The objective of this thesis is to experimentally investigate the performance of steam gasification of chars of pure coal (lignite, sub-bituminous), pure biomass (radiata pine, eucalyptus nitens) and their blends. The influences of gasification temperature, types of coal and biomass, coal-biomass blending ratio, alkali and alkaline earth metal (AAEM) in lignite, on specific gasification characteristics (producer gas composition and yield, char reactivity) were studied. In addition, synergistic effects in co-gasification of coal-biomass blend char were also investigated. This project is in accordance with objectives of the BISGAS Consortium. In this study, experiments were performed in a bench-scale gasifier at gasification temperatures of 850°C, 900°C and 950°C, respectively. Two types of coals (lignite and sub-bituminous) and two kinds of biomass (radiata pine and eucalyptus nitens) from New Zealand were selected as sample fuels. From these raw materials, the chars with coal-to-biomass blending ratios of 0:100 (pure coal), 20:80, 50:50, 80:20 and 100:0 (pure biomass), which were derived through the devolatilization at temperature of 900°C for 7 minutes, were gasified with steam as gasification agent. During the gasification tests, the producer gas composition and gas production were continuously analysed using a Micro gas chromatograph. When the gas production was undetectable, the gasification process was assumed to be completed and the gasification time was recorded. The gasification producer gas consisted of three main gas components: hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The results from gasification of chars of individual solid fuels (coal or biomass) confirmed that biomass char gasification was faster than coal char gasification. The influences of gasification temperatures were shown as: when gasification temperature increased, the H2 yield increased in coal char gasification but decreased in biomass char gasification. In the meantime, CO yields increased while CO2 yields decreased in both coal char and biomass char gasification. In addition, the char reactivity of all the pure fuel samples increased with elevated gasification temperatures. The results from co-gasification of coal-biomass blend char exhibited that the syngas production rate, which is defined as the total gas production divided by the gasification completion time, was enhanced by an increase in gasification temperatures as well as an increase in the biomass proportion in the blend. The AAEM species played a significant catalytic role in both gasification of pure coal chars and co-gasification of coal-biomass blend chars. The presence of AAEM increased the producer gas yield and enhanced the char reactivity. The positive synergistic effects of the coal-biomass blending char on syngas production rate only existed in the co-gasification of lignite-eucalyptus nitens blend chars. The other blend chars showed either insignificant synergistic effects or negative effects on the syngas production rate.

The catalytic effect of potassium on the rate of CO₂ gasification of a bituminous coal char and a pure carbon substrate is investigated. The gasification rate depends on both the catalyst concentration (K/C atomic ratio) and the internal porous structure of the solid. For low values of the K/C atomic ratio, the initial gasification rate (mg carbon gasified per initial gram carbon per min) increases sharply with the addition of catalyst; at higher values, the rate profile levels off. The sharp increase in rate is due to the activation of reaction sites while the plateau is attributed to the saturation of the surface with active sites. The variation of the instantaneous gasification rate (based on remaining carbon) with carbon conversion at various initial K/C ratios is studied. The important reasons for the change in rate are the change in the solid surface area, the loss of active sites, the loss of catalyst by vaporization and the change in the K/C ratio due to carbon depletion. The loss of catalyst from the pure carbon substrate by vaporization is also determined. The extent of this loss depends primarily on the reaction start-up procedure. Temperature programmed experiments show that under inert atmospheres, both KOH and K₂CO₃ react with carbon to give a reduced form of the catalyst which appears to be a prerequisite for the rapid vaporization of potassium. The effect of catalyst loss on both the initial gasification rate and the variation in rate with conversion is determined. The reaction mechanism is studied by a temperature and concentration programmed reaction technique. The proposed redox mechanism contains three surface complexes: -CO₂K, -COK and -CK. The oxide groups are the intermediates during C/CO₂ gasification. The completely reduced form, -CK, is the end product of catalyst reduction and is the precursor for K loss. The stoichiometries of these surface groups are confirmed by oxygen and potassium balance.

No description available.

