Physicochemical properties and gasification reactivity of the ultrafine semi-char derived from a bench-scale fluidized bed gasifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yukui; Zhang, Haixia; Zhu, Zhiping; Na, Yongjie; Lu, Qinggang

2017-08-01

Zhundong coalfield is the largest intact coalfield worldwide and fluidized bed gasification has been considered as a promising way to achieve its clean and efficient utilization. The purpose of this study is to investigate the physicochemical properties and gasification reactivity of the ultrafine semi-char, derived from a bench-scale fluidized bed gasifier, using Zhundong coal as fuel. The results obtained are as follows. In comparison to the raw coal, the carbon and ash content of the semi-char increase after partial gasification, but the ash fusion temperatures of them show no significant difference. Particularly, 76.53% of the sodium in the feed coal has released to the gas phase after fluidized bed gasification. The chemical compositions of the semi-char are closely related to its particle size, attributable to the distinctly different natures of diverse elements. The semi-char exhibits a higher graphitization degree, higher BET surface area, and richer meso- and macropores, which results in superior gasification reactivity than the coal char. The chemical reactivity of the semi-char is significantly improved by an increased gasification temperature, which suggests the necessity of regasification of the semi-char at a higher temperature. Consequently, it will be considered feasible that these carbons in the semi-char from fluidized bed gasifiers are reclaimed and reused for the gasification process.

Integrated bioenergy conversion concepts for small scale gasification power systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aldas, Rizaldo Elauria

Thermal and biological gasification are promising technologies for addressing the emerging concerns in biomass-based renewable energy, environmental protection and waste management. However, technical barriers such as feedstock quality limitations, tars, and high NOx emissions from biogas fueled engines impact their full utilization and make them suffer at the small scale from the need to purify the raw gas for most downstream processes, including power generation other than direct boiler use. The two separate gasification technologies may be integrated to better address the issues of power generation and waste management and to complement some of each technologies' limitations. This research project investigated the technical feasibility of an integrated thermal and biological gasification concept for parameters critical to appropriately matching an anaerobic digester with a biomass gasifier. Specific studies investigated the thermal gasification characteristics of selected feedstocks in four fixed-bed gasification experiments: (1) updraft gasification of rice hull, (2) indirect-heated gasification of rice hull, (3) updraft gasification of Athel wood, and (4) downdraft gasification of Athel and Eucalyptus woods. The effects of tars and other components of producer gas on anaerobic digestion at mesophilic temperature of 36°C and the biodegradation potentials and soil carbon mineralization of gasification tars during short-term aerobic incubation at 27.5°C were also examined. Experiments brought out the ranges in performance and quality and quantity of gasification products under different operating conditions and showed that within the conditions considered in the study, these gasification products did not adversely impact the overall digester performance. Short-term aerobic incubation demonstrated variable impacts on carbon mineralization depending on tar and soil conditions. Although tars exhibited low biodegradation indices, degradation may be improved if the microorganisms used to deal with tars are selected and pre-conditioned to the tar environment. Overall, the results provided a basis for operational and design strategy for a combined gasification system but further study is recommended such as determination of the impacts in terms of emissions, power, efficiency and costs associated with the use of producer gas-enriched biogas taking advantage of hydrogen enrichment to reduce NOx and other pollutants in reciprocating engines and other energy conversion systems.

First Experiences with the New Chalmers Gasifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thunman, H.; Seemann, M. C.

During summer 2007 a 2-6 MWth indirect gasification section was integrated into the loop of the existing 82➀2 MWth circulating fluidized bed boiler at Chalmers University. With help of a particle distributor the gasification unit is connected to the loop after the cyclone. Hot bed material entrained from the boiler is so transferred to the gasifier providing the heat for the production of a nearly nitrogen free product gas. Non-gasified char is returned together with the bed material into the boiler and converted. Biomass can be fed into both sections; the boiler and the gasifier. The gasification is separated from the boiler via two loop seals and a particle distributer, directing particles either back to the boiler or into the gasification section. For that reason the CFB boiler can be operated even after the retrofit independently, just like before, or in combined combustion/gasification mode. This possibility keeps the risk for a retrofit low. As, furthermore, the investment costs for the integration are considerably lower than standalone gasification units of that size, the retrofit is an easy way to extend the potential of a CFB Boiler towards bi- and tri-generation (heat, power, fuel) and enter new markets.

Methods and apparatus for catalytic hydrothermal gasification of biomass

DOEpatents

Elliott, Douglas C.; Butner, Robert Scott; Neuenschwander, Gary G.; Zacher, Alan H.; Hart, Todd R.

2012-08-14

Continuous processing of wet biomass feedstock by catalytic hydrothermal gasification must address catalyst fouling and poisoning. One solution can involve heating the wet biomass with a heating unit to a temperature sufficient for organic constituents in the feedstock to decompose, for precipitates of inorganic wastes to form, for preheating the wet feedstock in preparation for subsequent separation of sulfur contaminants, or combinations thereof. Treatment further includes separating the precipitates out of the wet feedstock, removing sulfur contaminants, or both using a solids separation unit and a sulfur separation unit, respectively. Having removed much of the inorganic wastes and the sulfur that can cause poisoning and fouling, the wet biomass feedstock can be exposed to the heterogeneous catalyst for gasification.

Non-slag co-gasification of biomass and coal in entrained-bed furnace

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itaya, Yoshinori; Suami, Akira; Kobayashi, Nobusuke

2018-02-01

Gasification is a promising candidate of processes to upgrade biomass and to yield clean gaseous fuel for utilization of renewable energy resources. However, a sufficient amount of biomass is not always available to operate a large scale of the plant. Co-gasification of biomass with coal is proposed as a solution of the problem. Tar emission is another subject during operation in shaft or kiln type of gasifiers employed conventionally for biomass. The present authors proposed co-gasification of biomass and coal in entrained-bed furnace, which is a representative process without tar emission under high temperature, but operated so to collect dust as flyash without molten slag formation. This paper presents the works performed on co-gasification performance of biomass and pulverized coal to apply to entrained-bed type of furnaces. At first, co-gasification of woody powder and pulverized coal examined using the lab-scale test furnace of the down-flow entrained bed showed that the maximum temperatures in the furnace was over 1500 K and the carbon conversion to gas achieved at higher efficiency than 80-90 percent although the residence time in the furnace was as short as a few seconds. Non-slag co-gasification was carried out successfully without slag formation in the furnace if coal containing ash with high fusion temperature was employed. The trend suggesting the effect of reaction rate enhancement of co-gasification was also observed. Secondary, an innovative sewage sludge upgrading system consisting of self-energy recovery processes was proposed to yield bio-dried sludge and to sequentially produce char without adding auxiliary fuel. Carbonization behavior of bio-dried sludge was evaluated through pyrolysis examination in a lab-scale quartz tube reactor. The thermal treatment of pyrolysis of sludge contributed to decomposition and removal of contaminant components such as nitrogen and sulfur. The gasification kinetics of sludge and coal was also determined by a thermogravimetric analysis. It was revealed that co-gasification rate of sludge and coal chars was influenced negatively due to high ash content in sludge.

Characterization of cellulosic wastes and gasification products from chicken farms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joseph, Paul, E-mail: p.joseph@ulster.ac.uk; Tretsiakova-McNally, Svetlana; McKenna, Siobhan

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The gas chromatography indicated the variable quality of the producer gas. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The char had appreciable NPK values, and can be used as a fertiliser. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The bio-oil produced was of poor quality, having high moisture content and low pH. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Mass and energy balances showed inadequate level energy recovery from the process. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Future work includes changing the operating parameters of the gasification unit. - Abstract: The current article focuses on gasification as a primary disposal solution for cellulosic wastes derived from chicken farms, and the possibility to recover energy from this process. Wood shavings and chickenmore » litter were characterized with a view to establishing their thermal parameters, compositional natures and calorific values. The main products obtained from the gasification of chicken litter, namely, producer gas, bio-oil and char, were also analysed in order to establish their potential as energy sources. The experimental protocol included bomb calorimetry, pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry (PCFC), thermo-gravimetric analyses (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, elemental analyses, X-ray diffraction (XRD), mineral content analyses and gas chromatography. The mass and energy balances of the gasification unit were also estimated. The results obtained confirmed that gasification is a viable method of chicken litter disposal. In addition to this, it is also possible to recover some energy from the process. However, energy content in the gas-phase was relatively low. This might be due to the low energy efficiency (19.6%) of the gasification unit, which could be improved by changing the operation parameters.« less

Method for Hot Real-Time Sampling of Gasification Products

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pomeroy, Marc D

The Thermochemical Process Development Unit (TCPDU) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a highly instrumented half-ton/day pilot scale plant capable of demonstrating industrially relevant thermochemical technologies from lignocellulosic biomass conversion, including gasification. Gasification creates primarily Syngas (a mixture of Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide) that can be utilized with synthesis catalysts to form transportation fuels and other valuable chemicals. Biomass derived gasification products are a very complex mixture of chemical components that typically contain Sulfur and Nitrogen species that can act as catalysis poisons for tar reforming and synthesis catalysts. Real-time hot online sampling techniques, such as Molecular Beammore » Mass Spectrometry (MBMS), and Gas Chromatographs with Sulfur and Nitrogen specific detectors can provide real-time analysis providing operational indicators for performance. Sampling typically requires coated sampling lines to minimize trace sulfur interactions with steel surfaces. Other materials used inline have also shown conversion of sulfur species into new components and must be minimized. Sample line Residence time within the sampling lines must also be kept to a minimum to reduce further reaction chemistries. Solids from ash and char contribute to plugging and must be filtered at temperature. Experience at NREL has shown several key factors to consider when designing and installing an analytical sampling system for biomass gasification products. They include minimizing sampling distance, effective filtering as close to source as possible, proper line sizing, proper line materials or coatings, even heating of all components, minimizing pressure drops, and additional filtering or traps after pressure drops.« less

Considerations Based on Reaction Rate on Char Gasification Behavior in Two-stage Gasifier for Biomass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taniguchi, Miki; Nishiyama, Akio; Sasauchi, Kenichi; Ito, Yusuke; Akamatsu, Fumiteru

In order to develop a small-scale gasifier in which biomass can be converted to energy with high efficiency, we planned a gasification process that consists of two parts: pyrolysis part (rotary kiln) and gasification part (downdraft gasifier). We performed fundamental experiments on gasification part and discussed the appropriate conditions such as air supply location, air ratio, air temperature and hearth load. We considered the results by calculating reaction rates of representative reactions on char gasification part and found that water gas reaction is dominant in the reduction area and its behavior gives important information to decide the adequate length of the char layer.

Economic analysis and assessment of syngas production using a modeling approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Hakkwan; Parajuli, Prem B.; Yu, Fei

Economic analysis and modeling are essential and important issues for the development of current feedstock and process technology for bio-gasification. The objective of this study was to develop an economic model and apply to predict the unit cost of syngas production from a micro-scale bio-gasification facility. An economic model was programmed in C++ computer programming language and developed using a parametric cost approach, which included processes to calculate the total capital costs and the total operating costs. The model used measured economic data from the bio-gasification facility at Mississippi State University. The modeling results showed that the unit cost ofmore » syngas production was $1.217 for a 60 Nm-3 h-1 capacity bio-gasifier. The operating cost was the major part of the total production cost. The equipment purchase cost and the labor cost were the largest part of the total capital cost and the total operating cost, respectively. Sensitivity analysis indicated that labor costs rank the top as followed by equipment cost, loan life, feedstock cost, interest rate, utility cost, and waste treatment cost. The unit cost of syngas production increased with the increase of all parameters with exception of loan life. The annual cost regarding equipment, labor, feedstock, waste treatment, and utility cost showed a linear relationship with percent changes, while loan life and annual interest rate showed a non-linear relationship. This study provides the useful information for economic analysis and assessment of the syngas production using a modeling approach.« less

Programmed temperature gasification study. Final report, October 1, 1979-November 30, 1980

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Spoon, M.J.; Gardner, M.P.; Starkovich, J.A.

An experimental, modeling and conceptual engineering analysis study has been performed to assess the feasibility of TRW's Programmed Temperature Gasification (PTG) concept for carbonizing caking coals without severe agglomeration. The concept involves control of carbonizing heating rate to maintain metaplast concentration at a level equal to or slightly below that which causes agglomeration. The experimental studies required the contruction of a novel programmed temperature, elevated pressure, hot stage video microscope for observation of coal particle changes during heating. This system was used to develop a minimum-time heating schedule capable of carbonizing the coal at elevated pressures in the presence ofmore » hydrogen without severe agglomeration. Isothermal fixed heating rate data for a series of coals were subsequently used to calibrate and verify the mathematical model for the PTG process. These results showed good correlation between experimental data and mathematical predictions. Commercial application of the PTG concept to batch, moving bed and fluid bed processing schemes was then evaluated. Based on the calibrated model programmed temperature gasification of the coal without severe agglomeration could be carried out on a commercial batch reaction in 4 to 12 minutes. The next step in development of the PTG concept for commercial application would require testing on a bench scale (3-inch diameter) gasifier coupled with a full commercial assessment to determine size and cost of various gasification units.« less

Coal gasification systems engineering and analysis. Appendix A: Coal gasification catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The scope of work in preparing the Coal Gasification Data Catalog included the following subtasks: (1) candidate system subsystem definition, (2) raw materials analysis, (3) market analysis for by-products, (4) alternate products analysis, (5) preliminary integrated facility requirements. Definition of candidate systems/subsystems includes the identity of and alternates for each process unit, raw material requirements, and the cost and design drivers for each process design.

Economic analysis of biomass gasification for generating electricity in rural areas in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Susanto, H.; Suria, T.; Pranolo, S. H.

2018-03-01

The gaseous fuel from biomass gasification might reduce the consumption of diesel fuel by 70%. The investment cost of the whole unit with a capacity of 45 kWe was about IDR 220 million in 2008 comprised of 24% for gasification unit, 54% for diesel engine and electric generator, 22% for transportation of the whole unit from Bandung to the site in South Borneo. The gasification unit was made in local workshop in Bandung, while the diesel-generator was purchased also in a local market. To anticipate the development of biomass based electricity in remote areas, an economic analysis has been made for implementations in 2019. A specific investment cost of 600 USD/kW has been estimated taking account to the escalation and capacity factors. Using a discounted factor of 11% and biomass cost in the range of 0.03-0.07 USD/kg, the production cost of electricity would be in the range of 0.09-0.16 USD/kWh. This production cost was lower than that of diesel engine fueled with full oil commonly implemented in many remote areas in Indonesia at this moment. This production cost was also lower than the Feed in Tariff in some regions established by Indonesian government in 2017.

Coal conversion processes and analysis methodologies for synthetic fuels production. [technology assessment and economic analysis of reactor design for coal gasification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

Information to identify viable coal gasification and utilization technologies is presented. Analysis capabilities required to support design and implementation of coal based synthetic fuels complexes are identified. The potential market in the Southeast United States for coal based synthetic fuels is investigated. A requirements analysis to identify the types of modeling and analysis capabilities required to conduct and monitor coal gasification project designs is discussed. Models and methodologies to satisfy these requirements are identified and evaluated, and recommendations are developed. Requirements for development of technology and data needed to improve gasification feasibility and economies are examined.

DEMONSTRATION BULLETIN: TEXACO GASIFICATION PROCESS TEXACO, INC.

EPA Science Inventory

The Texaco Gasification Process (TGP) has operated commercially for nearly 45 years on feeds such as natural gas, liquid petroleum fractions, coal, and petroleum coke. More than 45 plants are either operational or under development in the United States and abroad. Texaco has dev...

Hydrogen recovery from the thermal plasma gasification of solid waste.

PubMed

Byun, Youngchul; Cho, Moohyun; Chung, Jae Woo; Namkung, Won; Lee, Hyeon Don; Jang, Sung Duk; Kim, Young-Suk; Lee, Jin-Ho; Lee, Carg-Ro; Hwang, Soon-Mo

2011-06-15

Thermal plasma gasification has been demonstrated as one of the most effective and environmentally friendly methods for solid waste treatment and energy utilization in many of studies. Therefore, the thermal plasma process of solid waste gasification (paper mill waste, 1.2 ton/day) was applied for the recovery of high purity H(2) (>99.99%). Gases emitted from a gasification furnace equipped with a nontransferred thermal plasma torch were purified using a bag-filter and wet scrubber. Thereafter, the gases, which contained syngas (CO+H(2)), were introduced into a H(2) recovery system, consisting largely of a water gas shift (WGS) unit for the conversion of CO to H(2) and a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) unit for the separation and purification of H(2). It was successfully demonstrated that the thermal plasma process of solid waste gasification, combined with the WGS and PSA, produced high purity H(2) (20 N m(3)/h (400 H(2)-Nm(3)/PMW-ton), up to 99.99%) using a plasma torch with 1.6 MWh/PMW-ton of electricity. The results presented here suggest that the thermal plasma process of solid waste gasification for the production of high purity H(2) may provide a new approach as a future energy infrastructure based on H(2). Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Novel Study of Methane-Rich Gas Reforming to Syngas and Its Kinetics over Semicoke Catalyst

PubMed Central

Zhang, Guojie; Su, Aiting; Qu, Jiangwen; Du, Yannian

2014-01-01

A small-size gasification unit is improved through process optimization to simulate industrial United Gas Improvement Company gasification. It finds that the reaction temperature has important impacts on semicoke catalyzed methane gas mixture. The addition of water vapor can enhance the catalytic activity of reforming, which is due to the fact that addition of water vapor not only removes carbon deposit produced in the reforming and gasification reaction processes, but also participates in gasification reaction with semicoke to generate some active oxygen-containing functional groups. The active oxygen-containing functional groups provide active sites for carbon dioxide reforming of methane, promoting the reforming reaction. It also finds that the addition of different proportions of methane-rich gas can yield synthesis gas with different H2/CO ratio. The kinetics study shows that the semicoke can reduce the activation energy of the reforming reaction and promote the occurrence of the reforming reaction. The kinetics model of methane reforming under the conditions of steam gasification over semicoke is as follows: k-=5.02×103·pCH40.71·pH20.26·exp(−74200/RT). PMID:24959620

Process wastewater treatability study for Westinghouse fluidized-bed coal gasification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Winton, S.L.; Buvinger, B.J.; Evans, J.M.

1983-11-01

In the development of a synthetic fuels facility, water usage and wastewater treatment are major areas of concern. Coal gasification processes generally produce relatively large volumes of gas condensates. These wastewaters are typically composed of a variety of suspended and dissolved organic and inorganic solids and dissolved gaseous contaminants. Fluidized-bed coal gasification (FBG) processes are no exception to this rule. The Department of Energy's Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC), the Gas Research Institute (GRI), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA/IERLRTP) recognized the need for a FBG treatment program to provide process design data for FBG wastewaters during the environmental, health,more » and safety characterization of the Westinghouse Process Development Unit (PDU). In response to this need, METC developed conceptual designs and a program plan to obtain process design and performance data for treating wastewater from commercial-scale Westinghouse-based synfuels plants. As a result of this plan, METC, GRI, and EPA entered into a joint program to develop performance data, design parameters, conceptual designs, and cost estimates for treating wastewaters from a FBG plant. Wastewater from the Westinghouse PDU consists of process quench and gas cooling condensates which are similar to those produced by other FBG processes such as U-Gas, and entrained-bed gasification processes such as Texaco. Therefore, wastewater from this facility was selected as the basis for this study. This paper outlines the current program for developing process design and cost data for the treatment of these wastewaters.« less

Comparative study of thermochemical processes for hydrogen production from biomass fuels.

PubMed

Biagini, Enrico; Masoni, Lorenzo; Tognotti, Leonardo

2010-08-01

Different thermochemical configurations (gasification, combustion, electrolysis and syngas separation) are studied for producing hydrogen from biomass fuels. The aim is to provide data for the production unit and the following optimization of the "hydrogen chain" (from energy source selection to hydrogen utilization) in the frame of the Italian project "Filiera Idrogeno". The project focuses on a regional scale (Tuscany, Italy), renewable energies and automotive hydrogen. Decentred and small production plants are required to solve the logistic problems of biomass supply and meet the limited hydrogen infrastructures. Different options (gasification with air, oxygen or steam/oxygen mixtures, combustion, electrolysis) and conditions (varying the ratios of biomass and gas input) are studied by developing process models with uniform hypothesis to compare the results. Results obtained in this work concern the operating parameters, process efficiencies, material and energetic needs and are fundamental to optimize the entire hydrogen chain. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced Systems for Preprocessing and Characterizing Coal-Biomass Mixtures as Next-Generation Fuels and Feedstocks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karmis, Michael; Luttrell, Gerald; Ripepi, Nino

The research activities presented in this report are intended to address the most critical technical challenges pertaining to coal-biomass briquette feedstocks. Several detailed investigations were conducted using a variety of coal and biomass feedstocks on the topics of (1) coal-biomass briquette production and characterization, (2) gasification of coal-biomass mixtures and briquettes, (3) combustion of coal-biomass mixtures and briquettes, and (4) conceptual engineering design and economic feasibility of briquette production. The briquette production studies indicate that strong and durable co-firing feedstocks can be produced by co-briquetting coal and biomass resources commonly available in the United States. It is demonstrated that binderlessmore » coal-biomass briquettes produced at optimized conditions exhibit very high strength and durability, which indicates that such briquettes would remain competent in the presence of forces encountered in handling, storage and transportation. The gasification studies conducted demonstrate that coal-biomass mixtures and briquettes are exceptional gasification feedstocks, particularly with regard to the synergistic effects realized during devolatilization of the blended materials. The mixture combustion studies indicate that coal-biomass mixtures are exceptional combustion feedstocks, while the briquette combustion study indicates that the use of blended briquettes reduces NO x, CO 2, and CO emissions, and requires the least amount of changes in the operating conditions of an existing coal-fired power plant. Similar results were obtained for the physical durability of the pilot-scale briquettes compared to the bench-scale tests. Finally, the conceptual engineering and feasibility analysis study for a commercial-scale briquetting production facility provides preliminary flowsheet and cost simulations to evaluate the various feedstocks, equipment selection and operating parameters.« less

Long-Term Demonstration of Hydrogen Production from Coal at Elevated Temperatures Year 6 - Activity 1.12 - Development of a National Center for Hydrogen Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stanislowski, Joshua; Tolbert, Scott; Curran, Tyler

2012-04-30

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has continued the work of the National Center for Hydrogen Technology® (NCHT®) Program Year 6 Task 1.12 project to expose hydrogen separation membranes to coal-derived syngas. In this follow-on project, the EERC has exposed two membranes to coal-derived syngas produced in the pilot-scale transport reactor development unit (TRDU). Western Research Institute (WRI), with funding from the State of Wyoming Clean Coal Technology Program and the North Dakota Industrial Commission, contracted with the EERC to conduct testing of WRI’s coal-upgrading/gasification technology for subbituminous and lignite coals in the EERC’s TRDU. This gasifier fires nominallymore » 200–500 lb/hour of fuel and is the pilot-scale version of the full-scale gasifier currently being constructed in Kemper County, Mississippi. A slipstream of the syngas was used to demonstrate warm-gas cleanup and hydrogen separation using membrane technology. Two membranes were exposed to coal-derived syngas, and the impact of coal-derived impurities was evaluated. This report summarizes the performance of WRI’s patent-pending coalupgrading/ gasification technology in the EERC’s TRDU and presents the results of the warm-gas cleanup and hydrogen separation tests. Overall, the WRI coal-upgrading/gasification technology was shown to produce a syngas significantly lower in CO2 content and significantly higher in CO content than syngas produced from the raw fuels. Warm-gas cleanup technologies were shown to be capable of reducing sulfur in the syngas to 1 ppm. Each of the membranes tested was able to produce at least 2 lb/day of hydrogen from coal-derived syngas.« less

Coal gasification systems engineering and analysis. Appendix F: Critical technology items/issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

Critical technology items and issues are defined in which there is a need for developmental research in order to assure technical and economic success for the state of the art of coal gasification in the United States. Technology development needs for the main processing units and the supporting units are discussed. While development needs are shown for a large number of systems, the most critical areas are associated with the gasifier itself and those systems which either feed the gasifier or directly receive products form the gasifier.

Fluidized bed gasification of industrial solid recovered fuels.

PubMed

Arena, Umberto; Di Gregorio, Fabrizio

2016-04-01

The study evaluates the technical feasibility of the fluidized bed gasification of three solid recovered fuels (SRFs), obtained as co-products of a recycling process. The SRFs were pelletized and fed to a pilot scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor, operated in gasification and co-gasification mode. The tests were carried out under conditions of thermal and chemical steady state, with a bed of olivine particles and at different values of equivalence ratio. The results provide a complete syngas characterization, in terms of its heating value and composition (including tars, particulates, and acid/basic pollutants) and of the chemical and physical characterization of bed material and entrained fines collected at the cyclone outlet. The feasibility of the fluidized bed gasification process of the different SRFs was evaluated with the support of a material and substance flow analysis, and a feedstock energy analysis. The results confirm the flexibility of fluidized bed reactor, which makes it one of the preferable technologies for the gasification of different kind of wastes, even in co-gasification mode. The fluidized bed gasification process of the tested SRFs appears technically feasible, yielding a syngas of valuable quality for energy applications in an appropriate plant configuration. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Green Power Initiative

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Butler, Patrick Barry

2013-01-28

National energy policy supports the gathering of more detailed and authoritative data on the introduction of renewable bio-based fuels into new and existing district energy systems via the application of biomass gasification. The University of Iowa developed a biomass-fueled, university-scale steam generation system based on biomass gasification technologies. The system serves as a state-of-the-art research and educational facility in the emerging application of gasification in steam generation. The facility, which includes a smaller down-draft gasifier and a larger multi-stage biomass boiler, was designed to operate primarily on wood-based fuels, but has provisions for testing other biomass fuel sources produced withinmore » a 100-mile radius, providing enough flexibility to meet the fluctuating local supply of biomass from industry and Midwest agriculture. The equipment was installed in an existing, staffed facility. The down-draft gasifier unit is operated by College of Engineering staff and students, under the direct technical supervision of qualified Utilities plant staff. The Green Power Initiative also includes a substantial, innovative educational component. In addition to an onsite, graduate-level research program in biomass fuels, the investigators have integrated undergraduate and graduate level teaching – through classroom studies and experiential learning – and applied research into a biomass-based, university-scale, functioning power plant. University of Iowa is unique in that it currently has multiple renewable energy technologies deployed, including significant biomass combustion (oat hulls) at its Main Power Plant and a new reciprocating engine based renewable district energy system. This project complements and supports the national energy policy and State of Iowa initiatives in ethanol and biodiesel. Byproducts of ethanol and biodiesel processes (distiller grains) as well as industry residues (oat hulls, wood chips, construction and demolition waste), farm related material (seed corn and soybean seed), and poplar trees for cleaning up ground water are logical feed stocks for gasification.« less

Integrated Biomass Gasification with Catalytic Partial Oxidation for Selective Tar Conversion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Lingzhi; Wei, Wei; Manke, Jeff

Biomass gasification is a flexible and efficient way of utilizing widely available domestic renewable resources. Syngas from biomass has the potential for biofuels production, which will enhance energy security and environmental benefits. Additionally, with the successful development of low Btu fuel engines (e.g. GE Jenbacher engines), syngas from biomass can be efficiently used for power/heat co-generation. However, biomass gasification has not been widely commercialized because of a number of technical/economic issues related to gasifier design and syngas cleanup. Biomass gasification, due to its scale limitation, cannot afford to use pure oxygen as the gasification agent that used in coal gasification.more » Because, it uses air instead of oxygen, the biomass gasification temperature is much lower than well-understood coal gasification. The low temperature leads to a lot of tar formation and the tar can gum up the downstream equipment. Thus, the biomass gasification tar removal is a critical technology challenge for all types of biomass gasifiers. This USDA/DOE funded program (award number: DE-FG36-O8GO18085) aims to develop an advanced catalytic tar conversion system that can economically and efficiently convert tar into useful light gases (such as syngas) for downstream fuel synthesis or power generation. This program has been executed by GE Global Research in Irvine, CA, in collaboration with Professor Lanny Schmidt's group at the University of Minnesota (UoMn). Biomass gasification produces a raw syngas stream containing H2, CO, CO2, H2O, CH4 and other hydrocarbons, tars, char, and ash. Tars are defined as organic compounds that are condensable at room temperature and are assumed to be largely aromatic. Downstream units in biomass gasification such as gas engine, turbine or fuel synthesis reactors require stringent control in syngas quality, especially tar content to avoid plugging (gum) of downstream equipment. Tar- and ash-free syngas streams are a critical requirement for commercial deployment of biomass-based power/heat co-generation and biofuels production. There are several commonly used syngas clean-up technologies: (1) Syngas cooling and water scrubbing has been commercially proven but efficiency is low and it is only effective at small scales. This route is accompanied with troublesome wastewater treatment. (2) The tar filtration method requires frequent filter replacement and solid residue treatment, leading to high operation and capital costs. (3) Thermal destruction typically operates at temperatures higher than 1000oC. It has slow kinetics and potential soot formation issues. The system is expensive and materials are not reliable at high temperatures. (4) In-bed cracking catalysts show rapid deactivation, with durability to be demonstrated. (5) External catalytic cracking or steam reforming has low thermal efficiency and is faced with problematic catalyst coking. Under this program, catalytic partial oxidation (CPO) is being evaluated for syngas tar clean-up in biomass gasification. The CPO reaction is exothermic, implying that no external heat is needed and the system is of high thermal efficiency. CPO is capable of processing large gas volume, indicating a very compact catalyst bed and a low reactor cost. Instead of traditional physical removal of tar, the CPO concept converts tar into useful light gases (eg. CO, H2, CH4). This eliminates waste treatment and disposal requirements. All those advantages make the CPO catalytic tar conversion system a viable solution for biomass gasification downstream gas clean-up. This program was conducted from October 1 2008 to February 28 2011 and divided into five major tasks. - Task A: Perform conceptual design and conduct preliminary system and economic analysis (Q1 2009 ~ Q2 2009) - Task B: Biomass gasification tests, product characterization, and CPO tar conversion catalyst preparation. This task will be conducted after completing process design and system economics analysis. Major milestones include identification of syngas cleaning requirements for proposed system design, identification and selection of tar compounds and 2 mixtures for use in CPO tests, and preparation of CPO catalysts for validation. (Q3 2009 ~ Q4 2009) - Task C: Test CPO with biomass gasification product gas. Optimize CPO performance with selected tar compounds. Optimize CPO performance with multi-component mixtures. Milestones include optimizing CPO catalysts design, collecting CPO experimental data for next stage kinetic modeling and understanding the effect of relative reactivities on ultimate tar conversion and syngas yields. (Q1 2010 ~ Q3 2010) - Task D: Develop tar CPO kinetic model with CPO kinetic model and modeling results as deliverables. (Q3 2010 ~ Q2 2011) - Task E: Project management and reporting. Milestone: Quarterly reports and presentations, final report, work presented at national technical conferences (Q1 2009 ~ Q2 2011) At the beginning of the program, IP landscaping was conducted to understand the operation of various types of biomass gasifiers, their unique syngas/tar compositions and potential tar mitigation options using the catalytic partial oxidation technology. A process simulation model was developed to quantify the system performance and economics impact of CPO tar removal technology. Biomass gasification product compositions used for performance evaluation tests were identified after literature review and system modeling. A reaction system for tar conversion tests was designed, constructed, with each individual component shaken-down in 2009. In parallel, University of Minnesota built a lab-scale unit and evaluated the tar removal performance using catalytic reforming. Benzene was used as the surrogate compound. The biomass gasification raw syngas composition was provided by GE through system studies. In 2010, GE selected different tar compounds and evaluated the tar removal effectiveness of the CPO catalyst. The catalytic performance was evaluated under different operating conditions, including catalyst geometry, S/C ratio, O/C ratio, GHSV, and N2 dilution. An understanding of how to optimize catalytic tar removal efficiency by varying operating conditions has been developed. GE collaborated with UoMn in examining inorganic impurities effects. Catalysts were pre-impregnated with inorganic impurities commonly present in biomass gasification syngas, including Si, Ca, Mg, Na, K, P and S. UoMn performed catalyst characterization and has acquired fundamental understandings of impurities effect on catalytic tar removal. Based on experimental data and the proposed reaction pathway, GE constructed a model to predict kinetic performance for biomass gasification tar cleanup process. Experimental data (eg. tar conversion, reactor inlet and outlet temperatures, product distribution) at different operating conditions were used to validate the model. A good fit between model predictions and experimental data was found. This model will be a valuable tool in designing the tar removal reactor and identifying appropriate operating conditions. We attended the 2011 DOE Biomass Program Thermochemical Platform Review held in Denver, CO from February 16 to 18 and received very positive comments from the review panel. Further, syngas utility and biomass to power/fuel companies expressed strong interest in our tar removal technology.« less

Dynamic Modeling and Plantwide Control of a Hybrid Power and Chemical Plant: An Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Coupled with a Methanol Plant

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robinson, Patrick J.

Gasification has been used in industry on a relatively limited scale for many years, but it is emerging as the premier unit operation in the energy and chemical industries. The switch from expensive and insecure petroleum to solid hydrocarbon sources (coal and biomass) is occurring due to the vast amount of domestic solid resources, national security and global warming issues. Gasification (or partial oxidation) is a vital component of "clean coal" technology. Sulfur and nitrogen emissions can be reduced, overall energy efficiency is increased and carbon dioxide recovery and sequestration are facilitated. Gasification units in an electric power generation plant produce a fuel gas for driving combustion turbines. Gasification units in a chemical plant generate synthesis gas, which can be used to produce a wide spectrum of chemical products. Future plants are predicted to be hybrid power/chemical plants with gasification as the key unit operation. The coupling of an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) with a methanol plant can handle swings in power demand by diverting hydrogen gas from a combustion turbine and synthesis gas from the gasifier to a methanol plant for the production of an easily-stored, hydrogen-consuming liquid product. An additional control degree of freedom is provided with this hybrid plant, fundamentally improving the controllability of the process. The idea is to base-load the gasifier and use the more responsive gas-phase units to handle disturbances. During the summer days, power demand can fluctuate up to 50% over a 12-hour period. The winter provides a different problem where spikes of power demand can go up 15% within the hour. The following dissertation develops a hybrid IGCC / methanol plant model, validates the steady-state results with a National Energy Technical Laboratory study, and tests a proposed control structure to handle these significant disturbances. All modeling was performed in the widely used chemical process simulators Aspen Plus and Aspen Dynamics. This dissertation first presents a simple approximate method for achieving the objective of having a gasifier model that can be exported into Aspen Dynamics. Limitations in the software dealing with solids make this a necessary task. The basic idea is to use a high molecular weight hydrocarbon that is present in the Aspen library as a pseudo fuel. For many plantwide dynamic studies, a rigorous high-fidelity dynamic model of the gasifier is not needed because its dynamics are very fast and the gasifier gas volume is a relatively small fraction of the total volume of the entire plant. The proposed approximate model captures the essential macro-scale thermal, flow, composition and pressure dynamics. This paper does not attempt to optimize the design or control of gasifiers, but merely presents an idea of how to dynamically simulate coal gasification in an approximate way. This dissertation also presents models of the downstream units of a typical IGCC. Dynamic simulations of the H2S absorption/stripping unit, Water-gas Shift (WGS) reactors, and CO2 absorption/stripping unit are essential for the development of stable and agile plantwide control structures of this hybrid power/chemical plant. Due to the high pressure of the system, hydrogen sulfide is removed by means of physical absorption. SELEXOLRTM (a mixture of the dimethyl ethers of polyethylene glycol) is used to achieve a gas purity of less than 5 ppm H2S. This desulfurized synthesis gas is sent to two water gas shift reactors that convert a total of 99% of carbon monoxide to hydrogen. Physical absorption of carbon dioxide with Selexol produces a hydrogen rich stream (90 mol% H2) to be fed into combustion turbines or to a methanol plant. Steady-state economic designs and plantwide control structures are developed in this dissertation. A steady-state economic design, control structure, and successful turndown of the methanol plant are shown in this dissertation. The Plantwide control structure and interaction among units are also shown. The methanol plant was sized to handle a reductions of the power generation from an IGCC by 50%, producing a high purity methanol stream of 99.5 mol%. Advanced regulatory control structures were designed and play a significant role for the successful turndown of the methanol plant to 20% capacity. The cooled methanol reactor is controlled by the exit temperature instead of a peak temperature within the reactor. During times of low capacity and minimum vapor rate within the column, tray temperature is controlled by recycling some of the distillate and bottoms flow. The gasifier feed is held constant. The product hydrogen from the IGCC is fed to the combustion turbine as required by electric power demand. Synthesis gas fed into the methanol plant maintains pressure of the hydrogen stream. Make-up hydrogen is also fed to the methanol plant to maintain stoichiometry via a flow ratio. This ratio is adjusted to hold carbon monoxide composition of the recycle gas in the methanol plant. This dissertation also explores various methods on how to turn down distillation columns to very low capacity. Recycling flow back to the column was determined to be the best method. Inserting Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson kinetics into Aspen was also demonstrated with an example.

Meeting today's challenges to supply tomorrow's energy. Clean fossil energy technical and policy seminar

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

2005-07-01

Papers discussed the coal policy of China, Russia, Indonesia and Vietnam; clean coal technology (small-scale coal power plants, carbon capture and sequestration, new coking process SCOPE21, coal gasification (HyPr-RING), CO{sub 2} reduction technology, Supercritical coal-fired units and CFB boilers, EAGLE project, coal liquefaction), the coal consumer's view of clean fossil energy policy, and natural gas policy and technology. Some of the papers only consist of the presentation overheads/viewgraphs.

Modeling and comparative assessment of municipal solid waste gasification for energy production

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arafat, Hassan A., E-mail: harafat@masdar.ac.ae; Jijakli, Kenan

Highlights: • Study developed a methodology for the evaluation of gasification for MSW treatment. • Study was conducted comparatively for USA, UAE, and Thailand. • Study applies a thermodynamic model (Gibbs free energy minimization) using the Gasify software. • The energy efficiency of the process and the compatibility with different waste streams was studied. - Abstract: Gasification is the thermochemical conversion of organic feedstocks mainly into combustible syngas (CO and H{sub 2}) along with other constituents. It has been widely used to convert coal into gaseous energy carriers but only has been recently looked at as a process for producingmore » energy from biomass. This study explores the potential of gasification for energy production and treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW). It relies on adapting the theory governing the chemistry and kinetics of the gasification process to the use of MSW as a feedstock to the process. It also relies on an equilibrium kinetics and thermodynamics solver tool (Gasify®) in the process of modeling gasification of MSW. The effect of process temperature variation on gasifying MSW was explored and the results were compared to incineration as an alternative to gasification of MSW. Also, the assessment was performed comparatively for gasification of MSW in the United Arab Emirates, USA, and Thailand, presenting a spectrum of socioeconomic settings with varying MSW compositions in order to explore the effect of MSW composition variance on the products of gasification. All in all, this study provides an insight into the potential of gasification for the treatment of MSW and as a waste to energy alternative to incineration.« less

Co-gasification of solid waste and lignite - a case study for Western Macedonia.

PubMed

Koukouzas, N; Katsiadakis, A; Karlopoulos, E; Kakaras, E

2008-01-01

Co-gasification of solid waste and coal is a very attractive and efficient way of generating power, but also an alternative way, apart from conventional technologies such as incineration and landfill, of treating waste materials. The technology of co-gasification can result in very clean power plants using a wide range of solid fuels but there are considerable economic and environmental challenges. The aim of this study is to present the available existing co-gasification techniques and projects for coal and solid wastes and to investigate the techno-economic feasibility, concerning the installation and operation of a 30MW(e) co-gasification power plant based on integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology, using lignite and refuse derived fuel (RDF), in the region of Western Macedonia prefecture (WMP), Greece. The gasification block was based on the British Gas-Lurgi (BGL) gasifier, while the gas clean-up block was based on cold gas purification. The competitive advantages of co-gasification systems can be defined both by the fuel feedstock and production flexibility but also by their environmentally sound operation. It also offers the benefit of commercial application of the process by-products, gasification slag and elemental sulphur. Co-gasification of coal and waste can be performed through parallel or direct gasification. Direct gasification constitutes a viable choice for installations with capacities of more than 350MW(e). Parallel gasification, without extensive treatment of produced gas, is recommended for gasifiers of small to medium size installed in regions where coal-fired power plants operate. The preliminary cost estimation indicated that the establishment of an IGCC RDF/lignite plant in the region of WMP is not profitable, due to high specific capital investment and in spite of the lower fuel supply cost. The technology of co-gasification is not mature enough and therefore high capital requirements are needed in order to set up a direct co-gasification plant. The cost of electricity estimated was not competitive, compared to the prices dominating the Greek electricity market and thus further economic evaluation is required. The project would be acceptable if modular construction of the unit was first adopted near operating power plants, based on parallel co-gasification, and gradually incorporating the remaining process steps (gas purification, power generation) with the aim of eventually establishing a true direct co-gasification plant.

Pilot-scale gasification of woody biomass

Treesearch

Thomas Elder; Leslie H. Groom

2011-01-01

The gasification of pine and mixed-hardwood chips has been carried out in a pilot-scale system at a range of gas flow rates. Consuming ~17-30 kgh-1 of feedstock, the producer gas was composed of ~200 dm3 m-3 carbon monoxide, 12 dm3 m-3 carbon dioxide, 30 dm3 m-3 methane and 190 dm3 m-3 hydrogen, with an energy content of ~6 MJ m-3 for both feedstocks. It was found that...

Sensing underground coal gasification by ground penetrating radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kotyrba, Andrzej; Stańczyk, Krzysztof

2017-12-01

The paper describes the results of research on the applicability of the ground penetrating radar (GPR) method for remote sensing and monitoring of the underground coal gasification (UCG) processes. The gasification of coal in a bed entails various technological problems and poses risks to the environment. Therefore, in parallel with research on coal gasification technologies, it is necessary to develop techniques for remote sensing of the process environment. One such technique may be the radar method, which allows imaging of regions of mass loss (voids, fissures) in coal during and after carrying out a gasification process in the bed. The paper describes two research experiments. The first one was carried out on a large-scale model constructed on the surface. It simulated a coal seam in natural geological conditions. A second experiment was performed in a shallow coal deposit maintained in a disused mine and kept accessible for research purposes. Tests performed in the laboratory and in situ conditions showed that the method provides valuable data for assessing and monitoring gasification surfaces in the UCG processes. The advantage of the GPR method is its high resolution and the possibility of determining the spatial shape of various zones and forms created in the coal by the gasification process.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vorres, K S

The overall accomplishments of the HYGAS program to date are that it has demonstrated the key process concepts and integrated unit operations of coal gasification. It has also demonstrated several methods of hydrogen generation, including catalytic steam reforming of natural gas, electrothermal gasification, and also steam-oxygen gasification. A total of 37 tests with lignite, including a total of 5500 tons of lignite processed, demonstrated the technical feasibility of a gasification process using lignite. A total of 17 tests with bituminous coal involved a total of 3100 tons. Some specific objectives of the HYGAS program for fiscal 1977 include tests tomore » be conducted with subbituminous coal. Data will be collected for use in the design of an effluent treatment and water reuse cycles in a commercial plant. New methanation catalysts will be tested. Materials testing will continue.« less

Combustion and gasification characteristics of chars from four commercially significant coals of different rank. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nsakala, N.Y.; Patel, R.L.; Lao, T.C.

1982-09-01

The combustion and gasification kinetics of four size graded coal chars were investigated experimentally in Combustion Engineering's Drop Tube Furnace System (DTFS). The chars were prepared in the DTFS from commercially significant coals representing a wide range of rank; these included a Pittsburgh No. 8 Seam hvAb coal, an Illinois No. 6 Seam hvCb coal, a Wyoming Sub C, and a Texas Lignite A. Additionally, a number of standard ASTM and special bench scale tests were performed on the coals and chars to characterize their physicochemical properties. Results showed that the lower rank coal chars were more reactive than themore » higher rank coal chars and that combustion reactions of chars were much faster than the corresponding gasification reactions. Fuel properties, temperature, and reactant gas partial pressure had a significant influence on both combustion and gasification, and particle size had a mild but discernible influence on gasification. Fuel reactivities were closely related to pore structure. Computer simulation of the combustion and gasification performances of the subject samples in the DTFS supported the experimental findings.« less

Gasification of palm empty fruit bunch in a bubbling fluidized bed: a performance and agglomeration study.

PubMed

Lahijani, Pooya; Zainal, Zainal Alimuddin

2011-01-01

Gasification of palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) was investigated in a pilot-scale air-blown fluidized bed. The effect of bed temperature (650-1050 °C) on gasification performance was studied. To explore the potential of EFB, the gasification results were compared to that of sawdust. Results showed that maximum heating values (HHV) of 5.37 and 5.88 (MJ/Nm3), dry gas yield of 2.04 and 2.0 (Nm3/kg), carbon conversion of 93% and 85 % and cold gas efficiency of 72% and 71 % were obtained for EFB and sawdust at the temperature of 1050 °C and ER of 0.25. However, it was realized that agglomeration was the major issue in EFB gasification at high temperatures. To prevent the bed agglomeration, EFB gasification was performed at temperature of 770±20 °C while the ER was varied from 0.17 to 0.32. Maximum HHV of 4.53 was obtained at ER of 0.21 where no agglomeration was observed. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ab initio calculations and kinetic modeling of thermal conversion of methyl chloride: implications for gasification of biomass.

PubMed

Singla, Mallika; Rasmussen, Morten Lund; Hashemi, Hamid; Wu, Hao; Glarborg, Peter; Pelucchi, Matteo; Faravelli, Tiziano; Marshall, Paul

2018-04-25

Limitations in current hot gas cleaning methods for chlorine species from biomass gasification may be a challenge for end use such as gas turbines, engines, and fuel cells, all requiring very low levels of chlorine. During devolatilization of biomass, chlorine is released partly as methyl chloride. In the present work, the thermal conversion of CH3Cl under gasification conditions was investigated. A detailed chemical kinetic model for pyrolysis and oxidation of methyl chloride was developed and validated against selected experimental data from the literature. Key reactions of CH2Cl with O2 and C2H4 for which data are scarce were studied by ab initio methods. The model was used to analyze the fate of methyl chloride in gasification processes. The results indicate that CH3Cl emissions will be negligible for most gasification technologies, but could be a concern for fluidized bed gasifiers, in particular in low-temperature gasification. The present work illustrates how ab initio theory and chemical kinetic modeling can help to resolve emission issues for thermal processes in industrial scale.

Design, scale-up, Six Sigma in processing different feedstocks in a fixed bed downdraft biomass gasifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boravelli, Sai Chandra Teja

This thesis mainly focuses on design and process development of a downdraft biomass gasification processes. The objective is to develop a gasifier and process of gasification for a continuous steady state process. A lab scale downdraft gasifier was designed to develop the process and obtain optimum operating procedure. Sustainable and dependable sources such as biomass are potential sources of renewable energy and have a reasonable motivation to be used in developing a small scale energy production plant for countries such as Canada where wood stocks are more reliable sources than fossil fuels. This thesis addresses the process of thermal conversion of biomass gasification process in a downdraft reactor. Downdraft biomass gasifiers are relatively cheap and easy to operate because of their design. We constructed a simple biomass gasifier to study the steady state process for different sizes of the reactor. The experimental part of this investigation look at how operating conditions such as feed rate, air flow, the length of the bed, the vibration of the reactor, height and density of syngas flame in combustion flare changes for different sizes of the reactor. These experimental results also compare the trends of tar, char and syngas production for wood pellets in a steady state process. This study also includes biomass gasification process for different wood feedstocks. It compares how shape, size and moisture content of different feedstocks makes a difference in operating conditions for the gasification process. For this, Six Sigma DMAIC techniques were used to analyze and understand how each feedstock makes a significant impact on the process.

Micro-scale Plasma Arc Gasification for Waste Treatment and Energy Production Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caraccio, Anne

2015-01-01

As NASA continues to develop technology for spaceflight beyond low earth orbit, we must develop the right systems for sustaining human life on a long duration or planetary mission. Plasma arc gasification (PAG) is an energy efficient mechanism of waste management for power generation and synthetic gas(syngas) production.

Updraft gasification of poultry litter at farm-scale--A case study.

PubMed

Taupe, N C; Lynch, D; Wnetrzak, R; Kwapinska, M; Kwapinski, W; Leahy, J J

2016-04-01

Farm and animal wastes are increasingly being investigated for thermochemical conversion, such as gasification, due to the urgent necessity of finding new waste treatment options. We report on an investigation of the use of a farm-scale, auto-thermal gasification system for the production of a heating gas using poultry litter (PL) as a feedstock. The gasification process was robust and reliable. The PL's ash melting temperature was 639°C, therefore the reactor temperature was kept around this value. As a result of the low reactor temperature the process performance parameters were low, with a cold gas efficiency (CGE) of 0.26 and a carbon conversion efficiency (CCE) of 0.44. The calorific value of the clean product gas was 3.39 MJ m(-3)N (LHV). The tar was collected as an emulsion containing 87 wt.% water and the extracted organic compounds were identified. The residual char exceeds thresholds for Zn and Cu to obtain European biochar certification; however, has potential to be classified as a pyrogenic carbonaceous material (PCM), which resembles a high nutrient biochar. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Steam-air blown bubbling fluidized bed biomass gasification (BFBBG): Multi-scale models and experimental validation

DOE PAGES

Bates, Richard B.; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.; Jablonski, Whitney S.; ...

2017-02-02

During fluidized bed biomass gasification, complex gas-solid mixing patterns and numerous chemical and physical phenomena make identification of optimal operating conditions challenging. In this work, a parametric experimental campaign was carried out alongside the development of a coupled reactor network model which successfully integrates the individually validated sub-models to predict steady-state reactor performance metrics and outputs. The experiments utilized an integrated gasification system consisting of an externally-heated, bench-scale, 4-in., 5 kWth, fluidized bed steam/air blown gasifier fed with woody biomass equipped with a molecular beam mass spectrometer to directly measure tar species. The operating temperature (750-850°C) and air/fuel equivalence ratiomore » (ER = 0-0.157) were independently varied to isolate their effects. Elevating temperature is shown to improve the char gasification rate and reduce tar concentrations. In conclusion, air strongly impacts the composition of tar, accelerating the conversion of lighter polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons into soot precursors, while also improving the overall carbon conversion.« less

Small Scale Gasification Application and Perspectives in Circular Economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klavins, Maris; Bisters, Valdis; Burlakovs, Juris

2018-06-01

Gasification is the process converting solid fuels as coal and organic plant matter, or biomass into combustible gas, called syngas. Gasification is a thermal conversion process using carbonaceous fuel, and it differs substantially from other thermal processes such as incineration or pyrolysis. The process can be used with virtually any carbonaceous fuel. It is an endothermic thermal conversion process, with partial oxidation being the dominant feature. Gasification converts various feedstock including waste to a syngas. Instead of producing only heat and electricity, synthesis gas produced by gasification may be transformed into commercial products with higher value as transport fuels, fertilizers, chemicals and even to substitute natural gas. Thermo-chemical conversion of biomass and solid municipal waste is developing as a tool to promote the idea of energy system without fossil fuels to a reality. In municipal solid waste management, gasification does not compete with recycling, moreover it enhances recycling programs. Pre-processing and after-processing must increase the amount of recyclables in the circular economy. Additionally, end of life plastics can serve as an energy feedstock for gasification as otherwise it cannot be sorted out and recycled. There is great potential for application of gasification technology within the biomass waste and solid waste management sector. Industrial self-consumption in the mode of combined heat and power can contribute to sustainable economic development within a circular economy.

Numerical investigation of the staged gasification of wet wood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donskoi, I. G.; Kozlov, A. N.; Svishchev, D. A.; Shamanskii, V. A.

2017-04-01

Gasification of wooden biomass makes it possible to utilize forestry wastes and agricultural residues for generation of heat and power in isolated small-scale power systems. In spite of the availability of a huge amount of cheap biomass, the implementation of the gasification process is impeded by formation of tar products and poor thermal stability of the process. These factors reduce the competitiveness of gasification as compared with alternative technologies. The use of staged technologies enables certain disadvantages of conventional processes to be avoided. One of the previously proposed staged processes is investigated in this paper. For this purpose, mathematical models were developed for individual stages of the process, such as pyrolysis, pyrolysis gas combustion, and semicoke gasification. The effect of controlling parameters on the efficiency of fuel conversion into combustible gases is studied numerically using these models. For the controlling parameter are selected heat inputted into a pyrolysis reactor, the excess of oxidizer during gas combustion, and the wood moisture content. The process efficiency criterion is the gasification chemical efficiency accounting for the input of external heat (used for fuel drying and pyrolysis). The generated regime diagrams represent the gasification efficiency as a function of controlling parameters. Modeling results demonstrate that an increase in the fraction of heat supplied from an external source can result in an adequate efficiency of the wood gasification through the use of steam generated during drying. There are regions where it is feasible to perform incomplete combustion of the pyrolysis gas prior to the gasification. The calculated chemical efficiency of the staged gasification is as high as 80-85%, which is 10-20% higher that in conventional single-stage processes.

Life cycle assessment of pyrolysis, gasification and incineration waste-to-energy technologies: Theoretical analysis and case study of commercial plants.

PubMed

Dong, Jun; Tang, Yuanjun; Nzihou, Ange; Chi, Yong; Weiss-Hortala, Elsa; Ni, Mingjiang

2018-06-01

Municipal solid waste (MSW) pyrolysis and gasification are in development, stimulated by a more sustainable waste-to-energy (WtE) option. Since comprehensive comparisons of the existing WtE technologies are fairly rare, this study aims to conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) using two sets of data: theoretical analysis, and case studies of large-scale commercial plants. Seven systems involving thermal conversion (pyrolysis, gasification, incineration) and energy utilization (steam cycle, gas turbine/combined cycle, internal combustion engine) are modeled. Theoretical analysis results show that pyrolysis and gasification, in particular coupled with a gas turbine/combined cycle, have the potential to lessen the environmental loadings. The benefits derive from an improved energy efficiency leading to less fossil-based energy consumption, and the reduced process emissions by syngas combustion. Comparison among the four operating plants (incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, gasification-melting) confirms a preferable performance of the gasification plant attributed to syngas cleaning. The modern incineration is superior over pyrolysis and gasification-melting at present, due to the effectiveness of modern flue gas cleaning, use of combined heat and power (CHP) cycle, and ash recycling. The sensitivity analysis highlights a crucial role of the plant efficiency and pyrolysis char land utilization. The study indicates that the heterogeneity of MSW and syngas purification technologies are the most relevant impediments for the current pyrolysis/gasification-based WtE. Potential development should incorporate into all process aspects to boost the energy efficiency, improve incoming waste quality, and achieve efficient residues management. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Co-gasification of pine and oak biochar with sub-bituminous coal in carbon dioxide.

PubMed

Beagle, E; Wang, Y; Bell, D; Belmont, E

2018-03-01

Pine and oak biochars derived as byproducts of demonstration-scale pyrolysis, and blends of these two feedstocks with Powder River Basin coal, were gasified in a carbon dioxide environment using a modified drop tube reactor (MDTR) and a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The impact of gasification temperature on conversion kinetics was evaluated from the temporal evolution of major product gases in the MDTR as measured using a mass spectrometer. Random pore modeling was conducted to simulate gasification in the MDTR with favorable results. The MDTR and TGA were used to conduct gasification for assessment of non-linear additive effects in the blends. Additive analysis of the blends showed deviation from the experimental blend results, indicating inhibiting effects of co-gasifying the biochar and coal. Inhibitory effects are more significant for oak than pine and more pronounced in the TGA at lower gasification temperatures. Results are discussed in the context of feedstock and reactor type. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behaviors of Char Gasification Based on Two-stage Gasifier of Biomass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taniguchi, Miki; Sasauchi, Kenichi; Ahn, Chulju; Ito, Yusuke; Hayashi, Toshiaki; Akamatsu, Fumiteru

In order to develop a small-scale gasifier in which biomass can be converted to energy with high efficiency, we planed a gasification process that consists of two parts: pyrolysis part (rotary kiln) and gasification part (downdraft gasifier). We performed fundamental experiments on gasification part and discussed the apropriate conditions such as air supply location, air ratio, air temperature and hearth load. The following results was found: 1) the air supply into the char bed is more effective than that into the gas phase, 2) we can have the maximum cold gas efficiency of 80% on the following conditions: air supply location: char layer, air temperature: 20°C, air ratio: 0.2. 3) As air temperature is higher, the cold gas efficiency is larger. As for the hearth load, the cold gas efficiency becomes higher and reaches the constant level. It is expected from the results that high temperature in the char layer is effective on the char gasification.

Steam gasification of acid-hydrolysis biomass CAHR for clean syngas production.

PubMed

Chen, Guanyi; Yao, Jingang; Yang, Huijun; Yan, Beibei; Chen, Hong

2015-03-01

Main characteristics of gaseous product from steam gasification of acid-hydrolysis biomass CAHR have been investigated experimentally. The comparison in terms of evolution of syngas flow rate, syngas quality and apparent thermal efficiency was made between steam gasification and pyrolysis in the lab-scale apparatus. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of temperature and steam to CAHR ratio on gas quality, syngas yield and energy conversion. The results showed that syngas and energy yield were better with gasification compared to pyrolysis under identical thermal conditions. Both high gasification temperature and introduction of proper steam led to higher gas quality, higher syngas yield and higher energy conversion efficiency. However, excessive steam reduced hydrogen yield and energy conversion efficiency. The optimal value of S/B was found to be 3.3. The maximum value of energy ratio was 0.855 at 800°C with the optimal S/B value. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Techno Economic Analysis of Hydrogen Production by gasification of biomass

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Francis Lau

Biomass represents a large potential feedstock resource for environmentally clean processes that produce power or chemicals. It lends itself to both biological and thermal conversion processes and both options are currently being explored. Hydrogen can be produced in a variety of ways. The majority of the hydrogen produced in this country is produced through natural gas reforming and is used as chemical feedstock in refinery operations. In this report we will examine the production of hydrogen by gasification of biomass. Biomass is defined as organic matter that is available on a renewable basis through natural processes or as a by-productmore » of processes that use renewable resources. The majority of biomass is used in combustion processes, in mills that use the renewable resources, to produce electricity for end-use product generation. This report will explore the use of hydrogen as a fuel derived from gasification of three candidate biomass feedstocks: bagasse, switchgrass, and a nutshell mix that consists of 40% almond nutshell, 40% almond prunings, and 20% walnut shell. In this report, an assessment of the technical and economic potential of producing hydrogen from biomass gasification is analyzed. The resource base was assessed to determine a process scale from feedstock costs and availability. Solids handling systems were researched. A GTI proprietary gasifier model was used in combination with a Hysys(reg. sign) design and simulation program to determine the amount of hydrogen that can be produced from each candidate biomass feed. Cost estimations were developed and government programs and incentives were analyzed. Finally, the barriers to the production and commercialization of hydrogen from biomass were determined. The end-use of the hydrogen produced from this system is small PEM fuel cells for automobiles. Pyrolysis of biomass was also considered. Pyrolysis is a reaction in which biomass or coal is partially vaporized by heating. Gasification is a more general term, and includes heating as well as the injection of other ''ingredients'' such as oxygen and water. Pyrolysis alone is a useful first step in creating vapors from coal or biomass that can then be processed in subsequent steps to make liquid fuels. Such products are not the objective of this project. Therefore pyrolysis was not included in the process design or in the economic analysis. High-pressure, fluidized bed gasification is best known to GTI through 30 years of experience. Entrained flow, in contrast to fluidized bed, is a gasification technology applied at much larger unit sizes than employed here. Coal gasification and residual oil gasifiers in refineries are the places where such designs have found application, at sizes on the order of 5 to 10 times larger than what has been determined for this study. Atmospheric pressure gasification is also not discussed. Atmospheric gasification has been the choice of all power system pilot plants built for biomass to date, except for the Varnamo plant in Sweden, which used the Ahlstrom (now Foster Wheeler) pressurized gasifier. However, for fuel production, the disadvantage of the large volumetric flows at low pressure leads to the pressurized gasifier being more economical.« less

Biomass thermochemical gasification: Experimental studies and modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Ajay

The overall goals of this research were to study the biomass thermochemical gasification using experimental and modeling techniques, and to evaluate the cost of industrial gas production and combined heat and power generation. This dissertation includes an extensive review of progresses in biomass thermochemical gasification. Product gases from biomass gasification can be converted to biopower, biofuels and chemicals. However, for its viable commercial applications, the study summarizes the technical challenges in the gasification and downstream processing of product gas. Corn stover and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), a non-fermentable byproduct of ethanol production, were used as the biomass feedstocks. One of the objectives was to determine selected physical and chemical properties of corn stover related to thermochemical conversion. The parameters of the reaction kinetics for weight loss were obtained. The next objective was to investigate the effects of temperature, steam to biomass ratio and equivalence ratio on gas composition and efficiencies. DDGS gasification was performed on a lab-scale fluidized-bed gasifier with steam and air as fluidizing and oxidizing agents. Increasing the temperature resulted in increases in hydrogen and methane contents and efficiencies. A model was developed to simulate the performance of a lab-scale gasifier using Aspen Plus(TM) software. Mass balance, energy balance and minimization of Gibbs free energy were applied for the gasification to determine the product gas composition. The final objective was to optimize the process by maximizing the net energy efficiency, and to estimate the cost of industrial gas, and combined heat and power (CHP) at a biomass feedrate of 2000 kg/h. The selling price of gas was estimated to be 11.49/GJ for corn stover, and 13.08/GJ for DDGS. For CHP generation, the electrical and net efficiencies were 37 and 86%, respectively for corn stover, and 34 and 78%, respectively for DDGS. For corn stover, the selling price of electricity was 0.1351/kWh. For DDGS, the selling price of electricity was 0.1287/kWh.

Co-gasification of municipal solid waste and material recovery in a large-scale gasification and melting system.

PubMed

Tanigaki, Nobuhiro; Manako, Kazutaka; Osada, Morihiro

2012-04-01

This study evaluates the effects of co-gasification of municipal solid waste with and without the municipal solid waste bottom ash using two large-scale commercial operation plants. From the viewpoint of operation data, there is no significant difference between municipal solid waste treatment with and without the bottom ash. The carbon conversion ratios are as high as 91.7% and 95.3%, respectively and this leads to significantly low PCDD/DFs yields via complete syngas combustion. The gross power generation efficiencies are 18.9% with the bottom ash and 23.0% without municipal solid waste bottom ash, respectively. The effects of the equivalence ratio are also evaluated. With the equivalence ratio increasing, carbon monoxide concentration is decreased, and carbon dioxide and the syngas temperature (top gas temperature) are increased. The carbon conversion ratio is also increased. These tendencies are seen in both modes. Co-gasification using the gasification and melting system (Direct Melting System) has a possibility to recover materials effectively. More than 90% of chlorine is distributed in fly ash. Low-boiling-point heavy metals, such as lead and zinc, are distributed in fly ash at rates of 95.2% and 92.0%, respectively. Most of high-boiling-point heavy metals, such as iron and copper, are distributed in metal. It is also clarified that slag is stable and contains few harmful heavy metals such as lead. Compared with the conventional waste management framework, 85% of the final landfill amount reduction is achieved by co-gasification of municipal solid waste with bottom ash and incombustible residues. These results indicate that the combined production of slag with co-gasification of municipal solid waste with the bottom ash constitutes an ideal approach to environmental conservation and resource recycling. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PULSE COMBUSTOR DESIGN QUALIFICATION TEST AND CLEAN COAL FEEDSTOCK TEST - VOLUME I AND VOLUME II

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Unknown

For this Cooperative Agreement, the pulse heater module is the technology envelope for an indirectly heated steam reformer. The field of use of the steam reformer pursuant to this Cooperative Agreement with DOE is for the processing of sub-bituminous coals and lignite. The main focus is the mild gasification of such coals for the generation of both fuel gas and char--for the steel industry is the main focus. An alternate market application for the substitution of metallurgical coke is also presented. This project was devoted to qualification of a 253-tube pulse heater module. This module was designed, fabricated, installed, instrumentedmore » and tested in a fluidized bed test facility. Several test campaigns were conducted. This larger heater is a 3.5 times scale-up of the previous pulse heaters that had 72 tubes each. The smaller heater has been part of previous pilot field testing of the steam reformer at New Bern, North Carolina. The project also included collection and reduction of mild gasification process data from operation of the process development unit (PDU). The operation of the PDU was aimed at conditions required to produce char (and gas) for the Northshore Steel Operations. Northshore Steel supplied the coal for the process unit tests.« less

Effect of small-scale biomass gasification at the state of refractory lining the fixed bed reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Janša, Jan, E-mail: jan.jansa@vsb.cz; Peer, Vaclav, E-mail: vaclav.peer@vsb.cz; Pavloková, Petra, E-mail: petra.pavlokova@vsb.cz

The article deals with the influence of biomass gasification on the condition of the refractory lining of a fixed bed reactor. The refractory lining of the gasifier is one part of the device, which significantly affects the operational reliability and durability. After removing the refractory lining of the gasifier from the experimental reactor, there was done an assessment how gasification of different kinds of biomass reflected on its condition in terms of the main factors affecting its life. Gasification of biomass is reflected on the lining, especially through sticking at the bottom of the reactor. Measures for prolonging the lifemore » of lining consist in the reduction of temperature in the reactor, in this case, in order to avoid ash fusion biomass which it is difficult for this type of gasifier.« less

Conversion of municipal solid waste to hydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, J. H.; Rogers, R. S.; Thorsness, C. B.

