Characterization of thermochemical conversion processes in a technical-scale fixed-bed reactor: Pyrolysis and gasification

Abstract

Consolidated industrial application of biomass thermochemical conversion processes, such as pyrolysis and gasification, requires the development and application of control and optimization techniques. To this end, on-line process characterization, regarding mainly product distribution and composition under similar conditions as the ones encountered in industrial applications is needed. In the present study, slow pyrolysis and updraft gasification of thermally thick particles in a technical scale fixed-bed reactor are carried out under several process conditions. Different raw materials are used: pine wood chips, beech-wood spheres and cellulose. In pyrolysis, the increasing influence of transport phenomena in the conversion process due to the use of a technical-scale reactor and thermally thick wood particles is analysed through the temperature distribution inside the bed during the process together with the char properties characterization taken from four different positions inside the bed. The influence of process conditions, such as the N2 flow rate, on the products composition and distribution is also analysed. In gasification, the influence of the air to fuel ratio on the product gas composition is characterized, as well as the qualitative evolution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) representative species in the volatiles vapours by applying laser-induced fluorescence (LIF).