Energy use and the environment are inextricably linked and form a key role in concerns over sustainability. All methods of energy production involve resource uncertainties and environmental impacts. A clear example of this is the use of fossil fuels which present three main problems, being: finite resources; significant contribution to environmental pollution; and reliance on imports. Hence there is a clear need to reduce the use of fossil fuels for energy. Bioenergy has the potential to both displace fossil fuels, and reduce the effect of climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide during the production of biomass. It is also possible that bioenergy can reduce the UK’s dependence on energy imports and boost the rural economy. This thesis provides an interdisciplinary assessment of bioenergy production in the UK. Due to the complexities of bioenergy systems several appraisal methods have been used. An initial study examined the barriers to and drivers for UK bioenergy development as a whole. It was found that for projects to be successful, bioenergy schemes need to be both economically attractive and environmentally sustainable. A biomass resource assessment was then completed using the South West of England as a case study. This demonstrates that bioenergy can make a useful contribution to the UK’s energy supply, due to the diverse range of biomass feedstocks currently available. However a range of barriers and constraints will need to be overcome if the UK is to reach its bioenergy potential. To assess the potential environmental impacts of bioenergy production different case studies were selected. Life cycle assessment is widely regarded as one of the best methodologies for the evaluation of burdens associated with bioenergy production. This was applied, alongside net energy analysis, to a small-scale biomass gasification plant which uses wood waste as a feedstock. As an alternative biomass source, the perennial energy crops Miscanthus and Willow were also assessed. Several different scenarios of biomass cultivation, transportation, and energy conversion were then compared, to assess the potential environmental impacts. Biomass gasification offers good potential for reducing fossil fuel use and climate change impacts. Nonetheless embodied energy in the construction phase can be high and other impacts such as particulate emissions, ecotoxicity and land use can be important. Therefore environmental benefits are maximised when both electricity and heat are utilised together, and when waste is used as feedstock. The ultimate applicability of biomass gasification is restricted by the quantity of feedstocks that can be made available for conversion. Perennial energy crops offer several advantages over annual crops including more positive energy balances and reduced agro-chemical inputs. However their cultivation needs to be carefully sited to avoid issues of land use change and the displacement of food crops. This study shows that each bioenergy production pathway needs to be assessed using a range of appraisal techniques, which include: biomass resource assessment, technical and economic feasibility, life cycle assessment and net energy analysis. It concludes that biomass gasification CHP offers an alternative to fossil fuel generation but more technical knowledge is required in the UK if it is to become widely used for biomass energy.

Thesis. 1976. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Engineering. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 414-423. / Ph.D.

Biomass is a renewable, carbon-neutral resource that produces minimal pollution when used to generate electricity, fuel vehicles, and provide heat for industry. Every year in Iowa, millions of bushels of treated seed corn go unused, and are wasted (sent to the landfill). Old treated seed corn goes unplanted because of low germination rates, but it goes unused because of the toxicity associated with the pesticides and fungicides applied to it. If the toxic additives could be destroyed through gasification with a long, high-temperature residence time, the producer gas from treated seed corn could then be used as a fuel source in regular power plants. The temperature and reactivity required to destroy these chemicals is best achieved in a reactive bed, like one formed by carbon char. This makes a char producing combustion system an ideal candidate for this type of fuel. In this work, a char-producing downdraft gasification system is used to examine system behavior for seed corn fuel. The system is pilot-scale and the producer gas is of primary interest for power production. Both experiments and numerical simulations are carried out and a range of parameters are examined, including the thermal profile, equivalence ratio, bed depth, and producer gas composition. A second downdraft gasifier, with two-stage gasification, is also studied to compare the systems’ behaviors. From these results, a 1-d hybrid model was developed and utilized to predict optimal gas production in these systems. Results show that above the minimal char bed level, higher equivalence ratio (ER) value results in a higher combustion zone temperature and a higher gas yield while leading to a lower CO concentration in the producer gas. Bed height consumes more heat in the combustion zone which brings about a lower combustion zone temperature. In general, ER plays a more dominating role in determining gas yield and combustion zone temperature. The two-stage system, which expands the combustion zone, effectively increases carbon conversion rate and hence generates a producer gas with high cold gas efficiency, although this makes maintaining sufficient char depth difficult.