1995-04-01

LLNL and Texaco are cooperatively developing a physical and chemical treatment method for the conversion of municipal solid waste (MSW) to hydrogen via the steps of hydrothermal pretreatment, gasification and purification. LLNL's focus has been on hydrothermal pretreatment of MSW in order to prepare a slurry of suitable viscosity and heating value to allow efficient and economical gasification and hydrogen production. The project has evolved along 3 parallel paths: laboratory scale experiments, pilot scale processing, and process modeling. Initial laboratory-scale MSW treatment results (e.g., viscosity, slurry solids content) over a range of temperatures and times with newspaper and plastics will be presented. Viscosity measurements have been correlated with results obtained at MRL. A hydrothermal treatment pilot facility has been rented from Texaco and is being reconfigured at LLNL; the status of that facility and plans for initial runs will be described. Several different operational scenarios have been modeled. Steady state processes have been modeled with ASPEN PLUS; consideration of steam injection in a batch mode was handled using continuous process modules. A transient model derived from a general purpose packed bed model is being developed which can examine the aspects of steam heating inside the hydrothermal reactor vessel. These models have been applied to pilot and commercial scale scenarios as a function of MSW input parameters and have been used to outline initial overall economic trends. Part of the modeling, an overview of the MSW gasification process and the modeling of the MSW as a process material, was completed by a DOE SERS (Science and Engineering Research Semester) student. The ultimate programmatic goal is the technical demonstration of the gasification of MSW to hydrogen at the laboratory and pilot scale and the economic analysis of the commercial feasibility of such a process.

Wabash River coal gasification repowering project -- first year operation experience

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Troxclair, E.J.; Stultz, J.

1997-12-31

The Wabash River Coal Gasification Repowering Project (WRCGRP), a joint venture between Destec Energy, Inc. and PSI Energy, Inc., began commercial operation in November of 1995. The Project, selected by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) under the Clean Coal Program (Round IV) represents the largest operating coal gasification combined cycle plant in the world. This Demonstration Project has allowed PSI Energy to repower a 1950`s vintage steam turbine and install a new syngas fired combustion turbine to provide 262 MW (net) of electricity in a clean, efficient manner in a commercial utility setting while utilizing locally mined highmore » sulfur Indiana bituminous coal. In doing so, the Project is also demonstrating some novel technology while advancing the commercialization of integrated coal gasification combined cycle technology. This paper discusses the first year operation experience of the Wabash Project, focusing on the progress towards achievement of the demonstration objectives.« less

Small-Scale Waste-to-Energy Technology for Contingency Bases

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-24

Expedient, No Waste Sorting Technology Readiness Level High Fuel Demand Water Required Steam Infrastructure Required Air Emissions Gasification ...Full gasification system • Costs $26K • GM Industrial Engine (GM 4 Cylinder, 3.00 L) • MeccAlte Generator Head • Imbert type downdraft reactor...Solid waste volume reduction − Response to waste streams  biomass , refuse-derived fuel, shredded waste − Operation and maintenance requirements

Hydrogen-Rich Syngas Production from Gasification and Pyrolysis of Solar Dried Sewage Sludge: Experimental and Modeling Investigations

PubMed Central

Ghrib, Amina; Friaa, Athar; Ouerghi, Aymen; Naoui, Slim; Belayouni, Habib

2017-01-01

Solar dried sewage sludge (SS) conversion by pyrolysis and gasification processes has been performed, separately, using two laboratory-scale reactors, a fixed-bed pyrolyzer and a downdraft gasifier, to produce mainly hydrogen-rich syngas. Prior to SS conversion, solar drying has been conducted in order to reduce moisture content (up to 10%). SS characterization reveals that these biosolids could be appropriate materials for gaseous products production. The released gases from SS pyrolysis and gasification present relatively high heating values (up to 9.96 MJ/kg for pyrolysis and 8.02  9.96 MJ/kg for gasification) due to their high contents of H2 (up to 11 and 7 wt%, resp.) and CH4 (up to 17 and 5 wt%, resp.). The yields of combustible gases (H2 and CH4) show further increase with pyrolysis. Stoichiometric models of both pyrolysis and gasification reactions were determined based on the global biomass formula, CαHβOγNδSε, in order to assist in the products yields optimization. PMID:28856162

Analysis of pure tar substances (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in the gas stream using ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and multivariate curve resolution (MCR).

PubMed

Weide, Tobias; Guschin, Viktor; Becker, Wolfgang; Koelle, Sabine; Maier, Simon; Seidelt, Stephan

2015-01-01

The analysis of tar, mostly characterized as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), describes a topic that has been researched for years. An online analysis of tar in the gas stream in particular is needed to characterize the tar conversion or formation in the biomass gasification process. The online analysis in the gas is carried out with ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy (190-720 nm). This online analysis is performed with a measuring cell developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT). To this day, online tar measurements using UV-Vis spectroscopy have not been carried out in detail. Therefore, PAHs are analyzed as follows. The measurements are split into different steps. The first step to prove the online method is to vaporize single tar substances. These experiments show that a qualitative analysis of PAHs in the gas stream with the used measurement setup is possible. Furthermore, it is shown that the method provides very exact results, so that a differentiation of various PAHs is possible. The next step is to vaporize a PAH mixture. This step consists of vaporizing five pure substances almost simultaneously. The interpretation of the resulting data is made using a chemometric interpretation method, the multivariate curve resolution (MCR). The verification of the calculated results is the main aim of this experiment. It has been shown that the tar mixture can be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively (in arbitrary units) in detail using the MCR. Finally it is the main goal of this paper to show the first steps in the applicability of the UV-Vis spectroscopy and the measurement setup on online tar analysis in view of characterizing the biomass gasification process. Due to that, the gasification plant (at the laboratory scale), developed and constructed by the Fraunhofer ICT, has been used to vaporize these substances. Using this gasification plant for the experiments enables the usage of the measurement setup also for the spectroscopic analysis of the tar formation during the biomass gasification.

Pyrolysis of coal, biomass and their blends: performance assessment by thermogravimetric analysis.

PubMed

Ferrara, Francesca; Orsini, Alessandro; Plaisant, Alberto; Pettinau, Alberto

2014-11-01

With the aim to support the experimental tests in a gasification pilot plant, the thermal decomposition of coal, biomass and their mixtures has been carried out through a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and a simplified kinetic analysis. The TGA of pure fuels indicates the low reactivity of South African coal and the relatively high reactivity of Sardinian Sulcis coal during pyrolysis. Among the tested fuels, biomass (stone pine wood chips) is the most reactive one. These results fully confirm those obtained during the experimental tests in the gasification pilot plant. As for the fuel blends, the analysis shows that the synergic effects between the considered coals and biomass are negligible when they are co-pyrolyzed. The results of the analysis confirm that TGA could be very useful to generally predict the gasification performance and to optimize the experimental campaigns in pilot-scale gasification plants. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GTI

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

GTI

Biomass represents a large potential feedstock resource for environmentally clean processes that produce power or chemicals. It lends itself to both biological and thermal conversion processes and both options are currently being explored. Hydrogen can be produced in a variety of ways. The majority of the hydrogen produced in this country is produced through natural gas reforming and is used as chemical feedstock in refinery operations. In this report we will examine the production of hydrogen by gasification of biomass. Biomass is defined as organic matter that is available on a renewable basis through natural processes or as a by-productmore » of processes that use renewable resources. The majority of biomass is used in combustion processes, in mills that use the renewable resources, to produce electricity for end-use product generation. This report will explore the use of hydrogen as a fuel derived from gasification of three candidate biomass feedstocks: bagasse, switchgrass, and a nutshell mix that consists of 40% almond nutshell, 40% almond prunings, and 20% walnut shell. In this report, an assessment of the technical and economic potential of producing hydrogen from biomass gasification is analyzed. The resource base was assessed to determine a process scale from feedstock costs and availability. Solids handling systems were researched. A GTI proprietary gasifier model was used in combination with a Hysys. design and simulation program to determine the amount of hydrogen that can be produced from each candidate biomass feed. Cost estimations were developed and government programs and incentives were analyzed. Finally, the barriers to the production and commercialization of hydrogen from biomass were determined. The end-use of the hydrogen produced from this system is small PEM fuel cells for automobiles. Pyrolysis of biomass was also considered. Pyrolysis is a reaction in which biomass or coal is partially vaporized by heating. Gasification is a more general term, and includes heating as well as the injection of other ''ingredients'' such as oxygen and water. Pyrolysis alone is a useful first step in creating vapors from coal or biomass that can then be processed in subsequent steps to make liquid fuels. Such products are not the objective of this project. Therefore pyrolysis was not included in the process design or in the economic analysis. High-pressure, fluidized bed gasification is best known to GTI through 30 years of experience. Entrained flow, in contrast to fluidized bed, is a gasification technology applied at much larger unit sizes than employed here. Coal gasification and residual oil gasifiers in refineries are the places where such designs have found application, at sizes on the order of 5 to 10 times larger than what has been determined for this study. Atmospheric pressure gasification is also not discussed. Atmospheric gasification has been the choice of all power system pilot plants built for biomass to date, except for the Varnamo plant in Sweden, which used the Ahlstrom (now Foster Wheeler) pressurized gasifier. However, for fuel production, the disadvantage of the large volumetric flows at low pressure leads to the pressurized gasifier being more economical.« less

Application of Multi-Parameter Data Visualization by Means of Multidimensional Scaling to Evaluate Possibility of Coal Gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamróz, Dariusz; Niedoba, Tomasz; Surowiak, Agnieszka; Tumidajski, Tadeusz; Szostek, Roman; Gajer, Mirosław

2017-09-01

The application of methods drawing upon multi-parameter visualization of data by transformation of multidimensional space into two-dimensional one allow to show multi-parameter data on computer screen. Thanks to that, it is possible to conduct a qualitative analysis of this data in the most natural way for human being, i.e. by the sense of sight. An example of such method of multi-parameter visualization is multidimensional scaling. This method was used in this paper to present and analyze a set of seven-dimensional data obtained from Janina Mining Plant and Wieczorek Coal Mine. It was decided to examine whether the method of multi-parameter data visualization allows to divide the samples space into areas of various applicability to fluidal gasification process. The "Technological applicability card for coals" was used for this purpose [Sobolewski et al., 2012; 2017], in which the key parameters, important and additional ones affecting the gasification process were described.

Modeling and comparative assessment of bubbling fluidized bed gasification system for syngas production - a gateway for a cleaner future in Pakistan.

PubMed

Shehzad, Areeb; Bashir, Mohammed J K; Horttanainen, Mika; Manttari, Mika; Havukainen, Jouni; Abbas, Ghulam

2017-06-19

The present study explores the potential of MSW gasification for exergy analysis and has been recently given a premier attention in a region like Pakistan where the urbanization is rapidly growing and resources are few. The plant capacity was set at 50 MW based on reference data available and the total exergetic efficiency was recorded to be 31.5 MW. The largest irreversibility distribution appears in the gasifier followed by methanation unit and CO 2 capture. The effect of process temperature, equivalence ratio and MSW moisture content was explored for inspecting the variations in syngas composition, lower heating value, carbon conversion efficiency and cold gas efficiency. Special attention of the paper is paid to the comparative assessment of MSW gasification products in four regions, namely Pakistan, USA, UAE and Thailand. This extended study gave an insight into the spectrum of socioeconomic conditions with varying MSW compositions in order to explain the effect of MSW composition variance on the gasification products.

A review of technologies and performances of thermal treatment systems for energy recovery from waste.

PubMed

Lombardi, Lidia; Carnevale, Ennio; Corti, Andrea

2015-03-01

The aim of this work is to identify the current level of energy recovery through waste thermal treatment. The state of the art in energy recovery from waste was investigated, highlighting the differences for different types of thermal treatment, considering combustion/incineration, gasification and pyrolysis. Also different types of wastes - Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) or Solid Refuse Fuels (SRF) and some typologies of Industrial Waste (IW) (sludge, plastic scraps, etc.) - were included in the analysis. The investigation was carried out mainly reviewing papers, published in scientific journals and conferences, but also considering technical reports, to gather more information. In particular the goal of this review work was to synthesize studies in order to compare the values of energy conversion efficiencies measured or calculated for different types of thermal processes and different types of waste. It emerged that the dominant type of thermal treatment is incineration associated to energy recovery in a steam cycle. When waste gasification is applied, the produced syngas is generally combusted in a boiler to generate steam for energy recovery in a steam cycle. For both the possibilities--incineration or gasification--co-generation is the mean to improve energy recovery, especially for small scale plants. In the case of only electricity production, the achievable values are strongly dependent on the plant size: for large plant size, where advanced technical solutions can be applied and sustained from an economic point of view, net electric efficiency may reach values up to 30-31%. In small-medium plants, net electric efficiency is constrained by scale effect and remains at values around 20-24%. Other types of technical solutions--gasification with syngas use in internally fired devices, pyrolysis and plasma gasification--are less common or studied at pilot or demonstrative scale and, in any case, offer at present similar or lower levels of energy efficiency. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Jet Propellant 8 versus Alternative Jet Fuels: A Life-Cycle Perspective

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

United States imports.26 The CBTL process uses three existing technologies to convert coal and biomass into liquid fuel: gasification , FT synthesis...and carbon capture and storage. Gasification converts coal and biomass into CO and H2, a mixture commonly referred to as “syngas.” FT synthesis...com- pare petroleum-derived jet fuel (i.e., JP-8) to an alternative jet fuel derived from a coal- biomass -to-liquid (CBTL) process. The EIO- LCA

Low temperature circulating fluidized bed gasification and co-gasification of municipal sewage sludge. Part 1: Process performance and gas product characterization.

PubMed

Thomsen, Tobias Pape; Sárossy, Zsuzsa; Gøbel, Benny; Stoholm, Peder; Ahrenfeldt, Jesper; Frandsen, Flemming Jappe; Henriksen, Ulrik Birk

2017-08-01

Results from five experimental campaigns with Low Temperature Circulating Fluidized Bed (LT-CFB) gasification of straw and/or municipal sewage sludge (MSS) from three different Danish municipal waste water treatment plants in pilot and demonstration scale are analyzed and compared. The gasification process is characterized with respect to process stability, process performance and gas product characteristics. All experimental campaigns were conducted at maximum temperatures below 750°C, with air equivalence ratios around 0.12 and with pure silica sand as start-up bed material. A total of 8600kg of MSS dry matter was gasified during 133h of operation. The average thermal loads during the five experiments were 62-100% of nominal capacity. The short term stability of all campaigns was excellent, but gasification of dry MSS lead to substantial accumulation of coarse and rigid, but un-sintered, ash particles in the system. Co-gasification of MSS with sufficient amounts of cereal straw was found to be an effective way to mitigate these issues as well as eliminate thermal MSS drying requirements. Characterization of gas products and process performance showed that even though gas composition varied substantially, hot gas efficiencies of around 90% could be achieved for all MSS fuel types. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Updraft gasification of salmon processing waste.

PubMed

Rowland, Sarah; Bower, Cynthia K; Patil, Krushna N; DeWitt, Christina A Mireles

2009-10-01

The purpose of this study was to judge the feasibility of gasification for the disposal of waste streams generated through salmon harvesting. Gasification is the process of converting carbonaceous materials into combustible "syngas" in a high temperature (above 700 degrees C), oxygen deficient environment. Syngas can be combusted to generate power, which recycles energy from waste products. At 66% to 79% moisture, raw salmon waste streams are too wet to undergo pyrolysis and combustion. Ground raw or de-oiled salmon whole fish, heads, viscera, or frames were therefore "dried" by mixing with wood pellets to a final moisture content of 20%. Ground whole salmon with moisture reduced to 12% moisture was gasified without a drying agent. Gasification tests were performed in a small-scale, fixed-bed, updraft gasifer. After an initial start-up period, the gasifier was loaded with 1.5 kg of biomass. Temperature was recorded at 6 points in the gasifier. Syngas was collected during the short steady-state period during each gasifier run and analyzed. Percentages of each type of gas in the syngas were used to calculate syngas heating value. High heating value (HHV) ranged from 1.45 to 1.98 MJ/kg. Bomb calorimetry determined maximum heating value for the salmon by-products. Comparing heating values shows the efficiency of gasification. Cold gas efficiencies of 13.6% to 26% were obtained from the various samples gasified. Though research of gasification as a means of salmon waste disposal and energy production is ongoing, it can be concluded that pre-dried salmon or relatively low moisture content mixtures of waste with wood are gasifiable.

A review of technologies and performances of thermal treatment systems for energy recovery from waste

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lombardi, Lidia, E-mail: lidia.lombardi@unicusano.it; Carnevale, Ennio; Corti, Andrea

2015-03-15

Highlights: • The topic of energy recovery from waste by thermal treatment is reviewed. • Combustion, gasification and pyrolysis were considered. • Data about energy recovery performances were collected and compared. • Main limitations to high values of energy performances were illustrated. • Diffusion of energy recovery from waste in EU, USA and other countries was discussed. - Abstract: The aim of this work is to identify the current level of energy recovery through waste thermal treatment. The state of the art in energy recovery from waste was investigated, highlighting the differences for different types of thermal treatment, considering combustion/incineration,more » gasification and pyrolysis. Also different types of wastes – Municipal Solid Waste (MSW), Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) or Solid Refuse Fuels (SRF) and some typologies of Industrial Waste (IW) (sludge, plastic scraps, etc.) – were included in the analysis. The investigation was carried out mainly reviewing papers, published in scientific journals and conferences, but also considering technical reports, to gather more information. In particular the goal of this review work was to synthesize studies in order to compare the values of energy conversion efficiencies measured or calculated for different types of thermal processes and different types of waste. It emerged that the dominant type of thermal treatment is incineration associated to energy recovery in a steam cycle. When waste gasification is applied, the produced syngas is generally combusted in a boiler to generate steam for energy recovery in a steam cycle. For both the possibilities – incineration or gasification – cogeneration is the mean to improve energy recovery, especially for small scale plants. In the case of only electricity production, the achievable values are strongly dependent on the plant size: for large plant size, where advanced technical solutions can be applied and sustained from an economic point of view, net electric efficiency may reach values up to 30–31%. In small-medium plants, net electric efficiency is constrained by scale effect and remains at values around 20–24%. Other types of technical solutions – gasification with syngas use in internally fired devices, pyrolysis and plasma gasification – are less common or studied at pilot or demonstrative scale and, in any case, offer at present similar or lower levels of energy efficiency.« less

Experimental and numerical study of steam gasification of a single charcoal particle

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mermoud, F.; Van de Steene, L.; Golfier, F.

2006-04-15

The present work deals with a study coupling experiments and modeling of charcoal gasification by steam at large particle scale. A reliable set of experiments was first established using a specially developed 'macro-TG' apparatus where a particle was suspended and continuously weighed during its gasification. The main control parameters of a fixed-bed process were modified separately: steam gasification of beech charcoal spheres of different diameters (10 to 30 mm) was studied at different temperatures (830 to 1030{sup o}C), different steam partial pressures (0.1 to 0.4 atm H{sub 2}O), and different gas velocities around the particle (0.09 to 0.30 m/s). Simulationsmore » with the particle model were performed for each case. Confrontations with experimental data indicate that the model predictions are both qualitatively and quantitatively satisfactory, with an accuracy of 7%, until 60% of conversion, despite the fact that the phenomena of reactive surface evolution and particle fracturing are not well understood. Anisotropy and peripheral fragmentation make the end of the process difficult to simulate. Finally, an analysis of the thermochemical situation is proposed: it is demonstrated that the usual homogeneous or shrinking core particle models are not satisfying and that only the assumption of thermal equilibrium between the particle and the surrounding gas is valid for a model at bed scale. (author)« less

Characterization of products obtained from pyrolysis and steam gasification of wood waste, RDF, and RPF.

PubMed

Hwang, In-Hee; Kobayashi, Jun; Kawamoto, Katsuya

2014-02-01

Pyrolysis and steam gasification of woody biomass chip (WBC) obtained from construction and demolition wastes, refuse-derived fuel (RDF), and refuse paper and plastic fuel (RPF) were performed at various temperatures using a lab-scale instrument. The gas, liquid, and solid products were examined to determine their generation amounts, properties, and the carbon balance between raw material and products. The amount of product gas and its hydrogen concentration showed a considerable difference depending on pyrolysis and steam gasification at higher temperature. The reaction of steam and solid product, char, contributed to an increase in gas amount and hydrogen concentration. The amount of liquid products generated greatly depended on temperature rather than pyrolysis or steam gasification. The compositions of liquid product varied relying on raw materials used at 500°C but the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons became the major compounds at 900°C irrespective of the raw materials used. Almost fixed carbon (FC) of raw materials remained as solid products under pyrolysis condition whereas FC started to decompose at 700°C under steam gasification condition. For WBC, both char utilization by pyrolysis at low temperature (500°C) and syngas recovery by steam gasification at higher temperature (900°C) might be practical options. From the results of carbon balance of RDF and RPF, it was confirmed that the carbon conversion to liquid products conspicuously increased as the amount of plastic increased in the raw material. To recover feedstock from RPF, pyrolysis for oil recovery at low temperature (500°C) might be one of viable options. Steam gasification at 900°C could be an option but the method of tar reforming (e.g. catalyst utilization) should be considered. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A high temperature drop-tube and packed-bed solar reactor for continuous biomass gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bellouard, Quentin; Abanades, Stéphane; Rodat, Sylvain; Dupassieux, Nathalie

2017-06-01

Biomass gasification is an attractive process to produce high-value syngas. Utilization of concentrated solar energy as the heat source for driving reactions increases the energy conversion efficiency, saves biomass resource, and eliminates the needs for gas cleaning and separation. A high-temperature tubular solar reactor combining drop tube and packed bed concepts was used for continuous solar-driven gasification of biomass. This 1 kW reactor was experimentally tested with biomass feeding under real solar irradiation conditions at the focus of a 2 m-diameter parabolic solar concentrator. Experiments were conducted at temperatures ranging from 1000°C to 1400°C using wood composed of a mix of pine and spruce (bark included) as biomass feedstock. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of syngas production in this reactor concept and to prove the reliability of continuous biomass gasification processing using solar energy. The study first consisted of a parametric study of the gasification conditions to obtain an optimal gas yield. The influence of temperature and oxidizing agent (H2O or CO2) on the product gas composition was investigated. The study then focused on solar gasification during continuous biomass particle injection for demonstrating the feasibility of a continuous process. Regarding the energy conversion efficiency of the lab scale reactor, energy upgrade factor of 1.21 and solar-to-fuel thermochemical efficiency up to 28% were achieved using wood heated up to 1400°C.

Development of advanced, continuous mild gasification process for the production of co-products

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ness, R.O. Jr.; Aulich, T.R.

1991-05-01

The current objective of the University of North Dakota Energy and Environmental Research Center (EERC) mild gasification project is to optimize reaction char and marketable liquids production on a 100-lb/hr scale using Wyodak subbituminous and Indiana No. 3 bituminous coals. Tests performed using the EERC 100-lb/hr process development unit (PDU) include a refractory-cure (Test P001), a test using petroleum coke (Test P002), and tests using Wyodak and Indiana coals. The reactor system used for the 11 PDU tests conducted to date consists of a spouted, fluid-bed carbonizer equipped with an on-line condensation train that yields three boiling point fractions ofmore » coal liquids ranging in volatility from about (77{degrees}--750{degrees}F) (25{degrees}--400{degrees}C). The September--December 1990 quarterly report described reaction conditions and the bulk of the analytical results for Tests P010 and P011. This report describes further P010 and P011 analytical work, including the generation of simulated distillation curves for liquid samples on the basis of sulfur content, using gas chromatography coupled with atomic emission detection (GC/AED) analysis. 13 figs., 3 tabs.« less

Experimental study on temperature profile of fixed - bed gasification of oil-palm fronds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atnaw, Samson M.; Sulaiman, Shaharin A.; Moni, M. Nazmi Z.

2012-06-01

Currently the world's second largest palm oil producer Malaysia produces large amount of oil palm biomass each year. The abundance of the biomass introduces a challenge to utilize them as main feedstock for heat and energy generation. Although some oil palm parts and derivatives like empty fruit bunch and fibre have been commercialized as fuel, less attention has been given to oil palm fronds (OPF). Initial feasibility and characterization studies of OPF showed that it is highly feasible as fuel for gasification to produce high value gaseous fuel or syngas. This paper discusses the experimental gasification attempt carried out on OPF using a 50 kW lab scale downdraft gasifier and its results. The conducted study focused on the temperature distributions within the reactor and the characteristics of the dynamic temperature profile for each temperature zones during operation. OPF feedstock of one cubic inch in individual size with 15% average moisture content was utilized. An average pyrolysis zone temperature of 324°Cand an average oxidation zone temperature of 796°Cwere obtained over a total gasification period of 74 minutes. A maximum oxidation zone temperature of 952°Cwas obtained at 486 lpm inlet air flow rate and 10 kg/hr feedstock consumption rate. Stable bluish flare was produced for more than 70% of the total gasification time. The recorded temperature profiles produced closely similar patterns with the temperature profiles recorded from the gasification of woody materials. Similar temperature profile was obtained comparing the results from OPF gasification with that of woody biomass. Furthermore, the successful ignition of the syngas produced from OPF gasification ascertained that OPF indeed has a higher potential as gasification feedstock. Hence, more detailed studies need to be done for better understanding in exploiting the biomass as a high prospect alternative energy solution. In addition, a study of the effect of initial moisture content of OPF feedstock on the temperature distribution profile along the gasifier bed showed that initial moisture content of feedstock in the range of 15% gives satisfactory result, while experiment with feedstock having higher moisture content resulted in lower zone temperature values.

Gasification of yeast industry treatment plant sludge using downdraft Gasifier.

PubMed

Ayol, Azize; Tezer, Ozgun; Gurgen, Alim

2018-01-01

Sludges produced in biological wastewater treatment plants have rich organic materials in their characteristics. Recent research studies have focused on the energy recovery from sludge due to its high organic content. The gasification process is a thermal conversion technology transforming the chemical energy contained in a solid fuel into thermal energy and electricity. The produced syngas as a mixture of CO, CH 4 , H 2 and other gases can be used to generate electrical energy. The gasification of yeast industry sludge has been experimentally evaluated in a pilot scale downdraft-type gasifier as a route towards the energy recovery. The gasifier has 20 kg biomass/h fuel capacity. During gasification, the temperature achieved was more than 1,000°C in the gasifier, and then the syngas was transferred to the gas engine to yield the electricity. A load was connected to the grid box and approximately 1 kWh electrical power generation for 1 kg dry sludge was determined. The characteristics of residuals - ash, glassy material - were also analyzed. It was found that most of the heavy metals were fixed in the glassy material. Experimental results showed that the yeast industry sludge was an appropriate material for gasification studies and remarkable energy recovery was obtained in terms of power production by using syngas.

Methods for sulfate removal in liquid-phase catalytic hydrothermal gasification of biomass

DOEpatents

Elliott, Douglas C; Oyler, James R

2014-11-04

Processing of wet biomass feedstock by liquid-phase catalytic hydrothermal gasification must address catalyst fouling and poisoning. One solution can involve heating the wet biomass with a heating unit to a pre-treatment temperature sufficient for organic constituents in the feedstock to decompose, for precipitates of inorganic wastes to form, for preheating the wet feedstock in preparation for subsequent removal of soluble sulfate contaminants, or combinations thereof. Processing further includes reacting the soluble sulfate contaminants with cations present in the feedstock material to yield a sulfate-containing precipitate and separating the inorganic precipitates and/or the sulfate-containing precipitates out of the wet feedstock. Having removed much of the inorganic wastes and the sulfate contaminants that can cause poisoning and fouling, the wet biomass feedstock can be exposed to the heterogeneous catalyst for gasification.

Methods for sulfate removal in liquid-phase catalytic hydrothermal gasification of biomass

DOEpatents

Elliott, Douglas C; Oyler, James

2013-12-17

Processing of wet biomass feedstock by liquid-phase catalytic hydrothermal gasification must address catalyst fouling and poisoning. One solution can involve heating the wet biomass with a heating unit to a pre-treatment temperature sufficient for organic constituents in the feedstock to decompose, for precipitates of inorganic wastes to form, for preheating the wet feedstock in preparation for subsequent removal of soluble sulfate contaminants, or combinations thereof. Processing further includes reacting the soluble sulfate contaminants with cations present in the feedstock material to yield a sulfate-containing precipitate and separating the inorganic precipitates and/or the sulfate-containing precipitates out of the wet feedstock. Having removed much of the inorganic wastes and the sulfate contaminants that can cause poisoning and fouling, the wet biomass feedstock can be exposed to the heterogenous catalyst for gasification.

Gasification of land-based biomass. Final report July 78-December 82

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chynoweth, D.P.; Jerger, D.E.; Conrad, J.R.

1983-06-01

The objective of this research was to develop efficient processes for conversion of land-based biomass to methane and other resources. One task was to determine the relative suitability of selected species or feedstocks for biological and thermal gasification processes. The second task was to narrow options for design and operation of the experimental test unit (ETU) on water hyacinth and sludge at Walt Disney World (WDW) and to provide a scientific base for understanding rate- and yield-limiting reactions for biogasification of these feedstocks, (separately and as blends).

Development of an advanced, continuous mild gasification process for the production of co-products. Quarterly report, October 30, 1991--January 2, 1992

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O`Neal, G.W.

1991-12-31

During this quarter the work on Task 3, char upgrading, was in two areas; upgrading Penelec char made from Penelec filter cake to blast furnace formed coke, and evaluating various bituminous pitch binders. The formed coke from Penelec filter cake was of good quality with a high crush strength of 3000 pounds. The reactivity was not equal to that of conventional coke but it is felt that it could be made to equal conventional coke with further study, specifically by adding binder coal to the raw material recipe. The work evaluating bituminous pitch binders confirmed earlier thinking that will bemore » valuable to a commercial scale-up. Asphalt binders are compatible with coal tar binders and produce a coke of equal quality. Hence asphalt binders can be used to supply deficiencies of tar production in units employing coals with insufficient volatile matter to supply enough tar for the coking process. Asphalt binders have about a 50% savings from coal tar pitch. During the 4th Quarter of 1991, a total of 15 Continuous Mild Gasification Unit (CMGU) test runs were made. Efforts continued to determine the optimum forward/reverse ratio to maximize coal feed rate. The success of these efforts has been limited with a maximum coal feed rate of 400 lbs/hr obtainable with a caking coal. The handicap of not having screw shaft heaters cannot be overcome by adjustment of the forward/reverse ratio.« less

Development of an advanced, continuous mild gasification process for the production of co-products

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O'Neal, G.W.

1991-01-01

During this quarter the work on Task 3, char upgrading, was in two areas; upgrading Penelec char made from Penelec filter cake to blast furnace formed coke, and evaluating various bituminous pitch binders. The formed coke from Penelec filter cake was of good quality with a high crush strength of 3000 pounds. The reactivity was not equal to that of conventional coke but it is felt that it could be made to equal conventional coke with further study, specifically by adding binder coal to the raw material recipe. The work evaluating bituminous pitch binders confirmed earlier thinking that will bemore » valuable to a commercial scale-up. Asphalt binders are compatible with coal tar binders and produce a coke of equal quality. Hence asphalt binders can be used to supply deficiencies of tar production in units employing coals with insufficient volatile matter to supply enough tar for the coking process. Asphalt binders have about a 50% savings from coal tar pitch. During the 4th Quarter of 1991, a total of 15 Continuous Mild Gasification Unit (CMGU) test runs were made. Efforts continued to determine the optimum forward/reverse ratio to maximize coal feed rate. The success of these efforts has been limited with a maximum coal feed rate of 400 lbs/hr obtainable with a caking coal. The handicap of not having screw shaft heaters cannot be overcome by adjustment of the forward/reverse ratio.« less

Power Systems Development Facility Gasification Test Campaing TC18

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Southern Company Services

2005-08-31

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF) located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device (PCD), advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high pressure solids handling systems. This report details Test Campaign TC18 of the PSDF gasification process. Test campaign TC18 began on June 23, 2005, and ended on August 22, 2005, with the gasifiermore » train accumulating 1,342 hours of operation using Powder River Basin (PRB) subbituminous coal. Some of the testing conducted included commissioning of a new recycle syngas compressor for gasifier aeration, evaluation of PCD filter elements and failsafes, testing of gas cleanup technologies, and further evaluation of solids handling equipment. At the conclusion of TC18, the PSDF gasification process had been operated for more than 7,750 hours.« less

Physico-chemical properties and gasification reactivity of co-pyrolysis char from different rank of coal blended with lignocellulosic biomass: Effects of the cellulose.

PubMed

Wu, Zhiqiang; Wang, Shuzhong; Luo, Zhengyuan; Chen, Lin; Meng, Haiyu; Zhao, Jun

2017-07-01

In this paper, the influence of cellulose on the physicochemical properties and the gasification reactivity of co-pyrolysis char was investigated. A specific surface area analyzer and an X-ray diffraction system were used to characterize the pore structure and the micro-crystalline structure of char. Fractal theory and deconvolution method were applied to quantitatively investigate the influence of cellulose on the structure of co-pyrolysis char. The results indicate that the improvements in the pore structure due to the presence of cellulose are more pronounced in the case of anthracite char with respect to bituminous char. Cellulose promotes the ordering of micro-scale structure and the uniformity of both anthracite and bituminous char, while the negative synergetic effect was observed during gasification of co-pyrolysis char. The exponential relationships between fractal dimension and specific surface area were determined, along with the relations between the gasification reactivity index and the microcrystalline structure parameter. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Combustion of Coal Char Particles under Fluidized Bed Oxyfiring Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scala, Fabrizio; Chirone, Riccardo

In this work combustion of single coal char particles was studied at 850°C in a lab-scale fluidized bed under simulated oxyfiring conditions. The burning rate of the particles was followed as a function of time by continuously measuring the outlet CO and O2 concentrations. Some preliminary evaluations on the significance of homogeneous CO oxidation in the reactor and of carbon gasification by CO2 in the char were also carried out. Results showed that the carbon burning rate increases with oxygen concentration and char particle size. The particle temperature is approximately equal to the bed one up to an oxygen concentration of 2%, but it is considerably higher for larger oxygen concentrations. Both CO2 gasification of char and homogeneous CO oxidation are not negligible. The gasification reaction rate is slow and it is likely to be controlled by intrinsic kinetics. During purely gasification conditions the extent of carbon loss due to particle attrition by abrasion (estimated from the carbon mass balance) appears to be more important than under combustion conditions.

Fluid bed gasification--plasma converter process generating energy from solid waste: experimental assessment of sulphur species.

PubMed

Morrin, Shane; Lettieri, Paola; Chapman, Chris; Taylor, Richard

2014-01-01

Often perceived as a Cinderella material, there is growing appreciation for solid waste as a renewable content thermal process feed. Nonetheless, research on solid waste gasification and sulphur mechanisms in particular is lacking. This paper presents results from two related experiments on a novel two stage gasification process, at demonstration scale, using a sulphur-enriched wood pellet feed. Notable SO2 and relatively low COS levels (before gas cleaning) were interesting features of the trials, and not normally expected under reducing gasification conditions. Analysis suggests that localised oxygen rich regions within the fluid bed played a role in SO2's generation. The response of COS to sulphur in the feed was quite prompt, whereas SO2 was more delayed. It is proposed that the bed material sequestered sulphur from the feed, later aiding SO2 generation. The more reducing gas phase regions above the bed would have facilitated COS--hence its faster response. These results provide a useful insight, with further analysis on a suite of performed experiments underway, along with thermodynamic modelling. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermodynamic analyses of a biomass-coal co-gasification power generation system.

PubMed

Yan, Linbo; Yue, Guangxi; He, Boshu

2016-04-01

A novel chemical looping power generation system is presented based on the biomass-coal co-gasification with steam. The effects of different key operation parameters including biomass mass fraction (Rb), steam to carbon mole ratio (Rsc), gasification temperature (Tg) and iron to fuel mole ratio (Rif) on the system performances like energy efficiency (ηe), total energy efficiency (ηte), exergy efficiency (ηex), total exergy efficiency (ηtex) and carbon capture rate (ηcc) are analyzed. A benchmark condition is set, under which ηte, ηtex and ηcc are found to be 39.9%, 37.6% and 96.0%, respectively. Furthermore, detailed energy Sankey diagram and exergy Grassmann diagram are drawn for the entire system operating under the benchmark condition. The energy and exergy efficiencies of the units composing the system are also predicted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of energy recovery potential using innovative technologies of waste gasification.

PubMed

Lombardi, Lidia; Carnevale, Ennio; Corti, Andrea

2012-04-01

In this paper, two alternative thermo-chemical processes for waste treatment were analysed: high temperature gasification and gasification associated to plasma process. The two processes were analysed from the thermodynamic point of view, trying to reconstruct two simplified models, using appropriate simulation tools and some support data from existing/planned plants, able to predict the energy recovery performances by process application. In order to carry out a comparative analysis, the same waste stream input was considered as input to the two models and the generated results were compared. The performances were compared with those that can be obtained from conventional combustion with energy recovery process by means of steam turbine cycle. Results are reported in terms of energy recovery performance indicators as overall energy efficiency, specific energy production per unit of mass of entering waste, primary energy source savings, specific carbon dioxide production. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gasification of high ash, high ash fusion temperature bituminous coals

DOEpatents

Liu, Guohai; Vimalchand, Pannalal; Peng, WanWang

2015-11-13

This invention relates to gasification of high ash bituminous coals that have high ash fusion temperatures. The ash content can be in 15 to 45 weight percent range and ash fusion temperatures can be in 1150.degree. C. to 1500.degree. C. range as well as in excess of 1500.degree. C. In a preferred embodiment, such coals are dealt with a two stage gasification process--a relatively low temperature primary gasification step in a circulating fluidized bed transport gasifier followed by a high temperature partial oxidation step of residual char carbon and small quantities of tar. The system to process such coals further includes an internally circulating fluidized bed to effectively cool the high temperature syngas with the aid of an inert media and without the syngas contacting the heat transfer surfaces. A cyclone downstream of the syngas cooler, operating at relatively low temperatures, effectively reduces loading to a dust filtration unit. Nearly dust- and tar-free syngas for chemicals production or power generation and with over 90%, and preferably over about 98%, overall carbon conversion can be achieved with the preferred process, apparatus and methods outlined in this invention.

An experimental approach aiming the production of a gas mixture composed of hydrogen and methane from biomass as natural gas substitute in industrial applications.

PubMed

Kraussler, Michael; Schindler, Philipp; Hofbauer, Hermann

2017-08-01

This work presents an experimental approach aiming the production of a gas mixture composed of H 2 and CH 4 , which should serve as natural gas substitute in industrial applications. Therefore, a lab-scale process chain employing a water gas shift unit, scrubbing units, and a pressure swing adsorption unit was operated with tar-rich product gas extracted from a commercial dual fluidized bed biomass steam gasification plant. A gas mixture with a volumetric fraction of about 80% H 2 and 19% CH 4 and with minor fractions of CO and CO 2 was produced by employing carbon molecular sieve as adsorbent. Moreover, the produced gas mixture had a lower heating value of about 15.5MJ·m -3 and a lower Wobbe index of about 43.4MJ·m -3 , which is similar to the typical Wobbe index of natural gas. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The prospect of hazardous sludge reduction through gasification process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakiki, R.; Wikaningrum, T.; Kurniawan, T.

2018-01-01

Biological sludge generated from centralized industrial WWTP is classified as toxic and hazardous waste based on the Indonesian’s Government Regulation No. 101/2014. The amount of mass and volume of sludge produced have an impact in the cost to manage or to dispose. The main objective of this study is to identify the opportunity of gasification technology which can be applied to reduce hazardous sludge quantity before sending to the final disposal. This preliminary study covers the technical and economic assessment of the application of gasification process, which was a combination of lab-scale experimental results and assumptions based on prior research. The results showed that the process was quite effective in reducing the amount and volume of hazardous sludge which results in reducing the disposal costs without causing negative impact on the environment. The reduced mass are moisture and volatile carbon which are decomposed, while residues are fix carbon and other minerals which are not decomposed by thermal process. The economical simulation showed that the project will achieve payback period in 2.5 years, IRR value of 53 % and BC Ratio of 2.3. The further study in the pilot scale to obtain the more accurate design and calculations is recommended.

Genifuel Hydrothermal Processing Bench Scale Technology Evaluation Project (WE&RF Report LIFT6T14)

EPA Science Inventory

Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL) and Catalytic Hydrothermal Gasification (CHG) proof-of-concept bench-scale tests were performed to assess the potential of the Genifuel hydrothermal process technology for handling municipal wastewater sludge. HTL tests were conducted at 300-350◦C ...

An evaluation of tannery industry wastewater treatment sludge gasification by artificial neural network modeling.

PubMed

Ongen, Atakan; Ozcan, H Kurtulus; Arayıcı, Semiha

2013-12-15

This paper reports on the calorific value of synthetic gas (syngas) produced by gasification of dewatered sludge derived from treatment of tannery wastewater. Proximate and ultimate analyses of samples were performed. Thermochemical conversion alters the chemical structure of the waste. Dried air was used as a gasification agent at varying flow rates, which allowed the feedstock to be quickly converted into gas by means of different heterogeneous reactions. A lab-scale updraft fixed-bed steel reactor was used for thermochemical conversion of sludge samples. Artificial neural network (ANN) modeling techniques were used to observe variations in the syngas related to operational conditions. Modeled outputs showed that temporal changes of model predictions were in close accordance with real values. Correlation coefficients (r) showed that the ANN used in this study gave results with high sensitivity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Report on all ARRA Funded Technical Work

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

2013-10-05

The main focus of this American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funded project was to design an energy efficient carbon capture and storage (CCS) process using the Recipients membrane system for H{sub 2} separation and CO{sub 2} capture. In the ARRA-funded project, the Recipient accelerated development and scale-up of ongoing hydrogen membrane technology research and development (R&D). Specifically, this project focused on accelerating the current R&D work scope of the base program-funded project, involving lab scale tests, detail design of a 250 lb/day H{sub 2} process development unit (PDU), and scale-up of membrane tube and coating manufacturing. Thismore » project scope included the site selection and a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study of a nominally 4 to 10 ton-per-day (TPD) Pre-Commercial Module (PCM) hydrogen separation membrane system. Process models and techno-economic analysis were updated to include studies on integration of this technology into an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power generation system with CCS.« less

Design and construction of coal/biomass to liquids (CBTL) process development unit (PDU) at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Placido, Andrew; Liu, Kunlei; Challman, Don

This report describes a first phase of a project to design, construct and commission an integrated coal/biomass-to-liquids facility at a capacity of 1 bbl. /day at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (UK-CAER) – specifically for construction of the building and upstream process units for feed handling, gasification, and gas cleaning, conditioning and compression. The deliverables from the operation of this pilot plant [when fully equipped with the downstream process units] will be firstly the liquid FT products and finished fuels which are of interest to UK-CAER’s academic, government and industrial research partners. The facility will producemore » research quantities of FT liquids and finished fuels for subsequent Fuel Quality Testing, Performance and Acceptability. Moreover, the facility is expected to be employed for a range of research and investigations related to: Feed Preparation, Characteristics and Quality; Coal and Biomass Gasification; Gas Clean-up/ Conditioning; Gas Conversion by FT Synthesis; Product Work-up and Refining; Systems Analysis and Integration; and Scale-up and Demonstration. Environmental Considerations - particularly how to manage and reduce carbon dioxide emissions from CBTL facilities and from use of the fuels - will be a primary research objectives. Such a facility has required significant lead time for environmental review, architectural/building construction, and EPC services. UK, with DOE support, has advanced the facility in several important ways. These include: a formal EA/FONSI, and permits and approvals; construction of a building; selection of a range of technologies and vendors; and completion of the upstream process units. The results of this project are the FEED and detailed engineering studies, the alternate configurations and the as-built plant - its equipment and capabilities for future research and demonstration and its adaptability for re-purposing to meet other needs. These are described in some detail in this report, along with lessons learned.« less

Operating and environmental performances of commercial-scale waste gasification and melting technology.

PubMed

Tanigaki, Nobuhiro; Fujinaga, Yasuka; Kajiyama, Hirohisa; Ishida, Yoshihiro

2013-11-01

Gasification technologies for waste processing are receiving increased interest. A lot of gasification technologies, including gasification and melting, have been developed in Japan and Europe. However, the flue gas and heavy metal behaviors have not been widely reported, even though those of grate furnaces have been reported. This article reports flue gas components of gasification and melting technology in different flue gas treatment systems. Hydrogen chloride concentrations at the inlet of the bag filter ranged between 171 and 180 mg Nm(-3) owing to de-acidification by limestone injection to the gasifier. More than 97.8% of hydrogen chlorides were removed by a bag filter in both of the flue gas treatment systems investigated. Sulfur dioxide concentrations at the inlet of the baghouse were 4.8 mg Nm(-3) and 12.7 mg Nm(-3), respectively. Nitrogen oxides are highly decomposed by a selective catalytic reduction system. Owing to the low regenerations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans, and the selective catalytic reduction system, the concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans at the stacks were significantly lower without activated carbon injection. More than 99% of chlorine is distributed in fly ash. Low-boiling-point heavy metals, such as lead and zinc, are distributed in fly ash at rates of 97.6% and 96.5%, respectively. Most high-boiling-point heavy metals, such as iron and copper, are distributed in metal. It is also clarified that the slag is stable and contains few harmful heavy metals, such as lead. The heavy metal distribution behaviors are almost the same regardless of the compositions of the processed waste. These results indicate that the gasification of municipal solid waste constitutes an ideal approach to environmental conservation and resource recycling.

The water footprint of biofuel produced from forest wood residue via a mixed alcohol gasification process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiu, Yi-Wen; Wu, May

2013-09-01

Forest residue has been proposed as a feasible candidate for cellulosic biofuels. However, the number of studies assessing its water use remains limited. This work aims to analyze the impacts of forest-based biofuel on water resources and quality by using a water footprint approach. A method established here is tailored to the production system, which includes softwood, hardwood, and short-rotation woody crops. The method is then applied to selected areas in the southeastern region of the United States to quantify the county-level water footprint of the biofuel produced via a mixed alcohol gasification process, under several logistic systems, and at various refinery scales. The results indicate that the blue water sourced from surface or groundwater is minimal, at 2.4 liters per liter of biofuel (l/l). The regional-average green water (rainfall) footprint falls between 400 and 443 l/l. The biofuel pathway appears to have a low nitrogen grey water footprint averaging 25 l/l at the regional level, indicating minimal impacts on water quality. Feedstock mix plays a key role in determining the magnitude and the spatial distribution of the water footprint in these regions. Compared with other potential feedstock, forest wood residue shows promise with its low blue and grey water footprint.

Fair Oaks Dairy Farms Cellulosic Ethanol Technology Review Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andrew Wold; Robert Divers

2011-06-23

At Fair Oaks Dairy, dried manure solids (''DMS'') are currently used as a low value compost. United Power was engaged to evaluate the feasibility of processing these DMS into ethanol utilizing commercially available cellulosic biofuels conversion platforms. The Fair Oaks Dairy group is transitioning their traditional ''manure to methane'' mesophilic anaerobic digester platform to an integrated bio-refinery centered upon thermophilic digestion. Presently, the Digested Manure Solids (DMS) are used as a low value soil amendment (compost). United Power evaluated the feasibility of processing DMS into higher value ethanol utilizing commercially available cellulosic biofuels conversion platforms. DMS was analyzed and overmore » 100 potential technology providers were reviewed and evaluated. DMS contains enough carbon to be suitable as a biomass feedstock for conversion into ethanol by gasification technology, or as part of a conversion process that would include combined heat and power. In the first process, 100% of the feedstock is converted into ethanol. In the second process, the feedstock is combusted to provide heat to generate electrical power supporting other processes. Of the 100 technology vendors evaluated, a short list of nine technology providers was developed. From this, two vendors were selected as finalists (one was an enzymatic platform and one was a gasification platform). Their selection was based upon the technical feasibility of their systems, engineering expertise, experience in commercial or pilot scale operations, the ability or willingness to integrate the system into the Fair Oaks Biorefinery, the know-how or experience in producing bio-ethanol, and a clear path to commercial development.« less

Commercial-scale demonstration of the Liquid Phase Methanol process. Technical progress report number 8, April 1--June 30, 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-12-31

The project involves the construction of an 80,000 gallon per day (260 tons per day (TPD)) methanol unit utilizing coal-derived synthesis gas from Eastman`s integrated coal gasification facility. The new equipment consists of synthesis gas feed preparation and compression facilities, the liquid phase reactor and auxiliaries, product distillation facilities, and utilities. The technology to be demonstrated is the product of a cooperative development effort by Air Products and DOE in a program that started in 1981. Developed to enhance electric power generation using integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology, the LPMEOH{trademark} process is ideally suited for directly processing gases producedmore » by modern-day coal gasifiers. Originally tested at a small (10 TPD), DOE-owned experimental unit in LaPorte, Texas, the technology provides several improvements essential for the economic coproduction of methanol and electricity directly from gasified coal. This liquid phase process suspends fine catalyst particles in an inert liquid, forming a slurry. The slurry dissipates the heat of the chemical reaction away from the catalyst surface, protecting the catalyst and allowing the methanol synthesis reaction to proceed at higher rates. At the Eastman complex, the technology is being integrated with existing coal-gasifiers. A carefully developed test plan will allow operations at Eastman to simulate electricity demand load-following in coal-based IGCC facilities. The operations will also demonstrate the enhanced stability and heat dissipation of the conversion process, its reliable on/off operation, and its ability to produce methanol as a clean liquid fuel without additional upgrading.« less

Product Chemistry and Process Efficiency of Biomass Torrefaction, Pyrolysis and Gasification Studied by High-Throughput Techniques and Multivariate Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Li

Despite the great passion and endless efforts on development of renewable energy from biomass, the commercialization and scale up of biofuel production is still under pressure and facing challenges. New ideas and facilities are being tested around the world targeting at reducing cost and improving product value. Cutting edge technologies involving analytical chemistry, statistics analysis, industrial engineering, computer simulation, and mathematics modeling, etc. keep integrating modern elements into this classic research. One of those challenges of commercializing biofuel production is the complexity from chemical composition of biomass feedstock and the products. Because of this, feedstock selection and process optimization cannot be conducted efficiently. This dissertation attempts to further evaluate biomass thermal decomposition process using both traditional methods and advanced technique (Pyrolysis Molecular Beam Mass Spectrometry). Focus has been made on data base generation of thermal decomposition products from biomass at different temperatures, finding out the relationship between traditional methods and advanced techniques, evaluating process efficiency and optimizing reaction conditions, comparison of typically utilized biomass feedstock and new search on innovative species for economical viable feedstock preparation concepts, etc. Lab scale quartz tube reactors and 80il stainless steel sample cups coupled with auto-sampling system were utilized to simulate the complicated reactions happened in real fluidized or entrained flow reactors. Two main high throughput analytical techniques used are Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) and Pyrolysis Molecular Beam Mass Spectrometry (Py-MBMS). Mass balance, carbon balance, and product distribution are presented in detail. Variations of thermal decomposition temperature range from 200°C to 950°C. Feedstocks used in the study involve typical hardwood and softwood (red oak, white oak, yellow poplar, loblolly pine), fast growing energy crops (switchgrass), and popular forage crop (alfalfa), as well as biochar derived from those materials and their mixtures. It demonstrated that Py-MBMS coupled with MVA could be used as fast analytical tools for the study of not only biomass composition but also its thermal decomposition behaviors. It found that the impact of biomass composition heavily depends on the thermal decomposition temperature because at different temperature, the composition of biomass decomposed and the impact of minerals on the decomposition reaction varies. At low temperature (200-500°C), organic compounds attribute to the majority of variation in thermal decomposition products. At higher temperature, inorganics dramatically changed the pyrolysis pathway of carbohydrates and possibly lignin. In gasification, gasification tar formation is also observed to be impacted by ash content in vapor and char. In real reactor, biochar structure also has interactions with other fractions to make the final pyrolysis and gasification product. Based on the evaluation of process efficiencies during torrefaction, temperature ranging from 275°C to 300°C with short residence time (<10min) are proposed to be optimal torrefaction conditions. 500°C is preferred to 700°C as primary pyrolysis temperature in two stage gasification because higher primary pyrolysis temperature resulted in more tar and less gasification char. Also, in terms of carbon yield, more carbon is lost in tar while less carbon is retained in gas product using 700°C as primary pyrolysis temperature. In addition, pyrolysis char is found to produce less tar and more gas during steam gasification compared with gasification of pyrolysis vapor. Thus it is suggested that torrefaction might be an efficient pretreatment for biomass gasification because it can largely improve the yield of pyrolysis char during the primary pyrolysis step of gasification thus reduce the total tar of the overall gasification products. Future work is suggested in the end.

Gasification Product Improvement Facility (GPIF). Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1995-09-01

The gasifier selected for development under this contract is an innovative and patented hybrid technology which combines the best features of both fixed-bed and fluidized-bed types. PyGas{trademark}, meaning Pyrolysis Gasification, is well suited for integration into advanced power cycles such as IGCC. It is also well matched to hot gas clean-up technologies currently in development. Unlike other gasification technologies, PyGas can be designed into both large and small scale systems. It is expected that partial repowering with PyGas could be done at a cost of electricity of only 2.78 cents/kWh, more economical than natural gas repowering. It is extremely unfortunatemore » that Government funding for such a noble cause is becoming reduced to the point where current contracts must be canceled. The Gasification Product Improvement Facility (GPIF) project was initiated to provide a test facility to support early commercialization of advanced fixed-bed coal gasification technology at a cost approaching $1,000 per kilowatt for electric power generation applications. The project was to include an innovative, advanced, air-blown, pressurized, fixed-bed, dry-bottom gasifier and a follow-on hot metal oxide gas desulfurization sub-system. To help defray the cost of testing materials, the facility was to be located at a nearby utility coal fired generating site. The patented PyGas{trademark} technology was selected via a competitive bidding process as the candidate which best fit overall DOE objectives. The paper describes the accomplishments to date.« less

Gasification: An alternative solution for energy recovery and utilization of vegetable market waste.

PubMed

Narnaware, Sunil L; Srivastava, Nsl; Vahora, Samir

2017-03-01

Vegetables waste is generally utilized through a bioconversion process or disposed of at municipal landfills, dumping sites or dumped on open land, emitting a foul odor and causing health hazards. The presents study deals with an alternative way to utilize solid vegetable waste through a thermochemical route such as briquetting and gasification for its energy recovery and subsequent power generation. Briquettes of 50 mm diameter were produced from four different types of vegetable waste. The bulk density of briquettes produced was increased 10 to 15 times higher than the density of the dried vegetable waste in loose form. The lower heating value (LHV) of the briquettes ranged from 10.26 MJ kg -1 to 16.60 MJ kg -1 depending on the type of vegetable waste. The gasification of the briquettes was carried out in an open core downdraft gasifier, which resulted in syngas with a calorific value of 4.71 MJ Nm -3 at the gasification temperature between 889°C and 1011°C. A spark ignition, internal combustion engine was run on syngas and could generate a maximum load up to 10 kW e . The cold gas efficiency and the hot gas efficiency of the gasifier were measured at 74.11% and 79.87%, respectively. Energy recovery from the organic vegetable waste was possible through a thermochemical conversion route such as briquetting and subsequent gasification and recovery of the fuel for small-scale power generation.

Technician's Perspective on an Ever-Changing Research Environment: Catalytic Conversion of Biomass to Fuels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thibodeaux, J.; Hensley, J.

2013-01-01

The biomass thermochemical conversion platform at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) develops and demonstrates processes for the conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals including gasification, pyrolysis, syngas clean-up, and catalytic synthesis of alcohol and hydrocarbon fuels. In this talk, I will discuss the challenges of being a technician in this type of research environment, including handling and working with catalytic materials and hazardous chemicals, building systems without being given all of the necessary specifications, pushing the limits of the systems through ever-changing experiments, and achieving two-way communication with engineers and supervisors. I will do this by way ofmore » two examples from recent research. First, I will describe a unique operate-to-failure experiment in the gasification of chicken litter that resulted in the formation of a solid plug in the gasifier, requiring several technicians to chisel the material out. Second, I will compare and contrast bench scale and pilot scale catalyst research, including instances where both are conducted simultaneously from common upstream equipment. By way of example, I hope to illustrate the importance of researchers 1) understanding the technicians' perspective on tasks, 2) openly communicating among all team members, and 3) knowing when to voice opinions. I believe the examples in this talk will highlight the crucial role of a technical staff: skills attained by years of experience to build and operate research and production systems. The talk will also showcase the responsibilities of NREL technicians and highlight some interesting behind-the-scenes work that makes data generation from NREL's thermochemical process development unit possible.« less

Method for Biochar Passivation Using Low Percent Oxygen

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Kristin; Dupuis, Dan; Wilcox, Esther

2016-06-06

The thermochemical process development unit may be configured for pyrolysis or gasification. The pyrolysis unit operations include: feed transport system; entrained flow reactor; solids removal and collection; and liquid scrubbing, collection, and filtration. Char accumulates in the collection drums at a rate of ~1.5 kg/hr and must be passivated before it is stored or transported.

The carbon dioxide gasification characteristics of biomass char samples and their effect on coal gasification reactivity during co-gasification.

PubMed

Mafu, Lihle D; Neomagus, Hein W J P; Everson, Raymond C; Okolo, Gregory N; Strydom, Christien A; Bunt, John R

2018-06-01

The carbon dioxide gasification characteristics of three biomass char samples and bituminous coal char were investigated in a thermogravimetric analyser in the temperature range of 850-950 °C. Char SB exhibited higher reactivities (R i , R s , R f ) than chars SW and HW. Coal char gasification reactivities were observed to be lower than those of the three biomass chars. Correlations between the char reactivities and char characteristics were highlighted. The addition of 10% biomass had no significant impact on the coal char gasification reactivity. However, 20 and 30% biomass additions resulted in increased coal char gasification rate. During co-gasification, chars HW and SW caused increased coal char gasification reactivity at lower conversions, while char SB resulted in increased gasification rates throughout the entire conversion range. Experimental data from biomass char gasification and biomass-coal char co-gasification were well described by the MRPM, while coal char gasification was better described by the RPM. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tunable Diode Laser Sensors to Monitor Temperature and Gas Composition in High-Temperature Coal Gasifiers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanson, Ronald; Whitty, Kevin

2014-12-01

The integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) when combined with carbon capture and storage can be one of the cleanest methods of extracting energy from coal. Control of coal and biomass gasification processes to accommodate the changing character of input-fuel streams is required for practical implementation of integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) technologies. Therefore a fast time-response sensor is needed for real-time monitoring of the composition and ideally the heating value of the synthesis gas (here called syngas) as it exits the gasifier. The goal of this project was the design, construction, and demonstration an in situ laserabsorption sensor to monitor multiplemore » species in the syngas output from practical-scale coal gasifiers. This project investigated the hypothesis of using laser absorption sensing in particulateladen syngas. Absorption transitions were selected with design rules to optimize signal strength while minimizing interference from other species. Successful in situ measurements in the dusty, high-pressure syngas flow were enabled by Stanford’s normalized and scanned wavelength modulation strategy. A prototype sensor for CO, CH4, CO2, and H2O was refined with experiments conducted in the laboratory at Stanford University, a pilot-scale at the University of Utah, and an engineering-scale gasifier at DoE’s National Center for Carbon Capture with the demonstration of a prototype sensor with technical readiness level 6 in the 2014 measurement campaign.« less

Development of Affordable, Low-Carbon Hydrogen Supplies at an Industrial Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roddy, Dermot J.

2008-01-01

An existing industrial hydrogen generation and distribution infrastructure is described, and a number of large-scale investment projects are outlined. All of these projects have the potential to generate significant volumes of low-cost, low-carbon hydrogen. The technologies concerned range from gasification of coal with carbon capture and storage…

Solar gasification of biomass: design and characterization of a molten salt gasification reactor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hathaway, Brandon Jay

The design and implementation of a prototype molten salt solar reactor for gasification of biomass is a significant milestone in the development of a solar gasification process. The reactor developed in this work allows for 3 kWth operation with an average aperture flux of 1530 suns at salt temperatures of 1200 K with pneumatic injection of ground or powdered dry biomass feedstocks directly into the salt melt. Laboratory scale experiments in an electrically heated reactor demonstrate the benefits of molten salt and the data was evaluated to determine the kinetics of pyrolysis and gasification of biomass or carbon in molten salt. In the presence of molten salt overall gas yields are increased by up to 22%; pyrolysis rates double due to improved heat transfer, while carbon gasification rates increase by an order of magnitude. Existing kinetic models for cellulose pyrolysis fit the data well, while carbon gasification in molten salt follows kinetics modeled with a 2/3 order shrinking-grain model with a pre-exponential factor of 1.5*106 min-1 and activation energy of 158 kJ/mol. A reactor concept is developed based around a concentric cylinder geometry with a cavity-style solar receiver immersed within a volume of molten carbonate salt. Concentrated radiation delivered to the cavity is absorbed in the cavity walls and transferred via convection to the salt volume. Feedstock is delivered into the molten salt volume where biomass gasification reactions will be carried out producing the desired product gas. The features of the cavity receiver/reactor concept are optimized based on modeling of the key physical processes. The cavity absorber geometry is optimized according to a parametric survey of radiative exchange using a Monte Carlo ray tracing model, resulting in a cavity design that achieves absorption efficiencies of 80%-90%. A parametric survey coupling the radiative exchange simulations to a CFD model of molten salt natural convection is used to size the annulus containing the molten salt to maximize utilization of absorbed solar energy, resulting in a predicted utilization efficiency of 70%. Finite element analysis was used to finalize the design to achieve acceptable thermal stresses less than 34.5 MPa to avoid material creep.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The coal industry, the utilities, and the state government are planning for development of high-energy coal gasification in Illinois to convert its abundant high-sulfur coal supply to a substitute natural gas. Following a summary of the findings, the following topics are discussed briefly: Illinois coal and the push for coal gasification; coal gasification: a look at the process; potential sites for an Illinois coal gasification industry; the impact of coal gasification's water requirements; solid wastes from coal gasification; land losses: the impact on agriculture; potential human health problems with coal gasification; the energy efficiency of coal gasification; potential economic impactsmore » of coal gasification; the corporations behind high-energy coal gasification; state involvement: legalizing the losses of the people; the national energy picture: the impact of western coal developments on Illinois; action: what you can do now. 27 references. (MCW)« less

Calcium silicate cement sorbent for H/sub 2/S removal and improved gasification processes. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yoo, H.J.; Steinberg, M.

1983-10-01

Based on the studies performed on the agglomerated cement sorbent (ACS) pellet for in-situ desulfurization of gases and for improved gasification, in low and medium Btu fluidized bed coal gasifier (FBG) systems, the following conclusions can be drawn: (1) The pelletization method by a drum pelletizer is a good way of agglomerating large sized (>20 US mesh) ACS pellets having high sorbent performance. (2) The ACS pellets have a sulfur capture capacity of about 60% at 950/sup 0/C, are 100% regenerable, and so not lose reactivity during cyclic use. (3) The rate of sulfidation increases linearly with H/sub 2/S concentrationmore » in the feed gas stream up to 1.0%. (4) The rate of sulfidation first increases with temperature in an Arrhenius fashion in the temperature range of 800/sup 0/C to 1000/sup 0/C and then decreases with further increase in temperatures, giving rise to an optimum sulfidation temperature of about 1000/sup 0/C. (5) The gasification of coal or coal char either with CO/sub 2/ gas or by partial oxidation in a 40 mm ID FBG shows that the gasification efficiency of coal (or coal char) is very much enhanced with the ACS pellets and with Greer limestone over the coal (or coal char) alone. There is, however, not much difference between the ACS pellets and Greer limestone in the degree of enhancement. (6) The gasification of coal by partial oxidation with air to low Btu gas in a 1-inch coal-fired FBG unit shows that in the temperature range of 800/sup 0/ to 900/sup 0/C the efficiency of coal gasification is improved by as much as 40% when ACS pellets are used compared to the use of Greer limestone. At the same time the sulfur removal efficiency is increased from 50 to 65% with Greer limestone to over 95% with the ACS pellets.« less

Assessment of Advanced Coal Gasification Processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCarthy, John; Ferrall, Joseph; Charng, Thomas; Houseman, John

1981-01-01

This report represents a technical assessment of the following advanced coal gasification processes: AVCO High Throughput Gasification (HTG) Process; Bell Single-Stage High Mass Flux (HMF) Process; Cities Service/Rockwell (CS/R) Hydrogasification Process; Exxon Catalytic Coal Gasification (CCG) Process. Each process is evaluated for its potential to produce SNG from a bituminous coal. In addition to identifying the new technology these processes represent, key similarities/differences, strengths/weaknesses, and potential improvements to each process are identified. The AVCO HTG and the Bell HMF gasifiers share similarities with respect to: short residence time (SRT), high throughput rate, slagging and syngas as the initial raw product gas. The CS/R Hydrogasifier is also SRT but is non-slagging and produces a raw gas high in methane content. The Exxon CCG gasifier is a long residence time, catalytic, fluidbed reactor producing all of the raw product methane in the gasifier. The report makes the following assessments: 1) while each process has significant potential as coal gasifiers, the CS/R and Exxon processes are better suited for SNG production; 2) the Exxon process is the closest to a commercial level for near-term SNG production; and 3) the SRT processes require significant development including scale-up and turndown demonstration, char processing and/or utilization demonstration, and reactor control and safety features development.

Improved system integration for integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) systems.

PubMed

Frey, H Christopher; Zhu, Yunhua

2006-03-01

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) systems are a promising technology for power generation. They include an air separation unit (ASU), a gasification system, and a gas turbine combined cycle power block, and feature competitive efficiency and lower emissions compared to conventional power generation technology. IGCC systems are not yet in widespread commercial use and opportunities remain to improve system feasibility via improved process integration. A process simulation model was developed for IGCC systems with alternative types of ASU and gas turbine integration. The model is applied to evaluate integration schemes involving nitrogen injection, air extraction, and combinations of both, as well as different ASU pressure levels. The optimal nitrogen injection only case in combination with an elevated pressure ASU had the highest efficiency and power output and approximately the lowest emissions per unit output of all cases considered, and thus is a recommended design option. The optimal combination of air extraction coupled with nitrogen injection had slightly worse efficiency, power output, and emissions than the optimal nitrogen injection only case. Air extraction alone typically produced lower efficiency, lower power output, and higher emissions than all other cases. The recommended nitrogen injection only case is estimated to provide annualized cost savings compared to a nonintegrated design. Process simulation modeling is shown to be a useful tool for evaluation and screening of technology options.

