A Phenomenological Model of a Downdraft Biomass Gasifier Flexible to the Feedstock Composition and the Reactor Design

Michela Costa, Maurizio La Villetta, Daniele Piazzullo and Domenico Cirillo
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Michela Costa: Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie per l’Energia e la Mobilità Sostenibili Motori, CNR, Viale Marconi, 4, 80125 Naples, Italy
Maurizio La Villetta: Research & Development Department, Costruzioni Motori Diesel S.p.A., Via Pacinotti, 2, 81020 San Nicola La Strada, Italy
Daniele Piazzullo: Istituto di Scienze e Tecnologie per l’Energia e la Mobilità Sostenibili Motori, CNR, Viale Marconi, 4, 80125 Naples, Italy
Domenico Cirillo: Research & Development Department, Costruzioni Motori Diesel S.p.A., Via Pacinotti, 2, 81020 San Nicola La Strada, Italy

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 14, 1-29

Abstract: The development of a one-dimensional (1D) phenomenological model for biomass gasification in downdraft reactors is presented in this study; the model was developed with the aim of highlighting the main advantages and limits related to feedstocks that are different from woodchip, such as hydro-char derived from the hydrothermal carbonization of green waste, or a mix of olive pomace and sawdust. An experimental validation of the model is performed. The numerically evaluated temperature evolution along the reactor gasifier is found to be in agreement with locally measured values for all the considered biomasses. The model captures the pressure drop along the reactor axis, despite an underestimation with respect to the performed measurements. The producer gas composition resulting from the numerical model at the exit section is in quite good agreement with gas-chromatograph analyses (12% maximum error for CO and CO 2 species), although the model predicts lower methane and hydrogen content in the syngas than the measurements show. Parametric analyses highlight that lower degrees of porosity enhance the pressure drop along the reactor axis, moving the zones characterized by the occurrence of the combustion and gasification phases towards the bottom. An increase in the biomass moisture content is associated with a delayed evolution of the temperature profile. The high energy expenditure in the evaporation phase occurs at the expense of the produced hydrogen and methane in the subsequent phases.

Keywords: biomass gasification; syngas; phenomenological model; downdraft; hydro-char (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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