An exergy analysis on gasification and oxyburn processes has been conducted. Equilibrium modeling in Aspen Plus© was used to develop a methodology for evaluating different fuels for gasification based on exergy analysis. The exergetic efficiency of gasifying a fuel strongly depended on the carbon boundary point, which is the equivalence ratio limit at which all carbon is converted to gaseous products in an adiabatic system. When evaluating a fuel for gasification, it is important to consider if the temperature of the carbon boundary point falls below 1050 K, which is also the temperature that the water-gas shift reaction begins to favor CO2 and H2. It was found that the rational efficiency, a common exergetic efficiency used in the literature, remained relatively unchanged at equivalence ratios past the carbon boundary point. A different exergetic efficiency, termed the gas efficiency, was proposed that showed better variance to the equivalence ratio and related better to the desired operation of the gasifier. It is shown that an oxyburn process can be used to decrease the energy requirement of capturing CO2 if it is run closer to stoichiometric. Flue gas recirculation was investigated as a means to improve gasification efficiency, lower the reactor temperature of coal gasification, and capture CO2. It was found that a higher percentage of flue gas must be recirculated back to the gasifier if flue gas from combustion with pure O2 is used instead of air. Using flue gas recirculation allowed the gasifier equivalence ratio to be increased without solid carbon in the products. Increasing the equivalence ratio also resulted in a slight increase in the maximum achievable exergetic efficiency of the gasifier. Finally, an internal combustion engine model was developed based on closed-system thermodynamics and successfully integrated with the open-system realm of Aspen Plus©.

A mathematical model for entrained flow coal gasification was developed with the objective of predicting the influence of coal properties and gasification conditions on the performance of entrained flow gasifiers operating at pressures up to 21 atmospheres (2.1MPa). The model represents gasifiers as plug flow reactors and therefore neglects any mixing or turbulence effects. Coal properties were predicted through use of correlations from a variety of literature sources and others that were developed from experimental data in the literature. A sensitivity analysis of the model indicated that errors in the calculated values of coal volatile yield, carbon dioxide gasification reactivity and steam gasification may significantly affect the model predictions. Similarly errors in the input values for gasifier wall temperatures and gasifier diameter, when affected by slagging, can cause model prediction errors. Model predictions were compared with experimental gasification results for a range of atmospheric and high pressure gasifiers, the majority of the results being obtained by CSIRO at atmospheric pressure for a range of coals. Predictions were accurate for the majority of atmospheric pressure results over a large range of gas feed mixtures. Due to the limited range of experimental data available for high pressure gasification the capability of the model is somewhat uncertain, although the model provided accurate predictions for the majority of the available results. The model was also used to predict the trends in particle reactions with gasification and the influence of pressure, gasifier diameter and feed coal on gasifier performance. Further research on coal volatile yields, gasification reactivities and gas properties at high temperatures and pressures was recommended to improve the accuracy of model inputs. Additional predictions and model accuracy improvements could be made by extending the model to include fluid dynamics and slag layer modelling. / PhD Doctorate

<p>High temperature filtration in combustion and gasification processes is a highly interdisciplinary field. Thus, particle technology in general has to be supported by elements of physics, chemistry, thermodynamics and heat and mass transfer processes. This topic can be addressed in many ways, phenomenological, based on the up stream processes (i.e. dust/aerosol formation and characterisation) or apparatus oriented.</p><p>The efficiency of the thermochemical conversion process and the subsequent emission control are major important areas in the development of environmentally sound and sustainable technology. Both are highly important for combustion and gasification plant design, operation and economy. </p><p>This thesis is divided into four parts:</p><p>I. High temperature cleaning in combustion processes.</p><p>II. Design evaluations of the Panel Bed Filter technology.</p><p>III. Biomass gasification</p><p>IV. High temperature cleaning of biomass gasification product gas</p><p>The first part validates the filter performance through field experiments on a full scale filter element employed to a biomass combustion process and relates the results to state of the art within comparable technologies (i.e. based on surface filtration). The derived field experience led to new incentives in the search for a simplified design featuring increased capacity. Thus, enabling both high efficiency and simplified production and maintenance. A thorough examination of design fundamentals leading to the development of a new filter geometry is presented.</p><p>It is evident that the up-stream process has significant influence upon the operation conditions of a filter unit. This has lead to a detailed investigation of some selected aspects related to the thermochemical conversion. Furthermore, the influence of fuel characteristics upon conversion and product gas quality is discussed.</p><p>The last part discusses the quality of biomass gasification product gas and requirements put upon the utilisation of this gas in turbines, diesel engines or other high temperature applications. Filtration experiments conducted on product gas derived from wood gasification are reported and discussed.</p>

Thesis (M.Ing. (Chemical Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.