Technical Report Cellulosic Based Black Liquor Gasification and Fuels Plant Final Technical Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fornetti, Micheal; Freeman, Douglas

2012-10-31

The Cellulosic Based Black Liquor Gasification and Fuels Plant Project was developed to construct a black liquor to Methanol biorefinery in Escanaba, Michigan. The biorefinery was to be co-located at the existing pulp and paper mill, NewPage’s Escanaba Paper Mill and when in full operation would: • Generate renewable energy for Escanaba Paper Mill • Produce Methanol for transportation fuel of further refinement to Dimethyl Ether • Convert black liquor to white liquor for pulping. Black liquor is a byproduct of the pulping process and as such is generated from abundant and renewable lignocellulosic biomass. The biorefinery would serve tomore » validate the thermochemical pathway and economic models for black liquor gasification. It was a project goal to create a compelling new business model for the pulp and paper industry, and support the nation’s goal for increasing renewable fuels production and reducing its dependence on foreign oil. NewPage Corporation planned to replicate this facility at other NewPage Corporation mills after this first demonstration scale plant was operational and had proven technical and economic feasibility. An overview of the process begins with black liquor being generated in a traditional Kraft pulping process. The black liquor would then be gasified to produce synthesis gas, sodium carbonate and hydrogen sulfide. The synthesis gas is then cleaned with hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide removed, and fed into a Methanol reactor where the liquid product is made. The hydrogen sulfide is converted into polysulfide for use in the Kraft pulping process. Polysulfide is a known additive to the Kraft process that increases pulp yield. The sodium carbonate salts are converted to caustic soda in a traditional recausticizing process. The caustic soda is then part of the white liquor that is used in the Kraft pulping process. Cellulosic Based Black Liquor Gasification and Fuels Plant project set out to prove that black liquor gasification could produce transportation fuels and produce pulp at the same time. This has the added advantage of reducing or eliminating the need for a recovery boiler. The recovery boiler is an extremely expensive unit operation in the Kraft process and is key to the chemical recovery system that makes the Kraft process successful. Going to a gasification process with potentially higher energy efficiency, improve the pulping process and be more efficient with the use of wood. At the same time a renewable fuel product can be made. Cellulosic Based Black Liquor Gasification and Fuels Plant progressed with the design of the mill as Chemrec continued to work on their pilot plant data gathering. The design information helped to guide the pilot plant and vice versa. In the end, the design details showed that the process was technically feasible. However, at the relatively small size of this plant the specific capital cost was very high and could only be considered if the pulp operation needed to replace the recovery boiler. Some of the reasons for the costs being high are attributed to the many constraints that needed to be addressed in the pulping process. Additionally, the Methanol product did not have a vehicle fuel supply chain to enter into. A different product selection could have eliminated this issue. However, with the selected design, the installation at Escanaba Paper Mill was not economically feasible and the project was not pursued further.« less

Determination of biological removal of recalcitrant organic contaminants in coal gasification waste water.

PubMed

Ji, Qinhong; Tabassum, Salma; Yu, Guangxin; Chu, Chunfeng; Zhang, Zhenjia

2015-01-01

Coal gasification waste water treatment needed a sustainable and affordable plan to eliminate the organic contaminants in order to lower the potential environmental and human health risk. In this paper, a laboratory-scale anaerobic-aerobic intermittent system carried out 66 operational cycles together for the treatment of coal gasification waste water and the removal capacity of each organic pollutant. Contaminants included phenols, carboxylic acids, long-chain hydrocarbons, and heterocyclic compounds, wherein the relative content of phenol is up to 57.86%. The long-term removal of 77 organic contaminants was evaluated at different hydraulic retention time (anaerobic24 h + aerobic48 h and anaerobic48 h +aerobic48 h). Contaminant removal ranged from no measurable removal to near-complete removal with effluent concentrations below the detection limit. Contaminant removals followed one of four trends: steady-state removal throughout, increasing removal to steady state (acclimation), decreasing removal, and no removal. Organic degradation and transformation in the reaction were analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry technology.

Gasification of torrefied fuel at power generation for decentralized consumers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Safin, R. R.; Khakimzyanov, I. F.; Galyavetdinov, N. R.; Mukhametzyanov, S. R.

2017-10-01

The increasing need of satisfaction of the existing needs of the population and the industry for electric energy, especially in the areas remote from the centralized energy supply, results in need of development of “small-scale energy generation”. At the same time, the basis in these regions is made by the energy stations, using imported fuel, which involve a problem of increase in cost and transportation of fuel to the place of consumption. The solution of this task is the use of the torrefied waste of woodworking and agricultural industry as fuel. The influence of temperature of torrefaction of wood fuel on the developed electric generator power is considered in the article. As a result of the experiments, it is revealed that at gasification of torrefied fuel from vegetable raw material, the generating gas with the increased content of hydrogen and carbon oxide, in comparison with gasification of the raw materials, is produced. Owing to this, the engine capacity increases that exerts direct impact on power generation by the electric generator.

Black liquor gasification integrated in pulp and paper mills: A critical review.

PubMed

Naqvi, M; Yan, J; Dahlquist, E

2010-11-01

Black liquor gasification (BLG) has potential to replace a Tomlinson recovery boiler as an alternative technology to increase safety, flexibility and energy efficiency of pulp and paper mills. This paper presents an extensive literature review of the research and development of various BLG technologies over recent years based on low and high temperature gasification that include SCA-Billerud process, Manufacturing and Technology Conversion International (MTCI) process, direct alkali regeneration system (DARS), BLG with direct causticization, Chemrec BLG system, and catalytic hydrothermal BLG. A few technologies were tested on pilot scale but most of them were abandoned due to technical inferiority and very fewer are now at commercial stage. The drivers for the commercialization of BLG enabling bio-refinery operations at modern pulp mills, co-producing pulp and value added energy products, are discussed. In addition, the potential areas of research and development in BLG required to solve the critical issues and to fill research knowledge gaps are addressed and highlighted. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A life cycle assessment of environmental performances of two combustion- and gasification-based waste-to-energy technologies.

PubMed

Arena, Umberto; Ardolino, Filomena; Di Gregorio, Fabrizio

2015-07-01

An attributional life cycle analysis (LCA) was developed to compare the environmental performances of two waste-to-energy (WtE) units, which utilize the predominant technologies among those available for combustion and gasification processes: a moving grate combustor and a vertical shaft gasifier coupled with direct melting. The two units were assumed to be fed with the same unsorted residual municipal waste, having a composition estimated as a European average. Data from several plants in operation were processed by means of mass and energy balances, and on the basis of the flows and stocks of materials and elements inside and throughout the two units, as provided by a specific substance flow analysis. The potential life cycle environmental impacts related to the operations of the two WtE units were estimated by means of the Impact 2002+ methodology. They indicate that both the technologies have sustainable environmental performances, but those of the moving grate combustion unit are better for most of the selected impact categories. The analysis of the contributions from all the stages of each specific technology suggests where improvements in technological solutions and management criteria should be focused to obtain further and remarkable environmental improvements. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tampa Electric Company Polk Power Station IGCC project: Project status

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McDaniel, J.E.; Carlson, M.R.; Hurd, R.

1997-12-31

The Tampa Electric Company Polk Power Station is a nominal 250 MW (net) Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant located to the southeast of Tampa, Florida in Polk County, Florida. This project is being partially funded under the Department of Energy`s Clean Coal Technology Program pursuant to a Round II award. The Polk Power Station uses oxygen-blown, entrained-flow IGCC technology licensed from Texaco Development Corporation to demonstrate significant reductions of SO{sub 2} and NO{sub x} emissions when compared to existing and future conventional coal-fired power plants. In addition, this project demonstrates the technical feasibility of commercial scale IGCC andmore » Hot Gas Clean Up (HGCU) technology. The Polk Power Station achieved ``first fire`` of the gasification system on schedule in mid-July, 1996. Since that time, significant advances have occurred in the operation of the entire IGCC train. This paper addresses the operating experiences which occurred in the start-up and shakedown phase of the plant. Also, with the plant being declared in commercial operation as of September 30, 1996, the paper discusses the challenges encountered in the early phases of commercial operation. Finally, the future plans for improving the reliability and efficiency of the Unit in the first quarter of 1997 and beyond, as well as plans for future alternate fuel test burns, are detailed. The presentation features an up-to-the-minute update on actual performance parameters achieved by the Polk Power Station. These parameters include overall Unit capacity, heat rate, and availability. In addition, the current status of the start-up activities for the HGCU portion of the plant is discussed.« less

Advanced technology applications for second and third general coal gasification systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bradford, R.; Hyde, J. D.; Mead, C. W.

1980-01-01

The historical background of coal conversion is reviewed and the programmatic status (operational, construction, design, proposed) of coal gasification processes is tabulated for both commercial and demonstration projects as well as for large and small pilot plants. Both second and third generation processes typically operate at higher temperatures and pressures than first generation methods. Much of the equipment that has been tested has failed. The most difficult problems are in process control. The mechanics of three-phase flow are not fully understood. Companies participating in coal conversion projects are ordering duplicates of failure prone units. No real solutions to any of the significant problems in technology development have been developed in recent years.

Study on tar generated from downdraft gasification of oil palm fronds.

PubMed

Atnaw, Samson Mekbib; Kueh, Soo Chuan; Sulaiman, Shaharin Anwar

2014-01-01

One of the most challenging issues concerning the gasification of oil palm fronds (OPF) is the presence of tar and particulates formed during the process considering its high volatile matter content. In this study, a tar sampling train custom built based on standard tar sampling protocols was used to quantify the gravimetric concentration of tar (g/Nm3) in syngas produced from downdraft gasification of OPF. The amount of char, ash, and solid tar produced from the gasification process was measured in order to account for the mass and carbon conversion efficiency. Elemental analysis of the char and solid tar samples was done using ultimate analysis machine, while the relative concentration of the different compounds in the liquid tar was determined making use of a liquid gas chromatography (GC) unit. Average tar concentration of 4.928 g/Nm3 and 1.923 g/Nm3 was obtained for raw gas and cleaned gas samples, respectively. Tar concentration in the raw gas sample was found to be higher compared to results for other biomass materials, which could be attributed to the higher volatile matter percentage of OPF. Average cleaning efficiency of 61% which is comparable to that of sand bed filter and venturi scrubber cleaning systems reported in the literature was obtained for the cleaning system proposed in the current study.

Study on Tar Generated from Downdraft Gasification of Oil Palm Fronds

PubMed Central

Atnaw, Samson Mekbib; Kueh, Soo Chuan; Sulaiman, Shaharin Anwar

2014-01-01

One of the most challenging issues concerning the gasification of oil palm fronds (OPF) is the presence of tar and particulates formed during the process considering its high volatile matter content. In this study, a tar sampling train custom built based on standard tar sampling protocols was used to quantify the gravimetric concentration of tar (g/Nm3) in syngas produced from downdraft gasification of OPF. The amount of char, ash, and solid tar produced from the gasification process was measured in order to account for the mass and carbon conversion efficiency. Elemental analysis of the char and solid tar samples was done using ultimate analysis machine, while the relative concentration of the different compounds in the liquid tar was determined making use of a liquid gas chromatography (GC) unit. Average tar concentration of 4.928 g/Nm3 and 1.923 g/Nm3 was obtained for raw gas and cleaned gas samples, respectively. Tar concentration in the raw gas sample was found to be higher compared to results for other biomass materials, which could be attributed to the higher volatile matter percentage of OPF. Average cleaning efficiency of 61% which is comparable to that of sand bed filter and venturi scrubber cleaning systems reported in the literature was obtained for the cleaning system proposed in the current study. PMID:24526899

[Tampa Electric Company IGCC project]. 1996 DOE annual technical report, January--December 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1997-12-31

Tampa Electric Company`s Polk Power Station Unit 1 (PPS-1) Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) demonstration project uses a Texaco pressurized, oxygen-blown, entrained-flow coal gasifier to convert approximately 2,000 tons per day of coal to syngas. The gasification plant is coupled with a combined cycle power block to produce a net 250 MW electrical power output. Coal is slurried in water, combined with 95% pure oxygen from an air separation unit, and sent to the gasifier to produce a high temperature, high pressure, medium-Btu syngas with a heat content of about 250 BTUs/cf (HHV). The syngas then flows through a highmore » temperature heat recovery unit which cools the syngas prior to its entering the cleanup systems. Molten coal ash flows from the bottom of the high temperature heat recovery unit into a water-filled quench chamber where it solidifies into a marketable slag by-product. Approximately 10% of the raw, hot syngas at 900 F is designed to pass through an intermittently moving bed of metal-oxide sorbent which removes sulfur-bearing compounds from the syngas. PPS-1 will be the first unit in the world to demonstrate this advanced metal oxide hot gas desulfurization technology on a commercial unit. The emphasis during 1996 centered around start-up activities.« less

Utilisation of biomass gasification by-products for onsite energy production.

PubMed

Vakalis, S; Sotiropoulos, A; Moustakas, K; Malamis, D; Baratieri, M

2016-06-01

Small scale biomass gasification is a sector with growth and increasing applications owing to the environmental goals of the European Union and the incentivised policies of most European countries. This study addresses two aspects, which are at the centre of attention concerning the operation and development of small scale gasifiers; reuse of waste and increase of energy efficiency. Several authors have denoted that the low electrical efficiency of these systems is the main barrier for further commercial development. In addition, gasification has several by-products that have no further use and are discarded as waste. In the framework of this manuscript, a secondary reactor is introduced and modelled. The main operating principle is the utilisation of char and flue gases for further energy production. These by-products are reformed into secondary producer gas by means of a secondary reactor. In addition, a set of heat exchangers capture the waste heat and optimise the process. This case study is modelled in a MATLAB-Cantera environment. The model is non-stoichiometric and applies the Gibbs minimisation principle. The simulations show that some of the thermal energy is depleted during the process owing to the preheating of flue gases. Nonetheless, the addition of a secondary reactor results in an increase of the electrical power production efficiency and the combined heat and power (CHP) efficiency. © The Author(s) 2016.

Ultra high temperature gasification of municipal wastewater primary biosolids in a rotary kiln reactor for the production of synthesis gas.

PubMed

Gikas, Petros

2017-12-01

Primary Fine-Sieved Solids (PFSS) are produced from wastewater by the use of micro-sieves, in place of primary clarification. Biosolids is considered as a nuisance product, however, it contains significant amounts of energy, which can be utilized by biological (anaerobic digestion) or thermal (combustion or gasification) processes. In the present study, an semi-industrial scale UHT rotary kiln gasifier, operating with electric energy, was employed for the gasification of PFSS (at 17% moisture content), collected from a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Two gasification temperatures (950 and 1050 °C) had been tested, with minimal differences, with respect to syngas yield. The system appears to reach steady state after about 30-40 min from start up. The composition of the syngas at near steady state was measured approximately as 62.4% H 2 , 30.0% CO, 2.4% CH 4 and 3.4% CO 2 , plus 1.8% unidentified gases. The potential for electric energy production from the syngas produced is theoretically greater than the electric energy required for gasification. Theoretically, approximately 3.8 MJ/kg PFSS of net electric energy may be produced. However, based on the measured electric energy consumption, and assuming that all the syngas produced is used for electric energy production, addition of excess electric energy (about 0.43 MJ/kg PFSS) is required to break even. The latter is probably due to heat losses to the environment, during the heating process. With the improvement of energy efficiency, the process can be self sustained, form the energy point of view. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of Fuel Moisture Content and Reactor Temperature on the Calorific Value of Syngas Resulted from Gasification of Oil Palm Fronds

PubMed Central

Atnaw, Samson Mekbib; Sulaiman, Shaharin Anwar; Yusup, Suzana

2014-01-01

Biomass wastes produced from oil palm mills and plantations include empty fruit bunches (EFBs), shells, fibers, trunks, and oil palm fronds (OPF). EFBs and shells are partially utilized as boiler fuel while the rest of the biomass materials like OPF have not been utilized for energy generation. No previous study has been reported on gasification of oil palm fronds (OPF) biomass for the production of fuel gas. In this paper, the effect of moisture content of fuel and reactor temperature on downdraft gasification of OPF was experimentally investigated using a lab scale gasifier of capacity 50 kW. In addition, results obtained from equilibrium model of gasification that was developed for facilitating the prediction of syngas composition are compared with experimental data. Comparison of simulation results for predicting calorific value of syngas with the experimental results showed a satisfactory agreement with a mean error of 0.1 MJ/Nm3. For a biomass moisture content of 29%, the resulting calorific value for the syngas was found to be only 2.63 MJ/Nm3, as compared to nearly double (4.95 MJ/Nm3) for biomass moisture content of 22%. A calorific value as high as 5.57 MJ/Nm3 was recorded for higher oxidation zone temperature values. PMID:24578617

Influence of fuel moisture content and reactor temperature on the calorific value of syngas resulted from gasification of oil palm fronds.

PubMed

Atnaw, Samson Mekbib; Sulaiman, Shaharin Anwar; Yusup, Suzana

2014-01-01

Biomass wastes produced from oil palm mills and plantations include empty fruit bunches (EFBs), shells, fibers, trunks, and oil palm fronds (OPF). EFBs and shells are partially utilized as boiler fuel while the rest of the biomass materials like OPF have not been utilized for energy generation. No previous study has been reported on gasification of oil palm fronds (OPF) biomass for the production of fuel gas. In this paper, the effect of moisture content of fuel and reactor temperature on downdraft gasification of OPF was experimentally investigated using a lab scale gasifier of capacity 50 kW. In addition, results obtained from equilibrium model of gasification that was developed for facilitating the prediction of syngas composition are compared with experimental data. Comparison of simulation results for predicting calorific value of syngas with the experimental results showed a satisfactory agreement with a mean error of 0.1 MJ/Nm³. For a biomass moisture content of 29%, the resulting calorific value for the syngas was found to be only 2.63 MJ/Nm³, as compared to nearly double (4.95 MJ/Nm³) for biomass moisture content of 22%. A calorific value as high as 5.57 MJ/Nm³ was recorded for higher oxidation zone temperature values.

Investigation of flow behaviour of coal particles in a pilot-scale fluidized bed gasifier (FBG) using radiotracer technique.

PubMed

Pant, H J; Sharma, V K; Kamudu, M Vidya; Prakash, S G; Krishanamoorthy, S; Anandam, G; Rao, P Seshubabu; Ramani, N V S; Singh, Gursharan; Sonde, R R

2009-09-01

Knowledge of residence time distribution (RTD), mean residence time (MRT) and degree of axial mixing of solid phase is required for efficient operation of coal gasification process. Radiotracer technique was used to measure the RTD of coal particles in a pilot-scale fluidized bed gasifier (FBG). Two different radiotracers i.e. lanthanum-140 and gold-198 labeled coal particles (100 gm) were independently used as radiotracers. The radiotracer was instantaneously injected into the coal feed line and monitored at the ash extraction line at the bottom and gas outlet at the top of the gasifier using collimated scintillation detectors. The measured RTD data were treated and MRTs of coal/ash particles were determined. The treated data were simulated using tanks-in-series model. The simulation of RTD data indicated good degree of mixing with small fraction of the feed material bypassing/short-circuiting from the bottom of the gasifier. The results of the investigation were found useful for optimizing the design and operation of the FBG, and scale-up of the gasification process.

Thermochemical characterization of pigeon pea stalk for its efficient utilization as an energy source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katyal, S.K.; Iyer, P.V.R.

2000-05-01

Pigeon pea stalk is a widely available biomass species in India. In this article the potential use of pigeon pea stalk as a fuel source through thermochemical conversion methods such as combustion, gasification, and pyrolysis has been investigated through experimentation using a thermogravimetric analyzer and pilot-plant-scale equipment. It has been proposed that pigeon pea stalks can be effectively utilized in two ways. The first is to pyrolyze the material to produce value-added products such as char, tar, and fuel gas. The second alternative is to partially pyrolyze the material to remove tar-forming volatiles, followed by gasification of reactive char tomore » generate producer gas.« less

Co-gasification of bituminous coal and hydrochar derived from municipal solid waste: Reactivity and synergy.

PubMed

Wei, Juntao; Guo, Qinghua; He, Qing; Ding, Lu; Yoshikawa, Kunio; Yu, Guangsuo

2017-09-01

In this work, the influences of gasification temperature and blended ratio on co-gasification reactivity and synergy of Shenfu bituminous coal (SF) and municipal solid waste-derived hydrochar (HTC) were investigated using TGA. Additionally, active alkaline and alkaline earth metal (AAEM) transformation during co-gasification was quantitatively analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer for correlating synergy on co-gasification reactivity. The results showed that higher char gasification reactivity existed at higher HTC char proportion and gasification temperature, and the main synergy behaviour on co-gasification reactivity was performed as synergistic effect. Enhanced synergistic effect at lower temperature was mainly resulted from more obviously inhibiting the primary AAEM (i.e. active Ca) transformation, and weak synergistic effect still existed at higher temperature since more active K with prominent catalysis was retained. Furthermore, more active HTC-derived AAEM remaining in SF sample during co-gasification would lead to enhanced synergistic effect as HTC char proportion increased. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A critical review on sustainable biochar system through gasification: Energy and environmental applications.

PubMed

You, Siming; Ok, Yong Sik; Chen, Season S; Tsang, Daniel C W; Kwon, Eilhann E; Lee, Jechan; Wang, Chi-Hwa

2017-12-01

This review lays great emphasis on production and characteristics of biochar through gasification. Specifically, the physicochemical properties and yield of biochar through the diverse gasification conditions associated with various types of biomass were extensively evaluated. In addition, potential application scenarios of biochar through gasification were explored and their environmental implications were discussed. To qualitatively evaluate biochar sustainability through the gasification process, all gasification products (i.e., syngas and biochar) were evaluated via life cycle assessment (LCA). A concept of balancing syngas and biochar production for an economically and environmentally feasible gasification system was proposed and relevant challenges and solutions were suggested in this review. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Method for gasification of deep, thin coal seams. [DOE patent

DOEpatents

Gregg, D.W.

1980-08-29

A method of gasification of coal in deep, thin seams by using controlled bending subsidence to confine gas flow to a region close to the unconsumed coal face is given. The injection point is moved sequentially around the perimeter of a coal removal area from a production well to sweep out the area to cause the controlled bending subsidence. The injection holes are drilled vertically into the coal seam through the overburden or horizontally into the seam from an exposed coal face. The method is particularly applicable to deep, thin seams found in the eastern United States and at abandoned strip mines where thin seams were surface mined into a hillside or down a modest dip until the overburden became too thick for further mining.

Method for gasification of deep, thin coal seams

DOEpatents

Gregg, David W.

1982-01-01

A method of gasification of coal in deep, thin seams by using controlled bending subsidence to confine gas flow to a region close to the unconsumed coal face. The injection point is moved sequentially around the perimeter of a coal removal area from a production well to sweep out the area to cause the controlled bending subsidence. The injection holes are drilled vertically into the coal seam through the overburden or horizontally into the seam from an exposed coal face. The method is particularly applicable to deep, thin seams found in the eastern United States and at abandoned strip mines where thin seams were surface mined into a hillside or down a modest dip until the overburden became too thick for further mining.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bozkurt, Y.; Misirlioglu, Z.; Sinag, A.

The reactivities of chars obtained by pyrolysis of Bursa Mustafa Kemal Pasa Alpagut lignite and Balkesir Dursunbey Cakiirca lignite (Turkey) at different temperatures were determined by CO{sub 2} gasification and by combustion with O{sub 2}. Catalytic effect of Na{sub 2}CO{sub 3} on the CO{sub 2} and O{sub 2} gasification reactivity of chars was investigated. Gasification tests were performed in the fixed bed reactors operating at ambient pressure. Reactivity of chars during the CO{sub 2} gasification reactions was determined by calculating the reaction rate constants and reactivity of chars during the O{sub 2} gasification was determined by using ignition temperatures ofmore » the samples. Activation energies and Arrhenius constants of the chars on the CO{sub 2} gasification reactions were also calculated by the help of Arrhenius curves. The activation energy for CO{sub 2} gasification was generally decreased with pyrolysis temperature, due to the different surface characteristics and different nature of carbon atoms gasified as the gasification reactions proceed. Generally, the increase in pyrolysis temperature leads to an increase in gasification reactivity with CO{sub 2}. The reactivity of chars in catalytic gasification was higher than the corresponding non-catalytic reactivity of the same chars. Ignition temperature increased with increasing pyrolysis temperature.« less

Metagenomic insights into the microbiota profiles and bioaugmentation mechanism of organics removal in coal gasification wastewater in an anaerobic/anoxic/oxic system by methanol.

PubMed

Xu, Weichao; Zhang, Yuxiu; Cao, Hongbin; Sheng, Yuxing; Li, Haibo; Li, Yuping; Zhao, He; Gui, Xuefei

2018-05-18

Coal gasification wastewater is a typical high phenol-containing, toxic and refractory industrial wastewater. Here, lab-scale anaerobic-anoxic-oxic system was employed to treat real coal gasification wastewater, and methanol was added to oxic tank as the co-substrate to enhance the removal of refractory organic pollutants. The results showed that the average COD removal in oxic effluent increased from 24.9% to 36.0% by adding methanol, the total phenols concentration decreased from 54.4 to 44.9 mg/L. GC-MS analysis revealed that contents of phenolic components and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were decreased compared to the control and their degradation intermediates were observed. Microbial community revealed that methanol increased the abundance of phenolics and PAHs degraders such as Comamonas, Burkholderia and Sphingopyxis. Moreover, functional analysis revealed the relative abundance of functional genes associated with toluene, benzoate and PAHs degradation pathways was higher than that of control based on KEGG database. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Sulfur emission from Victorian brown coal under pyrolysis, oxy-fuel combustion and gasification conditions.

PubMed

Chen, Luguang; Bhattacharya, Sankar

2013-02-05

Sulfur emission from a Victorian brown coal was quantitatively determined through controlled experiments in a continuously fed drop-tube furnace under three different atmospheres: pyrolysis, oxy-fuel combustion, and carbon dioxide gasification conditions. The species measured were H(2)S, SO(2), COS, CS(2), and more importantly SO(3). The temperature (873-1273 K) and gas environment effects on the sulfur species emission were investigated. The effect of residence time on the emission of those species was also assessed under oxy-fuel condition. The emission of the sulfur species depended on the reaction environment. H(2)S, SO(2), and CS(2) are the major species during pyrolysis, oxy-fuel, and gasification. Up to 10% of coal sulfur was found to be converted to SO(3) under oxy-fuel combustion, whereas SO(3) was undetectable during pyrolysis and gasification. The trend of the experimental results was qualitatively matched by thermodynamic predictions. The residence time had little effect on the release of those species. The release of sulfur oxides, in particular both SO(2) and SO(3), is considerably high during oxy-fuel combustion even though the sulfur content in Morwell coal is only 0.80%. Therefore, for Morwell coal utilization during oxy-fuel combustion, additional sulfur removal, or polishing systems will be required in order to avoid corrosion in the boiler and in the CO(2) separation units of the CO(2) capture systems.

Transformation of Swine Manure and Algal Consortia to Value-added Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharara, Mahmoud A.

The swine production sector is projected to grow globally. In the past, this growth manifested itself in increased herd sizes and geographically concentrated production. Although economically sound, these trends had negative consequences on surrounding ecosystems. Over-application of manure resulted in water quality degradation, while long-term storage of manure slurries was found to promote release of potent GHG emissions. There is a need for innovative approaches for swine manure management that are compatible with current scales of production, and increasingly strict environmental regulations. This study aims to investigate the potential for incorporating gasification as part of a novel swine manure management system which utilizes liquid-solid separation and periphytic algal consortia as a phycoremediation vector for the liquid slurry. The gasification of swine manure solids, and algal biomass solids generate both a gaseous fuel product (producer gas) in addition to a biochar co-product. First, the decomposition kinetics for both feedstock, i.e., swine manure solids, and algal solids, were quantified using thermogravimetry at different heating rates (1 ~ 40°C min-1) under different atmospheres (nitrogen, and air). Pyrolysis kinetics were determined for manure solids from two farms with different manure management systems. Similarly, the pyrolysis kinetics were determined for phycoremediation algae grown on swine manure slurries. Modeling algal solids pyrolysis as first-order independent parallel reactions was sufficient to describe sample devolatilization. Combustion of swine manure solids blended with algal solids, at different ratios, showed no synergistic effects. Gasification of phycoremediation algal biomass was studied using a bench-scale auger gasification system at temperatures between 760 and 960°C. The temperature profile suggested a stratification of reaction zones common to fixed-bed reactors. The producer gas heating value ranged between 2.2 MJ m-3 at 760°C, and 3.6 MJ m-3 at 960°C. Finally, life cycle assessment (LCA) was used to evaluate a proposed swine manure management system that includes a thermochemical conversion sub-system: drying, gasification, and producer-gas combustion (boiler). Liquid manure storage (uncovered tank) was the biggest contributor to GHG emissions. Liquid slurry management stages were credited with the highest fossil fuel use. Improvements to separation and drying technologies can improve this conversion scenario.

Considerations on coal gasification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Franzen, J. E.

1978-01-01

Commercial processes for the gasification of coal with oxygen are discussed. The Koppers-Totzek process for the gasification of coal dust entrained in a stream of gasifying agents is described in particular detail. The outlook for future applications of coal gasification is presented.

Synergistic effect on co-gasification reactivity of biomass-petroleum coke blended char.

PubMed

Wei, Juntao; Guo, Qinghua; Gong, Yan; Ding, Lu; Yu, Guangsuo

2017-06-01

In this work, effects of gasification temperature (900°C-1100°C) and blended ratio (3:1, 1:1, 1:3) on reactivity of petroleum coke and biomass co-gasification were studied in TGA. Quantification analysis of active AAEM transformation and in situ investigation of morphological structure variations in gasification were conducted respectively using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer and heating stage microscope to explore synergistic effect on co-gasification reactivity. The results indicated that char gasification reactivity was enhanced with increasing biomass proportion and gasification temperature. Synergistic effect on co-gasification reactivity was presented after complete generation of biomass ash, and gradually weakened with increasing temperature from 1000°C to 1100°C after reaching the most significant value at 1000°C. This phenomenon was well related with the appearance of molten biomass ash rich in glassy state potassium and the weakest inhibition effect on active potassium transformation during co-gasification at the temperature higher than 1000°C. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the Relative Merits of Herbaceous and Woody Crops for Use in Tunable Thermochemical Processing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Park, Joon-Hyun; Martinalbo, Ilya

This report summarizes the work and findings of the grant work conducted from January 2009 until September 2011 under the collaboration between Ceres, Inc. and Choren USA, LLC. This DOE-funded project involves a head-to-head comparison of two types of dedicated energy crops in the context of a commercial gasification conversion process. The main goal of the project was to gain a better understanding of the differences in feedstock composition between herbaceous and woody species, and how these differences may impact a commercial gasification process. In this work, switchgrass was employed as a model herbaceous energy crop, and willow as amore » model short-rotation woody crop. Both crops are species native to the U.S. with significant potential to contribute to U.S. goals for renewable liquid fuel production, as outlined in the DOE Billion Ton Update (http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/billion_ton_update.html, 2011). In some areas of the U.S., switching between woody and herbaceous feedstocks or blending of the two may be necessary to keep a large-scale gasifier operating near capacity year round. Based on laboratory tests and process simulations it has been successfully shown that suitable high yielding switchgrass and willow varieties exist that meet the feedstock specifications for large scale entrained flow biomass gasification. This data provides the foundation for better understanding how to use both materials in thermochemical processes. It has been shown that both switchgrass and willow varieties have comparable ranges of higher heating value, BTU content and indistinguishable hydrogen/carbon ratios. Benefits of switchgrass, and other herbaceous feedstocks, include its low moisture content, which reduce energy inputs and costs for drying feedstock. Compared to the typical feedstock currently being used in the Carbo-V® process, switchgrass has a higher ash content, combined with a lower ash melting temperature. Whether or not this may cause inefficiencies in the process, needs to be verified by long term test runs. Currently, there are not sufficient operational test data available for the Carbo-V® process for the utilization of higher ash content feedstocks. The application of currently evolving biomass pretreatment technologies, such as pelletization and torrefaction, will be able to expand the portfolio of biomass varieties and species acceptable in gasification processes. Tests showed that 6 mm diameter pellets of switchgrass were superior to 8 mm diameter pellets produced in a flat dye press, and that torrefaction of switchgrass produced an excellent (but currently costly) feedstock that could be handled, crushed, and combusted in a manner compatible with any coal-fed gasification facility. Ceres will use this information in the development of high yielding, dedicated energy crops specifically tailored for thermochemical conversion. CHOREN will make use of the information for improvement or development of low cost, highly efficient biomass gasification processes that convert a wide variety of biomass feedstocks to fuels, chemicals, heat and power via the production of tar free green syngas on an industrial scale.« less

Waste-to-Energy Decision Support Method for Forward Deployed Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

15 Gasification ...stable electrical source to generate the plasma. Thermal WTE technology includes three subtypes called incineration, gasification , and pyrolysis...unfavorable public perception associated with the emissions produced by the technology. Gasification Gasification is a thermal process in which

Technology Assessment Report - Aqueous Sludge Gasification Technologies

EPA Science Inventory

Sludge production in the United States is increasing with an increase in population. An estimated 7.2 million dry tons of treated and tested sewage sludge was generated in 2004 and 4.1 million tons of paper mill sludge was produced in 1995. Consequently, there is an increased ne...

Air pollution control systems in WtE units: an overview.

PubMed

Vehlow, J

2015-03-01

All WtE (waste-to-energy) plants, based on combustion or other thermal processes, need an efficient gas cleaning for compliance with legislative air emission standards. The development of gas cleaning technologies started along with environment protection regulations in the late 1960s. Modern APC (air pollution control) systems comprise multiple stages for the removal of fly ashes, inorganic and organic gases, heavy metals, and dioxins from the flue gas. The main technologies and devices used for abatement of the various pollutants are described and their basic principles, their peculiarities, and their application are discussed. Few systems for cleaning of synthesis gas from waste gasification plants are included. Examples of APC designs in full scale plants are shown and cautious prospects for the future development of APC systems are made. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 59166 - South Mississippi Electric Cooperative: Plant Ratcliffe, Kemper County Integrated Gasification...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-26

... Ratcliffe, Kemper County Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project AGENCY: Rural Utilities... Plant Ratcliffe, an Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle Facility located in Kemper County... Company (MPCo), and will demonstrate the feasibility of the Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC...

Energy from gasification of solid wastes.

PubMed

Belgiorno, V; De Feo, G; Della Rocca, C; Napoli, R M A

2003-01-01

Gasification technology is by no means new: in the 1850s, most of the city of London was illuminated by "town gas" produced from the gasification of coal. Nowadays, gasification is the main technology for biomass conversion to energy and an attractive alternative for the thermal treatment of solid waste. The number of different uses of gas shows the flexibility of gasification and therefore allows it to be integrated with several industrial processes, as well as power generation systems. The use of a waste-biomass energy production system in a rural community is very interesting too. This paper describes the current state of gasification technology, energy recovery systems, pre-treatments and prospective in syngas use with particular attention to the different process cycles and environmental impacts of solid wastes gasification.

Optical spectra of coal gasification products in the RF plasmatron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedorovich, S. D.; Burakov, I. A.; Dudolin, A. A.; Markov, A. A.; Khtoo Naing, Aung; Ulziy, Batsamboo; Kavyrshin, D. I.

2017-11-01

The use of solid fuel gasification process is relevant to the regions where there is no opportunity to use natural gas as the main fuel. On the territory of the Russian Federation such regions are largely the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. In order to reduce the harmful effects on the environment solid fuel with high sulfur content, ash content and moisture are subjected to gasification process. One of the major problems of this process is to produce syngas with a low calorific value. For conventional types of gasification (gasification), the value of this quantity ranges 8 - 10 MJ / m3. The use of plasma gasification increases the calorific value of 12 - 16 MJ / m3 which allows the most efficient use of the syngas. The reason for the increase of the value lies in the change of temperature in the reaction zone. A significant rise in temperature in the reaction zone leads to an increase in methane formation reactions constant value, which allows to obtain a final product with a large calorific value. The HFI-plasma torch coal temperature reaches 3000 ° C, and the temperature of coal gasification products can reach 8000 ° C. The aim is to develop methods for determining the composition of the plasma gasification products obtained optical spectra. The Kuznetsky coal used as the starting material. Received and decrypted gasification products optical spectra in a wavelength range from 220 to 1000 nm. Recommendations for the use of the developed method for determining the composition of the plasma gasification products. An analysis of the advantages of using plasma gasification as compared with conventional gasification and coal combustion.

Waste-to-Energy Plant Environmental Assessment, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

pyrolysis can be defined as “ gasification minus oxygen.” Pyrolysis is the technique of heating organic matter ( biomass ) between 480 and 1,470 °F in the...provider using one of four alternative technologies: 1) gasification ; 2) pyrolysis; 3) plasma gasification /pyrolysis and 4) incineration. Under this...the solicitation to build a WTE plant based on one of the following alternative technologies: I) gasification ; 2) pyrolysis; 3) plasma gasification

Study on CO2 gasification reactivity and physical characteristics of biomass, petroleum coke and coal chars.

PubMed

Huo, Wei; Zhou, Zhijie; Chen, Xueli; Dai, Zhenghua; Yu, Guangsuo

2014-05-01

Gasification reactivities of six different carbonaceous material chars with CO2 were determined by a Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA). Gasification reactivities of biomass chars are higher than those of coke and coal chars. In addition, physical structures and chemical components of these chars were systematically tested. It is found that the crystalline structure is an important factor to evaluate gasification reactivities of different chars and the crystalline structures of biomass chars are less order than those of coke and coal chars. Moreover, initial gasification rates of these chars were measured at high temperatures and with relatively large particle sizes. The method of calculating the effectiveness factor η was used to quantify the effect of pore diffusion on gasification. The results show that differences in pore diffusion effects among gasification with various chars are prominent and can be attributed to different intrinsic gasification reactivities and physical characteristics of different chars. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interaction and its induced inhibiting or synergistic effects during co-gasification of coal char and biomass char.

PubMed

Ding, Liang; Zhang, Yongqi; Wang, Zhiqing; Huang, Jiejie; Fang, Yitian

2014-12-01

Co-gasification of coal char and biomass char was conducted to investigate the interactions between them. And random pore model (RPM) and modified random pore model (MRPM) were applied to describe the gasification behaviors of the samples. The results show that inhibiting effect was observed during co-gasification of corn stalk char with Hulunbeier lignite coal char, while synergistic effects were observed during co-gasification of corn stalk char with Shenmu bituminous coal char and Jincheng anthracite coal char. The inhibiting effect was attributed to the intimate contact and comparable gasification rate between biomass char and coal char, and the loss of the active form of potassium caused by the formation of KAlSiO4, which was proved to be inactive during gasification. While the synergistic effect was caused by the high potassium content of biomass char and the significant difference of reaction rate between coal char and biomass char during gasification. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experimental study on air-stream gasification of biomass micron fuel (BMF) in a cyclone gasifier.

PubMed

Guo, X J; Xiao, B; Zhang, X L; Luo, S Y; He, M Y

2009-01-01

Based on biomass micron fuel (BMF) with particle size of less than 250 microm, a cyclone gasifier concept has been considered in our laboratory for biomass gasification. The concept combines and integrates partial oxidation, fast pyrolysis, gasification, and tar cracking, as well as a shift reaction, with the purpose of producing a high quality of gas. In this paper, experiments of BMF air-stream gasification were carried out by the gasifier, with energy for BMF gasification produced by partial combustion of BMF within the gasifier using a hypostoichiometric amount of air. The effects of ER (0.22-0.37) and S/B (0.15-0.59) and biomass particle size on the performances of BMF gasification and the gasification temperature were studied. Under the experimental conditions, the temperature, gas yields, LHV of the gas fuel, carbon conversion efficiency, stream decomposition and gasification efficiency varied in the range of 586-845 degrees C, 1.42-2.21 N m(3)/kg biomass, 3806-4921 kJ/m(3), 54.44%-85.45%, 37.98%-70.72%, and 36.35%-56.55%, respectively. The experimental results showed that the gasification performance was best with ER being 3.7 and S/B being 0.31 and smaller particle, as well as H(2)-content. And the BMF gasification by air and low temperature stream in the cyclone gasifier with the energy self-sufficiency is reliable.

Coal Gasification Processes for Retrofitting Military Central Heating Plants: Overview

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-11-01

the water runoff has minimum contamination. The coal pile is located on a waterproof base to prevent water seepage into the ground. All runoff water...United Arab Naphtha Republic Chemical Fertili - Lignite Dust 1 217,000 Ammonia 1963 zer Company Ltd. Synthesis of Thailand, Ferti- lizer Plant in Mae Moh

Performance, cost and environmental assessment of gasification-based electricity in India: A preliminary analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rani, Abha; Singh, Udayan; Jayant; Singh, Ajay K.; Sankar Mahapatra, Siba

2017-07-01

Coal gasification processes are crucial to decarbonisation in the power sector. While underground coal gasification (UCG) and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) are different in terms of the site of gasification, they have considerable similarities in terms of the types of gasifiers used. Of course, UCG offers some additional advantages such as reduction of the fugitive methane emissions accompanying the coal mining process. Nevertheless, simulation of IGCC plants involving surface coal gasification is likely to give reasonable indication of the 3E (efficiency, economics and emissions) prospects of the gasification pathway towards electricity. This paper will aim at Estimating 3E impacts (efficiency, environment, economics) of gasification processes using simulation carried out in the Integrated Environmental Control Model (IECM) software framework. Key plant level controls which will be studied in this paper will be based on Indian financial regulations and operating costs which are specific to the country. Also, impacts of CO2 capture and storage (CCS) in these plants will be studied. The various parameters that can be studied are plant load factor, impact of coal quality and price, type of CO2 capture process, capital costs etc. It is hoped that relevant insights into electricity generation from gasification may be obtained with this paper.

Changes imposed by pyrolysis, thermal gasification and incineration on composition and phosphorus fertilizer quality of municipal sewage sludge.

PubMed

Thomsen, Tobias Pape; Sárossy, Zsuzsa; Ahrenfeldt, Jesper; Henriksen, Ulrik B; Frandsen, Flemming J; Müller-Stöver, Dorette Sophie

2017-08-01

Fertilizer quality of ash and char from incineration, gasification and pyrolysis of a single municipal sewage sludge sample were investigated by comparing composition and phosphorus (P) plant availability. A process for post oxidation of gasification ash and pyrolysis char was developed and the oxidized materials were investigated as well. Sequential extraction with full elemental balances of the extracted pools as well as scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy were used to investigate the mechanisms driving the observed differences in composition and P plant availability in a short-term soil incubation study. The compositional changes related mainly to differences in the proximate composition as well as to the release of especially nitrogen, sulfur, cadmium and to some extent, phosphorus (P). The cadmium load per unit of P was reduced with 75-85% in gasification processes and 10-15% in pyrolysis whereas no reduction was observed in incineration processes. The influence on other heavy metals was less pronounced. The plant availability of P in the substrates varied from almost zero to almost 100% of the plant availability of P in the untreated sludge. Post-oxidized slow pyrolysis char was found to be the substrate with the highest P fertilizer value while ash from commercial fluid bed sludge incineration had the lowest P fertilizer quality. The high P fertilizer value in the best substrate is suggested to be a function of several different mechanisms including structural surface changes and improvements in the association of P to especially magnesium, calcium and aluminum. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of integrating compressed air energy storage concepts with coal gasification/combined-cycle systems for continuous power production. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nakhamkin, M.; Patel, M.; Andersson, L.

1992-12-01

A previous study sponsored by EPRI concluded that integrating a compressed-air energy storage (CAES) plant with a coal-gasification system (CGS) can reduce the required capacity and cost of the expensive gasification system. The results showed that when compared at an equal plant capacity, the capital cost of the CGS portion of the integrated CAES/CGS plant can be reduced by as much as 30% relative to the same portion of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. Furthermore, the capital cost of the CAES/CGS.plant, configured as a peaking unit, was found to be slightly lower than that of the base-load IGCCmore » plant. However, the overall economics of the CAES/CGS plant were adversely affected by the low capacity factor of the peak-load service, and ultimately, were found to be less attractive than the IGCC plant. The main objective of this study was to develop and analyze integrated CAES/CGS power plant concepts which provide for continuous (around-the-clock) operation of both the CAES reheat turboexpander train and the CGS facility. The developed concepts also provide utility-load management functions by driving the CAES compressor trains with off-peak electricity supplied through the grid. EPRI contracted with Energy Storage & Power Consultants, Inc. (ESPC) to develop conceptual designs, optimized performance characteristics, and preliminary cost data for these CAES/CGS concepts, and to provide a technical and cost comparison to the IGCC plant. The CAES/CGS concepts developed by ESPC for the current study contrast from those of Reference 1.« less

Analysis of integrating compressed air energy storage concepts with coal gasification/combined-cycle systems for continuous power production

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nakhamkin, M.; Patel, M.; Andersson, L.

1992-12-01

A previous study sponsored by EPRI concluded that integrating a compressed-air energy storage (CAES) plant with a coal-gasification system (CGS) can reduce the required capacity and cost of the expensive gasification system. The results showed that when compared at an equal plant capacity, the capital cost of the CGS portion of the integrated CAES/CGS plant can be reduced by as much as 30% relative to the same portion of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. Furthermore, the capital cost of the CAES/CGS.plant, configured as a peaking unit, was found to be slightly lower than that of the base-load IGCCmore » plant. However, the overall economics of the CAES/CGS plant were adversely affected by the low capacity factor of the peak-load service, and ultimately, were found to be less attractive than the IGCC plant. The main objective of this study was to develop and analyze integrated CAES/CGS power plant concepts which provide for continuous (around-the-clock) operation of both the CAES reheat turboexpander train and the CGS facility. The developed concepts also provide utility-load management functions by driving the CAES compressor trains with off-peak electricity supplied through the grid. EPRI contracted with Energy Storage Power Consultants, Inc. (ESPC) to develop conceptual designs, optimized performance characteristics, and preliminary cost data for these CAES/CGS concepts, and to provide a technical and cost comparison to the IGCC plant. The CAES/CGS concepts developed by ESPC for the current study contrast from those of Reference 1.« less

Commercial-scale demonstration of the Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH{trademark}) process. Technical progress report number 9, July 1--September 30, 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

The Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH{trademark}) Demonstration Project at Kingsport, Tennessee, is a $213.7 million cooperative agreement between the US Department of Energy (DOE) and Air Products Liquid Phase Conversion Company, L.P. (the Partnership). The LPMEOH{trademark} Process Demonstration Unit is being built at a site located at the Eastman Chemical Company (Eastman) complex in Kingsport. The project involves the construction of an 80,000 gallons per day (260 tons per day (TPD)) methanol unit utilizing coal-derived synthesis gas from Eastman`s integrated coal gasification facility. The new equipment consists of synthesis gas feed preparation and compression facilities, the liquid phase reactor and auxiliaries,more » product distillation facilities, and utilities. This liquid phase process suspends fine catalyst particles in an inert liquid, forming a slurry. The slurry dissipates the heat of the chemical reaction away from the catalyst surface, protecting the catalyst and allowing the methanol synthesis reaction to proceed at higher rates. At the Eastman complex, the technology is being integrated with existing coal-gasifiers.« less

Final Technical Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Howe, Gary; Albritton, John; Denton, David

In September 2010, RTI and the DOE/NETL signed a cooperative agreement (DE-FE000489) to design, build, and operate a pre-commercial syngas cleaning system that would capture up to 90% of the CO 2 in the syngas slipstream, and demonstrate the ability to reduce syngas contaminants to meet DOE’s specifications for chemical production application. This pre-commercial syngas cleaning system is operated at Tampa Electric Company’s (TEC) 250-MWe integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant at Polk Power Station (PPS), located near Tampa, Florida. The syngas cleaning system consists of the following units: Warm Gas Desulfurization Process (WDP) - this unit processes a syngasmore » flow equivalent of 50 MWe of power (50 MWe equivalent corresponds to about 2.0 MM scfh of syngas on dry basis) to produce a desulfurized syngas with a total sulfur (H 2S+COS) concentration ~ 10 ppmv. Water Gas Shift (WGS) Reactor - this unit converts sufficient CO into CO 2 to enable 90% capture of the CO 2 in the syngas slipstream. This reactor uses conventional commercial shift catalyst technologies. Low Temperature Gas Cooling (LTGC) - this unit cools the syngas for the low temperature activated MDEA process and separates any condensed water. Activated MDEA Process (aMDEA) - this unit employs a non-selective separation for the CO 2 and H 2S present in the raw syngas stream. Because of the selective sulfur removal by the upstream WDP unit, the CO 2 capture target of 90% CO 2 can be achieved with the added benefit that total sulfur concentration in the CO 2 product is < 100 ppmv. An additional advantage of the activated MDEA process is that the non-selective sulfur removal from the treated syngas reduces sulfur in the treated gas to very low sub-ppmv concentrations, which are required for chemical production applications. Testing to date of this pre-commercial syngas cleaning system has shown that the technology has great potential to provide clean syngas from coal and petcoke-based gasification at increased efficiency and at significantly lower capital and operating costs than conventional syngas cleanup technologies. However, before the technology can be deemed ready for scale-up to a full commercial-scale demonstration, additional R&D testing is needed at the site to address the following critical technical risks: WDP sorbent stability and performance; Impact of WDP on downstream cleanup and conversion steps; Metallurgy and refractory; Syngas cleanup performance and controllability; Carbon capture performance and additional syngas cleanup The proposed plan to acquire this additional R&D data involves: Operation of the units to achieve an additional 3,000 hours of operation of the system within the performance period, with a target of achieving 1,000 hours of those hours via continuous operation of the entire integrated pre-commercial demonstration system; Rapid turnaround of repairs and/or modifications required as necessary to return any specific unit to operating status with documentation and lessons learned to support technology maturation, and; Proactive performance of maintenance activities during any unplanned outages and if possible while operating.« less

Pyrolysis and gasification of meat-and-bone-meal: energy balance and GHG accounting.

PubMed

Cascarosa, Esther; Boldrin, Alessio; Astrup, Thomas

2013-11-01

Meat-and-bone-meal (MBM) produced from animal waste has become an increasingly important residual fraction needing management. As biodegradable waste is routed away from landfills, thermo-chemical treatments of MBM are considered promising solution for the future. Pyrolysis and gasification of MBM were assessed based on data from three experimental lab and pilot-scale plants. Energy balances were established for the three technologies, providing different outcomes for energy recovery: bio-oil was the main product for the pyrolysis system, while syngas and a solid fraction of biochar were the main products in the gasification system. These products can be used - eventually after upgrading - for energy production, thereby offsetting energy production elsewhere in the system. Greenhouse gases (GHG) accounting of the technologies showed that all three options provided overall GHG savings in the order of 600-1000kg CO2-eq. per Mg of MBM treated, mainly as a consequence of avoided fossil fuel consumption in the energy sector. Local conditions influencing the environmental performance of the three systems were identified, together with critical factors to be considered during decision-making regarding MBM management. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of solid oxide fuel cell systems for electricity generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Somers, E. V.; Vidt, E. J.; Grimble, R. E.

1982-01-01

Air blown (low BTU) gasification with atmospheric pressure Solid Electrolyte Fuel Cells (SOFC) and Rankine bottoming cycle, oxygen blown (medium BTU) gasification with atmospheric pressure SOFC and Rankine bottoming cycle, air blown gasification with pressurized SOFC and combined Brayton/Rankine bottoming cycle, oxygen blown gasification with pressurized SOFC and combined Brayton/Rankine bottoming cycle were evaluated.

Simulated performance of biomass gasification based combined power and refrigeration plant for community scale application

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chattopadhyay, S., E-mail: suman.mech09@gmail.com; Mondal, P., E-mail: mondal.pradip87@gmail.com; Ghosh, S., E-mail: sudipghosh.becollege@gmail.com

Thermal performance analysis and sizing of a biomass gasification based combined power and refrigeration plant (CPR) is reported in this study. The plant is capable of producing 100 kWe of electrical output while simultaneously producing a refrigeration effect, varying from 28-68 ton of refrigeration (TR). The topping gas turbine cycle is an indirectly heated all-air cycle. A combustor heat exchanger duplex (CHX) unit burns producer gas and transfer heat to air. This arrangement avoids complex gas cleaning requirements for the biomass-derived producer gas. The exhaust air of the topping GT is utilized to run a bottoming ammonia absorption refrigeration (AAR)more » cycle via a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), steam produced in the HRSG supplying heat to the generator of the refrigeration cycle. Effects of major operating parameters like topping cycle pressure ratio (r{sub p}) and turbine inlet temperature (TIT) on the energetic performance of the plant are studied. Energetic performance of the plant is evaluated via energy efficiency, required biomass consumption and fuel energy savings ratio (FESR). The FESR calculation method is significant for indicating the savings in fuel of a combined power and process heat plant instead of separate plants for power and process heat. The study reveals that, topping cycle attains maximum power efficiency of 30%in pressure ratio range of 8-10. Up to a certain value of pressure ratio the required air flow rate through the GT unit decreases with increase in pressure ratio and then increases with further increase in pressure ratio. The capacity of refrigeration of the AAR unit initially decreases up to a certain value of topping GT cycle pressure ratio and then increases with further increase in pressure ratio. The FESR is found to be maximized at a pressure ratio of 9 (when TIT=1100°C), the maximum value being 53%. The FESR is higher for higher TIT. The heat exchanger sizing is also influenced by the topping cycle pressure ratio and GT-TIT.« less

High temperature gasification of high heating-rate chars using a flat-flame reactor

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Tian; Niu, Yanqing; Wang, Liang

The increasing interest in gasification and oxy-fuel combustion of biomass has heightened the need for a detailed understanding of char gasification in industrially relevant environments (i.e., high temperature and high-heating rate). Despite innumerable studies previously conducted on gasification of biomass, very few have focused on such conditions. Consequently, in this study the high-temperature gasification behaviors of biomass-derived chars were investigated using non-intrusive techniques. Two biomass chars produced at a heating rate of approximately 10 4 K/s were subjected to two gasification environments and one oxidation environment in an entrained flow reactor equipped with an optical particle-sizing pyrometer. A coal charmore » produced from a common U.S. low sulfur subbituminous coal was also studied for comparison. Both char and surrounding gas temperatures were precisely measured along the centerline of the furnace. Despite differences in the physical and chemical properties of the biomass chars, they exhibited rather similar reaction temperatures under all investigated conditions. On the other hand, a slightly lower particle temperature was observed in the case of coal char gasification, suggesting a higher gasification reactivity for the coal char. A comprehensive numerical model was applied to aid the understanding of the conversion of the investigated chars under gasification atmospheres. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed on the influence of four parameters (gas temperature, char diameter, char density, and steam concentration) on the carbon conversion rate. Here, the results demonstrate that the gas temperature is the most important single variable influencing the gasification rate.« less

Low temperature circulating fluidized bed gasification and co-gasification of municipal sewage sludge. Part 2: Evaluation of ash materials as phosphorus fertilizer.

PubMed

Thomsen, Tobias Pape; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Gøbel, Benny; Stoholm, Peder; Ahrenfeldt, Jesper; Henriksen, Ulrik B; Müller-Stöver, Dorette Sophie

2017-08-01

The study is part 2 of 2 in an investigation of gasification and co-gasification of municipal sewage sludge in low temperature gasifiers. In this work, solid residuals from thermal gasification and co-gasification of municipal sewage sludge were investigated for their potential use as fertilizer. Ashes from five different low temperature circulating fluidized bed (LT-CFB) gasification campaigns including two mono-sludge campaigns, two sludge/straw mixed fuels campaigns and a straw reference campaign were compared. Experiments were conducted on two different LT-CFBs with thermal capacities of 100kW and 6MW, respectively. The assessment included: (i) Elemental composition and recovery of key elements and heavy metals; (ii) content of total carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N); (iii) pH; (iv) water extractability of phosphorus after incubation in soil; and (v) plant phosphorus response measured in a pot experiment with the most promising ash material. Co-gasification of straw and sludge in LT-CFB gasifiers produced ashes with a high content of recalcitrant C, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), a low content of heavy metals (especially cadmium) and an improved plant P availability compared to the mono-sludge ashes, thereby showing the best fertilizer qualities among all assessed materials. It was also found that bottom ashes from the char reactor contained even less heavy metals than cyclone ashes. It is concluded that LT-CFB gasification and co-gasification is a highly effective way to purify and sanitize sewage sludge for subsequent use in agricultural systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High temperature gasification of high heating-rate chars using a flat-flame reactor

DOE PAGES

Li, Tian; Niu, Yanqing; Wang, Liang; ...

2017-08-25

The increasing interest in gasification and oxy-fuel combustion of biomass has heightened the need for a detailed understanding of char gasification in industrially relevant environments (i.e., high temperature and high-heating rate). Despite innumerable studies previously conducted on gasification of biomass, very few have focused on such conditions. Consequently, in this study the high-temperature gasification behaviors of biomass-derived chars were investigated using non-intrusive techniques. Two biomass chars produced at a heating rate of approximately 10 4 K/s were subjected to two gasification environments and one oxidation environment in an entrained flow reactor equipped with an optical particle-sizing pyrometer. A coal charmore » produced from a common U.S. low sulfur subbituminous coal was also studied for comparison. Both char and surrounding gas temperatures were precisely measured along the centerline of the furnace. Despite differences in the physical and chemical properties of the biomass chars, they exhibited rather similar reaction temperatures under all investigated conditions. On the other hand, a slightly lower particle temperature was observed in the case of coal char gasification, suggesting a higher gasification reactivity for the coal char. A comprehensive numerical model was applied to aid the understanding of the conversion of the investigated chars under gasification atmospheres. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was performed on the influence of four parameters (gas temperature, char diameter, char density, and steam concentration) on the carbon conversion rate. Here, the results demonstrate that the gas temperature is the most important single variable influencing the gasification rate.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zitney, S.E.

This paper highlights the use of the CAPE-OPEN (CO) standard interfaces in the Advanced Process Engineering Co-Simulator (APECS) developed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The APECS system uses the CO unit operation, thermodynamic, and reaction interfaces to provide its plug-and-play co-simulation capabilities, including the integration of process simulation with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. APECS also relies heavily on the use of a CO COM/CORBA bridge for running process/CFD co-simulations on multiple operating systems. For process optimization in the face of multiple and some time conflicting objectives, APECS offers stochastic modeling and multi-objective optimization capabilities developed to complymore » with the CO software standard. At NETL, system analysts are applying APECS to a wide variety of advanced power generation systems, ranging from small fuel cell systems to commercial-scale power plants including the coal-fired, gasification-based FutureGen power and hydrogen production plant.« less

Global bioenergy potential from high-lignin agricultural residue

PubMed Central

Mendu, Venugopal; Shearin, Tom; Campbell, J. Elliott; Stork, Jozsef; Jae, Jungho; Crocker, Mark; Huber, George; DeBolt, Seth

2012-01-01

Almost one-quarter of the world's population has basic energy needs that are not being met. Efforts to increase renewable energy resources in developing countries where per capita energy availability is low are needed. Herein, we examine integrated dual use farming for sustained food security and agro-bioenergy development. Many nonedible crop residues are used for animal feed or reincorporated into the soil to maintain fertility. By contrast, drupe endocarp biomass represents a high-lignin feedstock that is a waste stream from food crops, such as coconut (Cocos nucifera) shell, which is nonedible, not of use for livestock feed, and not reintegrated into soil in an agricultural setting. Because of high-lignin content, endocarp biomass has optimal energy-to-weight returns, applicable to small-scale gasification for bioelectricity. Using spatial datasets for 12 principal drupe commodity groups that have notable endocarp byproduct, we examine both their potential energy contribution by decentralized gasification and relationship to regions of energy poverty. Globally, between 24 million and 31 million tons of drupe endocarp biomass is available per year, primarily driven by coconut production. Endocarp biomass used in small-scale decentralized gasification systems (15–40% efficiency) could contribute to the total energy requirement of several countries, the highest being Sri Lanka (8–30%) followed by Philippines (7–25%), Indonesia (4–13%), and India (1–3%). While representing a modest gain in global energy resources, mitigating energy poverty via decentralized renewable energy sources is proposed for rural communities in developing countries, where the greatest disparity between societal allowances exist. PMID:22355123

Waste-to-Energy Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-01

at hospitals, at schools,” or wherever there are people creating masses of trash.5 Pyrolytic Gasification Pyrolytic gasification is not a new...prevalent with both. Gasification is . . . the chemical reaction and molecular breakdown or degradation of materials. The first pyrolytic gasification...dealing with about 2 tons of mixed solid waste per day, will destroy wood, paper card, food, plastics, and sanitary, clinical, and oil waste and

Two-step gasification of cattle manure for hydrogen-rich gas production: Effect of biochar preparation temperature and gasification temperature.

PubMed

Xin, Ya; Cao, Hongliang; Yuan, Qiaoxia; Wang, Dianlong

2017-10-01

Two-step gasification process was proposed to dispose cattle manure for hydrogen rich gas production. The effect of temperature on product distribution and biochar properties were first studied in the pyrolysis-carbonization process. The steam gasification of biochar derived from different pyrolysis-carbonization temperatures was then performed at 750°C and 850°C. The biochar from the pyrolysis-carbonization temperatures of 500°C had high carbon content and low volatiles content. According to the results of gasification stage, the pyrolysis-carbonization temperature of 500°C and the gasification temperature of 850°C were identified as the suitable conditions for hydrogen production. We obtained 1.61m 3 /kg of syngas production, 0.93m 3 /kg of hydrogen yield and 57.58% of hydrogen concentration. This study shows that two-step gasification is an efficient waste-to-hydrogen energy process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matsumura, Yukihiko; Nuessle, F.W.; Antal, M.J. Jr.

Recently, carbonaceous materials including activated carbon were proven to be effective catalysts for hazardous waste gasification in supercritical water. Using coconut shell activated carbon catalyst, complete decomposition of industrial organic wastes including methanol and acetic acid was achieved. During this process, the total mass of the activated carbon catalyst changes by two competing processes: a decrease in weight via gasification of the carbon by supercritical water, or an increase in weight by deposition of carbonaceous materials generated by incomplete gasification of the biomass feedstocks. The deposition of carbonaceous materials does not occur when complete gasification is realized. Gasification of themore » activated carbon in supercritical water is often favored, resulting in changes in the quality and quantity of the catalyst. To thoroughly understand the hazardous waste decomposition process, a more complete understanding of the behavior of activated carbon in pure supercritical water is needed. The gasification rate of carbon by water vapor at subcritical pressures was studied in relation to coal gasification and generating activated carbon.« less

Fluid bed gasification – Plasma converter process generating energy from solid waste: Experimental assessment of sulphur species

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morrin, Shane, E-mail: shane.morrin@ucl.ac.uk; Advanced Plasma Power, Swindon, Wiltshire SN3 4DE; Lettieri, Paola, E-mail: p.lettieri@ucl.ac.uk

2014-01-15

Highlights: • We investigate gaseous sulphur species whilst gasifying sulphur-enriched wood pellets. • Experiments performed using a two stage fluid bed gasifier – plasma converter process. • Notable SO{sub 2} and relatively low COS levels were identified. • Oxygen-rich regions of the bed are believed to facilitate SO{sub 2}, with a delayed release. • Gas phase reducing regions above the bed would facilitate more prompt COS generation. - Abstract: Often perceived as a Cinderella material, there is growing appreciation for solid waste as a renewable content thermal process feed. Nonetheless, research on solid waste gasification and sulphur mechanisms in particularmore » is lacking. This paper presents results from two related experiments on a novel two stage gasification process, at demonstration scale, using a sulphur-enriched wood pellet feed. Notable SO{sub 2} and relatively low COS levels (before gas cleaning) were interesting features of the trials, and not normally expected under reducing gasification conditions. Analysis suggests that localised oxygen rich regions within the fluid bed played a role in SO{sub 2}’s generation. The response of COS to sulphur in the feed was quite prompt, whereas SO{sub 2} was more delayed. It is proposed that the bed material sequestered sulphur from the feed, later aiding SO{sub 2} generation. The more reducing gas phase regions above the bed would have facilitated COS – hence its faster response. These results provide a useful insight, with further analysis on a suite of performed experiments underway, along with thermodynamic modelling.« less

A study of industrial hydrogen and syngas supply systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Amos, W. J.; Solomon, J.; Eliezer, K. F.

1979-01-01

The potential and incentives required for supplying hydrogen and syngas feedstocks to the U.S. chemical industry from coal gasification systems were evaluated. Future hydrogen and syngas demand for chemical manufacture was estimated by geographic area and projected economics for hydrogen and syngas manufacture was estimated with geographic area of manufacture and plant size as parameters. Natural gas, oil and coal feedstocks were considered. Problem areas presently affecting the commercial feasibility of coal gasification discussed include the impact of potential process improvements, factors involved in financing coal gasification plants, regulatory barriers affecting coal gasification, coal mining/transportation, air quality regulations, and competitive feedstock pricing barriers. The potential for making coal gasification the least costly H2 and syngas supply option. Options to stimulate coal gasification system development are discussed.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matsumura, Yukihiko; Nuessle, F.W.; Antal, M.J. Jr.

Recently, carbonaceous materials were proved to be effective catalysts for hazardous waste decomposition in supercritical water. Gasification of the carbonaceous catalyst itself is also expected, however, under supercritical conditions. Thus, it is essential to determine the gasification rate of the carbonaceous materials during this process to determine the active lifetime of the catalysts. For this purpose, the gasification characteristics of granular coconut shell activated carbon in supercritical water alone (600-650{degrees}C, 25.5-34.5 MPa) were investigated. The gasification rate at subatmospheric pressure agreed well with the gasification rate at supercritical conditions, indicating the same reaction mechanism. Methane generation under these conditions ismore » via pyrolysis, and thus is not affected by the water pressure. An iodine number increase of 25% was observed as a result of the supercritical water gasification.« less

A case-study of landfill minimization and material recovery via waste co-gasification in a new waste management scheme

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tanigaki, Nobuhiro, E-mail: tanigaki.nobuhiro@eng.nssmc.com; Ishida, Yoshihiro; Osada, Morihiro

Highlights: • A new waste management scheme and the effects of co-gasification of MSW were assessed. • A co-gasification system was compared with other conventional systems. • The co-gasification system can produce slag and metal with high-quality. • The co-gasification system showed an economic advantage when bottom ash is landfilled. • The sensitive analyses indicate an economic advantage when the landfill cost is high. - Abstract: This study evaluates municipal solid waste co-gasification technology and a new solid waste management scheme, which can minimize final landfill amounts and maximize material recycled from waste. This new scheme is considered for amore » region where bottom ash and incombustibles are landfilled or not allowed to be recycled due to their toxic heavy metal concentration. Waste is processed with incombustible residues and an incineration bottom ash discharged from existent conventional incinerators, using a gasification and melting technology (the Direct Melting System). The inert materials, contained in municipal solid waste, incombustibles and bottom ash, are recycled as slag and metal in this process as well as energy recovery. Based on this new waste management scheme with a co-gasification system, a case study of municipal solid waste co-gasification was evaluated and compared with other technical solutions, such as conventional incineration, incineration with an ash melting facility under certain boundary conditions. From a technical point of view, co-gasification produced high quality slag with few harmful heavy metals, which was recycled completely without requiring any further post-treatment such as aging. As a consequence, the co-gasification system had an economical advantage over other systems because of its material recovery and minimization of the final landfill amount. Sensitivity analyses of landfill cost, power price and inert materials in waste were also conducted. The higher the landfill costs, the greater the advantage of the co-gasification system has. The co-gasification was beneficial for landfill cost in the range of 80 Euro per ton or more. Higher power prices led to lower operation cost in each case. The inert contents in processed waste had a significant influence on the operating cost. These results indicate that co-gasification of bottom ash and incombustibles with municipal solid waste contributes to minimizing the final landfill amount and has great possibilities maximizing material recovery and energy recovery from waste.« less

Thermodynamic analysis of in situ gasification-chemical looping combustion (iG-CLC) of Indian coal.

PubMed

Suresh, P V; Menon, Kavitha G; Prakash, K S; Prudhvi, S; Anudeep, A

2016-10-01

Chemical looping combustion (CLC) is an inherent CO 2 capture technology. It is gaining much interest in recent years mainly because of its potential in addressing climate change problems associated with CO 2 emissions from power plants. A typical chemical looping combustion unit consists of two reactors-fuel reactor, where oxidation of fuel occurs with the help of oxygen available in the form of metal oxides and, air reactor, where the reduced metal oxides are regenerated by the inflow of air. These oxides are then sent back to the fuel reactor and the cycle continues. The product gas from the fuel reactor contains a concentrated stream of CO 2 which can be readily stored in various forms or used for any other applications. This unique feature of inherent CO 2 capture makes the technology more promising to combat the global climate changes. Various types of CLC units have been discussed in literature depending on the type of fuel burnt. For solid fuel combustion three main varieties of CLC units exist namely: syngas CLC, in situ gasification-CLC (iG-CLC) and chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling (CLOU). In this paper, theoretical studies on the iG-CLC unit burning Indian coal are presented. Gibbs free energy minimization technique is employed to determine the composition of flue gas and oxygen carrier of an iG-CLC unit using Fe 2 O 3 , CuO, and mixed carrier-Fe 2 O 3 and CuO as oxygen carriers. The effect of temperature, suitability of oxygen carriers, and oxygen carrier circulation rate on the performance of a CLC unit for Indian coal are studied and presented. These results are analyzed in order to foresee the operating conditions at which economic and smooth operation of the unit is expected.

High Pressure Biomass Gasification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agrawal, Pradeep K

2016-07-29

According to the Billion Ton Report, the U.S. has a large supply of biomass available that can supplement fossil fuels for producing chemicals and transportation fuels. Agricultural waste, forest residue, and energy crops offer potential benefits: renewable feedstock, zero to low CO 2 emissions depending on the specific source, and domestic supply availability. Biomass can be converted into chemicals and fuels using one of several approaches: (i) biological platform converts corn into ethanol by using depolymerization of cellulose to form sugars followed by fermentation, (ii) low-temperature pyrolysis to obtain bio-oils which must be treated to reduce oxygen content via HDOmore » hydrodeoxygenation), and (iii) high temperature pyrolysis to produce syngas (CO + H 2). This last approach consists of producing syngas using the thermal platform which can be used to produce a variety of chemicals and fuels. The goal of this project was to develop an improved understanding of the gasification of biomass at high pressure conditions and how various gasification parameters might affect the gasification behavior. Since most downstream applications of synags conversion (e.g., alcohol synthesis, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis etc) involve utilizing high pressure catalytic processes, there is an interest in carrying out the biomass gasification at high pressure which can potentially reduce the gasifier size and subsequent downstream cleaning processes. It is traditionally accepted that high pressure should increase the gasification rates (kinetic effect). There is also precedence from coal gasification literature from the 1970s that high pressure gasification would be a beneficial route to consider. Traditional approach of using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) or high-pressure themogravimetric analyzer (PTGA) worked well in understanding the gasification kinetics of coal gasification which was useful in designing high pressure coal gasification processes. However, similar approach for biomass gasification was not very useful and was the impetus for this study. Specifically, we aimed this study at three broad objectives: (i) defining operating conditions at which C 2-C 4 hydrocarbons are formed since these represent loss of carbon efficiency, (ii) understanding the formation of tar species which create downstream processing difficulties in addition of carbon efficiency loss, and (iii) kinetics of biomass gasification where it would be possible to understand the effect of operating conditions and gas phase composition.« less

Waste to Energy at SUNY Cobleskill

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-10

Overview on Army Net Zero Concepts • Gasification Intro. • SUNY Cobleskill Center for Environmental Science and Technology. • TURNW2E™ Gasification ...5 GASIFICATION A TECHNOLOGY 2-fer • Waste Reduction • Reduced Logistics for Waste Transportation • Reduced environmental and personnel impact... GASIFICATION Ash ENERGYWaste T ~ 800oC Partial Combustion O/C ~1/3 • Energy Production • Reduced Fuel Usage for transportation • Increased Energy

Characterization of solid fuels at pressurized fluidized bed gasification conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zevenhoven, R.; Hupa, M.

1998-07-01

The gasification of co-gasification of solid fuel (coal, peat, wood) in air-blown fluidized bed gasifiers is receiving continued attention as an alternative to entrained flow gasifiers which in general are oxygen-blown. Fluidized bed gasification of wood and wood-waste at elevated pressures, and the so-called air-blown gasification cycle are examples of processes which are under development in Europe. based on complete or partial gasification of a solid fuel in a pressurized fluidized bed. At the same time, fuel characterization data for the combination of temperature, pressure and fuel particle heating rate that is encountered in fluidized bed gasification are very scarce.more » In this paper, quantitative data on the characterization of fuels for advanced combustion and gasification technologies based on fluidized beds are given, as a result from the authors participation in the JOULE 2 extension project on clean coal technology of the European community. Eleven solid fuels, ranging from coal via peat to wood, have been studied under typical fluidized bed gasification conditions: 800--1,000 C, 1--25 bar, fuel heating rate in the order of 100--1,000 C/s. Carbon dioxide was used as gasifying agent. A pressurized thermogravimetric reactor was used for the experiments. The results show that the solid residue yield after pyrolysis/devolatilization increases with pressure and decreases with temperature. For coal, the gasification reactivity of the char increases by a factor of 3 to 4 when pressurizing from 1 to 25 bar, for the younger fuels such as peat and wood, this effect is negligible. Several empirical engineering equations are given which relate the fuel performance to the process parameters and the proximate and chemical analyses of the fuel. A pressure maximum was found at which a maximum gasification reactivity occurs, for practically all fuels, and depending on temperature. It is shown that this can be explained and modeled using a Langmuir-Hinshelwood model.« less

Characterisation of solid fuels at pressurised fluidised bed gasification conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zebenhoven, R.; Hupa, M.

1998-04-01

The gasification or co-gasification of solid fuels (coal, peat, wood) in air-blown fluidised bed gasifiers is receiving continued attention as an alternative to entrained flow gasifiers which in general are oxygen-blown. Fluidised bed gasification of wood and wood-waste at elevated pressures, and the so-called air-blown gasification cycle are examples of processes which are under development in Europe, based on complete or partial gasification of a solid fuel in a pressurised fluidised bed. At the same time, fuel characterisation data for the combination of temperature, pressure and fuel particle heating rate that is encountered in fluidised bed gasification are very scarce.more » Quantitative data on the characterisation of fuels for advanced combustion and gasification technologies based on fluidised beds are given, as a result from our participation to the JOULE 2 extension project on clean coal technology of the European Community. Eleven solid fuels, ranging from coal via peat to wood, have been studied under typical fluidised bed gasification conditions: 800-1000{degrees}C, 1-25 bar, fuel heating rate in the order of 100-1000{degrees}C/s. Carbon dioxide was used as gasifying agent. A pressurised thermogravimetric reactor was used for the experiments. The results show that the solid residue yield after pyrolysis/devolatilisation. increases with pressure and decreases with temperature. For coal, the gasification reactivity of the char increases by a factor of 3 to 4 when pressurising from 1 to 25 bar, for the `younger` fuels such as peat and wood, this effect is negligible. Several empirical, `engineering` equations are given which relate the fuel performance to the process parameters and the proximate and chemical analyses of the fuel. A pressure maximum was found at which a maximum gasification reactivity occurs, for practically all fuels, and depending on temperature. It is shown that this can be explained and modelled using a Langmuir-Hinshelwood model.« less

Influence of Torrefaction on the Conversion Efficiency of the Gasification Process of Sugarcane Bagasse

PubMed Central

Anukam, Anthony; Mamphweli, Sampson; Okoh, Omobola; Reddy, Prashant

2017-01-01

Sugarcane bagasse was torrefied to improve its quality in terms of properties prior to gasification. Torrefaction was undertaken at 300 °C in an inert atmosphere of N2 at 10 °C·min−1 heating rate. A residence time of 5 min allowed for rapid reaction of the material during torrefaction. Torrefied and untorrefied bagasse were characterized to compare their suitability as feedstocks for gasification. The results showed that torrefied bagasse had lower O–C and H–C atomic ratios of about 0.5 and 0.84 as compared to that of untorrefied bagasse with 0.82 and 1.55, respectively. A calorific value of about 20.29 MJ·kg−1 was also measured for torrefied bagasse, which is around 13% higher than that for untorrefied bagasse with a value of ca. 17.9 MJ·kg−1. This confirms the former as a much more suitable feedstock for gasification than the latter since efficiency of gasification is a function of feedstock calorific value. SEM results also revealed a fibrous structure and pith in the micrographs of both torrefied and untorrefied bagasse, indicating the carbonaceous nature of both materials, with torrefied bagasse exhibiting a more permeable structure with larger surface area, which are among the features that favour gasification. The gasification process of torrefied bagasse relied on computer simulation to establish the impact of torrefaction on gasification efficiency. Optimum efficiency was achieved with torrefied bagasse because of its slightly modified properties. Conversion efficiency of the gasification process of torrefied bagasse increased from 50% to approximately 60% after computer simulation, whereas that of untorrefied bagasse remained constant at 50%, even as the gasification time increased. PMID:28952501

Characteristics of the microwave pyrolysis and microwave CO2-assisted gasification of dewatered sewage sludge.

PubMed

Chun, Young Nam; Jeong, Byeo Ri

2017-07-28

Microwave drying-pyrolysis or drying-gasification characteristics were examined to convert sewage sludge into energy and resources. The gasification was carried out with carbon dioxide as a gasifying agent. The examination results were compared with those of the conventional heating-type electric furnace to compare both product characteristics. Through the pyrolysis or gasification, gas, tar, and char were generated as products. The produced gas was the largest component of each process, followed by the sludge char and the tar. During the pyrolysis process, the main components of the produced gas were hydrogen and carbon monoxide, with a small amount of hydrocarbons such as methane and ethylene. In the gasification process, however, the amount of carbon monoxide was greater than the amount of hydrogen. In microwave gasification, a large amount of heavy tar was produced. The largest amount of benzene in light tar was generated from the pyrolysis or gasification. Ammonia and hydrogen cyanide, which are precursors of NO x , were also generated. In the microwave heating method, the sludge char produced by pyrolysis and gasification had pores in the mesopore range. This could be explained that the gas obtained from the microwave pyrolysis or gasification of the wet sewage sludge can be used as an alternative fuel, but the tar and NO x precursors in the produced gas should be treated. Sludge char can be used as a biomass solid fuel or as a tar removal adsorbent if necessary.

Coal-to-methanol: an engineering evaluation of Texaco gasification and ICI methanol-synthesis route. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Buckingham, P.A.; Cobb, D.D.; Leavitt, A.A.

1981-08-01

This report presents the results of a technical and economic evaluation of producing methanol from bituminous coal using Texaco coal gasification and ICI methanol synthesis. The scope of work included the development of an overall configuration for a large plant comprising coal preparation, air separation, coal gasification, shift conversion, COS hydrolysis, acid gas removal, methanol synthesis, methanol refining, and all required utility systems and off-site facilities. Design data were received from both Texaco and ICI while a design and cost estimate were received from Lotepro covering the Rectisol acid gas removal unit. The plant processes 14,448 tons per day (drymore » basis) of Illinois No. 6 bituminous coal and produces 10,927 tons per day of fuel-grade methanol. An overall thermal efficiency of 57.86 percent was calculated on an HHV basis and 52.64 percent based on LHV. Total plant investment at an Illinois plant site was estimated to be $1159 million dollars in terms of 1979 investment. Using EPRI's economic premises, the first-year product costs were calculated to $4.74 per million Btu (HHV) which is equivalent to $30.3 cents per gallon and $5.37 per million Btu (LHV).« less

Process aspects in combustion and gasification Waste-to-Energy (WtE) units.

PubMed

Leckner, Bo

2015-03-01

The utilisation of energy in waste, Waste to Energy (WtE), has become increasingly important. Waste is a wide concept, and to focus, the feedstock dealt with here is mostly municipal solid waste. It is found that combustion in grate-fired furnaces is by far the most common mode of fuel conversion compared to fluidized beds and rotary furnaces. Combinations of pyrolysis in rotary furnace or gasification in fluidized or fixed bed with high-temperature combustion are applied particularly in Japan in systems whose purpose is to melt ashes and destroy dioxins. Recently, also in Japan more emphasis is put on WtE. In countries with high heat demand, WtE in the form of heat and power can be quite efficient even in simple grate-fired systems, whereas in warm regions only electricity is generated, and for this product the efficiency of boilers (the steam data) is limited by corrosion from the flue gas. However, combination of cleaned gas from gasification with combustion provides a means to enhance the efficiency of electricity production considerably. Finally, the impact of sorting on the properties of the waste to be fed to boilers or gasifiers is discussed. The description intends to be general, but examples are mostly taken from Europe. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the SRI Gasification Process for Syngas Generation with HTGR Integration -- White Paper

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

A.M. Gandrik

2012-04-01

This white paper is intended to compare the technical and economic feasibility of syngas generation using the SRI gasification process coupled to several high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) with more traditional HTGR-integrated syngas generation techniques, including: (1) Gasification with high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE); (2) Steam methane reforming (SMR); and (3) Gasification with SMR with and without CO2 sequestration.

Supercritical gasification for the treatment of o-cresol wastewater.

PubMed

Wei, Chao-hai; Hu, Cheng-sheng; Wu, Chao-fei; Yan, Bo

2006-01-01

The supercritical water gasification of phenolic wastewater without oxidant was performed to degrade pollutants and produce hydrogen-enriched gases. The simulated o-cresol wastewater was gasified at 440-650 degrees C and 27.6 MPa in a continuous Inconel 625 reactor with the residence time of 0.42-1.25 min. The influence of the reaction temperature, residence time, pressure, catalyst, oxidant and the pollutant concentration on the gasification efficiency was investigated. Higher temperature and longer residence time enhanced the o-cresol gasification. The TOC removal rate and hydrogen gasification rate were 90.6% and 194.6%, respectively, at the temperature of 650 degrees C and the residence time of 0.83 min. The product gas was mainly composed of H2, CO2, CH4 and CO, among which the total molar percentage of H2 and CH4 was higher than 50%. The gasification efficiency decreased with the pollutant concentration increasing. Both the catalyst and oxidant could accelerate the hydrocarbon gasification at a lower reaction temperature, in which the catalyst promoted H2 production and the oxidant enhanced CO2 generation. The intermediates of liquid effluents were analyzed and phenol was found to be the main composition. The results indicate that the supercritical gasification is a promising way for the treatment of hazardous organic wastewater.

Biotoxicity assessment and toxicity mechanism on coal gasification wastewater (CGW): A comparative analysis of effluent from different treatment processes.

PubMed

Ma, Weiwei; Han, Yuxing; Xu, Chunyan; Han, Hongjun; Zhu, Hao; Li, Kun; Zheng, Mengqi

2018-05-04

Even though coal gasification wastewater (CGW) treated by various biochemical treatment processes generally met the national discharge standard, its potential biotoxicity was still unknown. Therefore, in this study, bioassay with Tetrahymena thermophila (T. thermophila) was conducted to comprehensively evaluate the variation of biotoxicity in raw CGW and the treated effluent from lab-scale micro-electrolysis integrated with biological reactor (MEBR), single iron-carbon micro-electrolysis (ICME) and conventional activated sludge (CAS) processes. The results illustrated that raw CGW presented intensive acute toxicity with 24 h EC 50 value of 8.401% and toxic unit (TU) value of 11.90. Moreover, it performed significant cell membrane destruction and DNA damage even at 10% dilution concentration. The toxicant identification results revealed that multiple toxic polar compounds such as phenolic, heterocyclic and polycyclic aromatic compounds were the main contributors for biotoxicity. Furthermore, these compounds could accelerate oxidative stress, thereby inducing oxidative damage of cell membrane and DNA. As for treated effluent, TU value was decreased by 90.58% in MEBR process. An effective biotoxicity reduction was achieved in MEBR process owing to high removal efficiency in polar organic toxicants. In contrast, effluent from ICME and CAS processes presented relatively high acute toxicity and genotoxicity, because various heterocyclic and polycyclic aromatic compounds were difficult to be degraded in these processes. Therefore, it was suggested that MEBR was a potential and feasible process for improving CGW treatment and minimizing ecological risk. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The National Carbon Capture Center at the Power Systems Development Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None, None

2014-12-30

The National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) at the Power Systems Development Facility supports the Department of Energy (DOE) goal of promoting the United States’ energy security through reliable, clean, and affordable energy produced from coal. Work at the NCCC supports the development of new power technologies and the continued operation of conventional power plants under CO 2 emission constraints. The NCCC includes adaptable slipstreams that allow technology development of CO 2 capture concepts using coal-derived syngas and flue gas in industrial settings. Because of the ability to operate under a wide range of flow rates and process conditions, research atmore » the NCCC can effectively evaluate technologies at various levels of maturity and accelerate their development path to commercialization. During its first contract period, from October 1, 2008, through December 30, 2014, the NCCC designed, constructed, and began operation of the Post-Combustion Carbon Capture Center (PC4). Testing of CO 2 capture technologies commenced in 2011, and through the end of the contract period, more than 25,000 hours of testing had been achieved, supporting a variety of technology developers. Technologies tested included advanced solvents, enzymes, membranes, sorbents, and associated systems. The NCCC continued operation of the existing gasification facilities, which have been in operation since 1996, to support the advancement of technologies for next-generation gasification processes and pre-combustion CO 2 capture. The gasification process operated for 13 test runs, supporting over 30,000 hours combined of both gasification and pre-combustion technology developer testing. Throughout the contract period, the NCCC incorporated numerous modifications to the facilities to accommodate technology developers and increase test capabilities. Preparations for further testing were ongoing to continue advancement of the most promising technologies for future power generation processes.« less

Development of Kinetics and Mathematical Models for High Pressure Gasification of Lignite-Switchgrass Blends

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agrawal, Pradeep K.

The overall objective of the current project was to investigate the high pressure gasification characteristics of a feed containing both coal and biomass. The two feed types differ in their ash contents and ash composition, particularly the alkali content. Gasification of a combined feed of coal and biomass has the potential for considerable synergies that might lead to a dramatic improvement in process economics and flexibility. The proposed study aimed to develop a detailed understanding of the chemistry, kinetics, and transport effects during high pressure gasification of coal-biomass blend feed. Specifically, we studied to develop: (a) an understanding of themore » catalytic effect of alkali and other inorganic species present in the biomass and coal, (b) an understanding of processing conditions under which synergistic effects of the blending of coal and biomass might be observed. This included the role of particle size, residence time, and proximity of the two feed types, (c) kinetics of high pressure gasification of individual feeds as well as the blends, and (d) development of mathematical models that incorporate kinetics and transport models to enable prediction of gasification rate at a given set of operating conditions, and (e) protocols to extend the results to other feed resources. The goal was to provide a fundamental understanding of the gasification process and guide in optimizing the configurations and design of the next generation of gasifiers. The approach undertaken was centered on two basic premises: (1) the gasification for small particles without internal mass transfer limitations can be treated as the sum of two processes in series (pyrolysis and char gasification) , and (2) the reactivity of the char generated during pyrolysis not only depends on the pressure and temperature but is also affected by the heating rates. Thus low heating rates (10-50 °C/min) typical of PTGA fail to produce char that would typically be formed at high heating rates (~10 4 °C/sec), encountered in entrained flow gasifiers. The char morphology, also a function of the heating rate, would influence the transport rates during the char gasification phase. Thus, heating rate plays a critical role through which both, pyrolysis and char gasification, are interconnected. We utilized two complementary gasification experiments: PEFR (pressurized entrained flow gasifier) and PTGA (pressurized thermo-gravimetric analyzer). The PEFR allowed us to study gasification at pressures, temperatures, and heating rates relevant for coal-biomass gasifiers. The PTGA work was useful in understanding the basic chemistry of the evolution of various gaseous species during pyrolysis. These results helped improved our understanding of the chemistry and chemical changes during pyrolysis. The role alkali metals and other inorganics in char gasification using steam and/or CO 2 was investigated. Finally, the mathematical models for char gasification without the transport effects were developed at commercial operating conditions.« less

Treatment of coal gasification wastewater by membrane bioreactor hybrid powdered activated carbon (MBR–PAC) system.

PubMed

Jia, Shengyong; Han, Hongjun; Hou, Baolin; Zhuang, Haifeng; Fang, Fang; Zhao, Qian

2014-12-01

A laboratory-scale membrane bioreactor hybrid powdered activated carbon (MBR–PAC) system was developed to treat coal gasification wastewater to enhance the COD, total phenols (TPh), NH4+ removals and migrate the membrane fouling. Since the MBR–PAC system operated with PAC dosage of 4 g L−1, the maximum removal efficiencies of COD, TPh and NH4+ reached 93%, 99% and 63%, respectively with the corresponding influent concentrations of 2.27 g L−1, 497 mg L−1 and 164 mg N L−1; the PAC extraction efficiencies of COD, TPh and NH4+ were 6%, 3% and 13%, respectively; the transmembrane pressure decreased 34% with PAC after 50 d operation. The results demonstrate that PAC played a key role in the enhancement of biodegradability and mitigation of membrane fouling.

Technology Assessment Report: Aqueous Sludge Gasification Technologies

EPA Science Inventory

The study reveals that sludge gasification is a potentially suitable alternative to conventional sludge handling and disposal methods. However, very few commercial operations are in existence. The limited pilot, demonstration or commercial application of gasification technology t...

Studies on biomass char gasification and dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

You, Zhanping; You, Shijun; Ma, Xiaoyan

2018-01-01

The gasification performances of two kinds of biomass char by experiment methods are studied, including conversion rate and gasification gas component with temperature and time. Experimental results show that gasification temperature has important effects on the conversion rate and gas component. In the range of experimental temperature, char conversion rates are no more than 30.0%. The apparent activation energies and apparent reaction frequency factors of two biomass chars are obtained through kinetic studies.

Comparison of the co-gasification of sewage sludge and food wastes and cost-benefit analysis of gasification- and incineration-based waste treatment schemes.

PubMed

You, Siming; Wang, Wei; Dai, Yanjun; Tong, Yen Wah; Wang, Chi-Hwa

2016-10-01

The compositions of food wastes and their co-gasification producer gas were compared with the existing data of sewage sludge. Results showed that food wastes are more favorable than sewage sludge for co-gasification based on residue generation and energy output. Two decentralized gasification-based schemes were proposed to dispose of the sewage sludge and food wastes in Singapore. Monte Carlo simulation-based cost-benefit analysis was conducted to compare the proposed schemes with the existing incineration-based scheme. It was found that the gasification-based schemes are financially superior to the incineration-based scheme based on the data of net present value (NPV), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and internal rate of return (IRR). Sensitivity analysis was conducted to suggest effective measures to improve the economics of the schemes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Synergistic combination of biomass torrefaction and co-gasification: Reactivity studies.

PubMed

Zhang, Yan; Geng, Ping; Liu, Rui

2017-12-01

Two typical biomass feedstocks obtained from woody wastes and agricultural residues were torrefied or mildly pyrolized in a fixed-bed reactor. Effects of the torrefaction conditions on product distributions, compositional and energetic properties of the solid products, char gasification reactivity, and co-gasification behavior between coal and torrefied solids were systematically investigated. Torrefaction pretreatment produced high quality bio-solids with not only increased energy density, but also concentrated alkali and alkaline earth metals (AAEM). As a consequence of greater retention of catalytic elements in the solid products, the chars derived from torrefied biomass exhibited a faster conversion than those derived from raw biomass during CO 2 gasification. Furthermore, co-gasification of coal/torrefied biomass blends exhibited stronger synergy compared to the coal/raw biomass blends. The results and insights provided by this study filled a gap in understanding synergy during co-gasification of coal and torrefied biomass. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CO2 Capture and Storage in Coal Gasification Projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, Anand B.; Phadke, Pranav C.

2017-07-01

In response to the global climate change problem, the world community today is in search for an effective means of carbon mitigation. India is a major developing economy and the economic growth is driven by ever-increasing consumption of energy. Coal is the only fossil fuel that is available in abundance in India and contributes to the major share of the total primary energy supply (TPES) in the country. Owing to the large unmet demand for affordable energy, primarily driven by the need for infrastructure development and increasing incomes and aspirations of people, as well as the energy security concerns, India is expected to have continued dependence on coal. Coal is not only the backbone of the electric power generation, but many major industries like cement, iron and steel, bricks, fertilizers also consume large quantities of coal. India has very low carbon emissions (˜ 1.5 tCO2 per capita) as compared to the world average (4.7 tCO2 per capita) and the developed world (11.2 tCO2 per capita). Although the aggregate emissions of the country are increasing with the rising population and fossil energy use, India has a very little contribution to the historical GHG accumulation in the atmosphere linked to the climate change problem. However, a large fraction of the Indian society is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change - due to its geographical location, large dependence on monsoon-based agriculture and limited technical, financial and institutional capacity. Today, India holds a large potential to offer cost-effective carbon mitigation to tackle the climate change problem. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is the process of extraction of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) from industrial and energy related sources, transport to storage locations and long-term isolation from the atmosphere. It is a technology that has been developed in recent times and is considered as a bridging technology as we move towards carbon-neutral energy sources in response to the growing concerns about climate change problem. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is being considered as a promising carbon mitigation technology, especially for large point sources such as coal power plants. Gasification of coal helps in better utilization of this resource offering multiple advantages such as pollution prevention, product flexibility (syngas and hydrogen) and higher efficiency (combined cycle). It also enables the capture of CO2 prior to the combustion, from the fuel gas mixture, at relatively lesser cost as compared to the post-combustion CO2 capture. CCS in gasification projects is considered as a promising technology for cost-effective carbon mitigation. Although many projects (power and non-power) have been announced internationally, very few large-scale projects have actually come up. This paper looks at the various aspects of CCS applications in gasification projects, including the technical feasibility and economic viability and discusses an Indian perspective. Impacts of including CCS in gasification projects (e.g. IGCC plants) have been assessed using a simulation tool. Integrated Environmental Control Model (IECM) - a modelling framework to simulate power plants - has been used to estimate the implications of adding CCS units in IGCC plants, on their performance and costs.

Potential application of gasification to recycle food waste and rehabilitate acidic soil from secondary forests on degraded land in Southeast Asia.

PubMed

Yang, Zhanyu; Koh, Shun Kai; Ng, Wei Cheng; Lim, Reuben C J; Tan, Hugh T W; Tong, Yen Wah; Dai, Yanjun; Chong, Clive; Wang, Chi-Hwa

2016-05-01

Gasification is recognized as a green technology as it can harness energy from biomass in the form of syngas without causing severe environmental impacts, yet producing valuable solid residues that can be utilized in other applications. In this study, the feasibility of co-gasification of woody biomass and food waste in different proportions was investigated using a fixed-bed downdraft gasifier. Subsequently, the capability of biochar derived from gasification of woody biomass in the rehabilitation of soil from tropical secondary forests on degraded land (adinandra belukar) was also explored through a water spinach cultivation study using soil-biochar mixtures of different ratios. Gasification of a 60:40 wood waste-food waste mixture (w/w) produced syngas with the highest lower heating value (LHV) 5.29 MJ/m(3)-approximately 0.4-4.0% higher than gasification of 70:30 or 80:20 mixtures, or pure wood waste. Meanwhile, water spinach cultivated in a 2:1 soil-biochar mixture exhibited the best growth performance in terms of height (a 4-fold increment), weight (a 10-fold increment) and leaf surface area (a 5-fold increment) after 8 weeks of cultivation, owing to the high porosity, surface area, nutrient content and alkalinity of biochar. It is concluded that gasification may be an alternative technology to food waste disposal through co-gasification with woody biomass, and that gasification derived biochar is suitable for use as an amendment for the nutrient-poor, acidic soil of adinandra belukar. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

TEXACO GASIFICATION PROCESS - INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION REPORT

EPA Science Inventory

This report summarizes the evaluation of the Texaco Gasification Process (TGP) conducted under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation (SITE) Program. The Texaco Gasification Process was developed by Texaco Inc. The TGP is a comm...

Instrumentation for optimizing an underground coal-gasification process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seabaugh, W.; Zielinski, R. E.

1982-06-01

While the United States has a coal resource base of 6.4 trillion tons, only seven percent is presently recoverable by mining. The process of in-situ gasification can recover another twenty-eight percent of the vast resource, however, viable technology must be developed for effective in-situ recovery. The key to this technology is system that can optimize and control the process in real-time. An instrumentation system is described that optimizes the composition of the injection gas, controls the in-situ process and conditions the product gas for maximum utilization. The key elements of this system are Monsanto PRISM Systems, a real-time analytical system, and a real-time data acquisition and control system. This system provides from complete automation of the process but can easily be overridden by manual control. The use of this cost effective system can provide process optimization and is an effective element in developing a viable in-situ technology.

Experiments on torrefied wood pellet: study by gasification and characterization for waste biomass to energy applications.

PubMed

Rollinson, Andrew N; Williams, Orla

2016-05-01

Samples of torrefied wood pellet produced by low-temperature microwave pyrolysis were tested through a series of experiments relevant to present and near future waste to energy conversion technologies. Operational performance was assessed using a modern small-scale downdraft gasifier. Owing to the pellet's shape and surface hardness, excellent flow characteristics were observed. The torrefied pellet had a high energy density, and although a beneficial property, this highlighted the present inflexibility of downdraft gasifiers in respect of feedstock tolerance due to the inability to contain very high temperatures inside the reactor during operation. Analyses indicated that the torrefaction process had not significantly altered inherent kinetic properties to a great extent; however, both activation energy and pre-exponential factor were slightly higher than virgin biomass from which the pellet was derived. Thermogravimetric analysis-derived reaction kinetics (CO2 gasification), bomb calorimetry, proximate and ultimate analyses, and the Bond Work Index grindability test provided a more comprehensive characterization of the torrefied pellet's suitability as a fuel for gasification and also other combustion applications. It exhibited significant improvements in grindability energy demand and particle size control compared to other non-treated and thermally treated biomass pellets, along with a high calorific value, and excellent resistance to water.

Experiments on torrefied wood pellet: study by gasification and characterization for waste biomass to energy applications

PubMed Central

Rollinson, Andrew N.; Williams, Orla

2016-01-01

Samples of torrefied wood pellet produced by low-temperature microwave pyrolysis were tested through a series of experiments relevant to present and near future waste to energy conversion technologies. Operational performance was assessed using a modern small-scale downdraft gasifier. Owing to the pellet's shape and surface hardness, excellent flow characteristics were observed. The torrefied pellet had a high energy density, and although a beneficial property, this highlighted the present inflexibility of downdraft gasifiers in respect of feedstock tolerance due to the inability to contain very high temperatures inside the reactor during operation. Analyses indicated that the torrefaction process had not significantly altered inherent kinetic properties to a great extent; however, both activation energy and pre-exponential factor were slightly higher than virgin biomass from which the pellet was derived. Thermogravimetric analysis-derived reaction kinetics (CO2 gasification), bomb calorimetry, proximate and ultimate analyses, and the Bond Work Index grindability test provided a more comprehensive characterization of the torrefied pellet's suitability as a fuel for gasification and also other combustion applications. It exhibited significant improvements in grindability energy demand and particle size control compared to other non-treated and thermally treated biomass pellets, along with a high calorific value, and excellent resistance to water. PMID:27293776

Comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) of construction and demolition (C&D) derived biomass and U.S. northeast forest residuals gasification for electricity production.

PubMed

Nuss, Philip; Gardner, Kevin H; Jambeck, Jenna R

2013-04-02

With the goal to move society toward less reliance on fossil fuels and the mitigation of climate change, there is increasing interest and investment in the bioenergy sector. However, current bioenergy growth patterns may, in the long term, only be met through an expansion of global arable land at the expense of natural ecosystems and in competition with the food sector. Increasing thermal energy recovery from solid waste reduces dependence on fossil- and biobased energy production while enhancing landfill diversion. Using inventory data from pilot processes, this work assesses the cradle-to-gate environmental burdens of plasma gasification as a route capable of transforming construction and demolition (C&D) derived biomass (CDDB) and forest residues into electricity. Results indicate that the environmental burdens associated with CDDB and forest residue gasification may be similar to conventional electricity generation. Land occupation is lowest when CDDB is used. Environmental impacts are to a large extent due to coal cogasified, coke used as gasifier bed material, and fuel oil cocombusted in the steam boiler. However, uncertainties associated with preliminary system designs may be large, particularly the heat loss associated with pilot scale data resulting in overall low efficiencies of energy conversion to electricity; a sensitivity analysis assesses these uncertainties in further detail.

Waste-to-Energy and Fuel Cell Technologies Overview

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-13

Integration of stationary fuel cells with biomass gasification is a developing technology that is in need of demonstration. Innovation for Our...the PureCell®400 Innovation for Our Energy Future Gasification of wood wastes is another potential source of useful fuel gas. Wood waste... Gasification → Cleanup → Fuel Cell Gasification uses high temperature to convert cellulosic materials to fuel gas • Hydrogen (H2) • Carbon monoxide (CO

Thermogravimetric and model-free kinetic studies on CO2 gasification of low-quality, high-sulphur Indian coals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Tonkeswar; Saikia, Ananya; Mahanta, Banashree; Choudhury, Rahul; Saikia, Binoy K.

2016-10-01

Coal gasification with CO2 has emerged as a cleaner and more efficient way for the production of energy, and it offers the advantages of CO2 mitigation policies through simultaneous CO2 sequestration. In the present investigation, a feasibility study on the gasification of three low-quality, high-sulphur coals from the north-eastern region (NER) of India in a CO2 atmosphere using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA-DTA) has been made in order to have a better understanding of the physical and chemical characteristics in the process of gasification of coal. Model-free kinetics was applied to determine the activation energies (E) and pre-exponential factors (A) of the CO2 gasification process of the coals. Multivariate non-linear regression analyses were performed to find out the formal mechanisms, kinetic model, and the corresponding kinetic triplets. The results revealed that coal gasification with CO2 mainly occurs in the temperature range of 800∘-1400∘C and a maximum of at around 1100∘C. The reaction mechanisms responsible for CO2 gasification of the coals were observed to be of the ` nth order with autocatalysis (CnB)' and ` nth order (Fn) mechanism'. The activation energy of the CO2 gasification was found to be in the range 129.07-146.81 kJ mol-1.

The fate of sulfur in mild gasification liquids

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Knight, R.A.; Koncar, G.J.; Babu, S.P.

1991-01-01

This investigation addresses the determination of sulfur distribution in mild gasification liquids produced from untreated coal and from modified in two ways to reduce sulfur in the products: (a) physical mixing with a sulfur scavenger (CaO), and (b) pretreatment with aqueous alkali followed by mixing with CaO. Coal pyrolysis in the presence of CaO has previously been investigated, (3,5) showing that CaO can be effective in reducing the sulfur content of the fuel gas, and possibly that of the product liquids. Pretreatment of coals with alkaline chemicals has also been studied,(6,7) showing reduced sulfur and other changes in the liquidmore » products.(8) Data on sulfur distribution in the liquid products could be useful for understanding the chemistry of alkali pretreatment and CaO interaction with coal sulfur during pyrolysis. In this work, a pyrolysis-gas chromatography (Py-GC) technique that simulates mild gasification on a milligram scale was used in conjunction with a carbon-specific flame ionization detector (FID) and a sulfur-specific flame photometric detector (FPD) to determine the sulfur distribution in oils/tars from Illinois No. 6 coal. A low-resolution packed GC column was employed to resolve oils/tars by carbon number, with ranges selected to approximate distillation fractions which might be recovered from a commercial mild gasification process. Oils/tars up to C{sub 18} were also collected from the pyro-probe effluent into dichloromethane for off-line study using a high-resolution GC with atomic emission detector (GC/AED) and with GC-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) to measure specific sulfur compounds. 9 refs., 1 tab.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doug Cathro

The Lake Charles CCS Project is a large-scale industrial carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project which will demonstrate advanced technologies that capture and sequester carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions from industrial sources into underground formations. Specifically the Lake Charles CCS Project will accelerate commercialization of large-scale CO{sub 2} storage from industrial sources by leveraging synergy between a proposed petroleum coke to chemicals plant (the LCC Gasification Project) and the largest integrated anthropogenic CO{sub 2} capture, transport, and monitored sequestration program in the U.S. Gulf Coast Region. The Lake Charles CCS Project will promote the expansion of EOR in Texas andmore » Louisiana and supply greater energy security by expanding domestic energy supplies. The capture, compression, pipeline, injection, and monitoring infrastructure will continue to sequester CO{sub 2} for many years after the completion of the term of the DOE agreement. The objectives of this project are expected to be fulfilled by working through two distinct phases. The overall objective of Phase 1 was to develop a fully definitive project basis for a competitive Renewal Application process to proceed into Phase 2 - Design, Construction and Operations. Phase 1 includes the studies attached hereto that will establish: the engineering design basis for the capture, compression and transportation of CO{sub 2} from the LCC Gasification Project, and the criteria and specifications for a monitoring, verification and accounting (MVA) plan at the Hastings oil field in Texas. The overall objective of Phase 2, provided a successful competitive down-selection, is to execute design, construction and operations of three capital projects: (1) the CO{sub 2} capture and compression equipment, (2) a Connector Pipeline from the LLC Gasification Project to the Green Pipeline owned by Denbury and an affiliate of Denbury, and (3) a comprehensive MVA system at the Hastings oil field.« less

78 FR 52764 - Extension of Public Comment Period Hydrogen Energy California's Integrated Gasification Combined...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-26

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Extension of Public Comment Period Hydrogen Energy California's Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Project Preliminary Staff Assessment and Draft Environmental Impact Statement... California's Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Project Preliminary Staff Assessment/Draft Environmental...

Hybrid Molten Bed Gasifier for High Hydrogen Syngas Production

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rue, David

The techno-economic analyses of the hybrid molten bed gasification technology and laboratory testing of the HMB process were carried out in this project by the Gas Technology Institute and partner Nexant, Inc. under contract with the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. This report includes the results of two complete IGCC and Fischer-Tropsch TEA analyses comparing HMB gasification with the Shell slagging gasification process as a base case. Also included are the results of the laboratory simulation tests of the HMB process using Illinois #6 coal fed along with natural gas, two different syngases, and steam. Work inmore » this 18-month project was carried out in three main Tasks. Task 2 was completed first and involved modeling, mass and energy balances, and gasification process design. The results of this work were provided to Nexant as input to the TEA IGCC and FT configurations studied in detail in Task 3. The results of Task 2 were also used to guide the design of the laboratory-scale testing of the HMB concept in the submerged combustion melting test facility in GTI’s industrial combustion laboratory. All project work was completed on time and budget. A project close-out meeting reviewing project results was conducted on April 1, 2015 at GTI in Des Plaines, IL. The hybrid molten bed gasification process techno-economic analyses found that the HMB process is both technically and economically attractive compared with the Shell entrained flow gasification process. In IGCC configuration, HMB gasification provides both efficiency and cost benefits. In Fischer-Tropsch configuration, HMB shows small benefits, primarily because even at current low natural gas prices, natural gas is more expensive than coal on an energy cost basis. HMB gasification was found in the TEA to improve the overall IGCC economics as compared to the coal only Shell gasification process. Operationally, the HMB process proved to be robust and easy to operate. The burner was stable over the full oxygen to fuel firing range (0.8 to 1.05 of fuel gas stoichiometry) and with all fuel gases (natural gas and two syngas compositions), with steam, and without steam. The lower Btu content of the syngases presented no combustion difficulties. The molten bed was stable throughout testing. The molten bed was easily established as a bed of molten glass. As the composition changed from glass cullet to cullet with slag, no instabilities were encountered. The bed temperature and product syngas temperature remained stable throughout testing, demonstrating that the bed serves as a good heat sink for the gasification process. Product syngas temperature measured above the bed was stable at ~1600ºF. Testing found that syngas quality measured as H 2/CO ratio increased with decreasing oxygen to fuel gas stoichiometric ratio, higher steam to inlet carbon ratio, higher temperature, and syngas compared with natural gas. The highest H 2/CO ratios achieved were in the range of 0.70 to 0.78. These values are well below the targets of 1.5 to 2.0 that were expected and were predicted by modeling. The team, however, is encouraged that the HMB process can and will achieve H 2/CO ratios up to 2.0. Changes needed include direct injection of coal into the molten bed of slag to prevent coal particle bypass into the product gas stream, elevation of the molten bed temperature to approximately 2500ºF, and further decrease of the oxygen to fuel gas ratio to well below the 0.85 minimum ratio used in the testing in this project.« less

A case-study of landfill minimization and material recovery via waste co-gasification in a new waste management scheme.

PubMed

Tanigaki, Nobuhiro; Ishida, Yoshihiro; Osada, Morihiro

2015-03-01

This study evaluates municipal solid waste co-gasification technology and a new solid waste management scheme, which can minimize final landfill amounts and maximize material recycled from waste. This new scheme is considered for a region where bottom ash and incombustibles are landfilled or not allowed to be recycled due to their toxic heavy metal concentration. Waste is processed with incombustible residues and an incineration bottom ash discharged from existent conventional incinerators, using a gasification and melting technology (the Direct Melting System). The inert materials, contained in municipal solid waste, incombustibles and bottom ash, are recycled as slag and metal in this process as well as energy recovery. Based on this new waste management scheme with a co-gasification system, a case study of municipal solid waste co-gasification was evaluated and compared with other technical solutions, such as conventional incineration, incineration with an ash melting facility under certain boundary conditions. From a technical point of view, co-gasification produced high quality slag with few harmful heavy metals, which was recycled completely without requiring any further post-treatment such as aging. As a consequence, the co-gasification system had an economical advantage over other systems because of its material recovery and minimization of the final landfill amount. Sensitivity analyses of landfill cost, power price and inert materials in waste were also conducted. The higher the landfill costs, the greater the advantage of the co-gasification system has. The co-gasification was beneficial for landfill cost in the range of 80 Euro per ton or more. Higher power prices led to lower operation cost in each case. The inert contents in processed waste had a significant influence on the operating cost. These results indicate that co-gasification of bottom ash and incombustibles with municipal solid waste contributes to minimizing the final landfill amount and has great possibilities maximizing material recovery and energy recovery from waste. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solar coal gasification reactor with pyrolysis gas recycle

DOEpatents

Aiman, William R.; Gregg, David W.

1983-01-01

Coal (or other carbonaceous matter, such as biomass) is converted into a duct gas that is substantially free from hydrocarbons. The coal is fed into a solar reactor (10), and solar energy (20) is directed into the reactor onto coal char, creating a gasification front (16) and a pyrolysis front (12). A gasification zone (32) is produced well above the coal level within the reactor. A pyrolysis zone (34) is produced immediately above the coal level. Steam (18), injected into the reactor adjacent to the gasification zone (32), reacts with char to generate product gases. Solar energy supplies the energy for the endothermic steam-char reaction. The hot product gases (38) flow from the gasification zone (32) to the pyrolysis zone (34) to generate hot char. Gases (38) are withdrawn from the pyrolysis zone (34) and reinjected into the region of the reactor adjacent the gasification zone (32). This eliminates hydrocarbons in the gas by steam reformation on the hot char. The product gas (14) is withdrawn from a region of the reactor between the gasification zone (32) and the pyrolysis zone (34). The product gas will be free of tar and other hydrocarbons, and thus be suitable for use in many processes.

Updraft gasification of salmon processing waste

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The purpose of this research is to judge the feasibility of gasification for the disposal of waste streams generated through salmon harvesting. Gasification is the process of converting carbonaceous materials into combustible “syngas” in a high temperature (above 700 °C), oxygen deficient environmen...

78 FR 54640 - Extension of Public Comment Period Hydrogen Energy California's Integrated Gasification Combined...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-05

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Extension of Public Comment Period Hydrogen Energy California's Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Project Preliminary Staff Assessment and Draft Environmental Impact Statement... Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Project Preliminary Staff Assessment and Draft Environmental Impact...

77 FR 58022 - Montana Regulatory Program

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-19

... additions of statutory definitions of approximate original contour, in situ coal gasification, and recovery... intends to promulgate regulations pertaining to in situ coal gasification within one year. The statutory... which do not have Federal counterparts under SMCRA: ``in situ coal gasification'' and ``recovery fluid...

Method for increasing steam decomposition in a coal gasification process

DOEpatents

Wilson, Marvin W.

1988-01-01

The gasification of coal in the presence of steam and oxygen is significantly enhanced by introducing a thermochemical water-splitting agent such as sulfuric acid, into the gasifier for decomposing the steam to provide additional oxygen and hydrogen usable in the gasification process for the combustion of the coal and enrichment of the gaseous gasification products. The addition of the water-splitting agent into the gasifier also allows for the operation of the reactor at a lower temperature.

Method for increasing steam decomposition in a coal gasification process

DOEpatents

Wilson, M.W.

1987-03-23

The gasification of coal in the presence of steam and oxygen is significantly enhanced by introducing a thermochemical water- splitting agent such as sulfuric acid, into the gasifier for decomposing the steam to provide additional oxygen and hydrogen usable in the gasification process for the combustion of the coal and enrichment of the gaseous gasification products. The addition of the water-splitting agent into the gasifier also allows for the operation of the reactor at a lower temperature.

Hydrothermal Gasification for Waste to Energy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Epps, Brenden; Laser, Mark; Choo, Yeunun

2014-11-01

Hydrothermal gasification is a promising technology for harvesting energy from waste streams. Applications range from straightforward waste-to-energy conversion (e.g. municipal waste processing, industrial waste processing), to water purification (e.g. oil spill cleanup, wastewater treatment), to biofuel energy systems (e.g. using algae as feedstock). Products of the gasification process are electricity, bottled syngas (H2 + CO), sequestered CO2, clean water, and inorganic solids; further chemical reactions can be used to create biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. We present a comparison of gasification system architectures, focusing on efficiency and economic performance metrics. Various system architectures are modeled computationally, using a model developed by the coauthors. The physical model tracks the mass of each chemical species, as well as energy conversions and transfers throughout the gasification process. The generic system model includes the feedstock, gasification reactor, heat recovery system, pressure reducing mechanical expanders, and electricity generation system. Sensitivity analysis of system performance to various process parameters is presented. A discussion of the key technological barriers and necessary innovations is also presented.

Effect of fuel origin on synergy during co-gasification of biomass and coal in CO2.

PubMed

Zhang, Yan; Zheng, Yan; Yang, Mingjun; Song, Yongchen

2016-01-01

The effect of fuel origin on synergy in coal/biomass blends during co-gasification has been assessed using a congruent-mass thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) method. Results revealed that synergy occurs when ash residuals are formed, followed by an almost complete gasification of biomass. Potassium species in biomass ash play a catalytic role in promoting gasification reactivity of coal char, which is a direct consequence of synergy during co-gasification. The SEM-EDS spectra provided conclusive evidence that the transfer of potassium from biomass to the surface of coal char occurs during co-pyrolysis/gasification. Biomass ash rich in silica eliminated synergy in coal/biomass blends but not to the extent of inhibiting the reaction rate of the blended chars to make it slower than that of separated ones. The best result in terms of synergy was concluded to be the combination of low-ash coal and K-rich biomass. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Temporal measurements and kinetics of selenium release during coal combustion and gasification in a fluidized bed.

PubMed

Shen, Fenghua; Liu, Jing; Zhang, Zhen; Yang, Yingju

2016-06-05

The temporal release of selenium from coal during combustion and gasification in a fluidized bed was measured in situ by an on-line analysis system of trace elements in flue gas. The on-line analysis system is based on an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), and can measure concentrations of trace elements in flue gas quantitatively and continuously. The results of on-line analysis suggest that the concentration of selenium in flue gas during coal gasification is higher than that during coal combustion. Based on the results of on-line analysis, a second-order kinetic law r(x)=0.94e(-26.58/RT)(-0.56 x(2) -0.51 x+1.05) was determined for selenium release during coal combustion, and r(x)=11.96e(-45.03/RT)(-0.53 x(2) -0.56 x+1.09) for selenium release during coal gasification. These two kinetic laws can predict respectively the temporal release of selenium during coal combustion and gasification with an acceptable accuracy. Thermodynamic calculations were conducted to predict selenium species during coal combustion and gasification. The speciation of selenium in flue gas during coal combustion differs from that during coal gasification, indicating that selenium volatilization is different. The gaseous selenium species can react with CaO during coal combustion, but it is not likely to interact with mineral during coal gasification. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy, Environmental, and Economic Analyses of Design Concepts for the Co-Production of Fuels and Chemicals with Electricity via Co-Gasification of Coal and Biomass

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eric Larson; Robert Williams; Thomas Kreutz

2012-03-11

The overall objective of this project was to quantify the energy, environmental, and economic performance of industrial facilities that would coproduce electricity and transportation fuels or chemicals from a mixture of coal and biomass via co-gasification in a single pressurized, oxygen-blown, entrained-flow gasifier, with capture and storage of CO{sub 2} (CCS). The work sought to identify plant designs with promising (Nth plant) economics, superior environmental footprints, and the potential to be deployed at scale as a means for simultaneously achieving enhanced energy security and deep reductions in U.S. GHG emissions in the coming decades. Designs included systems using primarily already-commercializedmore » component technologies, which may have the potential for near-term deployment at scale, as well as systems incorporating some advanced technologies at various stages of R&D. All of the coproduction designs have the common attribute of producing some electricity and also of capturing CO{sub 2} for storage. For each of the co-product pairs detailed process mass and energy simulations (using Aspen Plus software) were developed for a set of alternative process configurations, on the basis of which lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, Nth plant economic performance, and other characteristics were evaluated for each configuration. In developing each set of process configurations, focused attention was given to understanding the influence of biomass input fraction and electricity output fraction. Self-consistent evaluations were also carried out for gasification-based reference systems producing only electricity from coal, including integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) and integrated gasification solid-oxide fuel cell (IGFC) systems. The reason biomass is considered as a co-feed with coal in cases when gasoline or olefins are co-produced with electricity is to help reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for these systems. Storing biomass-derived CO{sub 2} underground represents negative CO{sub 2} emissions if the biomass is grown sustainably (i.e., if one ton of new biomass growth replaces each ton consumed), and this offsets positive CO{sub 2} emissions associated with the coal used in these systems. Different coal:biomass input ratios will produce different net lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for these systems, which is the reason that attention in our analysis was given to the impact of the biomass input fraction. In the case of systems that produce only products with no carbon content, namely electricity, ammonia and hydrogen, only coal was considered as a feedstock because it is possible in theory to essentially fully decarbonize such products by capturing all of the coal-derived CO{sub 2} during the production process.« less

Evaluation of wood chip gasification to produce reburn fuel for coal-fired boilers

EPA Science Inventory

Gasification/reburn testing with biomass and other wastes is of interest to both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Italian Ministry of the Environment & Territory (IMET). Gasification systems that use wastes as feedstock should provide a clean, efficient sour...

Improved catalysts for carbon and coal gasification

DOEpatents

McKee, D.W.; Spiro, C.L.; Kosky, P.G.

1984-05-25

This invention relates to improved catalysts for carbon and coal gasification and improved processes for catalytic coal gasification for the production of methane. The catalyst is composed of at least two alkali metal salts and a particulate carbonaceous substrate or carrier is used. 10 figures, 2 tables.

BIOMASS REACTIVITY IN GASIFICATION BY THE HYNOL PROCESS

EPA Science Inventory

A thermobalance reactor was used to evaluate the reactivity of poplar wood in gasification under the operating conditions specific for the Hynol process where biomass is gasified at 30 atm and 800E C with a hydrogen-rich gas recycled from methane synthesis. The gasification invol...

Methods for sequestering carbon dioxide into alcohols via gasification fermentation

DOEpatents

Gaddy, James L; Ko, Ching-Whan; Phillips, J. Randy; Slape, M. Sean

2013-11-26

The present invention is directed to improvements in gasification for use with synthesis gas fermentation. Further, the present invention is directed to improvements in gasification for the production of alcohols from a gaseous substrate containing at least one reducing gas containing at least one microorganism.

Pyrolysis of reinforced polymer composites: Parameterizing a model for multiple compositions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martin, Geraldine E.

A single set of material properties was developed to describe the pyrolysis of fiberglass reinforced polyester composites at multiple composition ratios. Milligram-scale testing was performed on the unsaturated polyester (UP) resin using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to establish and characterize an effective semi-global reaction mechanism, of three consecutive first-order reactions. Radiation-driven gasification experiments were conducted on UP resin and the fiberglass composites at compositions ranging from 41 to 54 wt% resin at external heat fluxes from 30 to 70 kW m -2. The back surface temperature was recorded with an infrared camera and used as the target for inverse analysis to determine the thermal conductivity of the systematically isolated constituent species. Manual iterations were performed in a comprehensive pyrolysis model, ThermaKin. The complete set of properties was validated for the ability to reproduce the mass loss rate during gasification testing.

GE pilot plant gasifies all coal types and grades without pretreatment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1978-03-01

A pilot-scale coal gasification plant at General Electric Company's Research and Development Center, Schenectady, New York, is converting more than three-quarters of a ton of low-grade coal per hour into 100,000 cubic feet of fuel gas suitable for running electric power plants. GE is also going to test new ideas for coal feeding and stirring the reacting mixture to prevent caking. One unique approach will be the use of an extruder to feed coal continuously into the pressurized gasifier through a gas-tight seal, much as toothpaste is squeezed from a tube. The 6-inch-diameter rod of fuel that leaves the extrudermore » is comprised of a mixture of fine coal particles and tar (the latter is a by-product of the gasification process). Once inside, the rod is broken into chunks to form the bed being gasified.« less

Producer gas production of Indonesian biomass in fixed-bed downdraft gasifier as an alternative fuels for internal combustion engines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simanjuntak, J. P.; Lisyanto; Daryanto, E.; Tambunan, B. H.

2018-03-01

downdraft biomass gasification reactors, coupled with reciprocating internal combustion engines (ICE) are a viable technology for small scale heat and power generation. The direct use of producer gas as fuel subtitution in an ICE could be of great interest since Indonesia has significant land area in different forest types that could be used to produce bioenergy and convert forest materials to bioenergy for use in energy production and the versatility of this engine. This paper will look into the aspect of biomass energie as a contributor to energy mix in Indonesia. This work also contains information gathered from numerous previews study on the downdraft gasifier based on experimental or simulation study on the ability of producer gas as fuels for internal combustion engines aplication. All data will be used to complement the preliminary work on biomass gasification using downdraft to produce producer gas and its application to engines.

Coal: the new black

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tullo, A.H.; Tremblay, J.-F.

2008-03-15

Long eclipsed by oil and natural gas as a raw material for high-volume chemicals, coal is making a comeback, with oil priced at more than $100 per barrel. It is relatively cheap feedstock for chemicals such as methanol and China is building plants to convert coal to polyolefins on a large scale and interest is spreading worldwide. Over the years several companies in the US and China have made fertilizers via the gasification of coal. Eastman in Tennessee gasifies coal to make methanol which is then converted to acetic acid, acetic anhydride and acetate fiber. The future vision is tomore » convert methanol to olefins. UOP and Lurgi are the major vendors of this technology. These companies are the respective chemical engineering arms of Honeywell and Air Liquide. The article reports developments in China, USA and India on coal-to-chemicals via coal gasification or coal liquefaction. 2 figs., 2 photo.« less

Advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coal gasification wastewater by a novel integration of catalytic ultrasound oxidation and membrane bioreactor.

PubMed

Jia, Shengyong; Han, Hongjun; Zhuang, Haifeng; Xu, Peng; Hou, Baolin

2015-01-01

Laboratorial scale experiments were conducted to investigate a novel system integrating catalytic ultrasound oxidation (CUO) with membrane bioreactor (CUO-MBR) on advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coal gasification wastewater. Results indicated that CUO with catalyst of FeOx/SBAC (sewage sludge based activated carbon (SBAC) which loaded Fe oxides) represented high efficiencies in eliminating TOC as well as improving the biodegradability. The integrated CUO-MBR system with low energy intensity and high frequency was more effective in eliminating COD, BOD5, TOC and reducing transmembrane pressure than either conventional MBR or ultrasound oxidation integrated MBR. The enhanced hydroxyl radical oxidation, facilitation of substrate diffusion and improvement of cell enzyme secretion were the mechanisms for CUO-MBR performance. Therefore, the integrated CUO-MBR was the promising technology for advanced treatment in engineering applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coal gasification wastewater by a novel integration of three-dimensional catalytic electro-Fenton and membrane bioreactor.

PubMed

Jia, Shengyong; Han, Hongjun; Hou, Baolin; Zhuang, Haifeng

2015-12-01

Laboratorial scale experiments were conducted to investigate a novel system three-dimensional catalytic electro-Fenton (3DCEF, catalyst of sewage sludge based activated carbon which loaded Fe3O4) integrating with membrane bioreactor (3DCEF-MBR) on advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coal gasification wastewater. The results indicated that 3DCEF-MBR represented high efficiencies in eliminating COD and total organic carbon, giving the maximum removal efficiencies of 80% and 75%, respectively. The integrated 3DCEF-MBR system significantly reduced the transmembrane pressure, giving 35% lower than conventional MBR after 30 days operation. The enhanced hydroxyl radical oxidation and bacteria self repair function were the mechanisms for 3DCEF-MBR performance. Therefore, the integrated 3DCEF-MBR was expected to be the promising technology for advanced treatment in engineering applications. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coal gasification wastewater by a novel integration of heterogeneous Fenton oxidation and biological process.

PubMed

Xu, Peng; Han, Hongjun; Zhuang, Haifeng; Hou, Baolin; Jia, Shengyong; Xu, Chunyan; Wang, Dexin

2015-04-01

Laboratorial scale experiments were conducted in order to investigate a novel system integrating heterogeneous Fenton oxidation (HFO) with anoxic moving bed biofilm reactor (ANMBBR) and biological aerated filter (BAF) process on advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coal gasification wastewater (CGW). The results indicated that HFO with the prepared catalyst (FeOx/SBAC, sewage sludge based activated carbon (SBAC) which loaded Fe oxides) played a key role in eliminating COD and COLOR as well as in improving the biodegradability of raw wastewater. The surface reaction and hydroxyl radicals (OH) oxidation were the mechanisms for FeOx/SBAC catalytic reaction. Compared with ANMBBR-BAF process, the integrated system was more effective in abating COD, BOD5, total phenols (TPs), total nitrogen (TN) and COLOR and could shorten the retention time. Therefore, the integrated system was a promising technology for engineering applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of a Texaco gasification/endash/combined-cycle plant with Kraftwerk Union gas turbines: Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jacob, J.T.; Chu, L.A.

The modular nature of gasification-combined-cycle (GCC) plants is known to facilitate capacity addition in increments (phased construction) that may match more closely with the anticipated growth in electrical load. Because the gas turbines are the primary building blocks of a phased GCC plant, utility planners are investigating in more detail prospective gas turbines of current and advanced designs developed by several manufacturers. This report summarizes the results of the evaluation of a GCC power plant based on the Kraftwerk Union Model V84.2 gas turbines of the current design now offered for the US market. The design of the Model V84.2more » machine, a scaled-down version of Kraftwerk Union's 50 Hz Model V94 machine, incorporates features suitable for burning gases, such as coal-derived synthesis gas. 14 figs., 42 tabs.« less

Energy implications of the thermal recovery of biodegradable municipal waste materials in the United Kingdom

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burnley, Stephen, E-mail: s.j.burnley@open.ac.uk; Phillips, Rhiannon, E-mail: rhiannon.jones@environment-agency.gov.uk; Coleman, Terry, E-mail: terry.coleman@erm.com

2011-09-15

Highlights: > Energy balances were calculated for the thermal treatment of biodegradable wastes. > For wood and RDF, combustion in dedicated facilities was the best option. > For paper, garden and food wastes and mixed waste incineration was the best option. > For low moisture paper, gasification provided the optimum solution. - Abstract: Waste management policies and legislation in many developed countries call for a reduction in the quantity of biodegradable waste landfilled. Anaerobic digestion, combustion and gasification are options for managing biodegradable waste while generating renewable energy. However, very little research has been carried to establish the overall energymore » balance of the collection, preparation and energy recovery processes for different types of wastes. Without this information, it is impossible to determine the optimum method for managing a particular waste to recover renewable energy. In this study, energy balances were carried out for the thermal processing of food waste, garden waste, wood, waste paper and the non-recyclable fraction of municipal waste. For all of these wastes, combustion in dedicated facilities or incineration with the municipal waste stream was the most energy-advantageous option. However, we identified a lack of reliable information on the energy consumed in collecting individual wastes and preparing the wastes for thermal processing. There was also little reliable information on the performance and efficiency of anaerobic digestion and gasification facilities for waste.« less

Evaluation of Biomass Gasification to Produce Reburning Fuel for Coal-Fired Boilers

EPA Science Inventory

Gasification and reburning testing with biomass and other wastes is of interest to both the U.S. EPA and the Italian Ministry of the Environment & Territory. Gasification systems that use biofuels or wastes as feedstock can provide a clean, efficient source of synthesis gas and p...

Evaluation of wood chip gasification to produce reburrn fuel for coal-fired boilers: AWMA

EPA Science Inventory

Gasification or reburn testing with biomass and other wastes is of interest to both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Italian Ministry of the Environment & Territory (IMET). Gasification systems that use wastes as feedstock should provide a clean, efficient s...

Modeling integrated biomass gasification business concepts

Treesearch

Peter J. Ince; Ted Bilek; Mark A. Dietenberger

2011-01-01

Biomass gasification is an approach to producing energy and/or biofuels that could be integrated into existing forest product production facilities, particularly at pulp mills. Existing process heat and power loads tend to favor integration at existing pulp mills. This paper describes a generic modeling system for evaluating integrated biomass gasification business...

Fuel to burn : economics of converting forest thinnings to energy using BioMax in southern Oregon

Treesearch

E.M. (Ted) Bilek; Kenneth E. Skog; Jeremy Fried; Glenn Christensen

2005-01-01

Small-scale gasification plants that generate electrical energy from forest health thinnings may have the potential to deliver substantial amounts of electricity to the national grid. We evaluated the economic feasibility of two sizes of BioMax, a generator manufactured by the Community Power Corporation of Littleton, Colorado. At current avoided- cost electricity...

Fuel to burn: economics of converting forest thinnings to energy using BioMax in southern Oregon.

Treesearch

E.M. (Ted) Bilek; Kenneth E. Skog; Jeremy Fried; Glenn Christensen

2005-01-01

Small-scale gasification plants that generate electrical energy from forest health thinnings may have the potential to deliver substantial amounts of electricity to the national grid. We evaluated the economic feasibility of two sizes of BioMax, a generator manufactured by the Community Power Corporation of Littleton, Colorado. At current avoided-cost electricity...

Method for in situ gasification of a subterranean coal bed

DOEpatents

Shuck, Lowell Z.

1977-05-31

The method of the present invention relates to providing controlled directional bores in subterranean earth formations, especially coal beds for facilitating in situ gasification operations. Boreholes penetrating the coal beds are interconnected by laser-drilled bores disposed in various arrays at selected angles to the major permeability direction in the coal bed. These laser-drilled bores are enlarged by fracturing prior to the gasification of the coal bed to facilitate the establishing of combustion zones of selected configurations in the coal bed for maximizing the efficiency of the gasification operation.

The role of high-Btu coal gasification technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

German, M. I.

An analysis is given of the role and economic potential of Lurgi-technology gasification of coal to the year 2000, in relation to other gas-supply options, the further development of gasifier designs, and probable environmental impact. It is predicted that coal gasification may reach 10% of total gas supplies by the year 2000, with Eastern U.S. coal use reaching commercially significant use in the 1990's. It is concluded that coal gasification is the cleanest way of using coal, with minimal physical, chemical, biological and socioeconomic impacts.

Recent regulatory experience of low-Btu coal gasification. Volume III. Supporting case studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ackerman, E.; Hart, D.; Lethi, M.

The MITRE Corporation conducted a five-month study for the Office of Resource Applications in the Department of Energy on the regulatory requirements of low-Btu coal gasification. During this study, MITRE interviewed representatives of five current low-Btu coal gasification projects and regulatory agencies in five states. From these interviews, MITRE has sought the experience of current low-Btu coal gasification users in order to recommend actions to improve the regulatory process. This report is the third of three volumes. It contains the results of interviews conducted for each of the case studies. Volume 1 of the report contains the analysis of themore » case studies and recommendations to potential industrial users of low-Btu coal gasification. Volume 2 contains recommendations to regulatory agencies.« less

Scalable fabrication of micron-scale graphene nanomeshes for high-performance supercapacitor applications

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Hyun-Kyung; Bak, Seong-Min; Lee, Suk Woo

Graphene nanomeshes (GNMs) with nanoscale periodic or quasi-periodic nanoholes have attracted considerable interest because of unique features such as their open energy band gap, enlarged specific surface area, and high optical transmittance. These features are useful for applications in semiconducting devices, photocatalysis, sensors, and energy-related systems. We report on the facile and scalable preparation of multifunctional micron-scale GNMs with high-density of nanoperforations by catalytic carbon gasification. The catalytic carbon gasification process induces selective decomposition on the graphene adjacent to the metal catalyst, thus forming nanoperforations. Furthermore, the pore size, pore density distribution, and neck size of the GNMs can bemore » controlled by adjusting the size and fraction of the metal oxide on graphene. The fabricated GNM electrodes exhibit superior electrochemical properties for supercapacitor (ultracapacitor) applications, including exceptionally high capacitance (253 F g -1 at 1 A g -1) and high rate capability (212 F g -1 at 100 A g -1) with excellent cycle stability (91% of the initial capacitance after 50 000 charge/discharge cycles). Moreover, the edge-enriched structure of GNMs plays an important role in achieving edge-selected and high-level nitrogen doping.« less

Feasibility study on introduction of the bio-fuel power generation in tropical regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1993-03-01

Study is made on feasibility of introducing the bio-fuel power generation in tropical regions, especially in South East Asia including Okinawa and South America. Biomass promising as bio-fuel is bagasse and palm oil mill dregs; and bagasse is found to be advantageous to the use for large-scaled power generation. Prospective uses of bagasse are a combined use of gasification process and gas turbine power generation, an effective use of gas turbine exhaust heat at sugar cane factories, and a use of the system to be developed which totalizes these two. As to how to carry out the R and D project, since the gasification power generation process itself is a high technology and has partially unknown fields, it is desirable that research and development are conducted in such technologically developed countries as Japan (Okinawa). A developmental plan, therefore, is worked out as such that a pilot plant of approximately 3000kW is to be constructed in Okinawa because the period for bagasse production is at least 3 months there, and a commercial-scale plant is to be constructed and operated in such big bagasse-producing countries as Brazil.

Scalable fabrication of micron-scale graphene nanomeshes for high-performance supercapacitor applications

DOE PAGES

Kim, Hyun-Kyung; Bak, Seong-Min; Lee, Suk Woo; ...

2016-01-27

Graphene nanomeshes (GNMs) with nanoscale periodic or quasi-periodic nanoholes have attracted considerable interest because of unique features such as their open energy band gap, enlarged specific surface area, and high optical transmittance. These features are useful for applications in semiconducting devices, photocatalysis, sensors, and energy-related systems. We report on the facile and scalable preparation of multifunctional micron-scale GNMs with high-density of nanoperforations by catalytic carbon gasification. The catalytic carbon gasification process induces selective decomposition on the graphene adjacent to the metal catalyst, thus forming nanoperforations. Furthermore, the pore size, pore density distribution, and neck size of the GNMs can bemore » controlled by adjusting the size and fraction of the metal oxide on graphene. The fabricated GNM electrodes exhibit superior electrochemical properties for supercapacitor (ultracapacitor) applications, including exceptionally high capacitance (253 F g -1 at 1 A g -1) and high rate capability (212 F g -1 at 100 A g -1) with excellent cycle stability (91% of the initial capacitance after 50 000 charge/discharge cycles). Moreover, the edge-enriched structure of GNMs plays an important role in achieving edge-selected and high-level nitrogen doping.« less

Livestock waste-to-bioenergy generation opportunities.

PubMed

Cantrell, Keri B; Ducey, Thomas; Ro, Kyoung S; Hunt, Patrick G

2008-11-01

The use of biological and thermochemical conversion (TCC) technologies in livestock waste-to-bioenergy treatments can provide livestock operators with multiple value-added, renewable energy products. These products can meet heating and power needs or serve as transportation fuels. The primary objective of this work is to present established and emerging energy conversion opportunities that can transform the treatment of livestock waste from a liability to a profit center. While biological production of methanol and hydrogen are in early research stages, anaerobic digestion is an established method of generating between 0.1 to 1.3m3m(-3)d(-1) of methane-rich biogas. The TCC processes of pyrolysis, direct liquefaction, and gasification can convert waste into gaseous fuels, combustible oils, and charcoal. Integration of biological and thermal-based conversion technologies in a farm-scale hybrid design by combining an algal CO2-fixation treatment requiring less than 27,000m2 of treatment area with the energy recovery component of wet gasification can drastically reduce CO2 emissions and efficiently recycle nutrients. These designs have the potential to make future large scale confined animal feeding operations sustainable and environmentally benign while generating on-farm renewable energy.

Coal Gasification - section in Kirk-Othmer Concise Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 5th Edition, 2-vol. set, July 2007, ISBN 978-0-470-04748-4, pp. 580-587

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shadle, L.J.; Berry, D.A.; Syamlal, Madhava

2007-07-01

Coal gasification is the process of reacting coal with oxygen, steam, and carbon dioxide to form a product gas containing hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Gasification is essentially incomplete combustion. The chemical and physical processes are quite similar, the main difference being the nature of the final products. From a processing point of view the main operating difference is that gasification consumes heat evolved during combustion. Under the reducing environment of gasification the sulfur in the coal is released as hydrogen sulfide rather than sulfur dioxide and the coal's nitrogen is converted mostly to ammonia rather than nitrogen oxides. These reducedmore » forms of sulfur and nitrogen are easily isolated, captured, and utilized, and thus gasification is a clean coal technology with better environmental performance than coal combustion. Depending on the type of gasifier and the operating conditions, gasification can be used to produce a fuel gas suitable for any number of applications. A low heating value fuel gas is produced from an air blown gasifier for use as an industrial fuel and for power production. A medium heating value fuel gas is produced from enriched oxygen blown gasification for use as a synthesis gas in the production of chemicals such as ammonia, methanol, and transportation fuels. A high heating value gas can be produced from shifting the medium heating value product gas over catalysts to produce a substitute or synthetic natural gas (SNG).« less

Sewage sludge as a fuel and raw material for phosphorus recovery: Combined process of gasification and P extraction.

PubMed

Gorazda, K; Tarko, B; Werle, S; Wzorek, Z

2018-03-01

Increasing problems associated with sewage sludge disposal are observed nowadays. As the thermal conversion of sewage sludge (combustion, co-combustion, gasification and pyrolysis) appears to be the most promising alternative for its management, the solid residues left after gasification were examined. The present study evaluates the potential of this waste as an alternative phosphorus source in the context of phosphorus recovery. The obtained solid gasification residues were characterised (chemical and phase composition, thermal properties, surface properties and technological parameters used for phosphorus raw materials) and compared to commercial phosphate raw materials. It was revealed that gasification residue is a valuable source of phosphorus and microelements, comparable to sewage sludge ash (SSA) considered nowadays as secondary phosphorus raw materials. Chemical properties as well as technological parameters characteristic for natural phosphate ores are different. Solid gasification residue was leached with mineral acids (phosphoric and nitric) according to the patented method of phosphorus recovery - PolFerAsh, developed by Cracow University of Technology. It was revealed that phosphorus can be selectively leached from solid gasification residue with high efficiency (73-82%); moreover, most of the iron and heavy metals stay in the solid phase due to the low concentration of acids and proper solid to liquid phase ratio. The obtained leachates are valuable products that can be considered for the production of fertilisers. Combining the gasification process with nutrient recovery provides the opportunity for more environmentally efficient technologies driven by sustainable development rules. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Commercial-scale demonstration of the Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH{trademark}) process. Technical progress report number 6, October 1--December 31, 1995

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-12-31

The project involves the construction of an 80,000 gallons per day (260 TPD) methanol unit utilizing coal-derived synthesis gas from Eastman`s integrated coal gasification facility. The new equipment consists of synthesis gas feed preparation and compression facilities, the liquid phase reactor and auxiliaries, product distillation facilities, and utilities. The technology to be demonstrated is the product of a cooperative development effort by Air Products and DOE in a program that started in 1981. Developed to enhance electric power generation using integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology, the LPMEOH{trademark} process is ideally suited for directly processing gases produced by modern-day coalmore » gasifiers. This liquid phase process suspends fine catalyst particles in an inert liquid, forming a slurry. The slurry dissipates the heat of the chemical reaction away from the catalyst surface protecting the catalyst and allowing the methanol synthesis reaction to proceed at higher rates. At the Eastman complex, the technology will be integrated with existing coal-gasifiers. A carefully developed test plan will allow operations at Eastman to simulate electricity demand load-following in coal-based IGCC facilities. The operations will also demonstrate the enhanced stability and heat dissipation of the conversion process, its reliable on/off operation, and its ability to produce methanol as a clean liquid fuel without additional upgrading. An off-site product testing program will be conducted to demonstrate the suitability of the methanol product as a transportation fuel and as a fuel for stationary applications for small modular electric power generators for distributed power.« less

Vision of the U.S. biofuel future: a case for hydrogen-enriched biomass gasification

Treesearch

Mark A. Dietenberger; Mark Anderson

2007-01-01

Researchers at the Forest Product Laboratory (FPL) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW) envision a future for biofuels based on biomass gasification with hydrogen enrichment. Synergisms between hydrogen production and biomass gasification technologies will be necessary to avoid being marginalized in the biofuel marketplace. Five feasible engineering solutions...

76 FR 5107 - Regulation of Oil-Bearing Hazardous Secondary Materials From the Petroleum Refining Industry...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-01-28

... Processed in a Gasification System To Produce Synthesis Gas; Tentative Determination To Deny Petition for... Synthesis Gas,'' published in the Federal Register on January 2, 2008. The EPA considered the petition... Refining Industry Processed in a Gasification System to Produce Synthesis Gas'' (Gasification Rule). This...

Experimental Studies of Coal and Biomass Fuel Synthesis and Flame Characterization for Aircraft Engines

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-03-31

there is a need for fundamental scientific and synergistic research in catalytic biomass fast-hydropyrolysis and advanced coal gasification studies...produce appropriate aviation fuels. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Biomass fast hydropyrolysis, hydrodeoxygenation, and coal gasification 16. SECURITY...22 2.0 Investigation of Coal and Biomass Gasification using In-situ

30 CFR 206.264 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and... THE INTERIOR MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 206.264 In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations. If an ad valorem Federal coal lease is developed by in-situ or...

30 CFR 1206.463 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 1206.463 In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations. If an ad valorem Federal coal lease is developed by in...

30 CFR 1206.463 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 1206.463 In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations. If an ad valorem Federal coal lease is developed by in...

30 CFR 1206.264 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 1206.264 In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations. If an ad valorem Federal coal lease is developed by in...

30 CFR 206.463 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and... THE INTERIOR MINERALS REVENUE MANAGEMENT PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 206.463 In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations. If an ad valorem Federal coal lease is developed by in-situ or...

30 CFR 1206.264 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and... developed by in-situ or surface gasification or liquefaction technology, the lessee shall propose the value... ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Natural Resources Revenue PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 1206.264 In...

30 CFR 1206.264 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 1206.264 In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations. If an ad valorem Federal coal lease is developed by in...

30 CFR 1206.463 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 1206.463 In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations. If an ad valorem Federal coal lease is developed by in...

30 CFR 1206.463 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and... developed by in-situ or surface gasification or liquefaction technology, the lessee shall propose the value... ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Natural Resources Revenue PRODUCT VALUATION Indian Coal § 1206.463 In...

30 CFR 1206.264 - In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false In-situ and surface gasification and..., DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATURAL RESOURCES REVENUE PRODUCT VALUATION Federal Coal § 1206.264 In-situ and surface gasification and liquefaction operations. If an ad valorem Federal coal lease is developed by in...

CO2 co-gasification of lower sulphur petroleum coke and sugar cane bagasse via TG-FTIR analysis technique.

PubMed

Edreis, Elbager M A; Luo, Guangqian; Li, Aijun; Chao, Chen; Hu, Hongyun; Zhang, Sen; Gui, Ben; Xiao, Li; Xu, Kai; Zhang, Pingan; Yao, Hong

2013-05-01

This study investigates the non-isothermal mechanism and kinetic behaviour of gasification of a lower sulphur petroleum coke, sugar cane bagasse and blends under carbon dioxide atmosphere conditions using the thermogravimetric analyser (TGA). The gas products were measured online with coupled Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The achieved results explored that the sugar cane bagasse and blend gasification happened in two steps: at (<500 °C) the volatiles are released, and at (>700 °C) char gasification occurred, whereas the lower sulphur petroleum coke presented only one char gasification stage at (>800 °C). Significant interactions were observed in the whole process. Some solid-state mechanisms were studied by the Coats-Redfern method in order to observe the mechanisms responsible for the gasification of samples. The results show that the chemical first order reaction is the best responsible mechanism for whole process. The main released gases are CO2, CO, CH4, HCOOH, C6H5OH and CH3COOH. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of phosphorus recovery from incineration and gasification sewage sludge ash.

PubMed

Parés Viader, Raimon; Jensen, Pernille Erland; Ottosen, Lisbeth M; Thomsen, Tobias P; Ahrenfeldt, Jesper; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik

2017-03-01

Incineration of sewage sludge is a common practice in many western countries. Gasification is an attractive option because of its high energy efficiency and flexibility in the usage of the produced gas. However, they both unavoidably produce sewage sludge ashes, a material that is rich in phosphorus, but which is commonly landfilled or used in construction materials. With current uncertainty in phosphate rock supply, phosphorus recovery from sewage sludge ashes has become interesting. In the present work, ashes from incineration and gasification of the same sewage sludge were compared in terms of phosphorus extractability using electrodialytic (ED) methods. The results show that comparable recovery rates of phosphorus were achieved with a single ED step for incineration ashes and a sequential combination of two ED steps for gasification ashes, which was due to a higher influence of iron and/or aluminium in phosphorus solubility for the latter. A product with lower level of metallic impurities and comparable to wet process phosphoric acid was eventually obtained from gasification ashes. Thus, gasification becomes an interesting alternative to incineration also in terms of phosphorus separation.

Influence of the reactant carbon-hydrogen-oxygen composition on the key products of the direct gasification of dewatered sewage sludge in supercritical water.

PubMed

Gong, Miao; Zhu, Wei; Fan, Yujie; Zhang, Huiwen; Su, Ying

2016-05-01

The supercritical water gasification of ten different types of dewatered sewage sludges was investigated to understand the relationship between sludge properties and gasification products. Experiments were performed in a high-pressure autoclave at 400°C for 60 min. Results showed that gasification of sewage sludge in supercritical water consists mainly of a gasification reaction, a carbonization reaction and a persistent organic pollutants synthesis reaction. Changes in the reactant C/H/O composition have significant effects on the key gasification products. Total gas production increased with increasing C/H2O of the reactant. The char/coke content increased with increasing C/H ratio of the reactant. A decrease in the C/O ratio of the reactant led to a reduction in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon formation. This means that we can adjust the reactant C/H/O composition by adding carbon-, hydrogen-, and oxygen-containing substances such as coal, algae and H2O2 to optimize hydrogen production and to inhibit an undesired by-product formation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Co-gasification of tire and biomass for enhancement of tire-char reactivity in CO2 gasification process.

PubMed

Lahijani, Pooya; Zainal, Zainal Alimuddin; Mohamed, Abdul Rahman; Mohammadi, Maedeh

2013-06-01

In this investigation, palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) and almond shell (AS) were implemented as two natural catalysts rich in alkali metals, especially potassium, to enhance the reactivity of tire-char through co-gasification process. Co-gasification experiments were conducted at several blending ratios using isothermal Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under CO2. The pronounced effect of inherent alkali content of biomass-chars on promoting the reactivity of tire-char was proven when acid-treated biomass-chars did not exert any catalytic effect on improving the reactivity of tire-char in co-gasification experiments. In kinetic studies of the co-gasified samples in chemically-controlled regime, modified random pore model (M-RPM) was adopted to describe the reactive behavior of the tire-char/biomass-char blends. By virtue of the catalytic effect of biomass, the activation energy for tire-char gasification was lowered from 250 kJ/mol in pure form 203 to 187 kJ/mol for AS-char and EFB-char co-gasified samples, respectively. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Taguchi approach for co-gasification optimization of torrefied biomass and coal.

PubMed

Chen, Wei-Hsin; Chen, Chih-Jung; Hung, Chen-I

2013-09-01

This study employs the Taguchi method to approach the optimum co-gasification operation of torrefied biomass (eucalyptus) and coal in an entrained flow gasifier. The cold gas efficiency is adopted as the performance index of co-gasification. The influences of six parameters, namely, the biomass blending ratio, oxygen-to-fuel mass ratio (O/F ratio), biomass torrefaction temperature, gasification pressure, steam-to-fuel mass ratio (S/F ratio), and inlet temperature of the carrier gas, on the performance of co-gasification are considered. The analysis of the signal-to-noise ratio suggests that the O/F ratio is the most important factor in determining the performance and the appropriate O/F ratio is 0.7. The performance is also significantly affected by biomass along with torrefaction, where a torrefaction temperature of 300°C is sufficient to upgrade eucalyptus. According to the recommended operating conditions, the values of cold gas efficiency and carbon conversion at the optimum co-gasification are 80.99% and 94.51%, respectively. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Co-gasification of coal and biomass: Synergy, characterization and reactivity of the residual char.

PubMed

Hu, Junhao; Shao, Jingai; Yang, Haiping; Lin, Guiying; Chen, Yingquan; Wang, Xianhua; Zhang, Wennan; Chen, Hanping

2017-11-01

The synergy effect between coal and biomass in their co-gasification was studied in a vertical fixed bed reactor, and the physic-chemical structural characteristics and gasification reactivity of the residual char obtained from co-gasification were also investigated. The results shows that, conversion of the residual char and tar into gas is enhanced due to the synergy effect between coal and biomass. The physical structure of residual char shows more pore on coal char when more biomass is added in the co-gasification. The migration of inorganic elements between coal and biomass was found, the formation and competitive role of K 2 SiO 3 , KAlSiO 4 , and Ca 3 Al 2 (SiO 4 ) 3 is a mechanism behind the synergy. The graphization degree is enhanced but size of graphite crystallite in the residual char decreases with biomass blending ratio increasing. TGA results strongly suggest the big difference in the reactivity of chars derived from coal and biomass in spite of influence from co-gasification. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen production from biomass gasification using biochar as a catalyst/support.

PubMed

Yao, Dingding; Hu, Qiang; Wang, Daqian; Yang, Haiping; Wu, Chunfei; Wang, Xianhua; Chen, Hanping

2016-09-01

Biochar is a promising catalyst/support for biomass gasification. Hydrogen production from biomass steam gasification with biochar or Ni-based biochar has been investigated using a two stage fixed bed reactor. Commercial activated carbon was also studied as a comparison. Catalyst was prepared with an impregnation method and characterized by X-ray diffraction, specific surface and porosity analysis, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron micrograph. The effects of gasification temperature, steam to biomass ratio, Ni loading and bio-char properties on catalyst activity in terms of hydrogen production were explored. The Ni/AC catalyst showed the best performance at gasification temperature of 800°C, S/B=4, Ni loading of 15wt.%. Texture and composition characterization of the catalysts suggested the interaction between volatiles and biochar promoted the reforming of pyrolysis volatiles. Cotton-char supported Ni exhibited the highest activity of H2 production (64.02vol.%, 92.08mgg(-1) biomass) from biomass gasification, while rice-char showed the lowest H2 production. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental research program for slagging fixed-bed coal gasification. Status report, November 1981

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilzbach, K. E.; Stetter, J. R.; Reilly, Jr., C. A.

1982-02-01

A collaborative environmental research program to provide information needed to assess the health and environmental effects associated with large-scale coal gasification technology is being conducted by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and the Grand Forks Energy Technology Center (GFETC). The objectives are to: investigate the toxicology and chemical composition of coal gasification by-products as a function of process variables and coal feed; compare the characteristics of isokinetic side-stream samples with those of process stream samples; identify the types of compounds responsible for toxicity; evaluate the chemical and toxicological effectiveness of various wastewater treatment operations; refine methodology for the collection and measurementmore » of organic vapors and particulates in workplace air; and obtain preliminary data on workplace air quality. So far the toxicities of a set of process stream samples (tar, oil, and gas liquor) and side-stream condensates from the GFETC gasifier have been measured in a battery of cellular screening tests for mutagenicity and cytotoxicity. Preliminary data on the effects of acute and chronic exposures of laboratory animals to process tar have been obtained. The process tar has been chemically fractionated and the distribution of mutagenicity and compound types among the fractions has been determined. Organic vapors and particulates collected at various times and locations in the gasifier building have been characterized.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mann, M.K.

Technoeconomic analyses have been conducted on two processes to produce hydrogen from biomass: indirectly-heated gasification of biomass followed by steam reforming of the syngas, and biomass pyrolysis followed by steam reforming of the pyrolysis oil. The analysis of the gasification-based process was highly detailed, including a process flowsheet, material and energy balances calculated with a process simulation program, equipment cost estimation, and the determination of the necessary selling price of hydrogen. The pyrolysis-based process analysis was of a less detailed nature, as all necessary experimental data have not been obtained; this analysis is a follow-up to the preliminary economic analysismore » presented at the 1994 Hydrogen Program Review. A coproduct option in which pyrolysis oil is used to produce hydrogen and a commercial adhesive was also studied for economic viability. Based on feedstock availability estimates, three plant sizes were studied: 907 T/day, 272 T/day, and 27 T/day. The necessary selling price of hydrogen produced by steam reforming syngas from the Battelle Columbus Laboratories indirectly heated biomass gasifier falls within current market values for the large and medium size plants within a wide range of feedstock costs. Results show that the small scale plant does not produce hydrogen at economically competitive prices, indicating that if gasification is used as the upstream process to produce hydrogen, local refueling stations similar to current gasoline stations, would probably not be feasible.« less

Gas processing handbook

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1982-04-01

Brief details are given of processes including: BGC-Lurgi slagging gasification, COGAS, Exxon catalytic coal gasification, FW-Stoic 2-stage, GI two stage, HYGAS, Koppers-Totzek, Lurgi pressure gasification, Saarberg-Otto, Shell, Texaco, U-Gas, W-D.IGI, Wellman-Galusha, Westinghouse, and Winkler coal gasification processes; the Rectisol process; the Catacarb and the Benfield processes for removing CO/SUB/2, H/SUB/2s and COS from gases produced by the partial oxidation of coal; the selectamine DD, Selexol solvent, and Sulfinol gas cleaning processes; the sulphur-tolerant shift (SSK) process; and the Super-meth process for the production of high-Btu gas from synthesis gas.

Method and system for controlling a gasification or partial oxidation process

DOEpatents

Rozelle, Peter L; Der, Victor K

2015-02-10

A method and system for controlling a fuel gasification system includes optimizing a conversion of solid components in the fuel to gaseous fuel components, controlling the flux of solids entrained in the product gas through equipment downstream of the gasifier, and maximizing the overall efficiencies of processes utilizing gasification. A combination of models, when utilized together, can be integrated with existing plant control systems and operating procedures and employed to develop new control systems and operating procedures. Such an approach is further applicable to gasification systems that utilize both dry feed and slurry feed.

Integration of stripping of fines slurry in a coking and gasification process

DOEpatents

DeGeorge, Charles W.

1980-01-01

In an integrated fluid coking and gasification process wherein a stream of fluidized solids is passed from a fluidized bed coking zone to a second fluidized bed and wherein entrained solid fines are recovered by a wet scrubbing process and wherein the resulting solids-liquid slurry is stripped to remove acidic gases, the stripped vapors of the stripping zone are sent to the gas cleanup stage of the gasification product gas. The improved stripping integration is particularly useful in the combination coal liquefaction process, fluid coking of bottoms of the coal liquefaction zone and gasification of the product coke.

Fluidized-bed catalytic coal-gasification process. [US patent; pretreatment to minimize agglomeration

DOEpatents

Euker, C.A. Jr.; Wesselhoft, R.D.; Dunkleman, J.J.; Aquino, D.C.; Gouker, T.R.

1981-09-14

Coal or similar carbonaceous solids impregnated with gasification catalyst constituents are oxidized by contact with a gas containing between 2 vol % and 21 vol % oxygen at a temperature between 50 and 250/sup 0/C in an oxidation zone and the resultant oxidized, catalyst impregnated solids are then gasified in a fluidized bed gasification zone at an elevated pressure. The oxidation of the catalyst impregnated solids under these conditions insures that the bed density in the fluidized bed gasification zone will be relatively high even though the solids are gasified at elevated pressure and temperature.

Nonlinear Dynamic Model-Based Multiobjective Sensor Network Design Algorithm for a Plant with an Estimator-Based Control System

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Paul, Prokash; Bhattacharyya, Debangsu; Turton, Richard

Here, a novel sensor network design (SND) algorithm is developed for maximizing process efficiency while minimizing sensor network cost for a nonlinear dynamic process with an estimator-based control system. The multiobjective optimization problem is solved following a lexicographic approach where the process efficiency is maximized first followed by minimization of the sensor network cost. The partial net present value, which combines the capital cost due to the sensor network and the operating cost due to deviation from the optimal efficiency, is proposed as an alternative objective. The unscented Kalman filter is considered as the nonlinear estimator. The large-scale combinatorial optimizationmore » problem is solved using a genetic algorithm. The developed SND algorithm is applied to an acid gas removal (AGR) unit as part of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant with CO 2 capture. Due to the computational expense, a reduced order nonlinear model of the AGR process is identified and parallel computation is performed during implementation.« less

Nonlinear Dynamic Model-Based Multiobjective Sensor Network Design Algorithm for a Plant with an Estimator-Based Control System

DOE PAGES

Paul, Prokash; Bhattacharyya, Debangsu; Turton, Richard; ...

2017-06-06

Here, a novel sensor network design (SND) algorithm is developed for maximizing process efficiency while minimizing sensor network cost for a nonlinear dynamic process with an estimator-based control system. The multiobjective optimization problem is solved following a lexicographic approach where the process efficiency is maximized first followed by minimization of the sensor network cost. The partial net present value, which combines the capital cost due to the sensor network and the operating cost due to deviation from the optimal efficiency, is proposed as an alternative objective. The unscented Kalman filter is considered as the nonlinear estimator. The large-scale combinatorial optimizationmore » problem is solved using a genetic algorithm. The developed SND algorithm is applied to an acid gas removal (AGR) unit as part of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant with CO 2 capture. Due to the computational expense, a reduced order nonlinear model of the AGR process is identified and parallel computation is performed during implementation.« less

The Mesaba Energy Project: Clean Coal Power Initiative, Round 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stone, Richard; Gray, Gordon; Evans, Robert

2014-07-31

The Mesaba Energy Project is a nominal 600 MW integrated gasification combine cycle power project located in Northeastern Minnesota. It was selected to receive financial assistance pursuant to code of federal regulations (?CFR?) 10 CFR 600 through a competitive solicitation under Round 2 of the Department of Energy?s Clean Coal Power Initiative, which had two stated goals: (1) to demonstrate advanced coal-based technologies that can be commercialized at electric utility scale, and (2) to accelerate the likelihood of deploying demonstrated technologies for widespread commercial use in the electric power sector. The Project was selected in 2004 to receive a totalmore » of $36 million. The DOE portion that was equally cost shared in Budget Period 1 amounted to about $22.5 million. Budget Period 1 activities focused on the Project Definition Phase and included: project development, preliminary engineering, environmental permitting, regulatory approvals and financing to reach financial close and start of construction. The Project is based on ConocoPhillips? E-Gas? Technology and is designed to be fuel flexible with the ability to process sub-bituminous coal, a blend of sub-bituminous coal and petroleum coke and Illinois # 6 bituminous coal. Major objectives include the establishment of a reference plant design for Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (?IGCC?) technology featuring advanced full slurry quench, multiple train gasification, integration of the air separation unit, and the demonstration of 90% operational availability and improved thermal efficiency relative to previous demonstration projects. In addition, the Project would demonstrate substantial environmental benefits, as compared with conventional technology, through dramatically lower emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and mercury. Major milestones achieved in support of fulfilling the above goals include obtaining Site, High Voltage Transmission Line Route, and Natural Gas Pipeline Route Permits for a Large Electric Power Generating Plant to be located in Taconite, Minnesota. In addition, major pre-construction permit applications have been filed requesting authorization for the Project to i) appropriate water sufficient to accommodate its worst case needs, ii) operate a major stationary source in compliance with regulations established to protect public health and welfare, and iii) physically alter the geographical setting to accommodate its construction. As of the current date, the Water Appropriation Permits have been obtained.« less

A Cost-Benefit Assessment of Gasification-Based Biorefining in the Kraft Pulp and Paper Industry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eric D. Larson; Stefano Consonni; Ryan E. Katofsky

Production of liquid fuels and chemicals via gasification of kraft black liquor and woody residues (''biorefining'') has the potential to provide significant economic returns for kraft pulp and paper mills replacing Tomlinson boilers beginning in the 2010-2015 timeframe. Commercialization of gasification technologies is anticipated in this period, and synthesis gas from gasifiers can be converted into liquid fuels using catalytic synthesis technologies that are in most cases already commercially established today in the ''gas-to-liquids'' industry. These conclusions are supported by detailed analysis carried out in a two-year project co-funded by the American Forest and Paper Association and the Biomass Programmore » of the U.S. Department of Energy. This work assessed the energy, environment, and economic costs and benefits of biorefineries at kraft pulp and paper mills in the United States. Seven detailed biorefinery process designs were developed for a reference freesheet pulp/paper mill in the Southeastern U.S., together with the associated mass/energy balances, air emissions estimates, and capital investment requirements. Commercial (''Nth'') plant levels of technology performance and cost were assumed. The biorefineries provide chemical recovery services and co-produce process steam for the mill, some electricity, and one of three liquid fuels: a Fischer-Tropsch synthetic crude oil (which would be refined to vehicle fuels at existing petroleum refineries), dimethyl ether (a diesel engine fuel or LPG substitute), or an ethanol-rich mixed-alcohol product. Compared to installing a new Tomlinson power/recovery system, a biorefinery would require larger capital investment. However, because the biorefinery would have higher energy efficiencies, lower air emissions, and a more diverse product slate (including transportation fuel), the internal rates of return (IRR) on the incremental capital investments would be attractive under many circumstances. For nearly all of the cases examined in the study, the IRR lies between 14% and 18%, assuming a 25-year levelized world oil price of $50/bbl--the US Department of Energy's 2006 reference oil price projection. The IRRs would rise to as high as 35% if positive incremental environmental benefits associated with biorefinery products are monetized (e.g., if an excise tax credit for the liquid fuel is available comparable to the one that exists for ethanol in the United States today). Moreover, if future crude oil prices are higher ($78/bbl levelized price, the US Department of Energy's 2006 high oil price scenario projection, representing an extrapolation of mid-2006 price levels), the calculated IRR exceeds 45% in some cases when environmental attributes are also monetized. In addition to the economic benefits to kraft pulp/paper producers, biorefineries widely implemented at pulp mills in the U.S. would result in nationally-significant liquid fuel production levels, petroleum savings, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and criteria-pollutant reductions. These are quantified in this study. A fully-developed pulpmill biorefinery industry could be double or more the size of the current corn-ethanol industry in the United States in terms of annual liquid fuel production. Forest biomass resources are sufficient in the United States to sustainably support such a scale of forest biorefining in addition to the projected growth in pulp and paper production.« less

Investigation of Coal-biomass Catalytic Gasification using Experiments, Reaction Kinetics and Computational Fluid Dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Battaglia, Francine; Agblevor, Foster; Klein, Michael

A collaborative effort involving experiments, kinetic modeling, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to understand co-gasification of coal-biomass mixtures. The overall goal of the work was to determine the key reactive properties for coal-biomass mixed fuels. Sub-bituminous coal was mixed with biomass feedstocks to determine the fluidization and gasification characteristics of hybrid poplar wood, switchgrass and corn stover. It was found that corn stover and poplar wood were the best feedstocks to use with coal. The novel approach of this project was the use of a red mud catalyst to improve gasification and lower gasification temperatures. An important resultsmore » was the reduction of agglomeration of the biomass using the catalyst. An outcome of this work was the characterization of the chemical kinetics and reaction mechanisms of the co-gasification fuels, and the development of a set of models that can be integrated into other modeling environments. The multiphase flow code, MFIX, was used to simulate and predict the hydrodynamics and co-gasification, and results were validated with the experiments. The reaction kinetics modeling was used to develop a smaller set of reactions for tractable CFD calculations that represented the experiments. Finally, an efficient tool was developed, MCHARS, and coupled with MFIX to efficiently simulate the complex reaction kinetics.« less

Gasification Characteristics and Kinetics of Coke with Chlorine Addition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Cui; Zhang, Jianliang; Jiao, Kexin; Liu, Zhengjian; Chou, Kuochih

2017-10-01

The gasification process of metallurgical coke with 0, 1.122, 3.190, and 7.132 wt pct chlorine was investigated through thermogravimetric method from ambient temperature to 1593 K (1320 °C) in purified CO2 atmosphere. The variations in the temperature parameters that T i decreases gradually with increasing chlorine, T f and T max first decrease and then increase, but both in a downward trend indicated that the coke gasification process was catalyzed by the chlorine addition. Then the kinetic model of the chlorine-containing coke gasification was obtained through the advanced determination of the average apparent activation energy, the optimal reaction model, and the pre-exponential factor. The average apparent activation energies were 182.962, 118.525, 139.632, and 111.953 kJ/mol, respectively, which were in the same decreasing trend with the temperature parameters analyzed by the thermogravimetric method. It was also demonstrated that the coke gasification process was catalyzed by chlorine. The optimal kinetic model to describe the gasification process of chlorine-containing coke was the Šesták Berggren model using Málek's method, and the pre-exponential factors were 6.688 × 105, 2.786 × 103, 1.782 × 104, and 1.324 × 103 min-1, respectively. The predictions of chlorine-containing coke gasification from the Šesták Berggren model were well fitted with the experimental data.

Wabash Valley Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, Coal to Fischer Tropsch Jet Fuel Conversion Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shah, Jayesh; Hess, Fernando; Horzen, Wessel van

This reports examines the feasibility of converting the existing Wabash Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plant into a liquid fuel facility, with the goal of maximizing jet fuel production. The fuels produced are required to be in compliance with Section 526 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007 §526) lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions requirements, so lifecycle GHG emissions from the fuel must be equal to or better than conventional fuels. Retrofitting an existing gasification facility reduces the technical risk and capital costs associated with a coal to liquids project, leading to a higher probability ofmore » implementation and more competitive liquid fuel prices. The existing combustion turbine will continue to operate on low cost natural gas and low carbon fuel gas from the gasification facility. The gasification technology utilized at Wabash is the E-Gas™ Technology and has been in commercial operation since 1995. In order to minimize capital costs, the study maximizes reuse of existing equipment with minimal modifications. Plant data and process models were used to develop process data for downstream units. Process modeling was utilized for the syngas conditioning, acid gas removal, CO 2 compression and utility units. Syngas conversion to Fischer Tropsch (FT) liquids and upgrading of the liquids was modeled and designed by Johnson Matthey Davy Technologies (JM Davy). In order to maintain the GHG emission profile below that of conventional fuels, the CO 2 from the process must be captured and exported for sequestration or enhanced oil recovery. In addition the power utilized for the plant’s auxiliary loads had to be supplied by a low carbon fuel source. Since the process produces a fuel gas with sufficient energy content to power the plant’s loads, this fuel gas was converted to hydrogen and exported to the existing gas turbine for low carbon power production. Utilizing low carbon fuel gas and process steam in the existing combined cycle power plant provides sufficient power for all plant loads. The lifecycle GHG profile of the produced jet fuel is 95% of conventional jet fuel. Without converting the fuel gas to a low carbon fuel gas, the emissions would be 108% of conventional jet fuel and without any GHG mitigation, the profile would be 206%. Oil prices greater than $120 per barrel are required to reach a targeted internal rate of return on equity (IRROE) of 12%. Although capital expenditure is much less than if a greenfield facility was built, the relatively small size of the plant, assumed coal price, and the CTL risk profile used in the economic assumptions lead to a high cost of production. Assuming more favorable factors, the economic oil price could be reduced to $78 per barrel with GHG mitigation and $55 per barrel with no GHG mitigation.« less

Gasification: A Cornerstone Technology

ScienceCinema

Gary Stiegel

2017-12-09

NETL is a leader in the science and technology of gasification - a process for the conversion of carbon-based materials such as coal into synthesis gas (syngas) that can be used to produce clean electrical energy, transportation fuels, and chemicals efficiently and cost-effectively using domestic fuel resources. Gasification is a cornerstone technology of 21st century zero emissions powerplants

Small-scale lumber drying using wood gasification as a heat source

Treesearch

Richard Bergman

2005-01-01

Small, rural forested communities have the economic need to develop a wood products industry to replace the loss of large sawmills and maintain forest health. The main objective of this study was to explore the potential of using producer (wood) gas to fire a hot water boiler for a small dry kiln capable of drying both softwood and hardwood lumber. A BioMax wood...

Integrating black liquor gasification with pulping - Process simulation, economics and potential benefits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindstrom, Erik Vilhelm Mathias

Gasification of black liquor could drastically increase the flexibility and improve the profit potential of a mature industry. The completed work was focused on research around the economics and benefits of its implementation, utilizing laboratory pulping experiments and process simulation. The separation of sodium and sulfur achieved through gasification of recovered black liquor, can be utilized in processes like modified continuous cooking, split sulfidity and green liquor pretreatment pulping, and polysulfide-anthraquinone pulping, to improve pulp yield and properties. Laboratory pulping protocols have been developed for these modified pulping technologies and different process options evaluated. The process simulation work around BLG has led to the development of a WinGEMS module for the low temperature MTCI steam reforming process, and case studies comparing a simulated conventional kraft process to different process options built around the implementation of a BLG unit operation into the kraft recovery cycle. Pulp yield increases of 1-3% points with improved product quality, and the potential for capital and operating cost savings relative to the conventional kraft process have been demonstrated. Process simulation work has shown that the net variable operating cost for a pulping process using BLGCC is highly dependent on the cost of lime kiln fuel and the selling price of green power to the grid. Under the assumptions taken in the performed case study, the BLGCC process combined with split sulfidity or PSAQ pulping operations had net variable operating cost 2-4% greater than the kraft reference. The influence of the sales price of power to the grid is the most significant cost factor. If a sales price increase to 6 ¢/KWh for green power could be achieved, cost savings of about $40/ODtP could be realized in all investigated BLG processes. Other alternatives to improve the process economics around BLG would be to modify or eliminate the lime kiln unit operations, utilizing high sulfidity green liquor pretreatment, PSAQ with auto-causticization, or converting the process to mini-sulfide sulfite-AQ.

ASPEN simulation of a fixed-bed integrated gasification combined-cycle power plant

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stone, K.R.

1986-03-01

A fixed-bed integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) power plant has been modeled using the Advanced System for Process ENgineering (ASPEN). The ASPEN simulation is based on a conceptual design of a 509-MW IGCC power plant that uses British Gas Corporation (BGC)/Lurgi slagging gasifiers and the Lurgi acid gas removal process. The 39.3-percent thermal efficiency of the plant that was calculated by the simulation compares very favorably with the 39.4 percent that was reported by EPRI. The simulation addresses only thermal performance and does not calculate capital cost or process economics. Portions of the BGC-IGCC simulation flowsheet are based on the SLAGGERmore » fixed-bed gasifier model (Stefano May 1985), and the Kellogg-Rust-Westinghouse (KRW) iGCC, and the Texaco-IGCC simulations (Stone July 1985) that were developed at the Department of Energy (DOE), Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC). The simulation runs in 32 minutes of Central Processing Unit (CPU) time on the VAX-11/780. The BGC-IGCC simulation was developed to give accurate mass and energy balances and to track coal tars and environmental species such as SO/sub x/ and NO/sub x/ for a fixed-bed, coal-to-electricity system. This simulation is the third in a series of three IGCC simulations that represent fluidized-bed, entrained-flow, and fixed-bed gasification processes. Alternate process configurations can be considered by adding, deleting, or rearranging unit operation blocks. The gasifier model is semipredictive; it can properly respond to a limited range of coal types and gasifier operating conditions. However, some models in the flowsheet are based on correlations that were derived from the EPRI study, and are therefore limited to coal types and operating conditions that are reasonably close to those given in the EPRI design. 4 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.« less

In-Situ Acoustic Measurements of Temperature Profile in Extreme Environments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Skliar, Mikhail

2015-03-31

A gasifier’s temperature is the primary characteristic that must be monitored to ensure its performance and the longevity of its refractory. One of the key technological challenges impacting the reliability and economics of coal and biomass gasification is the lack of temperature sensors that are capable of providing accurate, reliable, and long-life performance in an extreme gasification environment. This research has proposed, demonstrated, and validated a novel approach that uses a noninvasive ultrasound method that provides real-time temperature distribution monitoring across the refractory, especially the hot face temperature of the refractory. The essential idea of the ultrasound measurements of segmentalmore » temperature distribution is to use an ultrasound propagation waveguide across a refractory that has been engineered to contain multiple internal partial reflectors at known locations. When an ultrasound excitation pulse is introduced on the cold side of the refractory, it will be partially reflected from each scatterer in the US propagation path in the refractory wall and returned to the receiver as a train of partial echoes. The temperature in the corresponding segment can be determined based on recorded ultrasonic waveform and experimentally defined relationship between the speed of sound and temperature. The ultrasound measurement method offers a powerful solution to provide continuous real time temperature monitoring for the occasions that conventional thermal, optical and other sensors are infeasible, such as the impossibility of insertion of temperature sensor, harsh environment, unavailable optical path, and more. Our developed ultrasound system consists of an ultrasound engineered waveguide, ultrasound transducer/receiver, and data acquisition, logging, interpretation, and online display system, which is simple to install on the existing units with minimal modification on the gasifier or use with new units. This system has been successfully tested with a 100 kW pilot scale down flow oxyfuel combustor, capturing in real time temperature changes during all relevant combustion process changes. The ultrasound measurements have excellent agreement with thermo- couple measurements, and appear to be more sensitive to temperature changes before the thermocouples response, which is believed to be the first demonstration of ultrasound measurements segmental temperature distribution across refractories.« less

Catalytic combustor for integrated gasification combined cycle power plant

DOEpatents

Bachovchin, Dennis M [Mauldin, SC; Lippert, Thomas E [Murrysville, PA

2008-12-16

A gasification power plant 10 includes a compressor 32 producing a compressed air flow 36, an air separation unit 22 producing a nitrogen flow 44, a gasifier 14 producing a primary fuel flow 28 and a secondary fuel source 60 providing a secondary fuel flow 62 The plant also includes a catalytic combustor 12 combining the nitrogen flow and a combustor portion 38 of the compressed air flow to form a diluted air flow 39 and combining at least one of the primary fuel flow and secondary fuel flow and a mixer portion 78 of the diluted air flow to produce a combustible mixture 80. A catalytic element 64 of the combustor 12 separately receives the combustible mixture and a backside cooling portion 84 of the diluted air flow and allows the mixture and the heated flow to produce a hot combustion gas 46 provided to a turbine 48. When fueled with the secondary fuel flow, nitrogen is not combined with the combustor portion.

Experimental Studies of Coal and Biomass Fuel Synthesis and Flame Characterization for Aircraft Engines (Year Two)

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-03-31

2.1 Experimental Investigation of Coal and Biomass Gasification using In-situ Diagnostics ................ 31  2.2 References...need for fundamental scientific and synergistic research in catalytic biomass fast-hydropyrolysis, advanced coal gasification and liquid fuel...experimental findings will improve the scientific knowledge of catalytic biomass fast-hydropyrolysis, coal/ biomass gasification and liquid fuel combustion

Report of the DOD-DOE Workshop on Converting Waste to Energy Using Fuel Cells

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-10-01

for both at current costs, when federal and state incentives are available • The integration of stationary fuel cells with biomass gasification is a... gasification plant utilizing biomass feedstock. 25 FuelCell Energy Market Research, January 2011...cell WTE opportunities near U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-supported coal gasification sites. • Identify biomass -rich DOD installations

Apparatus for fixed bed coal gasification

DOEpatents

Sadowski, Richard S.

1992-01-01

An apparatus for fixed-bed coal gasification is described in which coal such as caking coal is continuously pyrolyzed with clump formation inhibited, by combining the coal with a combustible gas and an oxidant, and then continually feeding the pyrolyzed coal under pressure and elevated temperature into the gasification region of a pressure vessel. The materials in the pressure vessel are allowed to react with the gasifying agents in order to allow the carbon contents of the pyrolyzed coal to be completely oxidized. The combustion of gas produced from the combination of coal pyrolysis and gasification involves combining a combustible gas coal and an oxidant in a pyrolysis chamber and heating the components to a temperature of at least 1600.degree. F. The products of coal pyrolysis are dispersed from the pyrolyzer directly into the high temperature gasification region of a pressure vessel. Steam and air needed for gasification are introduced in the pressure vessel and the materials exiting the pyrolyzer flow down through the pressure vessel by gravity with sufficient residence time to allow any carbon to form carbon monoxide. Gas produced from these reactions are then released from the pressure vessel and ash is disposed of.

A Slag Management Toolset for Determining Optimal Coal Gasification Temperatures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kwong, Kyei-Sing; Bennett, James P.

Abstract Gasifier operation is an intricate process because of the complex relationship between slag chemistry and temperature, limitations of feedstock materials, and operational preference. High gasification temperatures increase refractory degradation, while low gasification temperatures can lead to slag buildup on the gasifier sidewall or exit, either of which are problematic during operation. Maximizing refractory service life and gasifier performance require finding an optimized operating temperature range which is a function of the coal slag chemistry and viscosity. Gasifier operators typically use a slag’s viscosity-temperature relationship and/or ash-fusion fluid temperature to determine the gasification temperature range. NETL has built a slagmore » management toolset to determine the optimal temperature range for gasification of a carbon feedstock. This toolset is based on a viscosity database containing experimental data, and a number of models used to predict slag viscosity as a function of composition and temperature. Gasifier users typically have no scientific basis for selecting an operational temperature range for gasification, instead using experience to select operational conditions. The use of the toolset presented in this paper provides a basis for estimating or modifying carbon feedstock slags generated from ash impurities in carbon feedstock.« less

Gaseous fuels production from dried sewage sludge via air gasification.

PubMed

Werle, Sebastian; Dudziak, Mariusz

2014-07-01

Gasification is a perspective alternative method of dried sewage sludge thermal treatment. For the purpose of experimental investigations, a laboratory fixed-bed gasifier installation was designed and built. Two sewage sludge (SS) feedstocks, taken from two typical Polish wastewater treatment systems, were analysed: SS1, from a mechanical-biological wastewater treatment system with anaerobic stabilization (fermentation) and high temperature drying; and (SS2) from a mechanical-biological-chemical wastewater treatment system with fermentation and low temperature drying. The gasification results show that greater oxygen content in sewage sludge has a strong influence on the properties of the produced gas. Increasing the air flow caused a decrease in the heating value of the produced gas. Higher hydrogen content in the sewage sludge (from SS1) affected the produced gas composition, which was characterized by high concentrations of combustible components. In the case of the SS1 gasification, ash, charcoal, and tar were produced as byproducts. In the case of SS2 gasification, only ash and tar were produced. SS1 and solid byproducts from its gasification (ash and charcoal) were characterized by lower toxicity in comparison to SS2. However, in all analysed cases, tar samples were toxic. © The Author(s) 2014.

A Slag Management Toolset for Determining Optimal Coal Gasification Temperatures

DOE PAGES

Kwong, Kyei-Sing; Bennett, James P.

2016-11-25

Abstract Gasifier operation is an intricate process because of the complex relationship between slag chemistry and temperature, limitations of feedstock materials, and operational preference. High gasification temperatures increase refractory degradation, while low gasification temperatures can lead to slag buildup on the gasifier sidewall or exit, either of which are problematic during operation. Maximizing refractory service life and gasifier performance require finding an optimized operating temperature range which is a function of the coal slag chemistry and viscosity. Gasifier operators typically use a slag’s viscosity-temperature relationship and/or ash-fusion fluid temperature to determine the gasification temperature range. NETL has built a slagmore » management toolset to determine the optimal temperature range for gasification of a carbon feedstock. This toolset is based on a viscosity database containing experimental data, and a number of models used to predict slag viscosity as a function of composition and temperature. Gasifier users typically have no scientific basis for selecting an operational temperature range for gasification, instead using experience to select operational conditions. The use of the toolset presented in this paper provides a basis for estimating or modifying carbon feedstock slags generated from ash impurities in carbon feedstock.« less

Experimental study of biomass gasification with oxygen-enriched air in fluidized bed gasifier.

PubMed

Liu, Lingqin; Huang, Yaji; Cao, Jianhua; Liu, Changqi; Dong, Lu; Xu, Ligang; Zha, Jianrui

2018-06-01

Considering the universality, renewability and cleanness of biomass, an experimental research is carried out using rice straw in a two-stage fluidized bed. The experimental analysis identified the relevant parameters in the operation of the two-stage fluidized bed to investigate the properties of biomass enriched air gasification. Results show that higher gasification temperature is conducive to enhance the gasification performance. An increasing ER is shown to go against adding gas heat value. When oxygen concentration increases from 21% to 45%, the gas heating value increases from 4.00MJ/kg to 5.24MJ/kg and the gasification efficiency increases from 29.60% to 33.59%, which shows higher oxygen concentration is conducive to higher quality gas and higher gasification efficiency. A secondary oxygen injection leads to reduction of tar concentration from 15.78g/Nm 3 to 10.24g/Nm 3 . The optimal secondary oxygen ratio is about 33.00%. When the secondary oxygen ratio increased to 46.86%, monocyclic aromatics reduced from 28.17% to 19.65% and PAHs increased from 34.97% to 44.05%, leading to the increase aromatization of tar. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High Temperature Syngas Cleanup Technology Scale-up and Demonstration Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gardner, Ben; Turk, Brian; Denton, David

Gasification is a technology for clean energy conversion of diverse feedstocks into a wide variety of useful products such as chemicals, fertilizers, fuels, electric power, and hydrogen. Existing technologies can be employed to clean the syngas from gasification processes to meet the demands of such applications, but they are expensive to build and operate and consume a significant fraction of overall parasitic energy requirements, thus lowering overall process efficiency. RTI International has developed a warm syngas desulfurization process (WDP) utilizing a transport-bed reactor design and a proprietary attrition-resistant, high-capacity solid sorbent with excellent performance replicated at lab, bench, and pilotmore » scales. Results indicated that WDP technology can improve both efficiency and cost of gasification plants. The WDP technology achieved ~99.9% removal of total sulfur (as either H 2S or COS) from coal-derived syngas at temperatures as high as 600°C and over a wide range of pressures (20-80 bar, pressure independent performance) and sulfur concentrations. Based on the success of these tests, RTI negotiated a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy for precommercial testing of this technology at Tampa Electric Company’s Polk Power Station IGCC facility in Tampa, Florida. The project scope also included a sweet water-gas-shift process for hydrogen enrichment and an activated amine process for 90+% total carbon capture. Because the activated amine process provides some additional non-selective sulfur removal, the integration of these processes was expected to reduce overall sulfur in the syngas to sub-ppmv concentrations, suitable for most syngas applications. The overall objective of this project was to mitigate the technical risks associated with the scale up and integration of the WDP and carbon dioxide capture technologies, enabling subsequent commercial-scale demonstration. The warm syngas cleanup pre-commercial test unit was designed and constructed on schedule and under budget and was operated for approximately 1,500 total hours utilizing ~20% of the IGCC’s total syngas as feed (~1.5 MM scfh of dry syngas). The WDP system reduced total sulfur levels to ~10 ppmv (~99.9% removal) from raw syngas that contained as high as 14,000 ppmv of total sulfur. The integration of WDP with the activated amine process enabled further reduction of total sulfur in the final treated syngas to the anticipated sub-ppmv concentrations (>99.99% removal), suitable for stringent syngas applications such as chemicals, fertilizers, and fuels. Techno-economic assessments by RTI and by third parties indicate potential for significant (up to 50%) capital and operating cost reductions for the entire syngas cleanup block when WDP technology is integrated with a broad spectrum of conventional and emerging carbon capture or acid gas removal technologies. This final scientific/technical report covers the pre-FEED, FEED, EPC, commissioning, and operation phases of this project, as well as system performance results. In addition, the report addresses other parallel-funded R&D efforts focused on development and testing of trace contaminant removal process (TCRP) sorbents, a direct sulfur recovery process (DSRP), and a novel sorbent for warm carbon dioxide capture, as well as pre-FEED, FEED, and techno-economic studies to consider the potential benefit for use of WDP for polygeneration of electric power and ammonia/urea fertilizers.« less

NETL to establish Dynamic Simulation Research and Training Center to promote IGCC technology with CO2 cpture

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Provost, G.; Zitney, S.; Turton, R.

2009-01-01

To meet increasing demand for education and experience with commercial-scale, coal-fired, integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plants with CO2 capture, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is leading a project to deploy a generic, full-scope, real-time IGCC dynamic plant simulator for use in establishing a world-class research and training center, and to promote and demonstrate IGCC technology to power industry personnel. The simulator, being built by Invensys Process Systems (IPS), will be installed at two separate sites, at NETL and West Virginia University (WVU), and will combine a process/gasification simulator with a power/combined-cycle simulator together inmore » a single dynamic simulation framework for use in engineering research studies and training applications. The simulator, scheduled to be launched in mid-year 2010, will have the following capabilities: High-fidelity, dynamic model of process-side (gasification and gas cleaning with CO2 capture) and power-block-side (combined cycle) for a generic IGCC plant fueled by coal and/or petroleum coke. Highly flexible configuration that allows concurrent training on separate gasification and combined cycle simulators, or up to two IGCC simulators. Ability to enhance and modify the plant model to facilitate studies of changes in plant configuration, equipment, and control strategies to support future R&D efforts. Training capabilities including startup, shutdown, load following and shedding, response to fuel and ambient condition variations, control strategy analysis (turbine vs. gasifier lead, etc.), representative malfunctions/trips, alarms, scenarios, trending, snapshots, data historian, etc. To support this effort, process descriptions and control strategies were developed for key sections of the plant as part of the detailed functional specification, which is serving as the basis of the simulator development. In this paper, we highlight the contents of the detailed functional specification for the simulator. We also describe the engineering, design, and expert testing process that the simulator will undergo in order to ensure that maximum fidelity is built into the generic simulator. Future applications and training programs associated with gasification, combined cycle, and IGCC simulations are discussed, including plant operation and control demonstrations, as well as education and training services.« less

Thermal Cracking of Tars in a Continuously Fed Reactor with Steam

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

Fluidized Bed using biomass 8 Tars  Mixture of organic components present in gasification product gas with high molecular weight hydrocarbons [MW...Disable sulfur removal systems FoulingPlugging [Ref. 3: Biomass Gasification – Tar and Particles in Product Gases Sampling and Analysis”, European...P., and Nussbaumer T., “Gas Cleaning Requirements for Internal Combustion Engine Applications of Fixed Bed Biomass Gasification ”, Biomass and

Conservation in the energy industry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The basic energy supply and utilization problems faced by the United States were described. Actions which might alleviate the domestic shortfall of petroleum and natural gas are described, analyzed and overall impacts are assessed. Specific actions included are coal gasification, in situ shale oil production, improved oil and gas recovery, importation of liquid natural gas and deregulation of natural gas prices. These actions are weighed against each other as alternate techniques of alleviating or overcoming existing shortfalls.

Fuel-Flexible Gasification-Combustion Technology for Production of H2 and Sequestration-Ready CO2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

George Rizeq; Janice West; Raul Subia

GE Global Research is developing an innovative energy technology for coal gasification with high efficiency and near-zero pollution. This Unmixed Fuel Processor (UFP) technology simultaneously converts coal, steam and air into three separate streams of hydrogen-rich gas, sequestration-ready CO{sub 2}, and high-temperature, high-pressure vitiated air to produce electricity in gas turbines. This is the draft final report for the first stage of the DOE-funded Vision 21 program. The UFP technology development program encompassed lab-, bench- and pilot-scale studies to demonstrate the UFP concept. Modeling and economic assessments were also key parts of this program. The chemical and mechanical feasibility weremore » established via lab and bench-scale testing, and a pilot plant was designed, constructed and operated, demonstrating the major UFP features. Experimental and preliminary modeling results showed that 80% H{sub 2} purity could be achieved, and that a UFP-based energy plant is projected to meet DOE efficiency targets. Future work will include additional pilot plant testing to optimize performance and reduce environmental, operability and combined cycle integration risks. Results obtained to date have confirmed that this technology has the potential to economically meet future efficiency and environmental performance goals.« less

Development of TDLAS sensor for diagnostics of CO, H2O and soot concentrations in reactor core of pilot-scale gasifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sepman, A.; Ögren, Y.; Gullberg, M.; Wiinikka, H.

2016-02-01

This paper reports on the development of the tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy sensor near 4350 cm-1 (2298 nm) for measurements of CO and H2O mole fractions and soot volume fraction under gasification conditions. Due to careful selection of the molecular transitions [CO ( υ″ = 0 → υ' = 2) R34-R36 and H2O at 4349.337 cm-1], a very weak (negligible) sensitivity of the measured species mole fractions to the temperature distribution inside the high-temperature zone (1000 K < T < 1900 K) of the gasification process is achieved. The selected transitions are covered by the tuning range of single diode laser. The CO and H2O concentrations measured in flat flames generally agree better than 10 % with the results of 1-D flame simulations. Calibration-free absorption measurements of studied species in the reactor core of atmospheric pilot-scale entrained-flow gasifier operated at 0.1 MW power are reported. Soot concentration is determined from the measured broadband transmittance. The estimated uncertainties in the reactor core CO and H2O measurements are 15 and 20 %, respectively. The reactor core average path CO mole fractions are in quantitative agreement with the µGC CO concentrations sampled at the gasifier output.

Fuel-Flexible Gasification-Combustion Technology for Production of Hydrogen and Sequestration-Ready Carbon Dioxide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rizeq, George; West, Janice; Frydman, Arnaldo

Electricity produced from hydrogen in fuel cells can be highly efficient relative to competing technologies and has the potential to be virtually pollution free. Thus, fuel cells may become an ideal solution to this nation's energy needs if one has a satisfactory process for producing hydrogen from available energy resources such as coal, and low-cost alternative feedstocks such as biomass. GE EER is developing an innovative fuel-flexible advanced gasification-combustion (AGC) technology for production of hydrogen for fuel cells or combustion turbines, and a separate stream of sequestration-ready CO2. The AGC module can be integrated into a number of Vision- 21more » power systems. It offers increased energy efficiency relative to conventional gasification and combustion systems and near-zero pollution. The R&D on the AGC technology is being conducted under a Vision-21 award from the U.S. DOE NETL with co-funding from GE EER, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIU-C), and the California Energy Commission (CEC). The AGC technology converts coal and air into three separate streams of pure hydrogen, sequestration-ready CO2, and high temperature/pressure oxygen-depleted air to produce electricity in a gas turbine. The three-year program integrates lab-, bench- and pilot-scale studies to demonstrate the AGC concept. Process and kinetic modeling studies as well as an economic assessment will also be performed. This paper provides an overview of the program and its objectives, and discusses first-year R&D activities, including design of experimental facilities and results from initial tests and modeling studies. In particular, the paper describes the design of the bench-scale facility and initial process modeling data. In addition, a process flow diagram is shown for a complete plant incorporating the AGC module with other Vision-21 plant components to maximize hydrogen production and process efficiency.« less

Application and Discussion of Dual Fluidized Bed Reactor in Biomass Energy Utilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, Haibin; Fan, Xiaoxu; Zhao, Baofeng; Yang, Liguo; Sun, Rongfeng

2018-01-01

As an important clean and renewable energy, biomass has a broad market prospect. The dual fluidized bed is widely used in biomass gasification technology, and has become an important way of biomass high-value utilization. This paper describes the basic principle of dual fluidized bed gasification, from the gas composition, tar content and thermal efficiency of the system point of view, analyzes and summarizes several typical dual fluidized bed biomass gasification technologies, points out the existence of gas mixing, the external heat source, catalyst development problems on gas. Finally, it is clear that the gasification of biomass in dual fluidized bed is of great industrial application and development prospect.

Gasification of Wood and Non-wood Waste of Timber Production as Perspectives for Development of Bioenergy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kislukhina, Irina A.; Rybakova, Olga G.

2018-03-01

The article deals with biomass gasification technology using the gasification plant running on wood chips and pellets, produced from essential oils waste (waste of coniferous boughs). During the study, the authors solved the process task of improving the quality of the product gas derived from non-wood waste of timber production (coniferous boughs) due to the extraction of essential oils and the subsequent thermal processing of spent coniferous boughs at a temperature of 250-300°C degrees without oxygen immediately before pelleting. The paper provides the improved biomass gasification process scheme including the grinding of coniferous boughs, essential oil distillation and thermal treatment of coniferous boughs waste and pelletizing.

Process for fixed bed coal gasification

DOEpatents

Sadowski, Richard S.

1992-01-01

The combustion of gas produced from the combination of coal pyrolysis and gasification involves combining a combustible gas coal and an oxidant in a pyrolysis chamber and heating the components to a temperature of at least 1600.degree. F. The products of coal pyrolysis are dispersed from the pyrolyzer directly into the high temperature gasification region of a pressure vessel. Steam and air needed for gasification are introduced in the pressure vessel and the materials exiting the pyrolyzer flow down through the pressure vessel by gravity with sufficient residence time to allow any carbon to form carbon monoxide. Gas produced from these reactions are then released from the pressure vessel and ash is disposed of.

Laser-absorption sensing of gas composition of products from coal gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeffries, Jay B.; Sur, Ritobrata; Sun, Kai; Hanson, Ronald K.

2014-06-01

A prototype in-situ laser-absorption sensor for the real-time composition measurement (CO, CH4, H2O and CO2) of synthesis gas products of coal gasification (called here syngas) was designed, tested in the laboratory, and demonstrated during field-measurement campaigns in a pilot-scale entrained flow gasifier at the University of Utah and in an engineering-scale, fluidized-bed transport gasifier at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC). The prototype design and operation were improved by the lessons learned from each field test. Laser-absorption measurements are problematic in syngas flows because efficient gasifiers operate at elevated pressures (10-50 atm) where absorption transitions are collision broadened and absorption transitions that are isolated at 1 atm become blended into complex features, and because syngas product streams can contain significant particulate, producing significant non-absorption scattering losses of the transmission of laser light. Thus, the prototype sensor used a new wavelength-scanned, wavelength-modulation spectroscopy strategy with 2f-detection and 1f-normalization (WMS-2f/1f) that can provide sensitive absorption measurements of species with spectra blended by collision broadening even in the presence of large non-absorption laser transmission losses (e.g., particulate scattering, beam steering, etc.). The design of the sensor for detection of CO, CH4, H2O and CO2 was optimized for the specific application of syngas monitoring at the output of large-scale gasifiers. Sensor strategies, results and lessons learned from these field measurement campaigns are discussed.

Gasification of agricultural residues in a demonstrative plant: corn cobs.

PubMed

Biagini, Enrico; Barontini, Federica; Tognotti, Leonardo

2014-12-01

Biomass gasification couples the high power efficiency with the possibility of valuably using the byproducts heat and biochar. The use of agricultural wastes instead of woody feedstock extends the seasonal availability of biomasses. The downdraft type is the most used reactor but has narrow ranges of feedstock specifications (above all on moisture and particle size distribution), so tests on a demonstrative scale are conducted to prove the versatility of the gasifier. Measurements on pressure drops, syngas flow rate and composition are studied to assess the feasibility of such operations with corn cobs. Material and energy balances, and performance indexes are compared for the four tests carried out under different biomass loads (66-85 kg/h). A good operability of the plant and interesting results are obtained (gas specific production of 2 m3/kg, gas heating value 5.6-5.8 MJ/m3, cold gas efficiency in the range 66-68%, potential net power efficiency 21.1-21.6%). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Air gasification of rice husk in bubbling fluidized bed reactor with bed heating by conventional charcoal.

PubMed

Makwana, J P; Joshi, Asim Kumar; Athawale, Gaurav; Singh, Dharminder; Mohanty, Pravakar

2015-02-01

An experimental study of air gasification of rice husk was conducted in a bench-scale fluidized bed gasifier (FBG) having 210 mm diameter and 1600 mm height. Heating of sand bed material was performed using conventional charcoal fuel. Different operating conditions like bed temperature, feeding rate and equivalence ratio (ER) varied in the range of 750-850 °C, 25-31.3 kg/h, and 0.3-0.38, respectively. Flow rate of air was kept constant (37 m(3)/h) during FBG experiments. The carbon conversion efficiencies (CCE), cold gas efficiency, and thermal efficiency were evaluated, where maximum CCE was found as 91%. By increasing ER, the carbon conversion efficiency was decreased. Drastic reduction in electric consumption for initial heating of gasifier bed with charcoal compared to ceramic heater was ∼45%. Hence rice husk is found as a potential candidate to use directly (without any processing) in FBG as an alternative renewable energy source from agricultural field. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimization of Biomass Gasification Process for F-T Bio-Diesel Synthesys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Jae Hun; Sung, Yeon Kyung; Yu, Tae U.; Choi, Young Tae; Lee, Uen Do

The characteristics of biomass steam gasification were investigated to make an optimum syngas for Fischer Tropsch (F-T) synthesis of bio-diesel. Korean pine wood chip was used as a fuel and the experiment was conducted in a lab scale bubbling fluidized bed (0.1m LD. x 3.Omheight). Gas composition was evaluated by changing operating parameters such as gasifier temperature, and steam to fuel ratio. Major syngas was monitored by on-line gas analyzer (ND-IR spectroscopy) and gas chromatography (GC). As the temperature of gasifier increases hydrogen in the syngas increases while CO in the product gas decreases. The low concentration of sulfur compound and nitrogen in the product gas shows the potential advantages in the purification process of the syngas for F-T process. Optimum operating condition of the gasifier was found concerning the following gas cleaning and F-T process; H2-CO ratio and total gas yield increase while decreasing methane and CO2 concentrations in the syngas.

Global Development of Commercial Underground Coal Gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blinderman, M. S.

2017-07-01

Global development of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is considered here in light of latest trends of energy markets and environmental regulations in the countries that have been traditional proponents of UCG. The latest period of UCG development triggered by initial success of the Chinchilla UCG project (1997-2006) has been characterized by preponderance of privately and share-market funded developments. The deceleration of UCG commercialization has been in part caused by recent significant decrease of world oil, gas and coal prices. Another substantial factor was lack of necessary regulations governing extraction and conversion of coal by UCG method in the jurisdictions where the UCG projects were proposed and developed. Along with these objective causes there seem to have been more subjective and technical reasons for a slowdown or cancelation of several significant UCG projects, including low efficiency, poor environmental performance, and inability to demonstrate technology at a sufficient scale and/or at a competitive cost. Latest proposals for UCG projects are briefly reviewed.

Producing fired bricks using coal slag from a gasification plant in indiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chen, L.-M.; Chou, I.-Ming; Chou, S.-F.J.; Stucki, J.W.

2009-01-01

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is a promising power generation technology which increases the efficiency of coal-to-power conversion and enhances carbon dioxide concentration in exhaust emissions for better greenhouse gas capture. Two major byproducts from IGCC plants are bottom slag and sulfur. The sulfur can be processed into commercially viable products, but high value applications need to be developed for the slag material in order to improve economics of the process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the technical feasibility of incorporating coal slag generated by the Wabash River IGCC plant in Indiana as a raw material for the production of fired bricks. Full-size bricks containing up to 20 wt% of the coal slag were successfully produced at a bench-scale facility. These bricks have color and texture similar to those of regular fired bricks and their water absorption properties met the ASTM specifications for a severe weathering grade. Other engineering properties tests, including compressive strength tests, are in progress.

Production of hydrogen from biomass by catalytic steam reforming of fast pyrolysis oil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Czernik, S.; Wang, D.; Chornet, E.

1998-08-01

Hydrogen is the prototype of the environmentally cleanest fuel of interest for power generation using fuel cells and for transportation. The thermochemical conversion of biomass to hydrogen can be carried out through two distinct strategies: (a) gasification followed by water-gas shift conversion, and (b) catalytic steam reforming of specific fractions derived from fast pyrolysis and aqueous/steam processes of biomass. This paper presents the latter route that begins with fast pyrolysis of biomass to produce bio-oil. This oil (as a whole or its selected fractions) can be converted to hydrogen via catalytic steam reforming followed by a water-gas shift conversion step.more » Such a process has been demonstrated at the bench scale using model compounds, poplar oil aqueous fraction, and the whole pyrolysis oil with commercial Ni-based steam reforming catalysts. Hydrogen yields as high as 85% have been obtained. Catalyst initial activity can be recovered through regeneration cycles by steam or CO{sub 2} gasification of carbonaceous deposits.« less

Waste biomass toward hydrogen fuel supply chain management for electricity: Malaysia perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakaria, Izatul Husna; Ibrahim, Jafni Azhan; Othman, Abdul Aziz

2016-08-01

Green energy is becoming an important aspect of every country in the world toward energy security by reducing dependence on fossil fuel import and enhancing better life quality by living in the healthy environment. This conceptual paper is an approach toward determining physical flow's characteristic of waste wood biomass in high scale plantation toward producing gas fuel for electricity using gasification technique. The scope of this study is supply chain management of syngas fuel from wood waste biomass using direct gasification conversion technology. Literature review on energy security, Malaysia's energy mix, Biomass SCM and technology. This paper uses the theoretical framework of a model of transportation (Lumsden, 2006) and the function of the terminal (Hulten, 1997) for research purpose. To incorporate biomass unique properties, Biomass Element Life Cycle Analysis (BELCA) which is a novel technique develop to understand the behaviour of biomass supply. Theoretical framework used to answer the research questions are Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR) framework and Sustainable strategy development in supply chain management framework

Gaseous fuel production from nonrecyclable paper wastes by using supported metal catalysts in high-temperature liquid water.

PubMed

Yamaguchi, Aritomo; Hiyoshi, Norihito; Sato, Osamu; Bando, Kyoko K; Shirai, Masayuki

2010-06-21

Paper wastes are used for the production of gaseous fuels over supported metal catalysts. The gasification of the nonrecyclable paper wastes, such as shredded documents and paper sludge, is carried out in high-temperature liquid water. The order of the catalytic activity for the gasification is found to be ruthenium>rhodium>platinum>palladium. A charcoal-supported ruthenium catalyst (Ru/C) is the most effective for the gasification of paper and cellulose. Paper wastes are gasified to a limited degree (32.6 carbon %) for 30 min in water at 523 K to produce methane and carbon dioxide, with a small amount of hydrogen. At 573 K, more complete gasification with almost 100 carbon % is achieved within 10 min in water. At 523 K, the gas yield of paper gasification over Ru/C is higher than that of cellulose powder. The gas yields are increased by ball-milling treatment of the recycled paper and cellulose powder. Printed paper wastes are also gasified at 523 K in water.

Characterization of Scots pine stump-root biomass as feed-stock for gasification.

PubMed

Eriksson, Daniel; Weiland, Fredrik; Hedman, Henry; Stenberg, Martin; Öhrman, Olov; Lestander, Torbjörn A; Bergsten, Urban; Öhman, Marcus

2012-01-01

The main objective was to explore the potential for gasifying Scots pine stump-root biomass (SRB). Washed thin roots, coarse roots, stump heartwood and stump sapwood were characterized (solid wood, milling and powder characteristics) before and during industrial processing. Non-slagging gasification of the SRB fuels and a reference stem wood was successful, and the gasification parameters (synthesis gas and bottom ash characteristics) were similar. However, the heartwood fuel had high levels of extractives (≈19%) compared to the other fuels (2-8%) and thereby ≈16% higher energy contents but caused disturbances during milling, storage, feeding and gasification. SRB fuels could be sorted automatically according to their extractives and moisture contents using near-infrared spectroscopy, and their amounts and quality in forests can be predicted using routinely collected stand data, biomass functions and drill core analyses. Thus, SRB gasification has great potential and the proposed characterizations exploit it. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical Looping Gasification for Hydrogen Enhanced Syngas Production with In-Situ CO 2 Capture

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kathe, Mandar; Xu, Dikai; Hsieh, Tien-Lin

2014-12-31

This document is the final report for the project titled “Chemical Looping Gasification for Hydrogen Enhanced Syngas Production with In-Situ CO 2 Capture” under award number FE0012136 for the performance period 10/01/2013 to 12/31/2014.This project investigates the novel Ohio State chemical looping gasification technology for high efficiency, cost efficiency coal gasification for IGCC and methanol production application. The project developed an optimized oxygen carrier composition, demonstrated the feasibility of the concept and completed cold-flow model studies. WorleyParsons completed a techno-economic analysis which showed that for a coal only feed with carbon capture, the OSU CLG technology reduced the methanol requiredmore » selling price by 21%, lowered the capital costs by 28%, increased coal consumption efficiency by 14%. Further, using the Ohio State Chemical Looping Gasification technology resulted in a methanol required selling price which was lower than the reference non-capture case.« less

Gasification Slag and the Mechanisms by Which Phosphorous Additions Reduce Slag Wear and Corrosion in High Cr2O3 Refractories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, James; Nakano, Anna; Nakano, Jinichiro; Thomas, Hugh

Gasification is a high-temperature/high-pressure process that converts carbonaceous materials such as coal and/or petcoke into CO and H2, feedstock materials used in power generation and chemical production. Gasification is considered an important technology because of its high process efficiency and the ability to capture environmental pollutants such as CO2, SO3 and Hg. Ash impurities in the carbon feedstock materials melt and coalesce during gasification (1325-1575 °C), becoming slag that attaches to and flows down the gasifier sidewall, corroding and eroding the high Cr2O3 refractory liner used to protect the gasification chamber. Phosphate additions to high Cr2O3 refractory have been found to alter slag/refractory interactions and dramatically reduce refractory wear by the following mechanisms: a) spinel formation, b) slag chemistry changes, c) two phase liquid formation, and d) oxidation state changes. The mechanisms and how they work together to impact material wear/corrosion will be discussed.

Physicochemical evolution during rice straw and coal co-pyrolysis and its effect on co-gasification reactivity.

PubMed

Wei, Juntao; Gong, Yan; Guo, Qinghua; Ding, Lu; Wang, Fuchen; Yu, Guangsuo

2017-03-01

Physicochemical evolution (i.e. pore structure variation, carbon structure change and active AAEM transformation) during rice straw (RS) and Shenfu bituminous coal (SF) co-pyrolysis was quantitatively determined in this work. Moreover, the corresponding char gasification was conducted using a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and relative reactivity was proposed to quantify the co-pyrolysis impact on co-gasification reactivity. The results showed that the development of pore structure in co-pyrolyzed chars was first inhibited and then enhanced with the decrease of SF proportion. The promotion effect of co-pyrolysis on order degree of co-pyrolyzed chars gradually weakened with increasing RS proportion. Co-pyrolysis mainly enhanced active K transformation in co-pyrolyzed chars and the promotion effect was alleviated with increasing RS proportion. The inhibition effect of co-pyrolysis on co-gasification reactivity weakened with increasing RS proportion and gasification temperature, which was mainly attributed to the combination of carbon structure evolution and active AAEM transformation in co-pyrolysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen production from algal biomass via steam gasification.

PubMed

Duman, Gozde; Uddin, Md Azhar; Yanik, Jale

2014-08-01

Algal biomasses were tested as feedstock for steam gasification in a dual-bed microreactor in a two-stage process. Gasification experiments were carried out in absence and presence of catalyst. The catalysts used were 10% Fe₂O₃-90% CeO₂ and red mud (activated and natural forms). Effects of catalysts on tar formation and gasification efficiencies were comparatively investigated. It was observed that the characteristic of algae gasification was dependent on its components and the catalysts used. The main role of the catalyst was reforming of the tar derived from algae pyrolysis, besides enhancing water gas shift reaction. The tar reduction levels were in the range of 80-100% for seaweeds and of 53-70% for microalgae. Fe₂O₃-CeO₂ was found to be the most effective catalyst. The maximum hydrogen yields obtained were 1036 cc/g algae for Fucus serratus, 937 cc/g algae for Laminaria digitata and 413 cc/g algae for Nannochloropsis oculata. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Land Use for Bioenergy in the 21st Century

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

as pyrolysis and gasification are also applicable to burn biomass and produce electricity.61–63 Biomass can be used directly in existing co- fired...engineering specifications that may ultimately lead to high process efficiency. COMPARISON OF BIOMASS THERMAL CONVERSION PROCESSES Gasification ...thermal gasification of biomass and its application to electricity and fuel production. Biomass and Bioenergy 2008;32(7):573–581. 62. Caputo AC

Impact of feedstock properties and operating conditions on sewage sludge gasification in a fixed bed gasifier.

PubMed

Werle, Sebastian

2014-10-01

This work presents results of experimental studies on the gasification process of granulated sewage sludge in a laboratory fixed bed gasifier. Nowadays, there is a large and pressing need for the development of thermal methods for sewage sludge disposal. Gasification is an example of thermal method that has several advantages over the traditional combustion. Gasification leads to a combustible gas, which can be used for the generation of useful forms of final energy. It can also be used in processes, such as the drying of sewage sludge directly in waste treatment plant. In the present work, the operating parameters were varied over a wide range. Parameters, such as air ratio λ = 0.12 to 0.27 and the temperature of air preheating t = 50 °C to 250 °C, were found to influence temperature distribution and syngas properties. The results indicate that the syngas heating value decreases with rising air ratio for all analysed cases: i.e. for both cold and preheated air. The increase in the concentration of the main combustible components was accompanied by a decrease in the concentration of carbon dioxide. Preheating of the gasification agent supports the endothermic gasification and increases hydrogen and carbon monoxide production. © The Author(s) 2014.

Numerical simulation of waste tyres gasification.

PubMed

Janajreh, Isam; Raza, Syed Shabbar

2015-05-01

Gasification is a thermochemical pathway used to convert carbonaceous feedstock into syngas (CO and H2) in a deprived oxygen environment. The process can accommodate conventional feedstock such as coal, discarded waste including plastics, rubber, and mixed waste owing to the high reactor temperature (1000 °C-1600 °C). Pyrolysis is another conversion pathway, yet it is more selective to the feedstock owing to the low process temperature (350 °C-550 °C). Discarded tyres can be subjected to pyrolysis, however, the yield involves the formation of intermediate radicals additional to unconverted char. Gasification, however, owing to the higher temperature and shorter residence time, is more opted to follow quasi-equilibrium and being predictive. In this work, tyre crumbs are subjected to two levels of gasification modelling, i.e. equilibrium zero dimension and reactive multi-dimensional flow. The objective is to investigate the effect of the amount of oxidising agent on the conversion of tyre granules and syngas composition in a small 20 kW cylindrical gasifier. Initially the chemical compositions of several tyre samples are measured following the ASTM procedures for proximate and ultimate analysis as well as the heating value. The measured data are used to carry out equilibrium-based and reactive flow gasification. The result shows that both models are reasonably predictive averaging 50% gasification efficiency, the devolatilisation is less sensitive than the char conversion to the equivalence ratio as devolatilisation is always complete. In view of the high attained efficiency, it is suggested that the investigated tyre gasification system is economically viable. © The Author(s) 2015.

Pyrolysis and gasification of meat-and-bone-meal: Energy balance and GHG accounting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cascarosa, Esther; Boldrin, Alessio, E-mail: aleb@env.dtu.dk; Astrup, Thomas

Highlights: • GHG savings are in the order of 600–1000 kg CO{sub 2}-eq. per Mg of MBM treated. • Energy recovery differed in terms of energy products and efficiencies. • The results were largely determined by use of the products for energy purposes. - Abstract: Meat-and-bone-meal (MBM) produced from animal waste has become an increasingly important residual fraction needing management. As biodegradable waste is routed away from landfills, thermo-chemical treatments of MBM are considered promising solution for the future. Pyrolysis and gasification of MBM were assessed based on data from three experimental lab and pilot-scale plants. Energy balances were establishedmore » for the three technologies, providing different outcomes for energy recovery: bio-oil was the main product for the pyrolysis system, while syngas and a solid fraction of biochar were the main products in the gasification system. These products can be used – eventually after upgrading – for energy production, thereby offsetting energy production elsewhere in the system. Greenhouse gases (GHG) accounting of the technologies showed that all three options provided overall GHG savings in the order of 600–1000 kg CO{sub 2}-eq. per Mg of MBM treated, mainly as a consequence of avoided fossil fuel consumption in the energy sector. Local conditions influencing the environmental performance of the three systems were identified, together with critical factors to be considered during decision-making regarding MBM management.« less

Model-based estimation of adiabatic flame temperature during coal gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarigul, Ihsan Mert

Coal gasification temperature distribution in the gasifier is one of the important issues. High temperature may increase the risk of corrosion of the gasifier wall or it may cause an increase in the amount of volatile compounds. At the same time, gasification temperature is a dominant factor for high conversion of products and completing the reactions during coal gasification in a short time. In the light of this information it can be said that temperature is one of key parameters of coal gasification to enhance the production of high heating value syngas and maximize refractory longevity. This study aims to predict the adiabatic flame temperatures of Australian bituminous coal and Indonesian roto coal in an entrained flow gasifier using different operating conditions with the ChemCAD simulation and design program. To achieve these objectives, two types of gasification parameters were carried out using simulation of a vertical entrained flow reactor: oxygen-to-coal feed ratio by kg/kg and pressure and steam-to-coal feed ratio by kg/kg and pressure. In the first part of study the adiabatic flame temperatures, coal gasification products and other coal characteristics of two types of coals were determined using ChemCAD software. During all simulations, coal feed rate, coal particle size, initial temperature of coal, water and oxygen were kept constant. The relationships between flame temperature, coal gasification products and operating parameters were fundamentally investigated. The second part of this study addresses the modeling of the flame temperature relation to methane production and other input parameters used previous chapter. The scope of this work was to establish a reasonable model in order to estimate flame temperature without any theoretical calculation. Finally, sensitivity analysis was performed after getting some basic correlations between temperature and input variables. According to the results, oxygen-to-coal feed ratio has the most influential effect on adiabatic flame temperature.

Gasification of empty fruit bunch with carbon dioxide in an entrained flow gasifier for syngas production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahmat, N. F. H.; Rasid, R. A.

2017-06-01

The main objectives of this work are to study the gasification of EFB in an atmospheric entrained flow gasifier, using carbon dioxide (CO2) as its gasifying agent and to determine the optimum gasification operating conditions, which includes temperature and the oxidant to fuel (OTF) ratio. These were evaluated in terms of important gasification parameters such as the concentration of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO) produced the syngas ratio H2/CO and carbon conversion. The gasification reactions take place in the presence of CO2 at very high reaction rate because of the high operating temperature (700°C - 900°C). The use of CO2 as the oxidant for gasification process can improve the composition of syngas produced as in the Boudouard reaction. Rise of reaction temperature which is 900°C will increase the concentration of both H2 & CO by up to 81 and 30 respectively, though their production were decreased after the OTF ratio of 0.6 for temperature 700°C & 800°C and OTF ratio 0.8 for temperature 750°C. The operating temperature must be higher than 850°C to ensure the Boudouard reaction become the more prominent reaction for the biomass gasification. The syngas ratio obtained was in the range of ≈ 0.6 - 2.4 which is sufficient for liquid fuel synthesis. For the carbon conversion, the highest fuel conversion recorded at temperature 850°C for all OTF ratios. As the OTF ratio increases, it was found that there was an increase in the formation of CO and H2. This suggests that to achieve higher carbon conversion, high operating temperature and OTF ratio are preferable. This study provides information on the optimum operating conditions for the gasification of biomass, especially the EFB, hence may upsurge the utilization of biomass waste as an energy source.

Integration of the Mini-Sulfide Sulfite Anthraquinone (MSS-AQ) Pulping Process and Black Liquor Gasification in a Pulp Mill

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hasan Jameel, North Carolina State University; Adrianna Kirkman, North Carolina State University; Ravi Chandran,Thermochem Recovery International Brian Turk Research Triangle Institute

2010-01-27

As many of the recovery boilers and other pieces of large capital equipment of U.S. pulp mills are nearing the end of their useful life, the pulp and paper industry will soon need to make long-term investments in new technologies. The ability to install integrated, complete systems that are highly efficient will impact the industry’s energy use for decades to come. Developing a process for these new systems is key to the adoption of state-of-the-art technologies in the Forest Products industry. This project defined an integrated process model that combines mini-sulfide sulfite anthraquinone (MSS-AQ) pulping and black liquor gasification withmore » a proprietary desulfurization process developed by the Research Triangle Institute. Black liquor gasification is an emerging technology that enables the use of MSS-AQ pulping, which results in higher yield, lower bleaching cost, lower sulfur emissions, and the elimination of causticization requirements. The recently developed gas cleanup/absorber technology can clean the product gas to a state suitable for use in a gas turbine and also regenerate the pulping chemicals needed to for the MSS-AQ pulping process. The combination of three advanced technologies into an integrated design will enable the pulping industry to achieve a new level of efficiency, environmental performance, and cost savings. Because the three technologies are complimentary, their adoption as a streamlined package will ensure their ability to deliver maximum energy and cost savings benefits. The process models developed by this project will enable the successful integration of new technologies into the next generation of chemical pulping mills. When compared to the Kraft reference pulp, the MSS-AQ procedures produced pulps with a 10-15 % yield benefit and the ISO brightness was 1.5-2 times greater. The pulp refined little easier and had a slightly lower apparent sheet density (In both the cases). At similar levels of tear index the MSS-AQ pulps also produced a comparable tensile and burst index pulps. Product gas composition determined using computer simulations The results demonstrate that RVS-1 can effectively remove > 99.8% of the H2S present in simulated synthesis gas generated from the gasification of black liquor. This level of sulfur removal was consistent over simulated synthesis gas mixtures that contained from 6 to 9.5 vol % H2S.A significant amount of the sulfur in the simulated syngas was recovered as SO2 during regeneration. The average recovery of sulfur as SO2 was about 75%. Because these are first cycle results, this sulfur recovery is expected to improve. Developed WINGems model of the process.The total decrease in variable operating costs for the BLG process compared to the HERB was in excess of $6,200,000 per year for a mill producing 350,000 tons of pulp per year. This represents a decrease in operating cost of about $17.7/ton of oven dry pulp produced. There will be additional savings in labor and maintenance cost that has not been taken into account. The capital cost for the MSSAQ based gasifier system was estimated at $164,000,000, which is comparable to a High Efficiency Recovery Boiler. The return on investment was estimated at 4%. A gasifier replacement cannot be justified on its own, however if the recovery boiler needs to be replaced the MSSAQ gasifier system shows significantly higher savings. Before black liquor based gasifer technology can be commercialized more work is necessary. The recovery of the absorbed sulfur in the absorbent as sulfur dioxide is only 75%. This needs to be greater than 90% for economical operation. It has been suggested that as the number of cycles is increased the sulfur dioxide recovery might improve. Further research is necessary. Even though a significant amount of work has been done on a pilot scale gasifiers using liquors containing sulfur, both at low and high temperatures the lack of a commercial unit is an impediment to the implementation of the MSSAQ technology. The implementation of a commercial unit needs to be facilated before the benefits of the MSSAQ technology with ZnO absorbtion will become acceptable to the paper industry.« less

Formation of PCDD and PCDF in the thermal treatment of footwear leather wastes.

PubMed

Godinho, Marcelo; Marcilio, Nilson Romeu; Masotti, Leonardo; Martins, Celso Brisolara; Ritter, Diego Elias; Wenzel, Bruno München

2009-08-15

The leather waste generated by the footwear industry is considered dangerous due to the presence of trivalent chromium, derived from the salt utilized to tan hides. In Brazil, the majority of this waste is disposed on landfills and only about 3% are recycled. The thermal treatment is an alternative method for purification of such residues. By using this technique it is possible to generate energy and recover the chromium present in the ash for the production of basic chromium sulfate (tanning industry), high carbon ferrochromium or carbon-free ferrochromium (steel industry). In the last 10 years, the gasification and combustion of footwear leather waste have been intensively studied at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. The research experiment for characterization of the emissions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/F) were carried out in a semi-pilot unit (350 kW(th)). From new investments the thermal capacity of the unit will increase to 600 kW(th). The unit will produce power from the heat generated in the combustion. The experimental results indicated that during the thermal treatment of footwear leather wastes, the formation mechanism of PCDD/F is the de novo synthesis. Most of PCDD/F were found in the particulate phase (>95%). A kinetic model was used for discussion of the achieved experimental results. The model is based in the carbon gasification, PCDD/F formation, desorption and degradation. From the conclusions obtained in this work will be possible minimize the PCDD/F formation in process of combustion of footwear leather wastes.

Techno-economic analysis of biofuel production considering logistic configurations.

PubMed

Li, Qi; Hu, Guiping

2016-04-01

In the study, a techno-economic analysis method considering logistic configurations is proposed. The economic feasibility of a low temperature biomass gasification pathway and an integrated pathway with fast pyrolysis and bio-oil gasification are evaluated and compared with the proposed method in Iowa. The results show that both pathways are profitable, biomass gasification pathway could achieve an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 10.00% by building a single biorefinery and integrated bio-oil gasification pathway could achieve an IRR of 3.32% by applying decentralized supply chain structure. A Monte-Carlo simulation considering interactions among parameters is also proposed and conducted, which indicates that both pathways are at high risk currently. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MICRO AUTO GASIFICATION SYSTEM: EMISSIONS ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

A compact, CONEX-housed waste to energy unit, Micro Auto Gasification System (MAGS), was characterized for air emissions from burning of military waste types. The MAGS unit is a dual chamber gasifier with a secondary diesel-fired combustor. Eight tests were conducted with multiple waste types in a 7-day period at the Kilauea Military Camp in Hawai’i. The emissions characterized were chosen based on regulatory emissions limits as well as their ability to cause adverse health effects on humans: particulate matter (PM), mercury, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). Three military waste feedstock compositions reflecting the variety of wastes to be encountered in theatre were investigated: standard waste (SW), standard waste with increased plastic content (HP), standard waste without SW food components but added first strike ration (FSR) food and packaging material (termed FSR). A fourth waste was collected from the Kilauea dumpster that served the dining facility and room lodging (KMC). Limited scrubber water and solid ash residue samples were collected to obtain a preliminary characterization of these effluents/residues.Gasifying SW, HP, and KMC resulted in similar PCDD/PCDF stack concentrations, 0.26-0.27 ng TEQ/m3 at 7% O2, while FSR waste generated a notably higher stack concentration of 0.68 ng TEQ/m3 at 7% O2. The PM emission

Analysis of the fly ash from the processing of wood chips in a pilot-scale downdraft gasifier: Comparison of inorganic constituents determined by PIXE and ICP-AES

Treesearch

Thomas L Eberhardt; Hui Pan

2013-01-01

Gasification of biomass ultimately generates at least one solid byproduct in which the inorganic constituents of the biomass are concentrated. Given the potential for utilization, or issues with disposal, facile methods are needed for determining the compositions of the fly ashes from recently-available gasifier-based bioenergy systems. Proton induced x-ray emission...

Power Sources Focus Group - Evaluation of Plasma Gasification for Waste-to-Energy Conversion

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-21

including paper , wood, plastic, food and agricultural waste. The system uses a shredder, dryer , and pelletizing preprocessor to fuel an in-house...limited information available, this paper does not attempt to determine the best way to use plasma in a gasifier. Instead, this paper makes general...Gasification Plasma gasification for the purposes of this paper includes any WTE system using plasma as part of the generation of syngas and/or cleanup

Updraft Fixed Bed Gasification Aspen Plus Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2007-09-27

The updraft fixed bed gasification model provides predictive modeling capabilities for updraft fixed bed gasifiers, when devolatilization data is available. The fixed bed model is constructed using Aspen Plus, process modeling software, coupled with a FORTRAN user kinetic subroutine. Current updraft gasification models created in Aspen Plus have limited predictive capabilities and must be "tuned" to reflect a generalized gas composition as specified in literature or by the gasifier manufacturer. This limits the applicability of the process model.

Potassium dichromate method of coal gasification the study of the typical organic compounds in water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quan, Jiankang; Qu, Guangfei; Dong, Zhanneng; Lu, Pei; Cai, Yingying; Wang, Shibo

2017-05-01

The national standard method is adopted in this paper the water - digestion spectrophotometry for determination of the chemical oxygen demand (COD), after ultrasonic processing of coal gasification water for CODCr measurement. Using the control variable method, measured in different solution pH, ultrasonic frequency, ultrasonic power, reaction conditions of different initial solution concentration, the change of coal gasification water CODCr value under the action of ultrasonic, the experimental results shows that appear when measurement is allowed to fluctuate, data, in order to explain the phenomenon we adopt the combination of the high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry before and after ultrasonic coal gasification qualitative analysis on composition of organic matter in water. To raw water sample chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis, combined with the spectra analysis of each peak stands for material, select coal gasification typical organic substances in water, with the method of single digestion, the equivalent CODCr values measured after digestion. Order to produce, coal gasification water contained high concentration organic wastewater, such as the national standard method is adopted to eliminate the organic material, therefore to measure the CODCr value is lower than actual CODCr value of the emergence of the phenomenon, the experiment of the effect of ultrasound [9-13] is promote the complex organic chain rupture, also explains the actual measurement data fluctuation phenomenon in the experiment.

Bio-syngas production from agro-industrial biomass residues by steam gasification.

PubMed

Pacioni, Tatiana Ramos; Soares, Diniara; Domenico, Michele Di; Rosa, Maria Fernanda; Moreira, Regina de Fátima Peralta Muniz; José, Humberto Jorge

2016-12-01

This study evaluated the steam gasification potential of three residues from Brazilian agro-industry by assessing their reaction kinetics and syngas production at temperatures from 650 to 850°C and a steam partial pressure range of 0.05 to 0.3bar. The transition temperature between kinetic control and diffusion control regimes was identified. Prior to the gasification tests, the raw biomasses, namely apple pomace, spent coffee grounds and sawdust, were pyrolyzed in a fixed-bed quartz tubular reactor under controlled conditions. Gasification tests were performed isothermally in a magnetic suspension thermobalance and the reaction products were analyzed by a gas chromatograph with TCD/FID detectors. According to the characterization results, the samples presented higher carbon and lower volatile matter contents than the biomasses. Nevertheless, all of the materials had high calorific value. Syngas production was influenced by both temperature and steam partial pressure. Higher concentrations of H 2 and CO were found in the conversion range of 50-80% and higher concentrations of CO 2 in conversions around 10%, for all the gasified biochars. The H 2 /CO decreased with increasing temperature, mainly in kinetic control regime, in the lower temperature range. The results indicate the gasification potential of Brazilian biomass residues and are an initial and important step in the development of gasification processes in Brazil. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gasification of torrefied Miscanthus × giganteus in an air-blown bubbling fluidized bed gasifier.

PubMed

Xue, G; Kwapinska, M; Horvat, A; Kwapinski, W; Rabou, L P L M; Dooley, S; Czajka, K M; Leahy, J J

2014-05-01

Torrefaction is suggested to be an effective method to improve the fuel properties of biomass and gasification of torrefied biomass should provide a higher quality product gas than that from unprocessed biomass. In this study, both raw and torrefied Miscanthus × giganteus (M×G) were gasified in an air-blown bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) gasifier using olivine as the bed material. The effects of equivalence ratio (ER) (0.18-0.32) and bed temperature (660-850°C) on the gasification performance were investigated. The results obtained suggest the optimum gasification conditions for the torrefied M × G are ER 0.21 and 800°C. The product gas from these process conditions had a higher heating value (HHV) of 6.70 MJ/m(3), gas yield 2m(3)/kg biomass (H2 8.6%, CO 16.4% and CH4 4.4%) and cold gas efficiency 62.7%. The comparison between raw and torrefied M × G indicates that the torrefied M × G is more suitable BFB gasification. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mihaela Grigore; Richard Sakurovs; David French

Gasification of coke contributes to its degradation in the blast furnace. In this study, the effect of gasification on the inherent catalytic minerals in cokes and their reciprocal influence on gasification are investigated. The catalytic mineral phases identified in the cokes used in this study were metallic iron, iron sulfides, and iron oxides. Metallic iron and pyrrhotite were rapidly oxidized during gasification to iron oxide. The catalysts had a strong influence on the apparent rates at the initial stages of reaction. As gasification proceeds, their effect on the reaction rate diminishes as a result of reducing the surface contact betweenmore » catalyst and carbon matrix because of carbon consumption around the catalyst particles; with extended burnout the reactivity of the coke becomes increasingly dependent on surface area. The reaction rate in the initial stages was also influenced by the particle size of the catalytic minerals; for a given catalytic iron level, the cokes whose catalytic minerals were more finely dispersed had a higher apparent reaction rate than cokes containing larger catalytic particles. Iron, sodium, and potassium in the amorphous phase did not appear to affect the reaction rate. 40 refs., 16 figs., 6 tabs.« less

Influence of operating conditions on the air gasification of dry refinery sludge in updraft gasifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmed, R.; Sinnathambi, C. M.

2013-06-01

In the present work, details of the equilibrium modeling of dry refinery sludge (DRS) are presented using ASPEN PLUS Simulator in updraft gasifier. Due to lack of available information in the open journal on refinery sludge gasification using updraft gasifier, an evaluate for its optimum conditions on gasification is presented in this paper. For this purpose a Taguchi Orthogonal array design, statistical software is applied to find optimum conditions for DRS gasification. The goal is to identify the most significant process variable in DRS gasification conditions. The process variables include; oxidation zone temperature, equivalent ratio, operating pressure will be simulated and examined. Attention was focused on the effect of optimum operating conditions on the gas composition of H2 and CO (desirable) and CO2 (undesirable) in terms of mass fraction. From our results and finding it can be concluded that the syngas (H2 & CO) yield in term of mass fraction favors high oxidation zone temperature and at atmospheric pressure while CO2 acid gas favor at a high level of equivalent ratio as well as air flow rate favoring towards complete combustion.

Environmental and economic performance of plasma gasification in Enhanced Landfill Mining.

PubMed

Danthurebandara, Maheshi; Van Passel, Steven; Vanderreydt, Ive; Van Acker, Karel

2015-11-01

This paper describes an environmental and economic assessment of plasma gasification, one of the viable candidates for the valorisation of refuse derived fuel from Enhanced Landfill Mining. The study is based on life cycle assessment and life cycle costing. Plasma gasification is benchmarked against conventional incineration, and the study indicates that the process could have significant impact on climate change, human toxicity, particulate matter formation, metal depletion and fossil depletion. Flue gas emission, oxygen usage and disposal of residues (plasmastone) are the major environmental burdens, while electricity production and metal recovery represent the major benefits. Reductions in burdens and improvements in benefits are found when the plasmastone is valorised in building materials instead of landfilling. The study indicates that the overall environmental performance of plasma gasification is better than incineration. The study confirms a trade-off between the environmental and economic performance of the discussed scenarios. Net electrical efficiency and investment cost of the plasma gasification process and the selling price of the products are the major economic drivers. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance and Characteristics of a Cyclone Gasifier for Gasification of Sawdust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azman Miskam, Muhamad; Zainal, Z. A.; Idroas, M. Y.

The performance and characteristics of a cyclone gasifier for gasification of sawdust has been studied and evaluated. The system applied a technique to gasify sawdust through the concept of cyclonic motion driven by air injected at atmospheric pressure. This study covers the results obtained for gasification of ground sawdust from local furniture industries with size distribution ranging from 0.25 to 1 mm. It was found that the typical wall temperature for initiating stable gasification process was about 400°C. The heating value of producer gas was about 3.9 MJ m-3 that is sufficient for stable combustion in a dual-fuel engine generator. The highest thermal output from the cyclone gasifier was 57.35 kWT. The highest value of mass conversion efficiency and enthalpy balance were 60 and 98.7%, respectively. The highest efficiency of the cyclone gasifier obtained was 73.4% and this compares well with other researchers. The study has identified the optimum operational condition for gasifying sawdust in a cyclone gasifier and made conclusions as to how the steady gasification process can be achieved.

Noble-metal-free bimetallic alloy nanoparticle-catalytic gasification of phenol in supercritical water

DOE PAGES

Jia, Lijuan; Yu, Jiangdong; Chen, Yuan; ...

2017-08-01

The exploration of non-noble-metal catalysts for high efficiency gasification of biomass in supercritical water (SCW) is of great significance for the sustainable development. A series of Ni–M (M = Co or Zn) bimetallic nanoparticles supported on graphitized carbon black were synthesized and examined as catalysts for gasification of phenol in SCW. We found that a nearly complete gasification of phenol can be achieved even at a low temperature of 450 °C with the bimetallic nanoparticles catalysts. Kinetic study indicated the activation energy for phenol gasification were 20.4 ± 2.6 and 43.6 ± 2.6 kJ/mol for Ni20Zn15 and Ni20Co15 catalyst, respectively.more » Furthermore, XRD, XPS and TEM were performed to characterize the catalysts and the results showed the formation of NiCo and NiZn alloy phase. Catalyst recycling experiments were also conducted to evaluate the stability of the catalysts. The characterization of used catalysts suggest that the severe agglomeration of nanoparticles leads to the decrease in catalytic activity.« less

Noble-metal-free bimetallic alloy nanoparticle-catalytic gasification of phenol in supercritical water

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jia, Lijuan; Yu, Jiangdong; Chen, Yuan

The exploration of non-noble-metal catalysts for high efficiency gasification of biomass in supercritical water (SCW) is of great significance for the sustainable development. A series of Ni–M (M = Co or Zn) bimetallic nanoparticles supported on graphitized carbon black were synthesized and examined as catalysts for gasification of phenol in SCW. We found that a nearly complete gasification of phenol can be achieved even at a low temperature of 450 °C with the bimetallic nanoparticles catalysts. Kinetic study indicated the activation energy for phenol gasification were 20.4 ± 2.6 and 43.6 ± 2.6 kJ/mol for Ni20Zn15 and Ni20Co15 catalyst, respectively.more » Furthermore, XRD, XPS and TEM were performed to characterize the catalysts and the results showed the formation of NiCo and NiZn alloy phase. Catalyst recycling experiments were also conducted to evaluate the stability of the catalysts. The characterization of used catalysts suggest that the severe agglomeration of nanoparticles leads to the decrease in catalytic activity.« less

Assessment of advanced coal gasification processes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccarthy, J.; Ferrall, J.; Charng, T.; Houseman, J.

1981-01-01

A technical assessment of the following advanced coal gasification processes is presented: high throughput gasification (HTG) process; single stage high mass flux (HMF) processes; (CS/R) hydrogasification process; and the catalytic coal gasification (CCG) process. Each process is evaluated for its potential to produce synthetic natural gas from a bituminous coal. Key similarities, differences, strengths, weaknesses, and potential improvements to each process are identified. The HTG and the HMF gasifiers share similarities with respect to: short residence time (SRT), high throughput rate, slagging, and syngas as the initial raw product gas. The CS/R hydrogasifier is also SRT, but is nonslagging and produces a raw gas high in methane content. The CCG gasifier is a long residence time, catalytic, fluidbed reactor producing all of the raw product methane in the gasifier.

Conceptual design study of a coal gasification combined-cycle powerplant for industrial cogeneration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloomfield, H. S.; Nelson, S. G.; Straight, H. F.; Subramaniam, T. K.; Winklepleck, R. G.

1981-03-01

A conceptual design study was conducted to assess technical feasibility, environmental characteristics, and economics of coal gasification. The feasibility of a coal gasification combined cycle cogeneration powerplant was examined in response to energy needs and to national policy aimed at decreasing dependence on oil and natural gas. The powerplant provides the steam heating and baseload electrical requirements while serving as a prototype for industrial cogeneration and a modular building block for utility applications. The following topics are discussed: (1) screening of candidate gasification, sulfur removal and power conversion components; (2) definition of a reference system; (3) quantification of plant emissions and waste streams; (4) estimates of capital and operating costs; and (5) a procurement and construction schedule. It is concluded that the proposed powerplant is technically feasible and environmentally superior.

An Experimental Investigation of Sewage Sludge Gasification in a Fluidized Bed Reactor

PubMed Central

Calvo, L. F.; García, A. I.; Otero, M.

2013-01-01

The gasification of sewage sludge was carried out in a simple atmospheric fluidized bed gasifier. Flow and fuel feed rate were adjusted for experimentally obtaining an air mass : fuel mass ratio (A/F) of 0.2 < A/F < 0.4. Fuel characterization, mass and power balances, produced gas composition, gas phase alkali and ammonia, tar concentration, agglomeration tendencies, and gas efficiencies were assessed. Although accumulation of material inside the reactor was a main problem, this was avoided by removing and adding bed media along gasification. This allowed improving the process heat transfer and, therefore, gasification efficiency. The heating value of the produced gas was 8.4 MJ/Nm, attaining a hot gas efficiency of 70% and a cold gas efficiency of 57%. PMID:24453863

Conceptual design study of a coal gasification combined-cycle powerplant for industrial cogeneration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bloomfield, H. S.; Nelson, S. G.; Straight, H. F.; Subramaniam, T. K.; Winklepleck, R. G.

1981-01-01

A conceptual design study was conducted to assess technical feasibility, environmental characteristics, and economics of coal gasification. The feasibility of a coal gasification combined cycle cogeneration powerplant was examined in response to energy needs and to national policy aimed at decreasing dependence on oil and natural gas. The powerplant provides the steam heating and baseload electrical requirements while serving as a prototype for industrial cogeneration and a modular building block for utility applications. The following topics are discussed: (1) screening of candidate gasification, sulfur removal and power conversion components; (2) definition of a reference system; (3) quantification of plant emissions and waste streams; (4) estimates of capital and operating costs; and (5) a procurement and construction schedule. It is concluded that the proposed powerplant is technically feasible and environmentally superior.

System and method for selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides in combustion exhaust gases

DOEpatents

Sobolevskiy, Anatoly; Rossin, Joseph A

2014-04-08

A multi-stage selective catalytic reduction (SCR) unit (32) provides efficient reduction of NOx and other pollutants from about 50-550.degree. C. in a power plant (19). Hydrogen (24) and ammonia (29) are variably supplied to the SCR unit depending on temperature. An upstream portion (34) of the SCR unit catalyzes NOx+NH.sub.3 reactions above about 200.degree. C. A downstream portion (36) catalyzes NOx+H.sub.2 reactions below about 260.degree. C., and catalyzes oxidation of NH.sub.3, CO, and VOCs with oxygen in the exhaust above about 200.degree. C., efficiently removing NOx and other pollutants over a range of conditions with low slippage of NH.sub.3. An ammonia synthesis unit (28) may be connected to the SCR unit to provide NH.sub.3 as needed, avoiding transport and storage of ammonia or urea at the site. A carbonaceous gasification plant (18) on site may supply hydrogen and nitrogen to the ammonia synthesis unit, and hydrogen to the SCR unit.

Energy implications of the thermal recovery of biodegradable municipal waste materials in the United Kingdom.

PubMed

Burnley, Stephen; Phillips, Rhiannon; Coleman, Terry; Rampling, Terence

2011-01-01

Waste management policies and legislation in many developed countries call for a reduction in the quantity of biodegradable waste landfilled. Anaerobic digestion, combustion and gasification are options for managing biodegradable waste while generating renewable energy. However, very little research has been carried to establish the overall energy balance of the collection, preparation and energy recovery processes for different types of wastes. Without this information, it is impossible to determine the optimum method for managing a particular waste to recover renewable energy. In this study, energy balances were carried out for the thermal processing of food waste, garden waste, wood, waste paper and the non-recyclable fraction of municipal waste. For all of these wastes, combustion in dedicated facilities or incineration with the municipal waste stream was the most energy-advantageous option. However, we identified a lack of reliable information on the energy consumed in collecting individual wastes and preparing the wastes for thermal processing. There was also little reliable information on the performance and efficiency of anaerobic digestion and gasification facilities for waste. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On a clean power generation system with the co-gasification of biomass and coal in a quadruple fluidized bed gasifier.

PubMed

Yan, Linbo; He, Boshu

2017-07-01

A clean power generation system was built based on the steam co-gasification of biomass and coal in a quadruple fluidized bed gasifier. The chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling technology was used to supply oxygen for the calciner. The solid oxide fuel cell and the steam turbine were combined to generate power. The calcium looping and mineral carbonation were used for CO 2 capture and sequestration. The aim of this work was to study the characteristics of this system. The effects of key operation parameters on the system total energy efficiency (ŋ ten ), total exergy efficiency (ŋ tex ) and carbon sequestration rate (R cs ) were detected. The energy and exergy balance calculations were implemented and the corresponding Sankey and Grassmann diagrams were drawn. It was found that the maximum energy and exergy losses occurred in the steam turbine. The system ŋ ten and ŋ tex could be ∼50% and ∼47%, and R cs could be over unit. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy Conversion Alternatives Study (ECAS), General Electric Phase 1. Volume 3: Energy conversion subsystems and components. Part 3: Gasification, process fuels, and balance of plant

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boothe, W. A.; Corman, J. C.; Johnson, G. G.; Cassel, T. A. V.

1976-01-01

Results are presented of an investigation of gasification and clean fuels from coal. Factors discussed include: coal and coal transportation costs; clean liquid and gas fuel process efficiencies and costs; and cost, performance, and environmental intrusion elements of the integrated low-Btu coal gasification system. Cost estimates for the balance-of-plant requirements associated with advanced energy conversion systems utilizing coal or coal-derived fuels are included.

Addition to the Lewis Chemical Equilibrium Program to allow computation from coal composition data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sevigny, R.

1980-01-01

Changes made to the Coal Gasification Project are reported. The program was developed by equilibrium combustion in rocket engines. It can be applied directly to the entrained flow coal gasification process. The particular problem addressed is the reduction of the coal data into a form suitable to the program, since the manual process is involved and error prone. A similar problem in relating the normal output of the program to parameters meaningful to the coal gasification process is also addressed.

The applicability of the catalytic wet-oxidation to CELSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Takahashi, Y.; Nitta, K.; Ohya, H.; Oguchi, M.

1987-01-01

The wet oxidation catalysis of Au, Pd, Pt, Rh or Ru on a ceramic honeycomb carrier was traced in detail by 16 to 20 repetitive batch tests each. As a result, Pt or Pd on a honeycomb carrier was shown to catalyze complete nitrogen gasification as N2. Though the catalysts which realize both complete nitrogen gasification and complete oxidation could not be found, the Ru+Rh catalyst was found to be most promising. Ru honeycomb catalyzed both nitrification and nitrogen gasification.

FUEL-FLEXIBLE GASIFICATION-COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGY FOR PRODUCTION OF H2 AND SEQUESTRATION-READY CO2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

George Rizeq; Janice West; Arnaldo Frydman

It is expected that in the 21st century the Nation will continue to rely on fossil fuels for electricity, transportation, and chemicals. It will be necessary to improve both the thermodynamic efficiency and environmental impact performance of fossil fuel utilization. General Electric Energy and Environmental Research Corporation (GE EER) has developed an innovative fuel-flexible Advanced Gasification-Combustion (AGC) concept to produce H{sub 2} and sequestration-ready CO{sub 2} from solid fuels. The AGC module offers potential for reduced cost and increased energy efficiency relative to conventional gasification and combustion systems. GE EER was awarded a Vision-21 program from U.S. DOE NETL tomore » develop the AGC technology. Work on this three-year program started on October 1, 2000. The project team includes GE EER, California Energy Commission, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and T. R. Miles, Technical Consultants, Inc. In the AGC technology, coal/opportunity fuels and air are simultaneously converted into separate streams of (1) pure hydrogen that can be utilized in fuel cells, (2) sequestration-ready CO{sub 2}, and (3) high temperature/pressure oxygen-depleted air to produce electricity in a gas turbine. The process produces near-zero emissions and, based on preliminary modeling work in the first quarter of this program, has an estimated process efficiency of approximately 67% based on electrical and H{sub 2} energy outputs relative to the higher heating value of coal. The three-year R&D program will determine the operating conditions that maximize separation of CO{sub 2} and pollutants from the vent gas, while simultaneously maximizing coal conversion efficiency and hydrogen production. The program integrates lab-, bench- and pilot-scale studies to demonstrate the AGC concept. This is the fifth quarterly technical progress report for the Vision-21 AGC program supported by U.S. DOE NETL (Contract: DE-FC26-00FT40974). This report summarizes program accomplishments for the period starting October 1, 2001 and ending December 31, 2001. The report includes an introduction summarizing the AGC concept, main program tasks, and program objectives; it also provides a summary of program activities covering program management and progress in tasks including lab- and bench-scale experimental testing, pilot-scale design, and economic studies.« less

FUEL-FLEXIBLE GASIFICATION-COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGY FOR PRODUCTION OF H2 AND SEQUESTRATION-READY CO2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

George Rizeq; Janice West; Arnaldo Frydman

It is expected that in the 21st century the Nation will continue to rely on fossil fuels for electricity, transportation, and chemicals. It will be necessary to improve both the thermodynamic efficiency and environmental impact performance of fossil fuel utilization. General Electric Energy and Environmental Research Corporation (GE EER) has developed an innovative fuel-flexible Advanced Gasification-Combustion (AGC) concept to produce H{sub 2} and sequestration-ready CO{sub 2} from solid fuels. The AGC module offers potential for reduced cost and increased energy efficiency relative to conventional gasification and combustion systems. GE EER was awarded a Vision-21 program from U.S. DOE NETL tomore » develop the AGC technology. Work on this three-year program started on October 1, 2000. The project team includes GE EER, California Energy Commission, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and T. R. Miles, Technical Consultants, Inc. In the AGC technology, coal/opportunity fuels and air are simultaneously converted into separate streams of (1) pure hydrogen that can be utilized in fuel cells, (2) sequestration-ready CO{sub 2}, and (3) high temperature/pressure oxygen-depleted air to produce electricity in a gas turbine. The process produces near-zero emissions and, based on preliminary modeling work in the first quarter of this program, has an estimated process efficiency of approximately 67% based on electrical and H{sub 2} energy outputs relative to the higher heating value of coal. The three-year R&D program will determine the operating conditions that maximize separation of CO{sub 2} and pollutants from the vent gas, while simultaneously maximizing coal conversion efficiency and hydrogen production. The program integrates lab-, bench- and pilot-scale studies to demonstrate the AGC concept. This is the seventh quarterly technical progress report for the Vision-21 AGC program supported by U.S. DOE NETL (Contract: DE-FC26-00FT40974). This report summarizes program accomplishments for the period starting April 1, 2002 and ending June 30, 2002. The report includes an introduction summarizing the AGC concept, main program tasks, and program objectives; it also provides a summary of program activities covering program management and progress in tasks including lab-/bench-scale experimental testing and pilot-scale design.« less

FUEL-FLEXIBLE GASIFICATION-COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGY FOR PRODUCTION OF H2 AND SEQUESTRATION-READY CO2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

George Rizeq; Janice West; Arnaldo Frydman

It is expected that in the 21st century the Nation will continue to rely on fossil fuels for electricity, transportation, and chemicals. It will be necessary to improve both the thermodynamic efficiency and environmental impact performance of fossil fuel utilization. GE Energy and Environmental Research Corporation (GE EER) has developed an innovative fuel-flexible Advanced Gasification-Combustion (AGC) concept to produce H{sub 2} and sequestration-ready CO{sub 2} from solid fuels. The AGC module offers potential for reduced cost and increased energy efficiency relative to conventional gasification and combustion systems. GE EER was awarded a Vision 21 program from U.S. DOE NETL tomore » develop the AGC technology. Work on this three-year program started on October 1, 2000. The project team includes GE EER, California Energy Commission, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and T. R. Miles, Technical Consultants, Inc. In the AGC technology, coal/opportunity fuels and air are simultaneously converted into separate streams of (1) pure hydrogen that can be utilized in fuel cells, (2) sequestration-ready CO{sub 2}, and (3) high temperature/pressure oxygen-depleted air to produce electricity in a gas turbine. The process produces near-zero emissions and, based on preliminary modeling work, has an estimated process efficiency of approximately 67% based on electrical and H{sub 2} energy outputs relative to the higher heating value of coal. The three-year R&D program will determine the operating conditions that maximize separation of CO{sub 2} and pollutants from the vent gas, while simultaneously maximizing coal conversion efficiency and hydrogen production. The program integrates lab-, bench- and pilot-scale studies to demonstrate the AGC concept. This is the second annual technical progress report for the Vision 21 AGC program supported by U.S. DOE NETL (Contract No. DE-FC26-00FT40974). This report summarizes program accomplishments for the period starting October 1, 2001 and ending September 30, 2002. The report includes an introduction summarizing the AGC concept, main program tasks, and program objectives; it also provides a summary of program activities and accomplishments covering progress in tasks including lab- and bench-scale experimental testing, pilot-scale design and assembly, and program management.« less

Effect of sewage sludge content on gas quality and solid residues produced by cogasification in an updraft gasifier

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seggiani, Maurizia, E-mail: m.seggiani@diccism.unipi.it; Puccini, Monica, E-mail: m.puccini@diccism.unipi.it; Raggio, Giovanni, E-mail: g.raggio@tiscali.it

2012-10-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Cogasification of sewage sludge with wood pellets in updraft gasifier was analysed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The effects of sewage sludge content on the gasification process were examined. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Sewage sludge addition up to 30 wt.% reduces moderately the process performance. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer At high sewage sludge content slagging and clinker formation occurred. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Solid residues produced resulted acceptable at landfills for non-hazardous waste. - Abstract: In the present work, the gasification with air of dehydrated sewage sludge (SS) with 20 wt.% moisture mixed with conventional woody biomass was investigated using a pilot fixed-bed updraft gasifier. Attention was focused on the effectmore » of the SS content on the gasification performance and on the environmental impact of the process. The results showed that it is possible to co-gasify SS with wood pellets (WPs) in updraft fixed-bed gasification installations. However, at high content of sewage sludge the gasification process can become instable because of the very high ash content and low ash fusion temperatures of SS. At an equivalent ratio of 0.25, compared with wood pellets gasification, the addition of sewage sludge led to a reduction of gas yield in favor of an increase of condensate production with consequent cold gas efficiency decrease. Low concentrations of dioxins/furans and PAHs were measured in the gas produced by SS gasification, well below the limiting values for the exhaust gaseous emissions. NH{sub 3}, HCl and HF contents were very low because most of these compounds were retained in the wet scrubber systems. On the other hand, high H{sub 2}S levels were measured due to high sulfur content of SS. Heavy metals supplied with the feedstocks were mostly retained in gasification solid residues. The leachability tests performed according to European regulations showed that metals leachability was within the limits for landfilling inert residues. On the other hand, sulfate and chloride releases were found to comply with the limits for non-hazardous residues.« less

Properties of gasification-derived char and its utilization for catalytic tar reforming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Kezhen

Char is a low-value byproduct of biomass gasification and pyrolysis with many potential applications, such as soil amendment and the synthesis of activated carbon. The overall goal of the proposed research was to develop novel methods to use char derived from gasification for high-value applications in syngas conditioning. The first objective was to investigate effects of gasification condition and feedstock on properties of char derived from fluidized bed gasification. Results show that the surface areas of most of the char were 1--10 m 2/g and increased as the equivalence ratio increased. Char moisture and fixed carbon contents decreased while ash content increased as equivalence ratio increased. The next objective was to study the properties of sorghum and red cedar char derived from downdraft gasifier. Red cedar char contained more aliphatic carbon and o-alkyl carbon than sorghum char. Char derived from downdraft gasification had higher heating values and lower ash contents than char derived from fluidized bed gasification. The gasification reactivity of red cedar char was higher than that of sorghum char. Then, red cedar char based catalysts were developed with different preparation method to reform toluene and naphthalene as model tars. The catalyst prepared with nickel nitrate was found to be better than that with nickel acetate. The nickel particle size of catalyst impregnated with nickel nitrate was smaller than that of catalyst impregnated with nickel acetate. The particle size of catalyst impregnated with nickel acetate decreased by hydrazine reduction. The catalyst impregnated with nickel nitrate had the highest toluene removal efficiency, which was 70%--100% at 600--800 °C. The presence of naphthalene in tar reduced the catalyst efficiency. The toluene conversion was 36--99% and the naphthalene conversion was 37%--93% at 700--900 °C. Finally, effects of atmosphere and pressure on catalytic reforming of lignin-derived tars over the developed catalyst were investigated. An increase in reaction temperature led to an increase in removal of most tar components except naphthalene. High pressure promoted the catalytic conditioning of lignin tar. Hydrogen promoted the conversion of lignin into non-condensable gas.

Coal technology program progress report, February 1976

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

Final testing of the 20-atm bench-scale system is underway in preparation for experiments with hydrogen. Laboratory-scale testing of a number of inexpensive pure compounds to improve the settling rate of solids in Solvent Refined Coal (SRC) unfiltered oil (UFO), bench-scale testing of the effect of the Tretolite additive on settling, and characterization tests on a new sample of UFO from the PAMCO-SRC process are reported. Experimental engineering support of an in situ gasification process include low-temperature pyrolyses at exceptionally low heating rates (0.3/sup 0/C/min). Highly pyrophoric chars were consistently produced. Aqueous by-products from coal conversion technologies and oil shale retortingmore » have been analyzed directly to determine major organic components. A report is being prepared discussing various aspects of the engineering evaluations of nuclear process heat for coal. A bench-scale test program on thermochemical water splitting for hydrogen production is under consideration. In the coal-fueled MIUS program, preparations for procurement of tubing for the matrix in the fluidized-bed furnace and for fabrication of the furnace continued. Analyses of the AiResearch gas turbine and recuperator under coal-fueled MIUS operating conditions are near completion. Process flow diagrams and heat and material balances were completed for most of the units in the synthoil process. Overall utilities requirements were calculated and the coal preparation flowsheets were finalized. For hydrocarbonization, the flowsheet was revised to include additional coal data. Flowsheets were finalized for the acid gas separation and recycle, and the oil-solids separation. (LTN)« less

Sour pressure swing adsorption process

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bhadra, Shubhra Jyoti; Wright, Andrew David; Hufton, Jeffrey Raymond

Methods and apparatuses for separating CO.sub.2 and sulfur-containing compounds from a synthesis gas obtained from gasification of a carbonaceous feedstock. The primary separating steps are performed using a sour pressure swing adsorption (SPSA) system, followed by an acid gas enrichment system and a sulfur removal unit. The SPSA system includes multiple pressure equalization steps and a rinse step using a rinse gas that is supplied from a source other than directly from one of the adsorber beds of the SPSA system.

Montubi completes mile-long liquid ethylene pipeline project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1979-12-01

Montubi has completed the mile-long liquid ethylene pipeline project for Solvay S.p.A. at Vada, Italy, a line that extends 3.4 mi from an offshore unloading dock to an onshore gasification facility for Solvay's chemical plant at Rosignano. The 18 mo project included a mile-long 1750 ton jetty; one eight-leg main unloading platform; eight mooring dolphins plus four breasting dolphins; one small platform for firefighting pump units; and a concrete service road along the jetty.

Logistics cost analysis of rice residues for second generation bioenergy production in Ghana.

PubMed

Vijay Ramamurthi, Pooja; Cristina Fernandes, Maria; Sieverts Nielsen, Per; Pedro Nunes, Clemente

2014-12-01

This study explores the techno-economic potential of rice residues as a bioenergy resource to meet Ghana's energy demands. Major rice growing regions of Ghana have 70-90% of residues available for bioenergy production. To ensure cost-effective biomass logistics, a thorough cost analysis was made for two bioenergy routes. Logistics costs for a 5 MWe straw combustion plant were 39.01, 47.52 and 47.89 USD/t for Northern, Ashanti and Volta regions respectively. Logistics cost for a 0.25 MWe husk gasification plant (with roundtrip distance 10 km) was 2.64 USD/t in all regions. Capital cost (66-72%) contributes significantly to total logistics costs of straw, however for husk logistics, staff (40%) and operation and maintenance costs (46%) dominate. Baling is the major processing logistic cost for straw, contributing to 46-48% of total costs. Scale of straw unit does not have a large impact on logistic costs. Transport distance of husks has considerable impact on logistic costs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Air pollution control systems in WtE units: An overview

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vehlow, J., E-mail: juergen.vehlow@partner.kit.edu

Highlights: • The paper describes in brief terms the development of gas cleaning in waste incineration. • The main technologies for pollutant removal are described including their basic mechanisms. • Their respective efficiencies and their application are discussed. • A cautious outlook regarding future developments is made. - Abstract: All WtE (waste-to-energy) plants, based on combustion or other thermal processes, need an efficient gas cleaning for compliance with legislative air emission standards. The development of gas cleaning technologies started along with environment protection regulations in the late 1960s. Modern APC (air pollution control) systems comprise multiple stages for the removalmore » of fly ashes, inorganic and organic gases, heavy metals, and dioxins from the flue gas. The main technologies and devices used for abatement of the various pollutants are described and their basic principles, their peculiarities, and their application are discussed. Few systems for cleaning of synthesis gas from waste gasification plants are included. Examples of APC designs in full scale plants are shown and cautious prospects for the future development of APC systems are made.« less

Cotton gin trash in the western United States: Resource inventory and energy conversion characterization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haase, S.G.; Quinn, M.W.; Whittier, J.P.

1993-12-31

The disposal of wastes associated with the processing of cotton is posing increasing problems for cotton gin operators in the western United States. Traditional disposal methods, such as open-air incineration and landfilling are no longer adequate due to increasing environmental concerns. This paper evaluates the technical, economic and environmental feasibility for cotton gin trash to serve as an energy resource. Cotton gin trash has been quantified, by county, in the five cotton-growing states of the western United States. The energy conversion technology that appears to offer the most promise is gasification. An economic evaluation model has been developed that willmore » allow gin operators to analyze their own situation to determine the profitability of converting gin trash to energy.« less

Characterization of fly ash from the gasification of wood and assessment for its application as a soil amendment

Treesearch

Hui Pan; Thomas L. Eberhardt

2011-01-01

Fly ash was collected as a byproduct from the processing of southern pine wood chips in a pilot-scale biomass gasifier. General properties of the fly ash were determined to assess its applicability as a soil amendment. Its alkaline pH (9.5) and high concentrations of Ca, K, and Mg suggest that it could be used as both a liming agent and a fertilizer. The...

Fixed bed gasification for production of industrial fuel gas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1977-10-01

This report summarizes the results of technical and economic evaluations of six commercially available, fixed-bed coal gasification processes for the production of industrial fuel gas. The study was performed for DOE and is intended to assist industrial companies in exploring the feasibility of producing gaseous fuels for both retrofit and new industrial plant situations. The report includes a technical analysis of the physical configuration, performance capabilities, and commercial experiments to-date for both air-blown and oxygen-blown fixed bed gasifiers. The product gas from these gasifiers is analyzed economically for three different degrees of cleanliness: (1) hot raw gas, (2) dust-, tar-,more » and oil-free gas, and (3) dust-, tar-, oil-free and desulfurized gas. The evaluations indicate that low-Btu gases produced from fixed bed gasifiers constitute one of the most logical short-term solutions for helping ease the shortage of natural gas for industrial fuel applications because the technology is well-proven and has been utilized on a commercial scale for several decades both in this country and overseas; time from initiation of design to commercial operation is about two years; the technology is not complicated to construct, operate, or maintain; and a reliable supply of product gas can be generated on-site. The advantages and disadvantages of fixed bed gasification technology are listed. The cost of the low Btu gas is estimated at $2 to $4 per MM Btu depending on gas purity, cost of coal ($20 to $50 per ton) and a number of specified assumptions with respect to financing, reliability, etc. (LTN)« less

Catalysts for carbon and coal gasification

DOEpatents

McKee, Douglas W.; Spiro, Clifford L.; Kosky, Philip G.

1985-01-01

Catalyst for the production of methane from carbon and/or coal by means of catalytic gasification. The catalyst compostion containing at least two alkali metal salts. A particulate carbonaceous substrate or carrier is used.

Incineration and pyrolysis vs. steam gasification of electronic waste.

PubMed

Gurgul, Agnieszka; Szczepaniak, Włodzimierz; Zabłocka-Malicka, Monika

2018-05-15

Constructional complexity of items and their integration are the most distinctive features of electronic wastes. These wastes consist of mineral and polymeric materials and have high content of valuable metals that could be recovered. Elimination of polymeric components (especially epoxy resins) while leaving non-volatile mineral and metallic phases is the purpose of thermal treatment of electronic wastes. In the case of gasification, gaseous product of the process may be, after cleaning, used for energy recovery or chemical synthesis. If not melted, metals from solid products of thermal treatment of electronic waste could be recovered by hydrometallurgical processing. Three basic, high temperature ways of electronic waste processing, i.e. smelting/incineration, pyrolysis and steam gasification were shortly discussed in the paper, giving a special attention to gasification under steam, illustrated by laboratory experiments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coal gasification systems engineering and analysis. Volume 1: Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

Feasibility analyses and systems engineering studies for a 20,000 tons per day medium Btu (MBG) coal gasification plant to be built by TVA in Northern Alabama were conducted. Major objectives were as follows: (1) provide design and cost data to support the selection of a gasifier technology and other major plant design parameters, (2) provide design and cost data to support alternate product evaluation, (3) prepare a technology development plan to address areas of high technical risk, and (4) develop schedules, PERT charts, and a work breakdown structure to aid in preliminary project planning. Volume one contains a summary of gasification system characterizations. Five gasification technologies were selected for evaluation: Koppers-Totzek, Texaco, Lurgi Dry Ash, Slagging Lurgi, and Babcock and Wilcox. A summary of the trade studies and cost sensitivity analysis is included.

Chemical looping coal gasification with calcium ferrite and barium ferrite via solid--solid reactions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Siriwardane, Ranjani; Riley, Jarrett; Tian, Hanjing

Coal gasification to produce synthesis gas by chemical looping was investigated with two oxygen carriers, barium ferrite (BaFe2O4) and calcium ferrite (CaFe2O4). Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and fixed-bed flow reactor data indicated that a solid–solid interaction occurred between oxygen carriers and coal to produce synthesis gas. Both thermodynamic analysis and experimental data indicated that BaFe2O4 and CaFe2O4 have high reactivity with coal but have a low reactivity with synthesis gas, which makes them very attractive for the coal gasification process. Adding steam increased the production of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO), but carbon dioxide (CO2) remained low because these oxygenmore » carriers have minimal reactivity with H2 and CO. Therefore, the combined steam–oxygen carrier produced the highest quantity of synthesis gas. It appeared that neither the water–gas shift reaction nor the water splitting reaction promoted additional H2 formation with the oxygen carriers when steam was present. Wyodak coal, which is a sub-bituminous coal, had the best gasification yield with oxygen carrier–steam while Illinois #6 coal had the lowest. The rate of gasification and selectivity for synthesis gas production was significantly higher when these oxygen carriers were present during steam gasification of coal. The rates and synthesis gas yields during the temperature ramps of coal–steam with oxygen carriers were better than with gaseous oxygen.« less

Thermodynamics Analysis of Refinery Sludge Gasification in Adiabatic Updraft Gasifier

PubMed Central

Ahmed, Reem; Sinnathambi, Chandra M.; Eldmerdash, Usama; Subbarao, Duvvuri

2014-01-01

Limited information is available about the thermodynamic evaluation for biomass gasification process using updraft gasifier. Therefore, to minimize errors, the gasification of dry refinery sludge (DRS) is carried out in adiabatic system at atmospheric pressure under ambient air conditions. The objectives of this paper are to investigate the physical and chemical energy and exergy of product gas at different equivalent ratios (ER). It will also be used to determine whether the cold gas, exergy, and energy efficiencies of gases may be maximized by using secondary air injected to gasification zone under various ratios (0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5) at optimum ER of 0.195. From the results obtained, it is indicated that the chemical energy and exergy of producer gas are magnified by 5 and 10 times higher than their corresponding physical values, respectively. The cold gas, energy, and exergy efficiencies of DRS gasification are in the ranges of 22.9–55.5%, 43.7–72.4%, and 42.5–50.4%, respectively. Initially, all 3 efficiencies increase until they reach a maximum at the optimum ER of 0.195; thereafter, they decline with further increase in ER values. The injection of secondary air to gasification zone is also found to increase the cold gas, energy, and exergy efficiencies. A ratio of secondary air to primary air of 0.5 is found to be the optimum ratio for all 3 efficiencies to reach the maximum values. PMID:24672368

Tar Management and Recycling in Biomass Gasification and Syngas Purification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCaffrey, Zach

Removal of tars is critical to the design and operation of biomass gasification systems as most syngas utilization processing equipment (e.g. internal combustion engines, gas turbines, fuel cells, and liquid fuel synthesis reactors) have a low tolerance for tar. Capturing and disposal of tar is expensive due to equipment costs, high hazardous waste disposal costs where direct uses cannot be found, and system energy losses incurred. Water scrubbing is an existing technique commonly used in gasification plants to remove contaminants and tar; however using water as the absorbent is non-ideal as tar compounds have low or no water solubility. Hydrophobic solvents can improve scrubber performance and this study evaluated tar solubility in selected solvents using slip-streams of untreated syngas from a laboratory fluidized bed reactor operated on almond composite feedstock using both air and steam gasification. Tar solubility was compared with Hansen's solubility theory to examine the extent to which the tar removal can be predicted. As collection of tar without utilization leads to a hazardous waste problem, the study investigated the effects of recycling tars back into the gasifier for destruction. Prior to experiments conducted on tar capture and recycle, characterizations of the air and steam gasification of the almond composite mix were made. This work aims to provide a better understanding of tar collection and solvent selection for wet scrubbers, and to provide information for designing improved tar management systems for biomass gasification.

