Reaction Kinetics of Pressurized Entrained Flow Coal Gasification: Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of a 5 MW Siemens Test Gasifier

Abstract

Modeling pressurized entrained flow gasification of solid fuels plays an important role in the development of integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants and other gasification applications. A better understanding of the underlying reaction kinetics is essential for the design and optimization of entrained flow gasifiers—in particular at operating conditions relevant to large-scale industrial gasifiers. The presented computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations aim to predict conversion rates as well as product gas compositions in entrained flow gasifiers. The simulations are based on the software ansys fluent 15.0 and include several detailed submodels in user defined functions (UDF). In a previous publication, the developed CFD model has been validated for a Rhenish lignite against experimental data, obtained from a pilot-scale entrained flow gasifier operated at the Technische Universität München. In the presented work, the validated CFD model is applied to a Siemens test gasifier geometry. Simulation results and characteristic parameters, with focus on char gasification reactions, are analyzed in detail and provide new insights into the gasification process.