Petroleum coke or petcoke, a refinery byproduct, has generally been considered as an unusable byproduct because of its high sulfur content. However energy industries now view petcoke as a potential feedstock for power generation because it has higher carbon content than other hydrocarbons like coal, biomass and sewage residue. This gives petcoke a great edge over other feedstocks to generate power. Models for the two most common processes for power generation, namely combustion and gasification, were developed using Aspen Plus steady state chemical process simulator. Overall plant layouts for both processes were developed by calculating the heat and mass balance of the unit operations. After conducting wide sensitivity analysis, results indicate that one ton of petcoke feedstock can generate up to 4 MW of net available power. Both processes have rates of return greater than 30%, although gasification offers a slightly more attractive opportunity than combustion.

Biomass gasification may be an attractive alternative for meeting future energy demand. Although gasification is a mature technology, it has yet to be fully commercialised due to tar formation. This study focuses on the tar mitigation in gas produced in an atmospheric bubbling fluidised bed (ABFB) gasification system. Previous studies indicated significant tar variability along the system. In this work the experimental procedure has been improved for reliable results and better understanding of tar variability in the producer gas. After having introduced a new sample point for tar analysis to the system, experimental results indicated tar reduction in the gasifier, probably due to continuous accumulation of char and ash in the bed, as well as in the ceramic filter owing to thermal and catalytic effects. Iron-based materials, provided by Höganäs AB, were applied in a secondary catalytic bed reactor for tar decomposition in the producer gas. It was found that tar concentration depends on catalytic and gasification temperatures and catalyst material. When changing the gasification temperature from 850 °C to 800 °C the conditions in the producer gas also changed from reductive to oxidative, transforming the initial metallic state of catalyst into its oxidised form. It may be concluded that the catalysts in their metallic states in general exhibit a better tar cracking capacity than their corresponding oxides. Due to the low reactivity of petroleum coke, an alternative may be to convert it in combination with other fuels such as biomass. Co-gasification of petroleum coke and biomass was studied in this work. Biomass ash in the blends was found to have a catalytic effect on the reactivity of petroleum coke during co-gasification. Furthermore, this synergetic effect between biomass and petcoke was observed in the kinetics data. / <p>QC 20141022</p>

El propósito general de este trabajo de título es evaluar la factibilidad técnica de producción de un árido sintético hecho a partir de cenizas de combustión de lecho fluidizado (FBC), con el objeto de disminuir el impacto ambiental inherente a la generación de energía eléctrica de una importante planta de nuestro país. Se pretende proveer antecedentes suficientes para introducir este residuo dentro de las materias primas utilizadas en construcciones de hormigón, en este caso en particular, como un árido liviano para hormigones livianos estructurales. La Refinería ENAP Bio Bio, emplazada en la comuna de Talcahuano, Región de la Araucanía, cuenta con la planta cogeneradora de energía eléctrica Petropower S.A., la cual se retroalimenta del petcoke, material combustible de alto contenido de azufre, producido en el proceso de refinamiento de petróleo. La combustión del petcoke, que se realiza en una cámara de combustión donde se adiciona cal, produce cenizas con alto contenido de sulfato cálcico (CaSO4), óxido cálcico (CaO), carbonato cálcico (CaCO3), fracciones de material alúmino-silíceo e impurezas. Es debido a la presencia de los compuestos de calcio, que se sugiere la activación de éstos mediante la confección de una mezcla de cenizas y puzolana, de modo de obtener un material cementicio de carácter hidráulico. La evaluación de la factibilidad de producción del árido sintético se basó en la caracterización física y química del material resultante de mezclar ceniza FBC, puzolana y agua; y la determinación de un proceso de fabricación de pellets por extrusión. Dentro de los ensayos realizados a la ceniza FBC y a los áridos sintéticos se encuentran: análisis de distribución de partículas mediante equipo láser, superficie específica mediante método Blaine y peso específico para las cenizas; y resistencia a compresión, absorción de agua y densidades a los pellets. Estos ensayos arrojaron resultados que hacen factible continuar con la investigación y posterior utilización de los pellets sintéticos en el hormigón. Se concluye que la resistencia máxima obtenida en los ensayos de compresión de las probetas (21,0 MPa) y el peso específico obtenido a partir de la densidad real seca del árido (~1400 kg/m3 ), permiten caracterizar al árido sintético hecho a partir de la mezcla de ceniza y puzolana como un árido potencialmente apto para la confección de hormigones livianos estructurales, bloques de hormigón liviano y rellenos; introduciendo una nueva línea de investigación en temas de desarrollo sustentable en nuestro país.

Orientador: José Luz Silveira / Resumo: As maiores restrições ambientais impostas por autoridades de todo o mundo, no sentido de buscar a redução dos níveis de emissões de poluentes, bem como a crescente escassez de recursos minerais como o petróleo, impõe a alguns países a real necessidade de investir em novas tecnologias que melhor aproveitem os recursos disponíveis com menos agressão ao meio ambiente aliado a maior geração de receita. Nesse sentido a tecnologia IGCC – Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle é apresentada como uma possibilidade para atingir estes objetivos, inclusive para países como o Brasil que dispõe de grandes reservas petrolíferas e que tem a necessidade de aumentar a produção de insumos como hidrogênio, vapor e energia elétrica. Este trabalho apresenta uma breve revisão da bibliografia sobre o refino de petróleo, sobre a gaseificação dos resíduos provenientes do refino e sobre a tecnologia IGCC em seus aspectos gerais, abordando os principais componentes do sistema e como esta tecnologia pode ser utilizada em uma planta de refino. Na sequência, as aplicações da tecnologia IGCC são exemplificadas com três exemplos reais em funcionamento no mundo. A refinaria do vale do Paraíba é utilizada como estudo de caso para a implantação de uma planta IGCC, utilizando 100% do coque verde de petróleo produzido como matéria prima para a gaseificação, tendo como objetivo a produção exclusiva de energia elétrica para a geração de dividendos à refinaria. A análise termodinâmica da planta apresentou eficiênci... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The greater environmental restrictions imposed by authorities around the world, in the sense of seeking to reduce levels of pollutant emissions, as well as the growing scarcity of mineral resources such as oil, impose on some countries the real need to invest in new technologies that best utilize available resources with less aggression to the environment combined with greater revenue generation. In this sense the Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) technology is presented as a possibility to achieve these objectives, including for countries such as Brazil that has large oil reserves and that has the need to increase its production of inputs such as hydrogen, steam and electricity. This paper presents a brief review of the literature on oil refining, gasification of waste from refining and IGCC technology in its general aspects, addressing the main components of the system and how this technology can be used in a refining plant. Following, the applications of the IGCC technology are exemplified with three real examples in operation in the world. The Paraíba Valley Refinery is used as a case study for the implementation of an IGCC plant, using 100% of the Petcoke produced as a raw material for gasification, with the objective of producing exclusively electric energy for generation of dividends to the refinery. The thermodynamic analysis of the plant presented net efficiency in electricity production of 41,2% with a production capacity of 260 MW. The economic analysis... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre