Modelling approaches to biomass gasification: A review with emphasis on the stoichiometric method

M. La Villetta, M. Costa and N. Massarotti

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, vol. 74, issue C, 71-88

Abstract: Worldwide escalating energy consumption of recent years, due to the earth population growth and the spreading of industrialization, has resulted in an increased concern about the environmental impact of energy conversion systems. Heavy exploitation and extensive use of fossil fuels have indeed also led to envisage their foreseeable depletion, thus opening the way to the use of alternative fuels as biomass. Among thermo-chemical treatments of biomass, gasification is particularly attractive for its release of syngas (or producer gas), suitable of being used in various combustion systems, including internal combustion engines. In principle, biomass contaminants and heavy hydrocarbons can be removed during syngas cleaning, before the actual combustion process, thus leading to an overall cleaner conversion process. At present, demonstrating operational feasibility and effectiveness of gasification technologies and proving long term sustainability, also through the enhancement of fuel flexibility, are recognized as key elements for the development and market diffusion of biomass energy systems. In fact, although gasification has been known for a long time, its control has long requested serious efforts by researchers and manufacturers. Nowadays, new perspectives are imaginable thanks to the use of simulation tools that may reveal particularly useful to improve gasification efficiency and increase the quality of the producer gas.

Keywords: Biomass; Modeling; Gasification; Downdraft gasifier; Equilibrium model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (41)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032117302290
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:rensus:v:74:y:2017:i:c:p:71-88

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 600126/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.02.027

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews is currently edited by L. Kazmerski

More articles in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().