Assessment of Tree Leaves Flakes Mixed with Crude Glycerol as a Bioenergy Source

PubMed Central

Hilal-AlNaqbi, Ali; Al-Omari, Salah B.; Selim, Mohamed Y. E.

2016-01-01

The gasification and combustion of dry tree leaves and the cogasification of dry tree leaves soaking crude glycerol were studied experimentally. An updraft fixed bed gasification and combustion system was built. The operation was conducted at different air to fuel ratios. Results show more stable combustion and more effective heat transfer to furnace walls for the cases when tree leaves flakes are mixed with 20 percent (on mass basis) of crude glycerol, as compared with the case when only dry tree leaves are used as fuel. TGA analysis was also conducted for the two fuels used under both air and nitrogen environments. For the crude glycerol, four phases of pyrolysis and gasification were noticed under either of the two surrounding gaseous media (air or nitrogen). For the dry tree leaves, the pyrolysis under nitrogen shows only a simple smooth pyrolysis and gasification curve without showing the different distinct phases that were otherwise identified when the pyrolysis is conducted under air environment. Moreover, the air TGA results lead to more gasification due to the char oxidation at high temperatures. DTG results are also presented and discussed. PMID:27413749

Fuzzy Bayesian Network-Bow-Tie Analysis of Gas Leakage during Biomass Gasification

PubMed Central

Yan, Fang; Xu, Kaili; Yao, Xiwen; Li, Yang

2016-01-01

Biomass gasification technology has been rapidly developed recently. But fire and poisoning accidents caused by gas leakage restrict the development and promotion of biomass gasification. Therefore, probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) is necessary for biomass gasification system. Subsequently, Bayesian network-bow-tie (BN-bow-tie) analysis was proposed by mapping bow-tie analysis into Bayesian network (BN). Causes of gas leakage and the accidents triggered by gas leakage can be obtained by bow-tie analysis, and BN was used to confirm the critical nodes of accidents by introducing corresponding three importance measures. Meanwhile, certain occurrence probability of failure was needed in PSA. In view of the insufficient failure data of biomass gasification, the occurrence probability of failure which cannot be obtained from standard reliability data sources was confirmed by fuzzy methods based on expert judgment. An improved approach considered expert weighting to aggregate fuzzy numbers included triangular and trapezoidal numbers was proposed, and the occurrence probability of failure was obtained. Finally, safety measures were indicated based on the obtained critical nodes. The theoretical occurrence probabilities in one year of gas leakage and the accidents caused by it were reduced to 1/10.3 of the original values by these safety measures. PMID:27463975

Characteristics of Catalytic Gasification of Natural Coke with H2O in a Fluidized Bed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, L. S.; Zhao, C. S.; Wang, S.; Zhu, G.; Xiang, W. G.

The experimental investigation on gasification characteristics of natural coke from Peicheng, Jiangsu with steam were conducted in a fluidized bed gasifier setup. The effects of several parameters, in terms of the catalyst type, the catalyst mixed manner and the dosage of catalyst over coke on the yield, the components, the heating value of fuel gas and the carbon conversion rate were examined. Results indicate that the fluidized bed gasification technology could overcome the shortcomings of natural coke. Ca-, Fe- and Cu-based nitrates could improve the gasification reaction effectively with a little difference, they could be listed in a descending sequence as follows: Cu-based>Fe-based>Ca-based according to their catalytic effect. The influences of Fe/Ca ratio and Cu/Ca ratio on gasification are similar, gas yield, carbon conversion rate and gas heating value per hour increase as Fe/Ca ratio or Cu/Ca ratio increases, but all of them go up first and then drop with decrease in Fe/Cu ratio. When the dosage of Ca-, Fe- and Cu-based nitrates mixed with the ratio of Ca/Fe/Cu= 10/35/55 is 3%, the best catalytic effect is achieved.

Gasification of algal biomass (Cladophora glomerata L.) with CO2/H2O/O2 in a circulating fluidized bed.

PubMed

Ebadi, Abdol Ghaffar; Hisoriev, Hikmat

2017-11-28

Gasification is one of the most important thermochemical routes to produce both synthesis gas (syngas) and chars. The quality of produced syngas wieldy depends on the operating conditions (temperature, residence time, heating rate, and gasifying agent), hydrodynamic properties of gasifier (particle size, minimum fluidization velocity, and gasifier size), and type of feedstock (coal, biomass, oil, and municipal solid wastes). In the present study, simulation of syngas production via circulating fluidized bed (CFB) gasification of algal biomass (Cladophora glomerata L.) at different gasifying agents and particle sizes was carried out, using Aspen Plus simulator. The model which has been validated by using experimental data of the technical literature was used to evaluate the influence of operating conditions on gas composition and performance parameters. The results show that biomass gasification using pure oxygen as the gasification agent has great potential to improve the caloric value of produced gas and performance indicators. It was also found that the produced gas caloric value, syngas yield, and performance parameters (CCE and CGE) increase with reaction temperature but are inversely proportional to the biomass particle size.

A Review of Underground Coal Gasification Research and Development in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Camp, D. W.

An intense and productive period of research and development on underground coal gasification (UCG) took place in the United States from the mid-1970’s through the late 1980’s. It began with the translation and review of Soviet literature and ended with the Rocky Mountain 1 field test. This demonstrated the feasibility of newly-developed technologies that form the basis of many UCG projects around the world today. This period began with little domestic understanding of UCG and ended with an accurate observation-based conceptual model and a corresponding predictive multi-physics mathematical model of the process. The many accomplishments of this period form themore » main content of this report. This report also covers recent U.S. activities and accomplishments during the period 2004-2015, and touches briefly on the Bureau of Mines efforts between 1948 and 1963. Most of the activities were funded by the United States Department of Energy and its predecessors. While private/commercially-funded activities are reviewed here, the emphasis is on government-funded work. It has a much greater extent of publicly available reports and papers, and they generally contain much greater technical detail. Field tests were the marquis activities around which an integrated multi-faceted program was built. These are described in detail in Section 4. Highlights from modeling efforts are briefly covered, as the program was integrated and well-rounded, with field results informing models and vice-versa. The primary goal of this report is to review what has been learned about UCG from the U.S. experience in aggregate. This includes observations, conclusions, lessons-learned, phenomena understood, and technology developed. The latter sections of this report review these things.« less

Novel single stripper with side-draw to remove ammonia and sour gas simultaneously for coal-gasification wastewater treatment and the industrial implementation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feng, D.C.; Yu, Z.J.; Chen, Y.

2009-06-15

A large amount of wastewater is produced in the Lurgi coal-gasification process with the complex compounds carbon dioxide, ammonia, phenol, etc., which cause a serious environmental problem. In this paper, a novel stripper operated at elevated pressure is designed to improve the pretreatment process. In this technology, two noticeable improvements were established. First, the carbon dioxide and ammonia were removed simultaneously in a single stripper where sour gas (mainly carbon dioxide) is removed from the tower top and the ammonia vapor is drawn from the side and recovered by partial condensation. Second, the ammonia is removed before the phenol recoverymore » to reduce the pH value of the subsequent extraction units, so as the phenol removal performance of the extraction is greatly improved. To ensure the operational efficiency, some key operational parameters are analyzed and optimized though simulation. It is shown that when the top temperature is kept at 40 C and the weight ratio of the side draw to the feed is above 9%, the elevated pressures can ensure the removal efficiency of NH{sub 3} and carbon dioxide and the desired purified water as the bottom product of the unit is obtained. A real industrial application demonstrates the attractiveness of the new technique: it removes 99.9% CO{sub 2} and 99.6% ammonia, compared to known techniques which remove 66.5% and 94.4%, respectively. As a result, the pH value of the wastewater is reduced from above 9 to below 7. This ensures that the phenol removal ratio is above 93% in the following extraction units. The operating cost is lower than that of known techniques, and the operation is simplified.« less

Removal of H{sub 2}S using molten carbonate at high temperature

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kawase, Makoto, E-mail: kawase@criepi.denken.or.jp; Otaka, Maromu

2013-12-15

Highlights: • The performance of molten carbonate for the removal of H{sub 2}S improves at higher temperatures. • The degree of H{sub 2}S removal is significantly affected by the CO{sub 2} concentration in syngas. • Addition of carbon elements, such as char and tar, decrease the negative effects of CO{sub 2}. • Continuous addition of carbon elements into molten carbonate enables continuous desulfurization. • Desulfurization using molten carbonate is suitable for gasification gas. - Abstract: Gasification is considered to be an effective process for energy conversion from various sources such as coal, biomass, and waste. Cleanup of the hot syngasmore » produced by such a process may improve the thermal efficiency of the overall gasification system. Therefore, the cleanup of hot syngas from biomass gasification using molten carbonate is investigated in bench-scale tests. Molten carbonate acts as an absorbent during desulfurization and dechlorination and as a thermal catalyst for tar cracking. In this study, the performance of molten carbonate for removing H{sub 2}S was evaluated. The temperature of the molten carbonate was set within the range from 800 to 1000 °C. It is found that the removal of H{sub 2}S is significantly affected by the concentration of CO{sub 2} in the syngas. When only a small percentage of CO{sub 2} is present, desulfurization using molten carbonate is inadequate. However, when carbon elements, such as char and tar, are continuously supplied, H{sub 2}S removal can be maintained at a high level. To confirm the performance of the molten carbonate gas-cleaning system, purified biogas was used as a fuel in power generation tests with a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC). The fuel cell is a high-performance sensor for detecting gaseous impurities. When purified gas from a gas-cleaning reactor was continuously supplied to the fuel cell, the cell voltage remained stable. Thus, the molten carbonate gas-cleaning reactor was found to afford good gas-cleaning performance.« less

Treatment of Irradiated Graphite from French Bugey Reactor - 13424

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Thomas; Poncet, Bernard

2013-07-01

Beginning in 2009, in order to determine an alternative to direct disposal for decommissioned irradiated graphite from EDF's Bugey NPP, Studsvik and EDF began a test program to determine if graphite decontamination and destruction were practicable using Studsvik's thermal organic reduction (THOR) technology. The testing program focused primarily on the release of C-14, H-3, and Cl-36 and also monitored graphite mass loss. For said testing, a bench-scale steam reformer (BSSR) was constructed with the capability of flowing various compositions of gases at temperatures up to 1300 deg. C over uniformly sized particles of graphite for fixed amounts of time. Themore » BSSR was followed by a condenser, thermal oxidizer, and NaOH bubbler system designed to capture H-3 and C-14. Also, in a separate series of testing, high concentration acid and peroxide solutions were used to soak the graphite and leach out and measure Cl-36. A series of gasification tests were performed to scope gas compositions and temperatures for graphite gasification using steam and oxygen. Results suggested higher temperature steam (1100 deg. C vs. 900 deg. C) yielded a practicable gasification rate but that lower temperature (900 deg. C) gasification was also a practicable treatment alternative if oxygen is fed into the process. A series of decontamination tests were performed to determine the release behavior of and extent to which C-14 and H-3 were released from graphite in a high temperature (900-1300 deg. C), low flow roasting gas environment. In general, testing determined that higher temperatures and longer roasting times were efficacious for releasing H-3 completely and the majority (80%) of C-14. Manipulating oxidizing and reducing gas environments was also found to limit graphite mass loss. A series of soaking tests was performed to measure the amount of Cl-36 in the samples of graphite before and after roasting in the BSSR. Similar to C-14 release, these soaking tests revealed that 70-80% Cl-36 is released during roasting tests. (authors)« less

Optimization of hydrogen and syngas production from PKS gasification by using coal bottom ash.

PubMed

Shahbaz, Muhammad; Yusup, Suzana; Inayat, Abrar; Patrick, David Onoja; Pratama, Angga; Ammar, Muhamamd

2017-10-01

Catalytic steam gasification of palm kernel shell is investigated to optimize operating parameters for hydrogen and syngas production using TGA-MS setup. RSM is used for experimental design and evaluating the effect of temperature, particle size, CaO/biomass ratio, and coal bottom ash wt% on hydrogen and syngas. Hydrogen production appears highly sensitive to all factors, especially temperature and coal bottom ash wt%. In case of syngas, the order of parametric influence is: CaO/biomass>coal bottom ash wt%>temperature>particle size. The significant catalytic effect of coal bottom ash is due to the presence of Fe 2 O 3 , MgO, Al 2 O 3 , and CaO. A temperature of 692°C, coal bottom ash wt% of 0.07, CaO/biomass of 1.42, and particle size of 0.75mm are the optimum conditions for augmented yield of hydrogen and syngas. The production of hydrogen and syngas is 1.5% higher in the pilot scale gasifier as compared to TGA-MS setup. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Refuse derived fuel (RDF) plasma torch gasification as a feasible route to produce low environmental impact syngas for the cement industry.

PubMed

López-Sabirón, Ana M; Fleiger, Kristina; Schäfer, Stefan; Antoñanzas, Javier; Irazustabarrena, Ane; Aranda-Usón, Alfonso; Ferreira, Germán A

2015-08-01

Plasma torch gasification (PTG) is currently researched as a technology for solid waste recovery. However, scientific studies based on evaluating its environmental implications considering the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology are lacking. Therefore, this work is focused on comparing the environmental effect of the emissions of syngas combustion produced by refuse derived fuel (RDF) and PTG as alternative fuels, with that related to fossil fuel combustion in the cement industry. To obtain real data, a semi-industrial scale pilot plant was used to perform experimental trials on RDF-PTG.The results highlight that PTG for waste to energy recovery in the cement industry is environmentally feasible considering its current state of development. A reduction in every impact category was found when a total or partial substitution of alternative fuel for conventional fuel in the calciner firing (60 % of total thermal energy input) was performed. Furthermore, the results revealed that electrical energy consumption in PTG is also an important parameter from the LCA approach. © The Author(s) 2015.

Impact of Contaminants Present in Coal-Biomass Derived Synthesis Gas on Water-gas Shift and Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Catalysts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alptekin, Gokhan

2013-02-15

Co-gasification of biomass and coal in large-scale, Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants increases the efficiency and reduces the environmental impact of making synthesis gas ("syngas") that can be used in Coal-Biomass-to-Liquids (CBTL) processes for producing transportation fuels. However, the water-gas shift (WGS) and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) catalysts used in these processes may be poisoned by multiple contaminants found in coal-biomass derived syngas; sulfur species, trace toxic metals, halides, nitrogen species, the vapors of alkali metals and their salts (e.g., KCl and NaCl), ammonia, and phosphorous. Thus, it is essential to develop a fundamental understanding of poisoning/inhibition mechanisms before investingmore » in the development of any costly mitigation technologies. We therefore investigated the impact of potential contaminants (H 2S, NH 3, HCN, AsH 3, PH 3, HCl, NaCl, KCl, AS 3, NH 4NO 3, NH 4OH, KNO 3, HBr, HF, and HNO 3) on the performance and lifetime of commercially available and generic (prepared in-house) WGS and FT catalysts.« less

Simultaneous removal of organic matter and salt ions from coal gasification wastewater RO concentrate and microorganisms succession in a MBR.

PubMed

Jia, Shengyong; Han, Yuxing; Zhuang, Haifeng; Han, Hongjun; Li, Kun

2017-10-01

A lab-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) with intermittent aeration was operated to treat the reverse osmosis concentrate derived from coal gasification wastewater. Results showed intermittent aeration represented slight effect on organic matter reduction but significant effect on nitrite and nitrate reduction, with 6h aeration and 6h non-aeration, removal efficiencies of organic matter, chloride, sulfate, nitrite and nitrate reached 48.35%, 40.91%, 34.28%, -36.05% and 64.34%, respectively. High-throughput sequencing showed a microorganisms succession from inoculated activated sludge (S1) to activated sludge in MBR (S2) with high salinity. Richness and diversity of microorganisms in S2 was lower than S1 and the community structure of S1 exhibited more even than S2. The most relative abundance of genus in S1 and S2 were unclassified_Desulfarculaceae (9.39%) and Roseibaca (62.1%), respectively. High salinity and intermittent aeration represented different influence on the denitrifying genus, and non-aeration phase provided feasible dissolved oxygen condition for denitrifying genera realizing denitrification. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biochar affected by composting with farmyard manure.

PubMed

Prost, Katharina; Borchard, Nils; Siemens, Jan; Kautz, Timo; Séquaris, Jean-Marie; Möller, Andreas; Amelung, Wulf

2013-01-01

Biochar applications to soils can improve soil fertility by increasing the soil's cation exchange capacity (CEC) and nutrient retention. Because biochar amendment may occur with the applications of organic fertilizers, we tested to which extent composting with farmyard manure increases CEC and nutrient content of charcoal and gasification coke. Both types of biochar absorbed leachate generated during the composting process. As a result, the moisture content of gasification coke increased from 0.02 to 0.94 g g, and that of charcoal increased from 0.03 to 0.52 g g. With the leachate, the chars absorbed organic matter and nutrients, increasing contents of water-extractable organic carbon (gasification coke: from 0.09 to 7.00 g kg; charcoal: from 0.03 to 3.52 g kg), total soluble nitrogen (gasification coke: from not detected to 705.5 mg kg; charcoal: from 3.2 to 377.2 mg kg), plant-available phosphorus (gasification coke: from 351 to 635 mg kg; charcoal: from 44 to 190 mg kg), and plant-available potassium (gasification coke: from 6.0 to 15.3 g kg; charcoal: from 0.6 to 8.5 g kg). The potential CEC increased from 22.4 to 88.6 mmol kg for the gasification coke and from 20.8 to 39.0 mmol kg for the charcoal. There were little if any changes in the contents and patterns of benzene polycarboxylic acids of the biochars, suggesting that degradation of black carbon during the composting process was negligible. The surface area of the biochars declined during the composting process due to the clogging of micropores by sorbed compost-derived materials. Interactions with composting substrate thus enhance the nutrient loads but alter the surface properties of biochars. Copyright © by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Inc.

Combining plasma gasification and solid oxide cell technologies in advanced power plants for waste to energy and electric energy storage applications.

PubMed

Perna, Alessandra; Minutillo, Mariagiovanna; Lubrano Lavadera, Antonio; Jannelli, Elio

2018-03-01

The waste to energy (WtE) facilities and the renewable energy storage systems have a strategic role in the promotion of the "eco-innovation", an emerging priority in the European Union. This paper aims to propose advanced plant configurations in which waste to energy plants and electric energy storage systems from intermittent renewable sources are combined for obtaining more efficient and clean energy solutions in accordance with the "eco-innovation" approach. The advanced plant configurations consist of an electric energy storage (EES) section based on a solid oxide electrolyzer (SOEC), a waste gasification section based on the plasma technology and a power generation section based on a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The plant configurations differ for the utilization of electrolytic hydrogen and oxygen in the plasma gasification section and in the power generation section. In the first plant configuration IAPGFC (Integrated Air Plasma Gasification Fuel Cell), the renewable oxygen enriches the air stream, that is used as plasma gas in the gasification section, and the renewable hydrogen is used to enrich the anodic stream of the SOFC in the power generation section. In the second plant configuration IHPGFC (Integrated Hydrogen Plasma Gasification Fuel Cell) the renewable hydrogen is used as plasma gas in the plasma gasification section, and the renewable oxygen is used to enrich the cathodic stream of the SOFC in the power generation section. The analysis has been carried out by using numerical models for predicting and comparing the systems performances in terms of electric efficiency and capability in realizing the waste to energy and the electric energy storage of renewable sources. Results have highlighted that the electric efficiency is very high for all configurations (35-45%) and, thanks to the combination with the waste to energy technology, the storage efficiencies are very attractive (in the range 72-92%). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Supercritical water gasification of landfill leachate for hydrogen production in the presence and absence of alkali catalyst.

PubMed

Weijin, Gong; Binbin, Li; Qingyu, Wang; Zuohua, Huang; Liang, Zhao

2018-03-01

Gasification of landfill leachate in supercritical water using batch-type reactor is investigated. Alkali such as NaOH, KOH, K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 is used as catalyst. The effect of temperature (380-500 °C), retention time (5-25 min), landfill leachate concentration (1595 mg L -1 -15,225 mg L -1 ), catalyst adding amount (1-10 wt%) on hydrogen mole fraction, hydrogen yield, carbon gasification rate, COD, TOC, TN removal efficiency are investigated. The results showed that gaseous products mainly contained hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide without addition of catalyst. However, the main gaseous products are hydrogen and methane with addition of NaOH, KOH, K 2 CO 3 , Na 2 CO 3 . In the absence of alkali catalyst, the effect of temperature on landfill leachate gasification is positive. Hydrogen mole fraction, hydrogen yield, carbon gasification ratio increase with temperature, which maximum value being 55.6%, 107.15 mol kg -1 , 71.96% is obtained at 500 °C, respectively. Higher raw landfill leachate concentration leads to lower hydrogen production and carbon gasification rate. The suitable retention time is suggested to be 15 min for higher hydrogen production and carbon gasification rate. COD, TOC and TN removal efficiency also increase with increase of temperature, decrease of landfill leachate concentration. In the presence of catalyst, the hydrogen production is obviously promoted by addition of alkali catalyst. the effect of catalysts on hydrogen production is in the following order: NaOH ＞ KOH ＞ Na 2 CO 3  ＞ K 2 CO 3 . The maximum hydrogen mole fraction and hydrogen yield being 74.40%, 70.05 mol kg -1 is obtained with adding amount of 5 wt% NaOH at 450 °C, 28 MPa, 15 min. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Modeling and Numerical Investigation of the Process of Vapor-Oxygen Gasification of Solid Fuels in a Vertical Flow Reactor Under Pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rokhman, B. B.

2014-09-01

With the use of the developed model, detailed information has been obtained on the working process in a flow reactor with single- and two-stage schemes of vapor-oxygen gasification of coals under a pressure of 3 MPa. The dependence of the ratios of mass flow rates O2/coal and H2O/coal on the type of fuel has been established and their optimal values for the "Shell" process have been found. At a given consumption ratio of gas coal and brown coal of brand B1, the optimum diameters of particles providing minimum combustible loss of the carbon mixture have been determined. It has been found that the content of methane in the syngas in the case of two-stage gasification is much higher than in the case of single-stage gasification.

Gasification Reaction Characteristics of Ferro-Coke at Elevated Temperatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Peng; Zhang, Jian-liang; Gao, Bing

2017-01-01

In this paper, the effects of temperature and atmosphere on the gasification reaction of ferro-coke were investigated in consideration of the actual blast furnace conditions. Besides, the microstructure of the cokes was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is found that the weight loss of ferro-coke during the gasification reaction is significantly enhanced in the case of increasing either the reaction temperature or the CO2 concentration. Furthermore, compared with the normal type of metallurgical coke, ferro-coke exhibits a higher weight loss when they are gasified at the same temperature or under the same atmosphere. As to the microstructure, inside the reacted ferro-coke are a large amount of pores. Contrary to the normal coke, the proportions of the large-size pores and the through holes are greatly increased after gasification, giving rise to thinner pore walls and hence a degradation in coke strength after reaction (CSR).

Analysis of Hydrogen Generation through Thermochemical Gasification of Coconut Shell Using Thermodynamic Equilibrium Model Considering Char and Tar

PubMed Central

Rupesh, Shanmughom; Muraleedharan, Chandrasekharan; Arun, Palatel

2014-01-01

This work investigates the potential of coconut shell for air-steam gasification using thermodynamic equilibrium model. A thermodynamic equilibrium model considering tar and realistic char conversion was developed using MATLAB software to predict the product gas composition. After comparing it with experimental results the prediction capability of the model is enhanced by multiplying equilibrium constants with suitable coefficients. The modified model is used to study the effect of key process parameters like temperature, steam to biomass ratio, and equivalence ratio on product gas yield, composition, and heating value of syngas along with gasification efficiency. For a steam to biomass ratio of unity, the maximum mole fraction of hydrogen in the product gas is found to be 36.14% with a lower heating value of 7.49 MJ/Nm3 at a gasification temperature of 1500 K and equivalence ratio of 0.15. PMID:27433487

Analysis of Hydrogen Generation through Thermochemical Gasification of Coconut Shell Using Thermodynamic Equilibrium Model Considering Char and Tar.

PubMed

Rupesh, Shanmughom; Muraleedharan, Chandrasekharan; Arun, Palatel

2014-01-01

This work investigates the potential of coconut shell for air-steam gasification using thermodynamic equilibrium model. A thermodynamic equilibrium model considering tar and realistic char conversion was developed using MATLAB software to predict the product gas composition. After comparing it with experimental results the prediction capability of the model is enhanced by multiplying equilibrium constants with suitable coefficients. The modified model is used to study the effect of key process parameters like temperature, steam to biomass ratio, and equivalence ratio on product gas yield, composition, and heating value of syngas along with gasification efficiency. For a steam to biomass ratio of unity, the maximum mole fraction of hydrogen in the product gas is found to be 36.14% with a lower heating value of 7.49 MJ/Nm(3) at a gasification temperature of 1500 K and equivalence ratio of 0.15.

Waste gasification vs. conventional Waste-to-Energy: a comparative evaluation of two commercial technologies.

PubMed

Consonni, Stefano; Viganò, Federico

2012-04-01

A number of waste gasification technologies are currently proposed as an alternative to conventional Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants. Assessing their potential is made difficult by the scarce operating experience and the fragmentary data available. After defining a conceptual framework to classify and assess waste gasification technologies, this paper compares two of the proposed technologies with conventional WtE plants. Performances are evaluated by proprietary software developed at Politecnico di Milano and compared on the basis of a coherent set of assumptions. Since the two gasification technologies are configured as "two-step oxidation" processes, their energy performances are very similar to those of conventional plants. The potential benefits that may justify their adoption relate to material recovery and operation/emission control: recovery of metals in non-oxidized form; collection of ashes in inert, vitrified form; combustion control; lower generation of some pollutants. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrodynamic Stability of Multicomponent Droplet Gasification in Reduced Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aharon, I.; Shaw, B. D.

1995-01-01

This investigation addresses the problem of hydrodynamic stability of a two-component droplet undergoing spherically-symmetrical gasification. The droplet components are assumed to have characteristic liquid species diffusion times that are large relative to characteristic droplet surface regression times. The problem is formulated as a linear stability analysis, with a goal of predicting when spherically-symmetric droplet gasification can be expected to be hydrodynamically unstable from surface-tension gradients acting along the surface of a droplet which result from perturbations. It is found that for the conditions assumed in this paper (quasisteady gas phase, no initial droplet temperature gradients, diffusion-dominated gasification), surface tension gradients do not play a role in the stability characteristics. In addition, all perturbations are predicted to decay such that droplets were hydrodynamically stable. Conditions are identified, however, that deserve more analysis as they may lead to hydrodynamic instabilities driven by capillary effects.

Process simulation of ethanol production from biomass gasification and syngas fermentation.

PubMed

Pardo-Planas, Oscar; Atiyeh, Hasan K; Phillips, John R; Aichele, Clint P; Mohammad, Sayeed

2017-12-01

The hybrid gasification-syngas fermentation platform can produce more bioethanol utilizing all biomass components compared to the biochemical conversion technology. Syngas fermentation operates at mild temperatures and pressures and avoids using expensive pretreatment processes and enzymes. This study presents a new process simulation model developed with Aspen Plus® of a biorefinery based on a hybrid conversion technology for the production of anhydrous ethanol using 1200tons per day (wb) of switchgrass. The simulation model consists of three modules: gasification, fermentation, and product recovery. The results revealed a potential production of about 36.5million gallons of anhydrous ethanol per year. Sensitivity analyses were also performed to investigate the effects of gasification and fermentation parameters that are keys for the development of an efficient process in terms of energy conservation and ethanol production. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Correction of Dynamic Characteristics of SAR Cryogenic GTE on Consumption of Gasified Fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bukin, V. A.; Gimadiev, A. G.; Gangisetty, G.

2018-01-01

When the gas turbine engines (GTE) NK-88 were developed for liquid hydrogen and NK-89 for liquefied natural gas, performance of the systems with a turbo-pump unitary was improved and its proved without direct regulation of the flow of a cryogenic fuel, which was supplied by a centrifugal pump of the turbo-pump unit (TPU) Command from the “kerosene” system. Such type of the automatic control system (SAR) has the property of partial “neutralization” of the delay caused by gasification of the fuel. This does not require any measurements in the cryogenic medium, and the failure of the centrifugal cryogenic pump does not lead to engine failure. On the other hand, the system without direct regulation of the flow of cryogenic fuel has complex internal dynamic connections, their properties are determined by the characteristics of the incoming units and assemblies, and it is difficult to maintain accurate the maximum boundary level and minimum fuel consumption due to the influence of a booster pressure change. Direct regulation of the consumption of cryogenic fuel (prior to its gasification) is the preferred solution, since for using traditional liquid and gaseous fuels this is the main and proven method. The scheme of correction of dynamic characteristics of a single-loop SAR GTE for the consumption of a liquefied cryogenic fuel with a flow rate correction in its gasified state, which ensures the dynamic properties of the system is not worse than for NK-88 and NK-89 engines.

Analysis of carbon-oxygen reactions by use of a square-input response technique and {sup 18}O isotope

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miura, Kouichi; Nakagawa, Hiroyuki

1996-12-31

Carbon gasification reaction has been investigated for decades including the pioneering works of Walker and his co-workers, but its mechanism has not been completely elucidated. The concept of the active surface area (ASA) was proposed by them, and its importance has been recognized. However, since ASA was measured by O{sub 2} chemisorption at below 300{degrees}C where carbon loss through gasification is negligible, it does not reflect the actual gasification situation. To overcome this weak point, measurements of ASA in a batch reactor and the so-called transient kinetic (TK) method were proposed. Ahmed and Back successfully measured the chemisorbed oxygen duringmore » the gasification using a batch reactor, and proposed a new mechanistic sequence for carbon-oxygen reaction which stresses the importance of the reaction between the gaseous oxygen and the chemisorbed oxygen. Radovic et al. proposed the concept of the reactive surface area (RSA), and reported excellent proportionality between the CO{sub 2} gasification rate and the RSA estimated by the TK and the TPD methods. Kapteijn et al. showed that the TK method with labeled molecules is more powerful to examine the mechanism. They found the presence of two types of surface oxygen complexes which desorb at different rates. A Square-input response (SIR) method is applied to the carbon-oxygen reaction. This method allows the observation of transient changes on two step changes. This method has been successfully applied to the analysis of a coal char gasification.« less

Commercial-scale demonstration of the Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH{sup trademark}) process. Third quarterly report, 1996

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

The Liquid Phase Methanol (LPMEOH)(TM) demonstration project at King sport, Tennessee, is a $213.7 million cooperative agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Air Products Liquid Phase Conversion Company, L. P. (the Partnership). A demonstration unit producing 80,000 gallons per day (260 TPD) of methanol is being designed and constructed at a site located at the Eastman Chemical Company (Eastman) complex in Kingsport. The Partnership will own and operate the facility for the four year demonstration period. This project is sponsored under the DOE`s Clean Coal Technology Program, and its primary objective is to `demonstrate the production ofmore » methanol using the LPMEOH(TM) Process in conjunction with an integrated coal gasification facility.` The project will also demonstrate the suitability of the methanol produced for use as a chemical feedstock or as a low-sulfur dioxide, low-nitrogen oxides alternative fuel in stationary and transportation applications. The project may also demonstrate the production of dimethyl ether (DME) as a mixed coproduct with methanol, if laboratory- and pilot-scale research and market verification studies show promising results. If implemented, the DME would be produced during the last six months of the four year demonstration period. The LPMEOH(TM) process is the product of a cooperative development effort by Air Products and the DOE in a program that started in 1981. It was successfully piloted at a 10-TPD rate in the DOE-owned experimental unit at Air Products` LaPorte, Texas, site. This demonstration project is the culmination of that extensive cooperative development effort.« less

77 FR 36996 - South Mississippi Electric Cooperative: Plant Ratcliff, Kemper County Integrated Gasification...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-20

... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Rural Utilities Service South Mississippi Electric Cooperative: Plant Ratcliff, Kemper County Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project AGENCY: Rural Utilities... Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project currently under construction in Kemper County, Mississippi (hereinafter ``the...

Production of Hydrogen from Underground Coal Gasification

DOEpatents

Upadhye, Ravindra S.

2008-10-07

A system of obtaining hydrogen from a coal seam by providing a production well that extends into the coal seam; positioning a conduit in the production well leaving an annulus between the conduit and the coal gasification production well, the conduit having a wall; closing the annulus at the lower end to seal it from the coal gasification cavity and the syngas; providing at least a portion of the wall with a bifunctional membrane that serves the dual purpose of providing a catalyzing reaction and selectively allowing hydrogen to pass through the wall and into the annulus; and producing the hydrogen through the annulus.

A techno-economic approach to plasma gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, Ana; Rouboa, Abel

2018-05-01

Within the most used Waste-to-Energy technologies plasma gasification is recent and therefore not yet widely commercialized. Thus, it is necessary to conduct a viability study to support the thorough understanding and implementation of this thermal treatment. This paper aims to assess some technical, environmental and economic aspects of plasma gasification paving the way for a more sustained waste management system, as well as taking advantage of the commodity assets granted by the technique. Therefore, results from previously published studies were updated and highlighted as a preliminary starting point in order to potentially evolve to a complete and systematic work.

Method for producing bio-fuel that integrates heat from carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions to drive biomass gasification reactions

DOEpatents

Cortright, Randy D [Madison, WI; Dumesic, James A [Verona, WI

2012-04-10

A low-temperature catalytic process for converting biomass (preferably glycerol recovered from the fabrication of bio-diesel) to synthesis gas (i.e., H.sub.2/CO gas mixture) in an endothermic gasification reaction is described. The synthesis gas is used in exothermic carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions, such as Fischer-Tropsch, methanol, or dimethylether syntheses. The heat from the exothermic carbon-carbon bond-forming reaction is integrated with the endothermic gasification reaction, thus providing an energy-efficient route for producing fuels and chemicals from renewable biomass resources.

Method for producing bio-fuel that integrates heat from carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions to drive biomass gasification reactions

DOEpatents

Cortright, Randy D.; Dumesic, James A.

2013-04-02

A low-temperature catalytic process for converting biomass (preferably glycerol recovered from the fabrication of bio-diesel) to synthesis gas (i.e., H.sub.2/CO gas mixture) in an endothermic gasification reaction is described. The synthesis gas is used in exothermic carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions, such as Fischer-Tropsch, methanol, or dimethylether syntheses. The heat from the exothermic carbon-carbon bond-forming reaction is integrated with the endothermic gasification reaction, thus providing an energy-efficient route for producing fuels and chemicals from renewable biomass resources.

Method for producing bio-fuel that integrates heat from carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions to drive biomass gasification reactions

DOEpatents

Cortright, Randy D [Madison, WI; Dumesic, James A [Verona, WI

2011-01-18

A low-temperature catalytic process for converting biomass (preferably glycerol recovered from the fabrication of bio-diesel) to synthesis gas (i.e., H.sub.2/CO gas mixture) in an endothermic gasification reaction is described. The synthesis gas is used in exothermic carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions, such as Fischer-Tropsch, methanol, or dimethylether syntheses. The heat from the exothermic carbon-carbon bond-forming reaction is integrated with the endothermic gasification reaction, thus providing an energy-efficient route for producing fuels and chemicals from renewable biomass resources.

Experimental and modeling study of high performance direct carbon solid oxide fuel cell with in situ catalytic steam-carbon gasification reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Haoran; Chen, Bin; Zhang, Houcheng; Tan, Peng; Yang, Guangming; Irvine, John T. S.; Ni, Meng

2018-04-01

In this paper, 2D models for direct carbon solid oxide fuel cells (DC-SOFCs) with in situ catalytic steam-carbon gasification reaction are developed. The simulation results are found to be in good agreement with experimental data. The performance of DC-SOFCs with and without catalyst are compared at different operating potential, anode inlet gas flow rate and operating temperature. It is found that adding suitable catalyst can significantly speed up the in situ steam-carbon gasification reaction and improve the performance of DC-SOFC with H2O as gasification agent. The potential of syngas and electricity co-generation from the fuel cell is also evaluated, where the composition of H2 and CO in syngas can be adjusted by controlling the anode inlet gas flow rate. In addition, the performance DC-SOFCs and the percentage of fuel in the outlet gas are both increased with increasing operating temperature. At a reduced temperature (below 800 °C), good performance of DC-SOFC can still be obtained with in-situ catalytic carbon gasification by steam. The results of this study form a solid foundation to understand the important effect of catalyst and related operating conditions on H2O-assisted DC-SOFCs.

Application of a Cloud Model-Set Pair Analysis in Hazard Assessment for Biomass Gasification Stations.

PubMed

Yan, Fang; Xu, Kaili

2017-01-01

Because a biomass gasification station includes various hazard factors, hazard assessment is needed and significant. In this article, the cloud model (CM) is employed to improve set pair analysis (SPA), and a novel hazard assessment method for a biomass gasification station is proposed based on the cloud model-set pair analysis (CM-SPA). In this method, cloud weight is proposed to be the weight of index. In contrast to the index weight of other methods, cloud weight is shown by cloud descriptors; hence, the randomness and fuzziness of cloud weight will make it effective to reflect the linguistic variables of experts. Then, the cloud connection degree (CCD) is proposed to replace the connection degree (CD); the calculation algorithm of CCD is also worked out. By utilizing the CCD, the hazard assessment results are shown by some normal clouds, and the normal clouds are reflected by cloud descriptors; meanwhile, the hazard grade is confirmed by analyzing the cloud descriptors. After that, two biomass gasification stations undergo hazard assessment via CM-SPA and AHP based SPA, respectively. The comparison of assessment results illustrates that the CM-SPA is suitable and effective for the hazard assessment of a biomass gasification station and that CM-SPA will make the assessment results more reasonable and scientific.

Two stage fluid bed-plasma gasification process for solid waste valorisation: Technical review and preliminary thermodynamic modelling of sulphur emissions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morrin, Shane, E-mail: shane.morrin@ucl.ac.uk; Advanced Plasma Power, South Marston Business park, Swindon, SN3 4DE; Lettieri, Paola, E-mail: p.lettieri@ucl.ac.uk

2012-04-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We investigate sulphur during MSW gasification within a fluid bed-plasma process. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We review the literature on the feed, sulphur and process principles therein. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The need for research in this area was identified. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We perform thermodynamic modelling of the fluid bed stage. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Initial findings indicate the prominence of solid phase sulphur. - Abstract: Gasification of solid waste for energy has significant potential given an abundant feed supply and strong policy drivers. Nonetheless, significant ambiguities in the knowledge base are apparent. Consequently this study investigates sulphur mechanisms within a novel two stage fluid bed-plasma gasification process.more » This paper includes a detailed review of gasification and plasma fundamentals in relation to the specific process, along with insight on MSW based feedstock properties and sulphur pollutant therein. As a first step to understanding sulphur partitioning and speciation within the process, thermodynamic modelling of the fluid bed stage has been performed. Preliminary findings, supported by plant experience, indicate the prominence of solid phase sulphur species (as opposed to H{sub 2}S) - Na and K based species in particular. Work is underway to further investigate and validate this.« less

Investigation of air gasification of micronized coal, mechanically activated using the plasma control of the process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butakov, Evgenii; Burdukov, Anatoly; Chernetskiy, Mikhail; Kuznetsov, Victor

2017-10-01

Combination of the processes of coal combustion and gasification into a single technology of mechano-chemical and plasma-chemical activation is of a considerable scientific and technological interest. Enhancement of coal reactivity at their grinding with mechanical activation is associated with an increase in the reaction rate of carbon material, and at plasma-chemical effect, the main is an increase in reactivity of the oxidizing agent caused by the high plasma temperatures of atomic oxygen. The process of gasification was studied on the 1-MW setup with tangential scroll supply of pulverized coal-air mixture and cylindrical reaction chamber. Coal ground by the standard boiler mill is fed to the disintegrator, then, it is sent to the scroll inlet of the burner-reactor with the transport air. Pulverized coal is ignited by the plasmatron of 10-kW power. In experiments on air gasification of micronized coal, carried out at the temperature in the reaction chamber of 1000-1200°C and air excess α = 0.3-1, the data on CO concentration of 11% and H2 concentration of up to 6% were obtained. Air and air-steam gasification of mechanically-activated micronized coals with plasma control was calculated using SigmaFlow software package.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon formation during the gasification of sewage sludge in sub- and supercritical water: Effect of reaction parameters and reaction pathways.

PubMed

Gong, Miao; Wang, Yulan; Fan, Yujie; Zhu, Wei; Zhang, Huiwen; Su, Ying

2018-02-01

The formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon is a widespread issue during the supercritical water gasification of sewage sludge, which directly reduces the gasification efficiency and restricts the technology practical application. The changes of the concentrations and forms as well as the synthesis rate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the residues from supercritical water gasification of dewatered sewage sludge were investigated to understand influence factors and the reaction pathways. Results showed that the increase of reaction temperature during the heating period favours directly concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (especially higher-molecular-weight), especially when it raise above 300 °C. Lower heating and cooling rate essentially extend the total reaction time. Higher polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentration and higher number of rings were generally promoted by lower heating and cooling rate, longer reaction time and higher reaction temperature. The lower-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can be directly generated through the decomposition of aromatic-containing compounds in sewage sludge, as well as 3-ring and 4-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can be formed by aromatization of steroids. Possible mechanisms of reaction pathways of supercritical water gasification of sewage sludge were also proposed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gasification of black liquor

DOEpatents

Kohl, A.L.

1987-07-28

A concentrated aqueous black liquor containing carbonaceous material and alkali metal sulfur compounds is treated in a gasifier vessel containing a relatively shallow molten salt pool at its bottom to form a combustible gas and a sulfide-rich melt. The gasifier vessel, which is preferably pressurized, has a black liquor drying zone at its upper part, a black liquor solids gasification zone located below the drying zone, and a molten salt sulfur reduction zone which comprises the molten salt pool. A first portion of an oxygen-containing gas is introduced into the gas space in the gasification zone immediately above the molten salt pool. The remainder of the oxygen-containing gas is introduced into the molten salt pool in an amount sufficient to cause gasification of carbonaceous material entering the pool from the gasification zone but not sufficient to create oxidizing conditions in the pool. The total amount of the oxygen-containing gas introduced both above the pool and into the pool constitutes between 25 and 55% of the amount required for complete combustion of the black liquor feed. A combustible gas is withdrawn from an upper portion of the drying zone, and a melt in which the sulfur content is predominantly in the form of alkali metal sulfide is withdrawn from the molten salt sulfur reduction zone. 2 figs.

Gasification of black liquor

DOEpatents

Kohl, Arthur L.

1987-07-28

A concentrated aqueous black liquor containing carbonaceous material and alkali metal sulfur compounds is treated in a gasifier vessel containing a relatively shallow molten salt pool at its bottom to form a combustible gas and a sulfide-rich melt. The gasifier vessel, which is preferably pressurized, has a black liquor drying zone at its upper part, a black liquor solids gasification zone located below the drying zone, and a molten salt sulfur reduction zone which comprises the molten salt pool. A first portion of an oxygen-containing gas is introduced into the gas space in the gasification zone immediatley above the molten salt pool. The remainder of the oxygen-containing gas is introduced into the molten salt pool in an amount sufficient to cause gasification of carbonaceous material entering the pool from the gasification zone but not sufficient to create oxidizing conditions in the pool. The total amount of the oxygen-containing gas introduced both above the pool and into the pool constitutes between 25 and 55% of the amount required for complete combustion of the black liquor feed. A combustible gas is withdrawn from an upper portion of the drying zone, and a melt in which the sulfur content is predominantly in the form of alkali metal sulfide is withdrawn from the molten salt sulfur reduction zone.

Application of a Cloud Model-Set Pair Analysis in Hazard Assessment for Biomass Gasification Stations

PubMed Central

Yan, Fang; Xu, Kaili

2017-01-01

Because a biomass gasification station includes various hazard factors, hazard assessment is needed and significant. In this article, the cloud model (CM) is employed to improve set pair analysis (SPA), and a novel hazard assessment method for a biomass gasification station is proposed based on the cloud model-set pair analysis (CM-SPA). In this method, cloud weight is proposed to be the weight of index. In contrast to the index weight of other methods, cloud weight is shown by cloud descriptors; hence, the randomness and fuzziness of cloud weight will make it effective to reflect the linguistic variables of experts. Then, the cloud connection degree (CCD) is proposed to replace the connection degree (CD); the calculation algorithm of CCD is also worked out. By utilizing the CCD, the hazard assessment results are shown by some normal clouds, and the normal clouds are reflected by cloud descriptors; meanwhile, the hazard grade is confirmed by analyzing the cloud descriptors. After that, two biomass gasification stations undergo hazard assessment via CM-SPA and AHP based SPA, respectively. The comparison of assessment results illustrates that the CM-SPA is suitable and effective for the hazard assessment of a biomass gasification station and that CM-SPA will make the assessment results more reasonable and scientific. PMID:28076440

Application of CaO-Based Bed Material for Dual Fluidized Bed Steam Biomass Gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koppatz, S.; Pfeifer, C.; Kreuzeder, A.; Soukup, G.; Hofbauer, H.

Gasification of biomass is a suitable option for decentralized energy supply based on renewable sources in the range of up to 50 MW fuel input. The paper presents the dual fluidized bed (DFB) steam gasification process, which is applied to generate high quality and nitrogen-free product gas. Essential part of the DFB process is the bed material used in the fluidized reactors, which has significant impact on the product gas quality. By the use of catalytically active bed materials the performance of the overall process is increased, since the bed material favors reactions of the steam gasification. In particular, tar reforming reactions are favored. Within the paper, the pilot plant based on the DFB process with 100kW fuel input at Vienna University of Technology, Austria is presented. Actual investigations with focus on CaO-based bed materials (limestone) as well as with natural olivine as bed material were carried out at the pilot plant. The application of CaO-based bed material shows mainly decreased tar content in the product gas in contrast to experiments with olivine as bed material. The paper presents the results of steam gasification experiments with limestone and olivine, whereby the product gas composition as well as the tar content and the tar composition are outlined.

Microwave induced plasma for solid fuels and waste processing: A review on affecting factors and performance criteria.

PubMed

Ho, Guan Sem; Faizal, Hasan Mohd; Ani, Farid Nasir

2017-11-01

High temperature thermal plasma has a major drawback which consumes high energy. Therefore, non-thermal plasma which uses comparatively lower energy, for instance, microwave plasma is more attractive to be applied in gasification process. Microwave-induced plasma gasification also carries the advantages in terms of simplicity, compactness, lightweight, uniform heating and the ability to operate under atmospheric pressure that gains attention from researchers. The present paper synthesizes the current knowledge available for microwave plasma gasification on solid fuels and waste, specifically on affecting parameters and their performance. The review starts with a brief outline on microwave plasma setup in general, and followed by the effect of various operating parameters on resulting output. Operating parameters including fuel characteristics, fuel injection position, microwave power, addition of steam, oxygen/fuel ratio and plasma working gas flow rate are discussed along with several performance criteria such as resulting syngas composition, efficiency, carbon conversion, and hydrogen production rate. Based on the present review, fuel retention time is found to be the key parameter that influences the gasification performance. Therefore, emphasis on retention time is necessary in order to improve the performance of microwave plasma gasification of solid fuels and wastes. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Successful implementation of biochar carbon sequestration in European soils requires additional benefits and close collaboration with the bioenergy sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Müller-Stöver, Dorette; Bruun, Esben W.; Petersen, Carsten T.

2014-05-01

Biochar soil application has been proposed as a measure to mitigate climate change and on the same time improve soil fertility by increased soil carbon sequestration. However, while on tropical soils the beneficial effects of biochar application on crop growth often become immediately apparent, it has been shown to be more difficult to demonstrate these effects on the more fertile soils in temperate regions. Therefore and because of the lack of carbon credits for farmers, it is necessary to link biochar application to additional benefits, both related to agricultural as well as to bioenergy production. Thermal gasification of biomass is an efficient (95% energy efficiency) and flexible way (able to cope with many different and otherwise difficult-to-handle biomass fuels) to generate bioenergy, while producing a valuable by-product - gasification biochar, containing recalcitrant carbon and essential crop nutrients. The use of the residual char product in agricultural soils will add value to the technology as well as result in additional soil benefits such as providing plant nutrients and improving soil water-holding capacity while reducing leaching risks. From a soil column (30 x 130 cm) experiment with gasification straw biochar amendment to coarse sandy subsoil increased root density of barley at critical depths in the soil profile reducing the mechanical resistance was shown, increasing yields, and the soil's capacity to store plant available water. Incorporation of residuals from a bioenergy technology like gasification show great potentials to reduce subsoil constraints increasing yield potentials on poor soils. Another advantage currently not appropriately utilized is recovery of phosphorus (P). In a recent pot experiments char products originating from low-temperature gasification of various biofuels were evaluated for their suitability as P fertilizers. Wheat straw gasification biochar generally had a low P content but a high P plant availability. To improve the fertilizer value while keeping a high carbon content in the char, the gasification of a combination of sewage sludge and wheat straw was implemented, resulting in a char product with a promising performance as a fertilizer and soil amendment. To implement gasification-biochar as a promising soil improver on the marked, independently of potential carbon market developments and CO2 certificates, stakeholder involvement is strongly required. In a newly established project consortium Bregentved Estate (one of Europe's largest agriculture companies) and the DONG Energy company (one of the leading energy groups in Northern Europe) are in a joint effort trying to integrate the economic matrix of i) biomass needed for bioenergy, ii) profit from energy generation and iii) soil advantages gained from biochar application. Experiments are conducted with a 6MW biomass gasification demonstration plant producing straw biochar used in field plots (12 m x 250 m).

Solar hydrogen: harvesting light and heat from sun (Presentation Recording)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Liejin; Jing, Dengwei

2015-09-01

My research group in the State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering (SKLMF), Xi'an Jiaotong University has been focusing on renewable energy, especially solar hydrogen, for about 20 years. In this presentation, I will present the most recent progress in our group on solar hydrogen production using light and heat. Firstly, "cheap" photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic water splitting, including both nanostructured materials and pilot-scale demonstration in our group for light-driven solar hydrogen (artificial photosynthesis) will be introduced. Then I will make a deep introduction to the achievements on the thermal-driven solar hydrogen, i.e., biomass/coal gasification in supercritical water for large-scale and low-cost hydrogen production using concentrated solar light.

Dry syngas purification process for coal gas produced in oxy-fuel type integrated gasification combined cycle power generation with carbon dioxide capturing feature.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Makoto; Akiho, Hiroyuki

2017-12-01

Electricity production from coal fuel with minimizing efficiency penalty for the carbon dioxide abatement will bring us sustainable and compatible energy utilization. One of the promising options is oxy-fuel type Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (oxy-fuel IGCC) power generation that is estimated to achieve thermal efficiency of 44% at lower heating value (LHV) base and provide compressed carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) with concentration of 93 vol%. The proper operation of the plant is established by introducing dry syngas cleaning processes to control halide and sulfur compounds satisfying tolerate contaminants level of gas turbine. To realize the dry process, the bench scale test facility was planned to demonstrate the first-ever halide and sulfur removal with fixed bed reactor using actual syngas from O 2 -CO 2 blown gasifier for the oxy-fuel IGCC power generation. Design parameter for the test facility was required for the candidate sorbents for halide removal and sulfur removal. Breakthrough test was performed on two kinds of halide sorbents at accelerated condition and on honeycomb desulfurization sorbent at varied space velocity condition. The results for the both sorbents for halide and sulfur exhibited sufficient removal within the satisfactory short depth of sorbent bed, as well as superior bed conversion of the impurity removal reaction. These performance evaluation of the candidate sorbents of halide and sulfur removal provided rational and affordable design parameters for the bench scale test facility to demonstrate the dry syngas cleaning process for oxy-fuel IGCC system as the scaled up step of process development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical process modelling of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) and evaluation of produced gas quality for end use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korre, Anna; Andrianopoulos, Nondas; Durucan, Sevket

2015-04-01

Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) is an unconventional method for recovering energy from coal resources through in-situ thermo-chemical conversion to gas. In the core of the UCG lays the coal gasification process which involves the engineered injection of a blend of gasification agents into the coal resource and propagating its gasification. Athough UCG technology has been known for some time and considered a promising method for unconventional fossil fuel resources exploitation, there are limited modelling studies which achieve the necessary accuracy and realistic simulation of the processes involved. This paper uses the existing knowledge for surface gasifiers and investigates process designs which could be adapted to model UCG. Steady state simulations of syngas production were developed using the Advanced System for Process ENgineering (Aspen) Plus software. The Gibbs free energy minimisation method was used to simulate the different chemical reactor blocks which were combined using a FORTRAN code written. This approach facilitated the realistic simulation of the gasification process. A number of model configurations were developed to simulate different subsurface gasifier layouts considered for the exploitation of underground coal seams. The two gasifier layouts considered here are the linked vertical boreholes and the controlled retractable injection point (CRIP) methods. Different stages of the UCG process (i.e. initialisation, intermediate, end-phase) as well as the temperature level of the syngas collection point in each layout were found to be the two most decisive and distinctive parameters during the design of the optimal model configuration for each layout. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to investigate the significance of the operational parameters and the performance indicators used to evaluate the results. The operational parameters considered were the type of reagents injected (i.e. O2, N2, CO2, H2O), the ratio between the injected reagents and the feedstock quantity (i.e. coal), the pressure, the gasification and the combustion temperatures. The performance indicators included the composition and the energy content of the product gas as well as the carbon and energy efficiency achieved under each operational scenario. Different operational scenarios for every model configuration facilitated the cross-comparison among different configurations. The proximate and ultimate analysis data for the coal seams modelled were taken from a number of candidate UCG sites (Durucan et al., 2014) .The model findings were validated using the results of field trials reported in the literature. It was found that, increased gasification temperature leads to higher H2 and CO quantities in the product gas. Moreover, CH4 and CO2 concentrations increased as reaction pressure increased, while the CH4 quantity reached its highest value at the highest operational pressure, when combined with the lowest gasification temperature. The simulation models developed can be used to design and validate experimental UCG studies and offer significant advantages in terms of time and resource savings. As the UCG process consists of interrelated stages and a number of diverse phenomena, therefore, the gasification designs developed could act as the basis for an integrated UCG model tailored to the needs of a UCG pilot plant.

Steam gasification of waste tyre: Influence of process temperature on yield and product composition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Portofino, Sabrina, E-mail: sabrina.portofino@enea.it; Donatelli, Antonio; Iovane, Pierpaolo

Highlights: ► Steam gasification of waste tyre as matter and energy recovery treatment. ► Process temperature affects products yield and gas composition. ► High temperature promotes hydrogen production. ► Char exploitation as activated carbon or carbon source. - Abstract: An experimental survey of waste tyre gasification with steam as oxidizing agent has been conducted in a continuous bench scale reactor, with the aim of studying the influence of the process temperature on the yield and the composition of the products; the tests have been performed at three different temperatures, in the range of 850–1000 °C, holding all the other operationalmore » parameters (pressure, carrier gas flow, solid residence time). The experimental results show that the process seems promising in view of obtaining a good quality syngas, indicating that a higher temperature results in a higher syngas production (86 wt%) and a lower char yield, due to an enhancement of the solid–gas phase reactions with the temperature. Higher temperatures clearly result in higher hydrogen concentrations: the hydrogen content rapidly increases, attaining values higher than 65% v/v, while methane and ethylene gradually decrease over the range of the temperatures; carbon monoxide and dioxide instead, after an initial increase, show a nearly constant concentration at 1000 °C. Furthermore, in regards to the elemental composition of the synthesis gas, as the temperature increases, the carbon content continuously decreases, while the oxygen content increases; the hydrogen, being the main component of the gas fraction and having a small atomic weight, is responsible for the progressive reduction of the gas density at higher temperature.« less

Optimization Review, Fairfield Coal Gasification Plant Superfund Site, Fairfield, Iowa

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Fairfield Coal Gasification Plant (FCGP) also known as the Fairfield Former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) is located in the southwest 1/4 of the southeast 1/4, Section 26, Township 72 North, Range 10 West of Jefferson County, Iowa.

Prospects for the use of SMR and IGCC technologies for power generation in Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wyrwa, Artur; Suwała, Wojciech

2017-11-01

This study is a preliminary assessment of prospects for new power generation technologies that are of particular interest in Poland. We analysed the economic competitiveness of small size integrated gasification combined cycle units (IGCC) and small modular reactors (SMR). For comparison we used one of the most widely applied and universal metric i.e. Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE). The LCOE results were complemented with the results of energy-economic model TIMES-PL in order to analyse the economic viability of these technologies under operation regime of the entire power system. The results show that with techno-economic assumptions presented in the paper SMRs are more competitive option as compared to small IGCC units.

Philadelphia gas works medium-Btu coal gasification project: environmental assessment. [GKT supplied by Krupp-Koppers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1981-12-01

The coal gasification plant will occupy a 43-acre site, known as the Riverside Site, located along the Delaware River next to Port Richmond between the Betsy Ross and Benjamin Franklin Bridges. The cleared site was previously used for industrial purposes and has a G-2 industrial zoning. Adverse impacts during the construction phase of the project are not expected to be significantly different than those occurring during any major industrial construction project. During operation of the coal gasification facility, specific mitigative measures have been designed into the facility to avoid adverse environmental impacts wherever possible. In addition to these extensive engineeringmore » safeguards, elaborate monitoring and control instrumentation shall be used. The GKT entrained bed, oxygen-blown gasification process provided by Krupp/Koppers was selected because it is a commercially proven system and because of its positive environmental characteristics such as its ability to gasify many coal types and the fact that it does not produce tars, phenols, or ammonia. During gasification of the coal, pollutants such as heavy metals in the coal are concentrated into the slag and ash. None of these pollutants are found in the product gas. The facility will produce 250 tpd of non-hazardous slag and fly ash. The combined slag and fly ash will occupy 347 cubic yards per day of landfill volume. Available haulers and landfills have been identified.A sophisticated health and safety program will include appropriate monitoring instruments for CO, H/sub 2/, H/sub 2/S, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, organic compounds, and coal dust. Air emissions from operation of the coal gasification plant are not considered significant. Dust control systems have been designed into the facility to minimize fugitive dust emissions.« less

Systems Based Approaches for Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass to Bioenergy and Bioproducts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taylor, Steven

2016-07-11

Auburn’s Center for Bioenergy and Bioproducts conducts research on production of synthesis gas for use in power generation and the production of liquid fuels. The overall goal of our gasification research is to identify optimal processes for producing clean syngas to use in production of fuels and chemicals from underutilized agricultural and forest biomass feedstocks. This project focused on construction and commissioning of a bubbling-bed fluidized-bed gasifier and subsequent shakedown of the gasification and gas cleanup system. The result of this project is a fully commissioned gasification laboratory that is conducting testing on agricultural and forest biomass. Initial tests onmore » forest biomass have served as the foundation for follow-up studies on gasification under a more extensive range of temperatures, pressures, and oxidant conditions. The laboratory gasification system consists of a biomass storage tank capable of holding up to 6 tons of biomass; a biomass feeding system, with loss-in-weight metering system, capable of feeding biomass at pressures up to 650 psig; a bubbling-bed fluidized-bed gasification reactor capable of operating at pressures up to 650 psig and temperatures of 1500oF with biomass flowrates of 80 lb/hr and syngas production rates of 37 scfm; a warm-gas filtration system; fixed bed reactors for gas conditioning; and a final quench cooling system and activated carbon filtration system for gas conditioning prior to routing to Fischer-Tropsch reactors, or storage, or venting. This completed laboratory enables research to help develop economically feasible technologies for production of biomass-derived synthesis gases that will be used for clean, renewable power generation and for production of liquid transportation fuels. Moreover, this research program provides the infrastructure to educate the next generation of engineers and scientists needed to implement these technologies.« less

The United States of America and the People`s Republic of China experts report on integrated gasification combined-cycle technology (IGCC) (in English;Chinese)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1996-12-01

A report written by the leading US and Chinese experts in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants, intended for high level decision makers, may greatly accelerate the development of an IGCC demonstration project in the People`s Republic of China (PRC). The potential market for IGCC systems in China and the competitiveness of IGCC technology with other clean coal options for China have been analyzed in the report. Such information will be useful not only to the Chinese government but also to US vendors and companies. The goal of this report is to analyze the energy supply structure of China,more » China`s energy and environmental protection demand, and the potential market in China in order to make a justified and reasonable assessment on feasibility of the transfer of US Clean Coal Technologies to China. The Expert Report was developed and written by the joint US/PRC IGCC experts and will be presented to the State Planning Commission (SPC) by the President of the CAS to ensure consideration of the importance of IGCC for future PRC power production.« less

Hydrometallurgical recovery of germanium from coal gasification fly ash: pilot plant scale evaluation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arroyo, F.; Fernandez-Pereira, C.; Olivares, J.

2009-04-15

In this article, a hydrometallurgical method for the selective recovery of germanium from fly ash (FA) has been tested at pilot plant scale. The pilot plant flowsheet comprised a first stage of water leaching of FA, and a subsequent selective recovery of the germanium from the leachate by solvent extraction method. The solvent extraction method was based on Ge complexation with catechol in an aqueous solution followed by the extraction of the Ge-catechol complex (Ge(C{sub 6}H{sub 4}O{sub 2}){sub 3}{sup 2-}) with an extracting organic reagent (trioctylamine) diluted in an organic solvent (kerosene), followed by the subsequent stripping of the organicmore » extract. The process has been tested on a FA generated in an integrated gasification with combined cycle (IGCC) process. The paper describes the designed 5 kg/h pilot plant and the tests performed on it. Under the operational conditions tested, approximately 50% of germanium could be recovered from FA after a water extraction at room temperature. Regarding the solvent extraction method, the best operational conditions for obtaining a concentrated germanium-bearing solution practically free of impurities were as follows: extraction time equal to 20 min; aqueous phase/organic phase volumetric ratio equal to 5; stripping with 1 M NaOH, stripping time equal to 30 min, and stripping phase/organic phase volumetric ratio equal to 5. 95% of germanium were recovered from water leachates using those conditions.« less

Mathematical Modeling of Ultra-Superheated Steam Gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xin, Fen

Pure steam gasification has been of interest in hydrogen production, but with the challenge of supplying heat for endothermic reactions. Traditional solutions included either combusting feedstocks at the price of decreasing carbon conversion ratio, or using costly heating apparatus. Therefore, a distributed gasifier with an Ultra-Superheated-Steam (USS) generator was invented, satisfying the heat requirement and avoiding carbon combustion in steam gasification. This project developed the first version of the Ultra-Superheated-Steam-Fluidization-Model (USSFM V1.0) for the USS gasifier. A stand-alone equilibrium combustion model was firstly developed to calculate the USS mixture, which was the input to the USSFM V1.0. Model development of the USSFM V1.0 included assumptions, governing equations, boundary conditions, supporting equations and iterative schemes of guessed values. There were three nested loops in the dense bed and one loop in the freeboard. The USSFM V1.0 included one main routine and twenty-four subroutines. The USSFM V1.0 was validated with experimental data from the Enercon USS gasifier. The calculated USS mixture had a trace of oxygen, validating the initial expectation of creating an oxygen-free environment in the gasifier. Simulations showed that the USS mixture could satisfy the gasification heat requirement without partial carbon combustion. The USSFM V1.0 had good predictions on the H2% in all tests, and on other variables at a level of the lower oxygen feed. Provided with higher oxygen feed, the USSFM V1.0 simulated hotter temperatures, higher CO% and lower CO2%. Errors were explained by assumptions of equilibrium combustion, adiabatic reactors, reaction kinetics, etc. By investigating specific modeling data, gas-particle convective heat transfers were found to be critical in energy balance equations of both emulsion gas and particles, while bubble size controlled both the mass and energy balance equations of bubble gas. Parametric study suggested a lower level of oxygen feed for higher content of hydrogen. However, too little oxygen would impede fluidization in the bed. The reasonability of iterative schemes and the stability of USSFM V1.0 were tested by the sensitivity analysis of two guessed values. Analytical Hierarchy Process analysis indicated that large-scale gasification is advantageous for hydrogen production but with impediments of high capital cost and CO2 emissions. This study manifested the USS gasifier offering the possibility of generating H2-rich and CO2-lean syngas in a much cheaper distributed way. Currently, the FORTRAN-based USSFM V1.0 had a good correlation with experimental data with a small oxygen feed. On the demand of wider applications, suggestions were proposed at last for the model improvement in future.

BIMOMASS GASIFICATION PILOT PLANT STUDY

EPA Science Inventory

The report gives results of a gasification pilot program using two biomass feedstocks: bagasse pellets and wood chips. he object of the program was to determine the properties of biomass product gas and its suitability as a fuel for gas-turbine-based power generation cycles. he f...

