Development of a Biomass Gasification Process for the Coproduction of Methanol and Power from Red Sea Microalgae

Abdulrahman A. Al-Rabiah (), Jiyad N. Al-Dawsari, Abdelhamid M. Ajbar, Rayan K. Al Darwish and Omar Y. Abdelaziz
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Abdulrahman A. Al-Rabiah: Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Jiyad N. Al-Dawsari: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST), Riyadh 11442, Saudi Arabia
Abdelhamid M. Ajbar: Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Rayan K. Al Darwish: Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh 11421, Saudi Arabia
Omar Y. Abdelaziz: Department of Chemical Engineering, Lund University, 221 00 Lund, Sweden

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-14

Abstract: In this study, an algae biomass gasification process using a dual fluidized bed with combined power and methanol cogeneration was developed. The gasification process was modeled using Aspen Plus and validated using experimental data of two microalgae species ( Nannochloropsis oculata and Dunaliella salina ) commonly found on the western coast of Saudi Arabia. The impacts of different operating conditions, including the gasifier temperature, steam-to-biomass ratio, and algae-char split ratio, on the compositions of four main gases (CO, CO 2 , CH 4 , and H 2 ) were investigated. The results of the parametric studies indicated that the gasification temperature has a significant effect on the composition of the synthesis gas, where 700–850 °C was the ideal operating range for gasification. Altering the ratio of biomass to steam showed a slightly smaller effect on the synthesis gas composition. The char split ratio should be kept below 75% to ensure an adequate heat supply to the process. The proposed process successfully converted 45.7% of the biomass feed to methanol at a production capacity of 290 metric tons per day. On the other hand, 38 MW of electricity capacity was generated in the combined power cycle.

Keywords: biomass; microalgae; gasification; fluidized bed; methanol; power; process simulation (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: 2022
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