Abstract
Compared to conventional allothermal gasification of solid fuels (e.g., biomass, charcoal, lignite, etc.), plasma-assisted gasification offers an efficient method for applying energy to the gasification process to increase the flexibility of operation conditions and to increase the reaction kinetics. In particular, non-thermal plasmas (NTP) are promising, in which thermal equilibrium is not reached and electrons have a substantially higher mean energy than gas molecules. Thus, it is generally assumed that in NTP the supplied energy is utilized more efficiently for generating free radicals initiating gasification reactions than thermal plasma processes. In order to investigate this hypothesis, we compared purely thermal to non-thermal plasma-assisted gasification of biomass in steam in a drop tube reactor at atmospheric pressure. The NTP was provided by means of gliding arcs between two electrodes aligned in the inlet steam flow with an electric power of about 1 kW. Reaction yields and rates were evaluated using measured gas temperatures by the optical technique. The first experimental results show that the non-thermal plasma not only promotes the carbon conversion of the fuel particles, but also accelerates the reaction kinetics. The carbon conversion is increased by nearly 10% using wood powder as the fuel. With charcoal powder, more than 3% are converted into syngas.
Highlights
IntroductionDuring the “Energiewende”, the provision of a stable and CO2 -neutral energy structure through the implementation of renewable energy sources (e.g., photovoltaics, wind turbines, biomass and hydropower) has attracted increasing attention
During the “Energiewende”, the provision of a stable and CO2 -neutral energy structure through the implementation of renewable energy sources has attracted increasing attention
18 were obtained Taking in various
Summary
During the “Energiewende”, the provision of a stable and CO2 -neutral energy structure through the implementation of renewable energy sources (e.g., photovoltaics, wind turbines, biomass and hydropower) has attracted increasing attention. Plasma application for gasification of biomass, municipal waste, Energies 2018, 11, 1302; doi:10.3390/en11051302 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies. Energies 2018, 11, 1302 and other carbon-rich materials has been considered, because application of electrical energy allows generation of hydrogen-rich synthesis gas and, depending on the reaction conditions, of methane and. There has been growing interest in non-thermal plasma (NTP) application [3]: In NTPs, electric energy is efficiently supplied to the electrons by means of the electric field, resulting in the ionization, dissociation and excitation of a large fraction of the feed gas molecules. Energy input through plasma offers the possibility of dynamic utilization of electricity generated by renewable sources. The major limitation is the high capital costs of plasma generators
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