass properties vary, it is crucial to have characteristic biomass data. Extensive data is collected to determine an appropriate description of specific biomass behavior, including basic data (e.g., heating value, size, densities, ultimate and total analysis etc.), biomass pyrolysis and heterogeneous gasification reaction data. Heterogeneous reactions were comparatively investigated in the forms of powder, particles, and a fixed–bed. The powder was investigated in depth with CO2, O2, and H2O (gas fraction 5–20 vol.%; temperature CO2, O2 and H2O, respectively, at 730–790 °C, 360–405 °C, 720–780 °C), while particle reactions and fixed–bed reaction were only studied with CO2. A model description for a fixed–bed batch reactor was applied, modified, and compared to experimental fixed–bed batch reactor results. This study concludes that determining the appropriate characteristic particle size and parameters for the porous structure of specific biomass char is essential for simulation based on preliminary biomass characterization. Therefore, in future investigations, the description for biomass-specific differences between powder, single particles, and bulk of biomass char may be of greater focus, also taking into consideration O2 and H2O.