TECHNOECONOMIC APPRAISAL OF INTEGRATED GASIFICATION COMBINED-CYCLE POWER GENERATION

EPA Science Inventory

The report is a technoeconomic appraisal of the integrated (coal) gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) system. lthough not yet a proven commercial technology, IGCC is a future competitive technology to current pulverized-coal boilers equipped with SO2 and NOx controls, because of i...

BIOMASS GASIFICATION FOR AGRICULTURAL ENERGY SOURCES AND SOIL ENRICHMENT

EPA Science Inventory

Phase I of the Biomass Gasification Project gave birth to many success stories and demonstrated enormous potential for members of the local agricultural community and for students within the university.

Community-building

Watauga County Cooperative Ext...

78 FR 43870 - Hydrogen Energy California's Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Project; Preliminary Staff...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-22

... Combined Cycle Project; Preliminary Staff Assessment and Draft Environmental Impact Statement AGENCY... Combined Cycle Project Preliminary Staff Assessment/Draft Environmental Impact Statement (PSA/DEIS) (DOE... Gasification Combined Cycle Project, which would be designed, constructed, and operated by HECA, LLC. HECA's...

30 CFR 870.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... situ coal mining means activities conducted on the surface or underground in connection with in-place... not limited to, in situ gasification, in situ leaching, slurry mining, solution mining, bore hole mining, and fluid recovery mining. At this time, part 870 considers only in situ gasification. Inherent...

30 CFR 870.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... situ coal mining means activities conducted on the surface or underground in connection with in-place... not limited to, in situ gasification, in situ leaching, slurry mining, solution mining, bore hole mining, and fluid recovery mining. At this time, part 870 considers only in situ gasification. Inherent...

30 CFR 870.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... situ coal mining means activities conducted on the surface or underground in connection with in-place... not limited to, in situ gasification, in situ leaching, slurry mining, solution mining, bore hole mining, and fluid recovery mining. At this time, part 870 considers only in situ gasification. Inherent...

30 CFR 870.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... situ coal mining means activities conducted on the surface or underground in connection with in-place... not limited to, in situ gasification, in situ leaching, slurry mining, solution mining, bore hole mining, and fluid recovery mining. At this time, part 870 considers only in situ gasification. Inherent...

30 CFR 870.5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... situ coal mining means activities conducted on the surface or underground in connection with in-place... not limited to, in situ gasification, in situ leaching, slurry mining, solution mining, bore hole mining, and fluid recovery mining. At this time, part 870 considers only in situ gasification. Inherent...

Low-temperature catalytic gasification of food processing wastes. 1995 topical report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elliott, D.C.; Hart, T.R.

The catalytic gasification system described in this report has undergone continuing development and refining work at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for over 16 years. The original experiments, performed for the Gas Research Institute, were aimed at developing kinetics information for steam gasification of biomass in the presence of catalysts. From the fundamental research evolved the concept of a pressurized, catalytic gasification system for converting wet biomass feedstocks to fuel gas. Extensive batch reactor testing and limited continuous stirred-tank reactor tests provided useful design information for evaluating the preliminary economics of the process. This report is a follow-on to previousmore » interim reports which reviewed the results of the studies conducted with batch and continuous-feed reactor systems from 1989 to 1994, including much work with food processing wastes. The discussion here provides details of experiments on food processing waste feedstock materials, exclusively, that were conducted in batch and continuous- flow reactors.« less

A short review on the potential of coffee husk gasification for sustainable energy in Uganda.

PubMed

Miito, Gilbert John; Banadda, Noble

2017-01-01

Agricultural biomass is widely recognized as a clean and renewable energy source, with increasing potential to replace conventional fossil fuels in the energy market. Uganda, like other developing countries, has a high dependency (91%) on wood fuel, leading to environmental degradation. With a coffee production of 233 Metric Tonnes per annum, relating to 46.6 Mega Tonnes of coffee husks from processing, transforming these husks into syngas through gasification can contribute to resolving the existing energy challenges. The objective of this article is to briefly review the energy potential of coffee husks through gasification, and how the gasification process could increase energy recoveries for coffee farmers. Previous  findings indicate that the 46.6 Mega Tonnes per year of coffee husks generated in Uganda, with a heating value of 18.34 MJ/kg, is capable of generating 24 GWh of energy. This will address a 0.7% portion of the energy situation in Uganda, while protecting the environment.

CO2 gasification of char from lignocellulosic garden waste: Experimental and kinetic study.

PubMed

Gupta, Ankita; Thengane, Sonal K; Mahajani, Sanjay

2018-04-25

In this study, the dry leaves litter from jackfruit, raintree, mango and eucalyptus trees, lignin, and cellulose were characterized, pyrolysed, and evaluated for their char reactivity towards CO 2 gasification using TGA. The differences in char reactivity were attributed to the difference in char morphology and the varying inorganic contents. The mineral analysis of biomass ash showed the presence of alkali minerals some of which could act as catalysts. The adverse effect of high silica content was also evident through the experimental results. The kinetic parameters for gasification reaction were determined using three different reaction models. A modified random pore model was investigated to account for the influence of inorganic content. The effect of external catalyst on CO 2 gasification was also studied by adding potassium carbonate to biomass char and pellets. The results obtained from this study can be conveniently used in the design of a gasifier for lignocellulosic garden waste. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A short review on the potential of coffee husk gasification for sustainable energy in Uganda

PubMed Central

Miito, Gilbert John; Banadda, Noble

2017-01-01

Agricultural biomass is widely recognized as a clean and renewable energy source, with increasing potential to replace conventional fossil fuels in the energy market. Uganda, like other developing countries, has a high dependency (91%) on wood fuel, leading to environmental degradation. With a coffee production of 233 Metric Tonnes per annum, relating to 46.6 Mega Tonnes of coffee husks from processing, transforming these husks into syngas through gasification can contribute to resolving the existing energy challenges. The objective of this article is to briefly review the energy potential of coffee husks through gasification, and how the gasification process could increase energy recoveries for coffee farmers. Previous  findings indicate that the 46.6 Mega Tonnes per year of coffee husks generated in Uganda, with a heating value of 18.34 MJ/kg, is capable of generating 24 GWh of energy. This will address a 0.7% portion of the energy situation in Uganda, while protecting the environment. PMID:29259766

Characterization of ash melting behaviour at high temperatures under conditions simulating combustible solid waste gasification.

PubMed

Niu, Miaomiao; Dong, Qing; Huang, Yaji; Jin, Baosheng; Wang, Hongyan; Gu, Haiming

2018-05-01

To achieve high-temperature gasification-melting of combustible solid waste, ash melting behaviour under conditions simulating high-temperature gasification were studied. Raw ash (RA) and gasified ash (GA) were prepared respectively by waste ashing and fluidized bed gasification. Results of microstructure and composition of the two-ash indicated that GA showed a more porous structure and higher content of alkali and alkali earth metals among metallic elements. Higher temperature promoted GA melting and could reach a complete flowing state at about 1250°C. The order of melting rate of GA under different atmospheres was reducing condition > inert condition > oxidizing condition, which might be related to different existing forms of iron during melting and different flux content with atmosphere. Compared to RA, GA showed lower melting activity at the same condition due to the existence of an unconverted carbon and hollow structure. The melting temperature for sufficient melting and separation of GA should be at least 1250°C in this work.

Enhanced Reduction of Few-Layer Graphene Oxide via Supercritical Water Gasification of Glycerol

PubMed Central

Arcelus-Arrillaga, Pedro; Millan, Marcos; Suelves, Isabel

2017-01-01

A sustainable and effective method for de-oxygenation of few-layer graphene oxide (FLGO) by glycerol gasification in supercritical water (SCW) is described. In this manner, reduction of FLGO and valorization of glycerol, in turn catalyzed by FLGO, are achieved simultaneously. The addition of glycerol enhanced FLGO oxygen removal by up to 59% due to the in situ hydrogen generation as compared to the use of SCW only. Physicochemical characterization of the reduced FLGO (rFLGO) showed a high restoration of the sp2-conjugated carbon network. FLGO sheets with a starting C/O ratio of 2.5 are reduced by SCW gasification of glycerol to rFLGO with a C/O ratio of 28.2, above those reported for hydrazine-based methods. Additionally, simultaneous glycerol gasification resulted in the concurrent production of H2, CO, CH4 and valuable hydrocarbons such as alkylated and non-alkylated long chain hydrocarbon (C12–C31), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and phthalate, phenol, cresol and furan based compounds. PMID:29240720

Reforming of glucose and wood at the critical conditions of water

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Modell, M.

1977-01-01

Reforming of organics in aqueous solutions is being investigated as a potential waste treatment process. Earlier studies showed that glucose in water reacts to form a gaseous mixture of CO, H2, CH4, CO2, C2H6, and C2H4 in the vicinity of the critical conditions of water (374 C, 22 MPa). The earlier work has been extended to determine the effect of variations in temperature and feed concentration on the extent of gasification. The percent gasification decreases with increasing feed concentration, indicating an overall kinetic order less than unity. Surprisingly, the percent gasification decreases with increasing temperature. A number of preliminary experiments were conducted with maple sawdust feed, which was thought to be representative of complex organic wastes from paper and vegetable matter. Once again, no solid products were found under the critical conditions; the percent gasification ranged from 16 to 88 percent, depending on the feed composition and residence time.

Numerical investigation of cryogen re-gasification in a plate heat exchanger

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malecha, Ziemowit; Płuszka, Paweł; Brenk, Arkadiusz

2017-12-01

The efficient re-gasification of cryogen is a crucial process in many cryogenic installations. It is especially important in the case of LNG evaporators used in stationary and mobile applications (e.g. marine and land transport). Other gases, like nitrogen or argon can be obtained at highest purity after re-gasification from their liquid states. Plate heat exchangers (PHE) are characterized by a high efficiency. Application of PHE for liquid gas vaporization processes can be beneficial. PHE design and optimization can be significantly supported by numerical modelling. Such calculations are very challenging due to very high computational demands and complexity related to phase change modelling. In the present work, a simplified mathematical model of a two phase flow with phase change was introduced. To ensure fast calculations a simplified two-dimensional (2D) numerical model of a real PHE was developed. It was validated with experimental measurements and finally used for LNG re-gasification modelling. The proposed numerical model showed to be orders of magnitude faster than its full 3D original.

Equilibrium model analysis of waste plastics gasification using CO2 and steam.

PubMed

Kannan, P; Lakshmanan, G; Al Shoaibi, A; Srinivasakannan, C

2017-12-01

Utilization of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in thermochemical treatment of waste plastics may significantly help to improve CO 2 recycling, thus simultaneously curtailing dioxins/furans and CO 2 emissions. Although CO 2 is not such an effective gasifying agent as steam, a few investigations have explored the utilization of CO 2 in conjunction with steam to achieve somewhat higher carbon conversion. This work presents a comparative evaluation study of CO 2 and steam gasification of a typical post-consumer waste plastics mixture using an Aspen Plus equilibrium model. The effect of flow rate of gasifying medium (CO 2 and/or steam) and gasification temperature on product gas composition, carbon conversion, and cold gas efficiency has been analyzed. Simulation results demonstrate that CO 2 can serve as a potential gasifying agent for waste plastics gasification. The resulting product gas was rich in CO whereas CO 2 -steam blends yield a wider H 2 /CO ratio, thus extending the applications of the product gas.

Investigation on the fates of vanadium and nickel during co-gasification of petroleum coke with biomass.

PubMed

Li, Jiazhou; Wang, Xiaoyu; Wang, Bing; Zhao, Jiantao; Fang, Yitian

2018-06-01

This study investigates the volatilization behaviors and mineral transformation of vanadium and nickel during co-gasification of petroleum coke with biomass. Moreover, the evolution of occurrence modes of vanadium and nickel was also determined by the method of sequential chemical extraction. The results show that the volatilities of vanadium and nickel in petroleum coke have a certain level of growth with an increase in the temperature. With the addition of biomass, their volatilities both show an obvious decrease. Organic matter and stable forms are the dominant chemical forms of vanadium and nickel. After gasification, organic-bound vanadium and nickel decompose completely and convert into other chemical forms. The crystalline phases of vanadium trioxide, coulsonite, nickel sulfide, and elemental nickel are clearly present in petroleum coke and biomass gasification ashes. When the addition of biomass reaches 60 wt%, the diffraction peaks of orthovanadate are found while that of vanadium trioxide disappear. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance of biofuel processes utilising separate lignin and carbohydrate processing.

PubMed

Melin, Kristian; Kohl, Thomas; Koskinen, Jukka; Hurme, Markku

2015-09-01

Novel biofuel pathways with increased product yields are evaluated against conventional lignocellulosic biofuel production processes: methanol or methane production via gasification and ethanol production via steam-explosion pre-treatment. The novel processes studied are ethanol production combined with methanol production by gasification, hydrocarbon fuel production with additional hydrogen produced from lignin residue gasification, methanol or methane synthesis using synthesis gas from lignin residue gasification and additional hydrogen obtained by aqueous phase reforming in synthesis gas production. The material and energy balances of the processes were calculated by Aspen flow sheet models and add on excel calculations applicable at the conceptual design stage to evaluate the pre-feasibility of the alternatives. The processes were compared using the following criteria: energy efficiency from biomass to products, primary energy efficiency, GHG reduction potential and economy (expressed as net present value: NPV). Several novel biorefinery concepts gave higher energy yields, GHG reduction potential and NPV. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plasma gasification of refuse derived fuel in a single-stage system using different gasifying agents.

PubMed

Agon, N; Hrabovský, M; Chumak, O; Hlína, M; Kopecký, V; Masláni, A; Bosmans, A; Helsen, L; Skoblja, S; Van Oost, G; Vierendeels, J

2016-01-01

The renewable evolution in the energy industry and the depletion of natural resources are putting pressure on the waste industry to shift towards flexible treatment technologies with efficient materials and/or energy recovery. In this context, a thermochemical conversion method of recent interest is plasma gasification, which is capable of producing syngas from a wide variety of waste streams. The produced syngas can be valorized for both energetic (heat and/or electricity) and chemical (ammonia, hydrogen or liquid hydrocarbons) end-purposes. This paper evaluates the performance of experiments on a single-stage plasma gasification system for the treatment of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from excavated waste. A comparative analysis of the syngas characteristics and process yields was done for seven cases with different types of gasifying agents (CO2+O2, H2O, CO2+H2O and O2+H2O). The syngas compositions were compared to the thermodynamic equilibrium compositions and the performance of the single-stage plasma gasification of RDF was compared to that of similar experiments with biomass and to the performance of a two-stage plasma gasification process with RDF. The temperature range of the experiment was from 1400 to 1600 K and for all cases, a medium calorific value syngas was produced with lower heating values up to 10.9 MJ/Nm(3), low levels of tar, high levels of CO and H2 and which composition was in good agreement to the equilibrium composition. The carbon conversion efficiency ranged from 80% to 100% and maximum cold gas efficiency and mechanical gasification efficiency of respectively 56% and 95%, were registered. Overall, the treatment of RDF proved to be less performant than that of biomass in the same system. Compared to a two-stage plasma gasification system, the produced syngas from the single-stage reactor showed more favourable characteristics, while the recovery of the solid residue as a vitrified slag is an advantage of the two-stage set-up. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Literature survey of properties of synfuels derived from coal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flores, F.

1982-01-01

A literature survey of the properties of synfuels for ground-based turbine applications is presented. The four major concepts for converting coal into liquid fuels (solvent extraction, catalytic liquefaction, pyrolysis, and indirect liquefaction), and the most important concepts for coal gasification (fixed bed, fluidized bed, entrained flow, and underground gasification) are described. Upgrading processes for coal derived liquid fuels are also described. Data presented for liquid fuels derived from various processes, including H-coal, synthoil, solvent refined coal, COED, donor solvent, zinc chloride hydrocracking, co-steam, and flash pyrolysis. Typical composition, and property data is also presented for low and medium-BTU gases derived from the various coal gasification processes.

Systems Analysis Of Advanced Coal-Based Power Plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ferrall, Joseph F.; Jennings, Charles N.; Pappano, Alfred W.

1988-01-01

Report presents appraisal of integrated coal-gasification/fuel-cell power plants. Based on study comparing fuel-cell technologies with each other and with coal-based alternatives and recommends most promising ones for research and development. Evaluates capital cost, cost of electricity, fuel consumption, and conformance with environmental standards. Analyzes sensitivity of cost of electricity to changes in fuel cost, to economic assumptions, and to level of technology. Recommends further evaluation of integrated coal-gasification/fuel-cell integrated coal-gasification/combined-cycle, and pulverized-coal-fired plants. Concludes with appendixes detailing plant-performance models, subsystem-performance parameters, performance goals, cost bases, plant-cost data sheets, and plant sensitivity to fuel-cell performance.

NANOMATERIAL SOLUTIONS FOR HOT COAL GAS CLEANUP - PHASE I

EPA Science Inventory

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) is a new coal gasification technique that efficiently uses the hot (900-1500°C) generated syngas to power both steam and gas turbines. Due to regulations, this syngas must be free of sulfur and purification is normally carried ...

Evaluation of two different alternatives of energy recovery from municipal solid waste in Brazil.

PubMed

Medina Jimenez, Ana Carolina; Nordi, Guilherme Henrique; Palacios Bereche, Milagros Cecilia; Bereche, Reynaldo Palacios; Gallego, Antonio Garrido; Nebra, Silvia Azucena

2017-11-01

Brazil has a large population with a high waste generation. The municipal solid waste (MSW) generated is deposited mainly in landfills. However, a considerable fraction of the waste is still improperly disposed of in dumpsters. In order to overcome this inadequate deposition, it is necessary to seek alternative routes. Between these alternatives, it is possible to quote gasification and incineration. The objective of this study is to compare, from an energetic and economic point of view, these technologies, aiming at their possible implementation in Brazilian cities. A total of two configurations were evaluated: (i) waste incineration with energy recovery and electricity production in a steam cycle; and (ii) waste gasification, where the syngas produced is used as fuel in a boiler of a steam cycle for electricity production. Simulations were performed assuming the same amount of available waste for both configurations, with a composition corresponding to the MSW from Santo André, Brazil. The thermal efficiencies of the gasification and incineration configurations were 19.3% and 25.1%, respectively. The difference in the efficiencies was caused by the irreversibilities associated with the gasification process, and the additional electricity consumption in the waste treatment step. The economic analysis presented a cost of electrical energy produced of 0.113 (US$ kWh -1 ) and 0.139 (US$ kWh -1 ) for the incineration and gasification plants respectively.

Modeling of the reburning process using sewage sludge-derived syngas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Werle, Sebastian, E-mail: sebastian.werle@polsl.pl

2012-04-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Gasification provides an attractive method for sewage sludges treatment. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Gasification generates a fuel gas (syngas) which can be used as a reburning fuel. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Reburning potential of sewage sludge gasification gases was defined. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Numerical simulation of co-combustion of syngases in coal fired boiler has been done. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Calculation shows that analysed syngases can provide higher than 80% reduction of NO{sub x}. - Abstract: Gasification of sewage sludge can provide clean and effective reburning fuel for combustion applications. The motivation of this work was to define the reburning potential of the sewage sludge gasification gas (syngas). Amore » numerical simulation of the co-combustion process of syngas in a hard coal-fired boiler was done. All calculations were performed using the Chemkin programme and a plug-flow reactor model was used. The calculations were modelled using the GRI-Mech 2.11 mechanism. The highest conversions for nitric oxide (NO) were obtained at temperatures of approximately 1000-1200 K. The combustion of hard coal with sewage sludge-derived syngas reduces NO emissions. The highest reduction efficiency (>90%) was achieved when the molar flow ratio of the syngas was 15%. Calculations show that the analysed syngas can provide better results than advanced reburning (connected with ammonia injection), which is more complicated process.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bartke, T.C.

Under the US Department of Energy's Underground-Coal-Conversion program, four field tests were completed in 1979 and preparations were begun in 1980 for two additional field tests to be operated in 1981. The Laramie Energy Technology Center (LETC) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) completed Hanna IV, an air gasification test in Wyoming subbituminous coal. The Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC) completed Pricetown 1, an air gasification test in West Virginia bituminous coal. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) completed Hoe Creek 3, a steam-oxygen gasification test in Wyoming subbituminous coal. Gulf Research and Development Co. completed Steeply Dipping Beds (SDB) Test 1,more » primarily an air gasification test in Wyoming subbituminous coal and the first SDB test in the US. In 1980, Gulf R and D Co. began preparation of SDB Test 2, scheduled for operation in the fall of 1981. The DOE project teams at LETC, METC, LLNL, and SNL, in association with the Washington Irrigation and Development Co. (WIDCo), Washington Water Power (WWP), and the State of Washington, are preparing a field test site in the Centralia-Chehalis coal district of Washington. A series of large coal block tests will be completed prior to the field test, scheduled for operation in 1982 or 1983. This field test will utilize a directionally drilled link and steam-oxygen gasification system. This paper summarizes the results of the four recently completed field tests and the plans for additional tests.« less

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) production and gasification in a pilot plant integrated with an Otto cycle ICE through Aspen plus™ modelling: Thermodynamic and economic viability.

PubMed

Násner, Albany Milena Lozano; Lora, Electo Eduardo Silva; Palacio, José Carlos Escobar; Rocha, Mateus Henrique; Restrepo, Julian Camilo; Venturini, Osvaldo José; Ratner, Albert

2017-11-01

This work deals with the development of a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) gasification pilot plant using air as a gasification agent. A downdraft fixed bed reactor is integrated with an Otto cycle Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). Modelling was carried out using the Aspen Plus™ software to predict the ideal operational conditions for maximum efficiency. Thermodynamics package used in the simulation comprised the Non-Random Two-Liquid (NRTL) model and the Hayden-O'Connell (HOC) equation of state. As expected, the results indicated that the Equivalence Ratio (ER) has a direct influence over the gasification temperature and the composition of the Raw Produced Gas (RPG), and effects of ER over the Lower Heating Value (LHV) and Cold Gasification Efficiency (CGE) of the RPG are also discussed. A maximum CGE efficiency of 57-60% was reached for ER values between 0.25 and 0.3, also an average reactor temperature values in the range of 680-700°C, with a peak LHV of 5.8MJ/Nm 3 . RPG was burned in an ICE, reaching an electrical power of 50kW el . The economic assessment of the pilot plant implementation was also performed, showing the project is feasible, with power above 120kW el with an initial investment of approximately US$ 300,000. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sampling of tar from sewage sludge gasification using solid phase adsorption.

PubMed

Ortiz González, Isabel; Pérez Pastor, Rosa Ma; Sánchez Hervás, José Ma

2012-06-01

Sewage sludge is a residue from wastewater treatment plants which is considered to be harmful to the environment and all living organisms. Gasification technology is a potential source of renewable energy that converts the sewage sludge into gases that can be used to generate energy or as raw material in chemical synthesis processes. But tar produced during gasification is one of the problems for the implementation of the gasification technology. Tar can condense on pipes and filters and may cause blockage and corrosion in the engines and turbines. Consequently, to minimize tar content in syngas, the ability to quantify tar levels in process streams is essential. The aim of this work was to develop an accurate tar sampling and analysis methodology using solid phase adsorption (SPA) in order to apply it to tar sampling from sewage sludge gasification gases. Four types of commercial SPA cartridges have been tested to determine the most suitable one for the sampling of individual tar compounds in such streams. Afterwards, the capacity, breakthrough volume and sample stability of the Supelclean™ ENVI-Carb/NH(2), which is identified as the most suitable, have been determined. Basically, no significant influences from water, H(2)S or NH(3) were detected. The cartridge was used in sampling real samples, and comparable results were obtained with the present and traditional methods.

Optimization and economic evaluation of industrial gas production and combined heat and power generation from gasification of corn stover and distillers grains.

PubMed

Kumar, Ajay; Demirel, Yasar; Jones, David D; Hanna, Milford A

2010-05-01

Thermochemical gasification is one of the most promising technologies for converting biomass into power, fuels and chemicals. The objectives of this study were to maximize the net energy efficiency for biomass gasification, and to estimate the cost of producing industrial gas and combined heat and power (CHP) at a feedrate of 2000kg/h. Aspen Plus-based model for gasification was combined with a CHP generation model, and optimized using corn stover and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) as the biomass feedstocks. The cold gas efficiencies for gas production were 57% and 52%, respectively, for corn stover and DDGS. The selling price of gas was estimated to be $11.49 and $13.08/GJ, respectively, for corn stover and DDGS. For CHP generation, the electrical and net efficiencies were as high as 37% and 88%, respectively, for corn stover and 34% and 78%, respectively, for DDGS. The selling price of electricity was estimated to be $0.1351 and $0.1287/kWh for corn stover and DDGS, respectively. Overall, high net energy efficiencies for gas and CHP production from biomass gasification can be achieved with optimized processing conditions. However, the economical feasibility of these conversion processes will depend on the relative local prices of fossil fuels. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gasification of hybrid feedstock using animal manures and hays

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of a proprietary integrated gasification-internal combustion system in producing electricity from mixtures of animal manures such as swine solids, chicken litter, and hays. Five to 10 gallons of mixtures of swine manure, chicken litter, and h...

Chemical characterization of chars developed from thermochemical treatment of Kentucky bluegrass seed screenings

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Char produced from the gasification of post-seed harvest Kentucky bluegrass residues could be recycled to a cropping system as a soil amendment if chemical characterization determined that the gasification process had not produced or concentrated deleterious chemical or physical factors that might h...

Production of hydrogen by direct gasification of coal with steam using nuclear heat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Problems related to: (1) high helium outlet temperature of the reactor, and (2) gas generator design used in hydrogen production are studied. Special attention was given to the use of Oklahoma coal in the gasification process. Plant performance, operation, and environmental considerations are covered.

Generic process design and control strategies used to develop a dynamic model and training software for an IGCC plant with CO2 sequestration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Provost, G.; Stone, H.; McClintock, M.

2008-01-01

To meet the growing demand for education and experience with the analysis, operation, and control of commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) plants, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is leading a collaborative R&D project with participants from government, academia, and industry. One of the goals of this project is to develop a generic, full-scope, real-time generic IGCC dynamic plant simulator for use in establishing a world-class research and training center, as well as to promote and demonstrate the technology to power industry personnel. The NETL IGCC dynamic plant simulator will combine for the first timemore » a process/gasification simulator and a power/combined-cycle simulator together in a single dynamic simulation framework for use in training applications as well as engineering studies. As envisioned, the simulator will have the following features and capabilities: A high-fidelity, real-time, dynamic model of process-side (gasification and gas cleaning with CO2 capture) and power-block-side (combined cycle) for a generic IGCC plant fueled by coal and/or petroleum coke Full-scope training simulator capabilities including startup, shutdown, load following and shedding, response to fuel and ambient condition variations, control strategy analysis (turbine vs. gasifier lead, etc.), representative malfunctions/trips, alarms, scenarios, trending, snapshots, data historian, and trainee performance monitoring The ability to enhance and modify the plant model to facilitate studies of changes in plant configuration and equipment and to support future R&D efforts To support this effort, process descriptions and control strategies were developed for key sections of the plant as part of the detailed functional specification, which will form the basis of the simulator development. These plant sections include: Slurry Preparation Air Separation Unit Gasifiers Syngas Scrubbers Shift Reactors Gas Cooling, Medium Pressure (MP) and Low Pressure (LP) Steam Generation, and Knockout Sour Water Stripper Mercury Removal Selexol™ Acid Gas Removal System CO2 Compression Syngas Reheat and Expansion Claus Plant Hydrogenation Reactor and Gas Cooler Combustion Turbine (CT)-Generator Assemblies Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs) and Steam Turbine (ST)-Generator In this paper, process descriptions, control strategies, and Process & Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) drawings for key sections of the generic IGCC plant are presented, along with discussions of some of the operating procedures and representative faults that the simulator will cover. Some of the intended future applications for the simulator are discussed, including plant operation and control demonstrations as well as education and training services such as IGCC familiarization courses.« less

Environmentally sustainable production of food, feed and fuel from natural resources in the tropics.

PubMed

Preston, T Reg

2009-08-01

Responding to the challenges posed by global warming, peak oil and biofuels will require a paradigm shift in the practice of agriculture and in the role of live stock within the farming system. Farming systems should aim at maximizing plant biomass production from locally available diversified resources, processing of the biomass on farm to provide food, feed and energy and recycling of all waste materials. The approach that is the subject of this paper is that the generation of electricity can be a by-product of food/feed production. The concept is the fractionation of biomass into inedible cell wall material that can be converted to an inflammable gas by gasification, the gas in turn being the source of fuel for internal combustion engines driving electrical generators. The cell contents and related structures such as tree leaves are used as human food or animal feed. As well as providing food and feed the model is highly appropriate for decentralized small scale production of electricity in rural areas. It also offers opportunities for sequestration of carbon in the form of biochar the solid residue remaining after gasification of the biomass.

Coal gasification systems engineering and analysis. Appendix B: Medium B+U gas design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

A four module, 20,000 TPD, based on KT coal gasification technology was designed. The plant processes Kentucky No. 9 coal with provisions for up to five percent North Alabama coal. Medium BTU gas with heat content of 305 BTU/SCF and not more than 200 ppm sulfur is the primary plant product. Sulfur is recovered for scale as prilled sulfur. Ash disposal is on site. The plant is designed for zero water discharge. Trade studies provided the basis for not using boiler produced steam to drive prime movers. Thus process derived steam in excess of process requirements in superheated for power use in prime movers. Electricity from the TVA grid is used to supply the balance of the plant prime mover power requirements. A study of the effect of mine mouth coal cleaning showed that coal cleaning is not an economically preferred route. The design procedure involved defining available processes to meet the requirements of each system, technical/economic trade studies to select the preferred processes, and engineering design and flow sheet development for each module. Cost studies assumed a staggered construction schedule for the four modules beginning spring 1981 and a 90% on stream factor.

Effective ways to modernize outdated coal heat power plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suchkov, S. I.; Kotler, V. R.; Batorshin, V. A.

2016-12-01

An analysis of the state of equipment of 72 outdated coal HPP (heat power plants) of a total capacity 14.3 GW with steam parameters before the turbines p before ≤ 9 MPa, t before = 420-540°C was performed. The equipment is characterized by a considerably low efficiency factor, even if it were converted to burning the natural gas, and by increased release of harmful substances. However, on the most part of the considered HPP, the steam turbines, unlike the boilers, have thus far retained the operation applicability and satisfactory reliability of performance. The analysis has shown that it makes sense to effectively modernize the outdated coal HPP by transformation of their equipment into combined-cycle plant (CCP) with coal gasification, which has high economic and ecological indicators due to thermodynamic advantage of the combined cycle and simpler purification of the generator gas in the process under pressure. As the most rational way of this transformation, the one was recognized wherein—instead of the existing boiler (boilers) or parallel to it—a gasification and gas turbine system is installed with a boiler-utilizer (BU), from which steam is fed to the HPP main steam pipe. In doing this, the basic part of the power station equipment persists. In the world, this kind of reconstruction of steam power equipment is applied widely and successfully, but it is by use of natural gas for the most part. It is reasonable to use the technology developed at Heat Engineering Research Institute (HERI) of hearth-steam gasification of coal and high-temperature purification of the generator gas. The basic scheme and measures on implementation of this method for modernization of outdated coal HPP is creation of CCP with blast-furnace of coal on the basis of accessible and preserved HPP equipment. CCP power is 120 MW, input-output ratio (roughly) 44%, emissions of hazardous substances are 5 mg/MJ dust, 20-60 mg/MJ SO2, and 50-100 mg/MJ NO x . A considerable decrease of specific CCP cost is expected: down to approximately half compared to that of CCP with coal gasification created elsewhere abroad. Verification and debugging of accepted solutions can be carried out at a small-scale pilot plant.

Fluidized bed gasification of extracted coal

DOEpatents

Aquino, Dolores C.; DaPrato, Philip L.; Gouker, Toby R.; Knoer, Peter

1986-01-01

Coal or similar carbonaceous solids are extracted by contacting the solids in an extraction zone (12) with an aqueous solution having a pH above 12.0 at a temperature between 65.degree. C. and 110.degree. C. for a period of time sufficient to remove bitumens from the coal into said aqueous solution and the extracted solids are then gasified at an elevated pressure and temperature in a fluidized bed gasification zone (60) wherein the density of the fluidized bed is maintained at a value above 160 kg/m.sup.3. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, water is removed from the aqueous solution in order to redeposit the extracted bitumens onto the solids prior to the gasification step.

Coal gasification systems engineering and analysis. Appendix G: Commercial design and technology evaluation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

A technology evaluation of five coal gasifier systems (Koppers-Totzek, Texaco, Babcock and Wilcox, Lurgi and BGC/Lurgi) and procedures and criteria for evaluating competitive commercial coal gasification designs is presented. The technology evaluation is based upon the plant designs and cost estimates developed by the BDM-Mittelhauser team.

Hydrogen production from coal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The gasification reactions necessary for the production of hydrogen from montana subbituminous coal are presented. The coal composition is given. The gasifier types mentioned include: suspension (entrained) combustion; fluidized bed; and moving bed. Each gasification process is described. The steam-iron process, raw and product gas compositions, gasifier feed quantities, and process efficiency evaluations are also included.

Dry coal feeder development program at Ingersoll-Rand Research, Incorporated. [for coal gasification systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mistry, D. K.; Chen, T. N.

1977-01-01

A dry coal screw feeder for feeding coal into coal gasification reactors operating at pressures up to 1500 psig is described. Results on the feeder under several different modes of operation are presented. In addition, three piston feeder concepts and their technical and economical merits are discussed.

Hydrogen manufacture by Lurgi gasification of Oklahoma coal

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Advantages and disadvantages of using the Lurgi gasification process to produce hydrogen from Oklahoma coal are listed. Special attention was given to the production of heat for the process; heat is generated by burning part of pretreated coal in the steam generator. Overall performance of the Lurgi process is summarized in tabular form.

Changes in soil chemistry following wood and grass biochar amendments to an acidic agricultural production soil

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The utility of biochars produced by biomass gasification for remediation of acidic production soils and plant growth in general is not as well known compared to effects from biochars resulting from pyrolysis. Recent characterization of biochar produced from gasification of Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pr...

Mission analysis for the federal fuels from biomass program. Volume IV. Termochemical conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kohan, S.M.; Barkhordar, P.M.

1979-01-01

The thermochemical conversion of biomass feedstocks generally denotes technologies that use elevated temperatures to convert the fixed carbon content of biomass materials to produce other, more useful energy forms. Examples are combustion to produce heat, steam, electricity, or combinations of these; pyrolysis to produce gas (low- or intermediate-Btu), pyrolytic liquids and chemicals, and char; gasification to produce low or intermediate Btu gas (and, from IBG, additional products such as SNG, ammonia, methanol, or Fischer-Tropsch liquids); and liquefaction to produce heavy fuel oil or, with upgrading, lighter-boiling liquid products such as distillates, light fuel oils, or gasoline. This section discusses themore » selection of the feedstock used in the analysis of thermochemical conversion technologies. The following sections present detailed technical and economic evaluations of biomass conversion to electricity and steam by combustion, SNG by gasification and methanation, methanol by gasification and synthesis, oil by catalytic liquefaction, oil and char by pyrolysis, and ammonia by gasification and synthesis. The conversion options were reviewed with DOE for approval at the start of the project.« less

Two-stage high temperature sludge gasification using the waste heat from hot blast furnace slags.

PubMed

Sun, Yongqi; Zhang, Zuotai; Liu, Lili; Wang, Xidong

2015-12-01

Nowadays, disposal of sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants and recovery of waste heat from steel industry, become two important environmental issues and to integrate these two problems, a two-stage high temperature sludge gasification approach was investigated using the waste heat in hot slags herein. The whole process was divided into two stages, i.e., the low temperature sludge pyrolysis at ⩽ 900°C in argon agent and the high temperature char gasification at ⩾ 900°C in CO2 agent, during which the heat required was supplied by hot slags in different temperature ranges. Both the thermodynamic and kinetic mechanisms were identified and it was indicated that an Avrami-Erofeev model could best interpret the stage of char gasification. Furthermore, a schematic concept of this strategy was portrayed, based on which the potential CO yield and CO2 emission reduction achieved in China could be ∼1.92∗10(9)m(3) and 1.93∗10(6)t, respectively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NH3 Abatement in Fluidized Bed Co-Gasification of RDF and Coal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gulyurtlu, I.; Pinto, Filomena; Dias, Mário; Lopes, Helena; André, Rui Neto; Cabrita, I.

Gasification of wastes may come out as an alternative technology to produce a gas with many potential applications, from direct burning in a boiler or motor to the production of synthetic chemicals and hydrogen. High tar production and high operational costs are preventing gasification wider dissemination. Besides these problems, the presence of NH3 in the syngas may have a negative impact as it can be converted into nitrogen oxides if the gas is further burnt. To reduce NH3 formation it is required a full understanding of how operational parameters contribute to the formation/reduction of this pollutant. A full studyon the effect of fuel composition, temperature and equivalence ratio on the formation of NH3 is given. Experimental results are compared to theoretical ones obtained with FactSage software. It is also analyzed the effect of feedstock mineral matterin NH3 release during gasification. Toaccomplish a significant decrease in the release of NH3, different catalysts and sorbents were tested with the aim of achieving high energy conversions and low environmental impact.

Groundnut shell gasification performance in a fluidized bed gasifier with bubbling air as gasification medium.

PubMed

Singh, Dharminder; Yadav, Sanjeev; Rajesh, V M; Mohanty, Pravakar

2018-05-24

This work was focused on finding the groundnut shell (GNS) gasification performance in a fluidized bed gasifier with bubbling air as gasification medium. GNS in powder form (a mixture of different particle size as given in table 8 in the article) was gasified using naturally available river sand as bed material, top of the bed feeding, conventional charcoal as bed heating medium, and two cyclones for proper cleaning and cooling the product gas. Experiments were performed using different operating conditions such as equivalence ratio (ER) between 0.29 and 0.33, bed temperature between 650°C and 800°C, and feedstock feeding rate between 36 and 31.7 kg/h. Different parameters were evaluated to study the gasifier performance such as gas yield, cold gas efficiency, carbon conversion efficiency (CCE), and high heating value. The most suitable ER value was found to be 0.31, giving the most stable bed temperature profile at 714.4°C with 5-10% fluctuation. Cold gas efficiency and CCE at optimal ER of 0.31 was found to be 71.8% and 91%, respectively.

Gasification of rice straw in a fluidized-bed gasifier for syngas application in close-coupled boiler-gasifier systems.

PubMed

Calvo, L F; Gil, M V; Otero, M; Morán, A; García, A I

2012-04-01

The feasibility and operation performance of the gasification of rice straw in an atmospheric fluidized-bed gasifier was studied. The gasification was carried out between 700 and 850 °C. The stoichiometric air-fuel ratio (A/F) for rice straw was 4.28 and air supplied was 7-25% of that necessary for stoichiometric combustion. Mass and power balances, tar concentration, produced gas composition, gas phase ammonia, chloride and potassium concentrations, agglomeration tendencies and gas efficiencies were assessed. Agglomeration was avoided by replacing the normal alumina-silicate bed by a mixture of alumina-silicate sand and MgO. It was shown that it is possible to produce high quality syngas from the gasification of rice straw. Under the experimental conditions used, the higher heating value (HHV) of the produced gas reached 5.1 MJ Nm(-3), the hot gas efficiency 61% and the cold gas efficiency 52%. The obtained results prove that rice straw may be used as fuel for close-coupled boiler-gasifier systems. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapid co-pyrolysis of rice straw and a bituminous coal in a high-frequency furnace and gasification of the residual char.

PubMed

Yuan, Shuai; Dai, Zheng-hua; Zhou, Zhi-jie; Chen, Xue-li; Yu, Guang-suo; Wang, Fu-chen

2012-04-01

Rapid pyrolysis of rice straw (RS) and Shenfu bituminous coal (SB) separately, and rapid co-pyrolysis of RS/SB blends (mass ratio 1:4, 1:4, and 4:1), were carried out in a high-frequency furnace which can ensure both high heating rate and satisfying contact of fuel particles. Synergies between RS and SB during rapid co-pyrolysis were investigated. Intrinsic and morphological structures of residual char from co-pyrolysis, and their effects on gasification characteristics were also studied. Synergies occurred during rapid co-pyrolysis of RS and SB (RS/SB=1:4) resulting in decreasing char yields and increasing volatile yields. Synergies also happened during gasification of the char derived from co-pyrolysis of RS and SB with mass ratio of 1:4. The increased mass ratio of RS to SB did not only weaken synergies during co-pyrolysis, but significantly reduced the gasification rates of the co-pyrolysis char compared to the calculated values. Results can help to optimize co-conversion process of biomass/coal. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Role of steel slags on biomass/carbon dioxide gasification integrated with recovery of high temperature heat.

PubMed

Sun, Yongqi; Liu, Qianyi; Wang, Hao; Zhang, Zuotai; Wang, Xidong

2017-01-01

Disposal of biomass in the agriculture and steel slags in the steel industry provides a significant solution toward sustainability in China. Herein these two sectors were creatively combined as a novel method, i.e., biomass/CO 2 gasification using waste heat from hot slags where the influence of chemical compositions of steel slags, characterized as iron oxide content and basicity, on gasification thermodynamics, was systemically reported for the first time. Both the target gases of CO, H 2 and CH 4 and the polluted gases of NH 3 , NO and NO 2 were considered. It was first found that an increasing iron content and slag basicity continuously improved the CO yield at 600-1000°C and 800-1000°C, respectively; while the effect on polluted gas releases was limited. Moreover, the solid wastes after gasification could be utilized to provide nutrients and improve the soil in the agriculture, starting from which an integrated modern system was proposed herein. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energetic and environmental assessment of thermochemical and biochemical ways for producing energy from agricultural solid residues: Coffee Cut-Stems case.

PubMed

García, Carlos A; Peña, Álvaro; Betancourt, Ramiro; Cardona, Carlos A

2018-06-15

Forest residues are an important source of biomass. Among these, Coffee Cut-Stems (CCS) are an abundant wood waste in Colombia obtained from coffee crops renovation. However, only low quantities of these residues are used directly in combustion processes for heating and cooking in coffee farms where their energy efficiency is very low. In the present work, an energy and environmental assessment of two bioenergy production processes (ethanol fermentation and gasification) using CCS as raw material was performed. Biomass gasification seems to be the most promising thermochemical method for bioenergy production whereas, ethanol fermentation is a widely studied biochemical method to produce biofuels. Experimental runs of the CCS gasification were carried out and the synthesis gas composition was monitored. Prior to the fermentation process, a treatment of the CCS is required from which sugar content was determined and then, in the fermentation process, the ethanol yield was calculated. Both processes were simulated in order to obtain the mass and energy balance that are used to assess the energy efficiency and the potential environmental impact (PEI). Moderate high energy efficiency and low environmental impacts were obtained from the CCS gasification. In contrast, high environmental impacts in different categories and low energy efficiencies were calculated from the ethanolic fermentation. Biomass gasification seems to be the most promising technology for the use of Coffee Cut-Stems with high energy yields and low environmental issues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

The US Department of Energy is funding an underground coal gasification (UCG) project in steeply dipping coal beds (SDB), at North Knobs, about 8 miles west of Rawlins, Carbon County, Wyoming. The project is being conducted to determine the technical, economic and environmental viability of such a technology. The development of SDB is an interesting target for UCG since such beds contain coals not normally mineable economically by ordinary techniques. Although the underground gasification of SDB has not been attempted in the US, Soviet experience and theoretical work indicate that the gasification of SDB in place offers all the advantagesmore » of underground gasification of horizontal coal seams plus some unique characteristics. The steep angle of dip helps to channel the produced gases up dip to offtake holes and permits the ash and rubble to fall away from the reaction zone helping to mitigate the blocking of the reaction zone in swelling coals. The intersection of SDB with the surface makes the seam accessible for drilling and other preparation. The tests at the North Knobs site will consist of three tests, lasting 20, 80 and 80 days, respectively. A total of 9590 tons of coal is expected to be gasified, with surface facilities utilizing 15 acres of the total section of land. The environmental effects of the experiment are expected to be very small. The key environmental impact is potential groundwater contamination by reaction products from coal gasification. There is good evidence that the surrounding coal effectively blocks the migration of these contaminants.« less

Differences in gasification behaviors and related properties between entrained gasifier fly ash and coal char

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jing Gu; Shiyong Wu; Youqing Wu

2008-11-15

In the study, two fly ash samples from Texaco gasifiers were compared to coal char and the physical and chemical properties and reactivity of samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), SEM-energy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), N{sub 2} and CO{sub 2} adsorption method, and isothermal thermogravimetric analysis. The main results were obtained. The carbon content of gasified fly ashes exhibited 31-37%, which was less than the carbon content of 58-59% in the feed coal. The fly ashes exhibited higher Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, richer meso- and micropores, more disordered carbon crystalline structure, and better CO{sub 2} gasification reactivitymore » than coal char. Ashes in fly ashes occurred to agglomerate into larger spherical grains, while those in coal char do not agglomerate. The minerals in fly ashes, especial alkali and alkaline-earth metals, had a catalytic effect on gasification reactivity of fly ash carbon. In the low-temperature range, the gasification process of fly ashes is mainly in chemical control, while in the high-temperature range, it is mainly in gas diffusion control, which was similar to coal char. In addition, the carbon in fly ashes was partially gasified and activated by water vapor and exhibited higher BET surface area and better gasification activity. Consequently, the fact that these carbons in fly ashes from entrained flow gasifiers are reclaimed and reused will be considered to be feasible. 15 refs., 7 figs., 5 tabs.« less

Joint Peru/United States report on Peru/United States cooperative energy assessment. Volume 4 of 4 Volumes Annexes 8-11

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1979-08-01

A comprehensive assessment of the biofuel potential of Peru is presented. Topics discussed cover current biofuel utilization practices; evaluation of Peruvian biomass productivity; identification of Peruvian agricultural and forestry resources; assessment of resource development and management concerns; identification of market considerations; description of biofuel technological options; and regional identification of biofuel technology applications. The discussion of current biofuel utilization centers on a qualitative description of the main conversion approaches now being practiced in Peru. Biomass productivity is evaluated in the context of the terrain, soil, and climatic conditions found in Peru. A quantitative description of the energy potential that couldmore » be realized from agricultural and forestry resources of Peru follows. A regional picture is given for the production of agricultural residues and forest resources that could potentially supply energy. The assessment of resource development and management concerns focuses on harvesting, reforestation, training, and the environmental consequences of utilization of forest resources. Market factors assessed include: importation, internal market development, external market development, energy policy and pricing, and transportation. Ten biofuel technology options for Peru were identified: small- to medium-scale gasification, a wood waste inventory, stationary and mobile charcoal production systems, wood distillation, forest resource development and management, electrical cogeneration, anaerobic digestion technology, development of ethanol production capabilities, and agricultural strategies for fuel production.Based upon these biofuel options, nine applications were identified for the Costa Region, eight for the Sierra Region, and ten for the Selva Region.« less

Pilot-Scale Biorefinery: Sustainable Transport Fuels from Biomass via Integrated Pyrolysis and Catalytic Hydroconversion - Wastewater Cleanup by Catalytic Hydrothermal Gasification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elliott, Douglas C.; Olarte, Mariefel V.; Hart, Todd R.

2015-06-19

DOE-EE Bioenergy Technologies Office has set forth several goals to increase the use of bioenergy and bioproducts derived from renewable resources. One of these goals is to facilitate the implementation of the biorefinery. The biorefinery will include the production of liquid fuels, power and, in some cases, products. The integrated biorefinery should stand-alone from an economic perspective with fuels and power driving the economy of scale while the economics/profitability of the facility will be dependent on existing market conditions. UOP LLC proposed to demonstrate a fast pyrolysis based integrated biorefinery. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has expertise in an importantmore » technology area of interest to UOP for use in their pyrolysis-based biorefinery. This CRADA project provides the supporting technology development and demonstration to allow incorporation of this technology into the biorefinery. PNNL developed catalytic hydrothermal gasification (CHG) for use with aqueous streams within the pyrolysis biorefinery. These aqueous streams included the aqueous phase separated from the fast pyrolysis bio-oil and the aqueous byproduct streams formed in the hydroprocessing of the bio-oil to finished products. The purpose of this project was to demonstrate a technically and economically viable technology for converting renewable biomass feedstocks to sustainable and fungible transportation fuels. To demonstrate the technology, UOP constructed and operated a pilot-scale biorefinery that processed one dry ton per day of biomass using fast pyrolysis. Specific objectives of the project were to: The anticipated outcomes of the project were a validated process technology, a range of validated feedstocks, product property and Life Cycle data, and technical and operating data upon which to base the design of a full-scale biorefinery. The anticipated long-term outcomes from successful commercialization of the technology were: (1) the replacement of a significant fraction of petroleum based fuels with advanced biofuels, leading to increased energy security and decreased carbon footprint; and (2) establishment of a new biofuel industry segment, leading to the creation of U.S. engineering, manufacturing, construction, operations and agricultural jobs. PNNL development of CHG progressed at two levels. Initial tests were made in the laboratory in both mini-scale and bench-scale continuous flow reactor systems. Following positive results, the next level of evaluation was in the scaled-up engineering development system, which was operated at PNNL.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Schaidle, Joshua A; Talmadge, Michael S; Biddy, Mary J

The United States has the potential to sustainably produce over 1 billion dry tons of nonfood biomass per year by 2030. While conversion of this biomass into fuels has garnished significant attention, these renewable feedstocks can also be converted into valuable chemicals. Analogous to petroleum refining, the coproduction of fuels and chemicals from biomass enables more complete utilization of the feedstock and supports the growth of a bio-economy by improving biorefinery economics. This chapter provides an overview of biomass thermolysis and gasification technologies, highlights existing and future chemical production opportunities, and elaborates on specific challenges associated with product separation andmore » purification.« less

Characterization and Recovery of Rare Earths from Coal and By-Products

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Granite, Evan J.; Roth, Elliot; Alvin, Mary Anne

Coal is a precious resource, both in the United States and around the world. The United States has a 250-year supply of coal, and generates between 30 - 40% of its electricity through coal combustion. Approximately 1 Gt of coal has been mined annually in the US, although the 2015 total will likely be closer to 900 Mt (http://www.eia.gov/coal/production/quarterly/). Most of the coal is burned for power generation, but substantial quantities are also employed in the manufacture of steel, chemicals, and activated carbons. Coal has a positive impact upon many industries, including mining, power, rail transportation, manufacturing, chemical, steel, activatedmore » carbon, and fuels. Everything that is in the earth’s crust is also present within coal to some extent, and the challenge is always to utilize abundant domestic coal in clean and environmentally friendly manners. In the case of the rare earths, these valuable and extraordinarily useful elements are present within the abundant coal and coal by-products produced domestically and world-wide. These materials include the coals, as well as the combustion by-products such as ashes, coal preparation wastes, gasification slags, and mining by-products. All of these materials can be viewed as potential sources of rare earth elements. Most of the common inorganic lanthanide compounds, such as the phosphates found in coal, have very high melting, boiling, and thermal decomposition temperatures, allowing them to concentrate in combustion and gasification by-products. Furthermore, rare earths have been found in interesting concentrations in the strata above and below certain coal seams. Much of the recent research on coal utilization in the United States has focused upon the capture of pollutants such as acid gases, particulates, and mercury, and the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The possible recovery of rare earth and other critical elements from abundant coal and by-products is an exciting new research area, representing a dramatic paradigm shift for coal.« less

Model-Based Sensor Placement for Component Condition Monitoring and Fault Diagnosis in Fossil Energy Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mobed, Parham; Pednekar, Pratik; Bhattacharyya, Debangsu

Design and operation of energy producing, near “zero-emission” coal plants has become a national imperative. This report on model-based sensor placement describes a transformative two-tier approach to identify the optimum placement, number, and type of sensors for condition monitoring and fault diagnosis in fossil energy system operations. The algorithms are tested on a high fidelity model of the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. For a condition monitoring network, whether equipment should be considered at a unit level or a systems level depends upon the criticality of the process equipment, its likeliness to fail, and the level of resolution desiredmore » for any specific failure. Because of the presence of a high fidelity model at the unit level, a sensor network can be designed to monitor the spatial profile of the states and estimate fault severity levels. In an IGCC plant, besides the gasifier, the sour water gas shift (WGS) reactor plays an important role. In view of this, condition monitoring of the sour WGS reactor is considered at the unit level, while a detailed plant-wide model of gasification island, including sour WGS reactor and the Selexol process, is considered for fault diagnosis at the system-level. Finally, the developed algorithms unify the two levels and identifies an optimal sensor network that maximizes the effectiveness of the overall system-level fault diagnosis and component-level condition monitoring. This work could have a major impact on the design and operation of future fossil energy plants, particularly at the grassroots level where the sensor network is yet to be identified. In addition, the same algorithms developed in this report can be further enhanced to be used in retrofits, where the objectives could be upgrade (addition of more sensors) and relocation of existing sensors.« less

FUEL-FLEXIBLE GASIFICATION-COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGY FOR PRODUCTION OF H2 AND SEQUESTRATION-READY CO2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

George Rizeq; Janice West; Arnaldo Frydman

It is expected that in the 21st century the Nation will continue to rely on fossil fuels for electricity, transportation, and chemicals. It will be necessary to improve both the thermodynamic efficiency and environmental impact performance of fossil fuel utilization. General Electric Energy and Environmental Research Corporation (GE EER) has developed an innovative fuel-flexible Advanced Gasification-Combustion (AGC) concept to produce H{sub 2} and sequestration-ready CO{sub 2} from solid fuels. The AGC module offers potential for reduced cost and increased energy efficiency relative to conventional gasification and combustion systems. GE EER was awarded a Vision-21 program from U.S. DOE NETL tomore » develop the AGC technology. Work on this three-year program started on October 1, 2000. The project team includes GE EER, California Energy Commission, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and T. R. Miles, Technical Consultants, Inc. In the AGC technology, coal/opportunity fuels and air are simultaneously converted into separate streams of (1) pure hydrogen that can be utilized in fuel cells, (2) sequestration-ready CO{sub 2}, and (3) high temperature/pressure oxygen-depleted air to produce electricity in a gas turbine. The process produces near-zero emissions and, based on preliminary modeling work in the first quarter of this program, has an estimated process efficiency of approximately 67% based on electrical and H{sub 2} energy outputs relative to the higher heating value of coal. The three-year R&D program will determine the operating conditions that maximize separation of CO{sub 2} and pollutants from the vent gas, while simultaneously maximizing coal conversion efficiency and hydrogen production. The program integrates lab-, bench- and pilot-scale studies to demonstrate the AGC concept. This is the third quarterly technical progress report for the Vision-21 AGC program supported by U.S. DOE NETL (Contract: DE-FC26-00FT40974). This report summarizes program accomplishments for the period starting April 1, 2001 and ending June 30, 2001. The report includes an introduction summarizing the AGC concept, main program tasks, objectives of this program, and provides a summary of program activities covering program management and progress in first year tasks including lab- and bench-scale design, facilities preparation, and engineering studies.« less

Efficient volatile metal removal from low rank coal in gasification, combustion, and processing systems and methods

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bland, Alan E.; Sellakumar, Kumar Muthusami; Newcomer, Jesse D.

Efficient coal pre-processing systems (69) integrated with gasification, oxy-combustion, and power plant systems include a drying chamber (28), a volatile metal removal chamber (30), recirculated gases, including recycled carbon dioxide (21), nitrogen (6), and gaseous exhaust (60) for increasing the efficiencies and lowering emissions in various coal processing systems.

CHEMICALLY ACTIVE FLUID-BED PROCESS FOR SULPHUR REMOVAL DURING GASIFICATION OF HEAVY FUEL OIL - SECOND PHASE

EPA Science Inventory

The report describes the second phase of studies on the CAFB process for desulfurizing gasification of heavy fuel oil in a bed of hot lime. The first continuous pilot plant test with U.S. limestone BCR 1691 experienced local stone sintering and severe production of sticky dust du...

Biochars derived from gasified feedstocks increase the growth and improve the nutrient acquisition of Triticum aestivum (L.) grown in agricultural alfisols

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The utility of biochars produced by biomass gasification for remediation of acidic production soils and plant growth in general is not as well known compared to effects from biochars resulting from pyrolysis. Our recent characterization of biochars produced from gasification of Kentucky bluegrass (P...

Simplifying pyrolysis; using gasification to produce corn stover and wheat straw biochar for sorptive and horitcultural media

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Biochar is a renewable, useful material that can be utilized in many different applications. Biochar is commonly produced via pyrolysis methods using a retort-style oven with inert gas. Gasification is another method that can utilize pyrolysis to produce biochar, but with the advantage of not requir...

Agglomerating combustor-gasifier method and apparatus for coal gasification

DOEpatents

Chen, Joseph L. P.; Archer, David H.

1976-09-21

A method and apparatus for gasifying coal wherein the gasification takes place in a spout fluid bed at a pressure of about 10 to 30 atmospheres and a temperature of about 1800.degree. to 2200.degree.F and wherein the configuration of the apparatus and the manner of introduction of gases for combustion and fluidization is such that agglomerated ash can be withdrawn from the bottom of the apparatus and gas containing very low dust loading is produced. The gasification reaction is self-sustaining through the burning of a stoichiometric amount of coal with air in the lower part of the apparatus to form the spout within the fluid bed. The method and apparatus are particularly suitable for gasifying coarse coal particles.

Fluidized bed gasification of extracted coal

DOEpatents

Aquino, D.C.; DaPrato, P.L.; Gouker, T.R.; Knoer, P.

1984-07-06

Coal or similar carbonaceous solids are extracted by contacting the solids in an extraction zone with an aqueous solution having a pH above 12.0 at a temperature between 65/sup 0/C and 110/sup 0/C for a period of time sufficient to remove bitumens from the coal into said aqueous solution, and the extracted solids are then gasified at an elevated pressure and temperature in a fluidized bed gasification zone (60) wherein the density of the fluidized bed is maintained at a value above 160 kg/m/sup 3/. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, water is removed from the aqueous solution in order to redeposit the extracted bitumens onto the solids prior to the gasification step. 2 figs., 1 tab.

The effects of straw or straw-derived gasification biochar applications on soil quality and crop productivity: A farm case study.

PubMed

Hansen, Veronika; Müller-Stöver, Dorette; Imparato, Valentina; Krogh, Paul Henning; Jensen, Lars Stoumann; Dolmer, Anders; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik

2017-01-15

Thermal gasification of straw is a highly efficient technology that produces bioenergy and gasification biochar that can be used as a soil amendment, thereby returning non-renewable nutrients and stable carbon, and securing soil quality and crop productivity. A Danish on-farm field study investigated the impact of traditional straw incorporation vs. straw removal for thermal gasification bioenergy production and the application of straw gasification biochar (GB) on soil quality and crop production. Two rates of GB were applied over three successive years in which the field was cropped with winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) and winter wheat, respectively, to assess the potential effects on the soil carbon pool, soil microorganisms, earthworms, soil chemical properties and crop yields. The application of GB did not increase the soil organic carbon content significantly and had no effect on crop yields. The application of straw and GB had a positive effect on the populations of bacteria and protists, but no effect on earthworms. The high rate of GB increased soil exchangeable potassium content and soil pH indicating its potassium bioavailability and liming properties. These results suggest, that recycling GB into agricultural soils has the potential to be developed into a system combining bioenergy generation from agricultural residues and crop production, while maintaining soil quality. However, future studies should be undertaken to assess its long-term effects and to identify the optimum balance between straw removal and biochar application rate. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Thermodynamic modeling of small scale biomass gasifiers: Development and assessment of the ''Multi-Box'' approach.

PubMed

Vakalis, Stergios; Patuzzi, Francesco; Baratieri, Marco

2016-04-01

Modeling can be a powerful tool for designing and optimizing gasification systems. Modeling applications for small scale/fixed bed biomass gasifiers have been interesting due to their increased commercial practices. Fixed bed gasifiers are characterized by a wide range of operational conditions and are multi-zoned processes. The reactants are distributed in different phases and the products from each zone influence the following process steps and thus the composition of the final products. The present study aims to improve the conventional 'Black-Box' thermodynamic modeling by means of developing multiple intermediate 'boxes' that calculate two phase (solid-vapor) equilibriums in small scale gasifiers. Therefore the model is named ''Multi-Box''. Experimental data from a small scale gasifier have been used for the validation of the model. The returned results are significantly closer with the actual case study measurements in comparison to single-stage thermodynamic modeling. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Low cost forged Y-pattern valves control hot corrosive/erosive gases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gaines, A.

The Morgantown Energy Technology Center in Morgantown, West Virginia is a research facility of the US Department of Energy (DOE) that does research on fossil fuels utilization and conversion to provide improved and environmentally acceptable energy sources. One area of investigation in the Morgantown facility is the use of gaseous fuels derived from coal from fluidized-bed and fixed-bed gasification technologies. The corrosive and slightly erosive gases and vapors at about 1000F and from 100 to 300 psi are treated in an experimental desulfurization unit to produce fuel gas with greatly enhanced environmental characteristics. The valves in use were constructed ofmore » Type 347 stainless steel, a stabilized version of 316 SS, and cost about $6000 for the 2'' size and about $4000 for the 1'' size. Despite the high cost, the valve sometimes became difficult or impossible to operate due to metal failures. The Technology Center had a number of new Class 1500 Y-pattern (angle-style) globe valves in inventory. The control valve body and bonnet are forged chrome moly steel (ASTM-H182-F22), the stem assembly is a 13% chrome alloy with an erosion resistant hard faced disc, and the seat ring is a cobalt-base alloy fused in place as an integral part of the body. Stem packing as an either wire inserted molded asbestos or Grafoil flexible graphite. The Y-pattern globe valves in 1 and 2'' sizes, which were judged potentially suitable and on hand, were installed in the experimental desulfization unit as well as in the connecting hot gas piping system to a new coal gasification process. The Class 1500 Y-pattern valves have provided reliable control of the hot corrosive and erosive gas streams with very little maintenance.« less

Thermodynamic analysis of engineering solutions aimed at raising the efficiency of integrated gasification combined cycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gordeev, S. I.; Bogatova, T. F.; Ryzhkov, A. F.

2017-11-01

Raising the efficiency and environmental friendliness of electric power generation from coal is the aim of numerous research groups today. The traditional approach based on the steam power cycle has reached its efficiency limit, prompted by materials development and maneuverability performance. The rival approach based on the combined cycle is also drawing nearer to its efficiency limit. However, there is a reserve for efficiency increase of the integrated gasification combined cycle, which has the energy efficiency at the level of modern steam-turbine power units. The limit of increase in efficiency is the efficiency of NGCC. One of the main problems of the IGCC is higher costs of receiving and preparing fuel gas for GTU. It would be reasonable to decrease the necessary amount of fuel gas in the power unit to minimize the costs. The effect can be reached by raising of the heat value of fuel gas, its heat content and the heat content of cycle air. On the example of the process flowsheet of the IGCC with a power of 500 MW, running on Kuznetsk bituminous coal, by means of software Thermoflex, the influence of the developed technical solutions on the efficiency of the power plant is considered. It is received that rise in steam-air blast temperature to 900°C leads to an increase in conversion efficiency up to 84.2%. An increase in temperature levels of fuel gas clean-up to 900°C leads to an increase in the IGCC efficiency gross/net by 3.42%. Cycle air heating reduces the need for fuel gas by 40% and raises the IGCC efficiency gross/net by 0.85-1.22%. The offered solutions for IGCC allow to exceed net efficiency of analogous plants by 1.8-2.3%.

Up against Giants: The National Indian Youth Council, the Navajo Nation, and Coal Gasification, 1974-77

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shreve, Bradley Glenn

2006-01-01

In the spring of 1977, members of the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC), along with the Coalition for Navajo Liberation, barraged the Secretary of the Interior and the chairman of the Navajo Nation with petitions calling for a halt to the proposed construction of several coal gasification plants on the Navajo Reservation in northwestern New…

Modeling of indirect carbon fuel cell systems with steam and dry gasification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ong, Katherine M.; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

2016-05-01

An indirect carbon fuel cell (ICFC) system that couples coal gasification to a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a promising candidate for high efficiency stationary power. This study couples an equilibrium gasifier model to a detailed 1D MEA model to study the theoretical performance of an ICFC system run on steam or carbon dioxide. Results show that the fuel cell in the ICFC system is capable of power densities greater than 1.0 W cm-2 with H2O recycle, and power densities ranging from 0.2 to 0.4 W cm-2 with CO2 recycle. This result indicates that the ICFC system performs better with steam than with CO2 gasification as a result of the faster electro-oxidation kinetics of H2 relative to CO. The ICFC system is then shown to reach higher current densities and efficiencies than a thermally decoupled gasifier + fuel cell (G + FC) system because it does not include combustion losses associated with autothermal gasification. 55-60% efficiency is predicted for the ICFC system coupled to a bottoming cycle, making this technology competitive with other state-of-the-art stationary power candidates.

Catalytic Tar Reduction for Assistance in Thermal Conversion of Space Waste for Energy Production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caraccio, Anne Joan; Devor, Robert William; Hintze, Paul E.; Muscatello, Anthony C.; Nur, Mononita

2014-01-01

The Trash to Gas (TtG) project investigates technologies for converting waste generated during spaceflight into various resources. One of these technologies was gasification, which employed a downdraft reactor designed and manufactured at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the conversion of simulated space trash to carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide would then be converted to methane for propulsion and water for life support systems. A minor byproduct of gasification includes large hydrocarbons, also known as tars. Tars are unwanted byproducts that add contamination to the product stream, clog the reactor and cause complications in analysis instrumentation. The objective of this research was to perform reduction studies of a mock tar using select catalysts and choose the most effective for primary treatment within the KSC downdraft gasification reactor. Because the KSC reactor is operated at temperatures below typical gasification reactors, this study evaluates catalyst performance below recommended catalytic operating temperatures. The tar reduction experimentation was observed by passing a model tar vapor stream over the catalysts at similar conditions to that of the KSC reactor. Reduction in tar was determined using gas chromatography. Tar reduction efficiency and catalyst performances were evaluated at different temperatures.