MP-PIC investigation of glycerol steam reforming in bubbling fluidized bed for high-quality hydrogen production

Abstract

A reactive multiphase particle-in-cell approach is adopted to numerically investigate the physical and thermochemical characteristics of glycerol steam reforming process in a three-dimensional bubbling fluidized bed. Via the model verification, the simulated results are in acceptable agreement with the experimental measurements. The gas-solid flow hydrodynamics and the particle thermochemical properties are explored. In addition, the effects of different operating parameters (reaction temperature, particle diameter, steam/glycerol ratio, operating pressure) on the performance of the glycerol steam reforming system are discussed. The results reveal the significantly non-uniform spatial distribution of particle temperature and heat transfer coefficient (HTC) due to the intense endothermic reactions and nonlinear hydrodynamics. Comparatively large HTC of solid particles appears in the lower part of the bed. Enlarging the reaction temperature and operating pressure give rise to a larger particle HTC. The back-mixing and internal circulation behavior of particles highly influence the spatial distribution of particle velocity inside the bed. The slip velocity of particle accumulated around the gas feeding port is obviously large. The slip velocity and HTC of particle are almost positively correlated. Decreasing the steam/glycerol ratio enhances the particle thermochemical properties. Moreover, elevating the reaction temperature significantly promotes the yields of H2 and CO while the formation of CH4 is suppressed.