Computational Modelling on Gasification Processes of Municipal Solid Wastes Including Molten Slag

Genevieve Soon, Hui Zhang, Adrian Wing-Keung Law () and Chun Yang
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Genevieve Soon: Environmental Process Modelling Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore 637141, Singapore
Hui Zhang: Environmental Process Modelling Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore 637141, Singapore
Adrian Wing-Keung Law: Environmental Process Modelling Centre, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, 1 Cleantech Loop, Singapore 637141, Singapore
Chun Yang: School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798, Singapore

Waste, 2023, vol. 1, issue 2, 1-19

Abstract: The formulation of the CFD-DEM model, CD-MELT, is established in this study to include three-phase non-isothermal processes with simultaneous combustion and melting for gasification simulations. To demonstrate the model capability, CD-MELT is used to assess the need for slag recycling for the non-isothermal melting of municipal solid wastes (MSW) in a prototype waste-to-energy research facility. The simulation encompasses the full fixed-bed slagging gasification process, including chemical reactions and melting of MSW and slag. In order to assess the need for slag recycling, comparisons are made for the two cases of with and without, in terms of the slag mass, liquid slag volume fraction, exit gas composition, and temperature distribution in the gasifier. The prediction results enable the tracking of liquid molten slag as it permeates through the solids-packed bed for the first time in the literature as far as we are aware, which is crucial to address design considerations such as distribution of bed temperature and optimal location for slag-tap holes at the bottom, as well as potential slag clogging within the porous media. The model also predicts an uneven and intermittent slag permeation through the packed bed without the recycling, and provides a plausible explanation for the operators’ experience of why slag recycling is important for process stability. Finally, the predicted slag outlet temperature using the proposed CFD approach also agrees well with the measurement data published in an earlier case study for the same facility.

Keywords: discrete element method (DEM); computational fluid dynamics; packed bed; particle melting; gasification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q16 Q18 Q2 Q20 Q23 Q24 Q25 Q28 Q3 Q31 Q38 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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