Investigation of Co-Gasification Reactivity of Torrefied Jatropha Seed Cake with Illinois #6 Coal Char

Abstract

Coal and torrefied biomass co-gasification is one of the potential solutions to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. For this study, Jatropha seed cake was torrefied at a temperature range of 200 to 300 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere. The torrefied material was then co-pyrolyzed and isothermally co-gasified at 900 °C with two Illinois (IL) #6 coal chars in a fixed-bed reactor connected to an on-line gas chromatography analyzer. Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide were the primary gas products from the torrefaction process. Kinetic models, such as the shrinking core model, the homogenous model, and the catalysis-controlled model, were used to analyze the gasification mechanism. The results showed that the shrinking core and homogenous models provided the best fits for the gasification reaction data. Jatropha seed cake torrefied at 260 and 280 °C exhibited the best reaction activity with the IL #6 coal chars. The reactivities of coal char with torrefied biomass obtained at 200 and 300 °C were lower in comparison with the others.