Conceptual Design Study of a Coffee Stem Gasification Scheme in the Context of a Biorefinery

Abstract

A conceptual design of coffee stem biomass gasification was developed using the Aspen Plus process simulator, which was analyzed based on energy criteria such as the lower heating value of the produced synthesis gas and cold gas efficiency. The results yielded a lower heating value of 5.07 kJ/MJ, with a cold gas efficiency of 77.45% and a yield of 2.75 kg gas/kg biomass, all operating under optimal conditions with studied parameters including an air-to-biomass ratio between 1.8 and 2.5, gasifying agent temperature of 260 °C, and biomass moisture content below 10%. A sensitivity analysis was conducted on the formation of the most important compounds for synthesis gas quality (H2, CO, CO2, H2O, CH4). This involved understanding the reactions occurring throughout the gasification reactor and evaluating process parameters such as feed moisture content, gasification section temperature, and the ratio between feed and gasifying agent flows to optimize the process with the aim of improving product quality and reducing residue formation. The simulation scheme was validated against experimental data, yielding results consistent with reality. This contributed valuable information towards process optimization for projects targeting the Colombian coffee sector, paving the way for future gasifier designs tailored to the quantity of raw material to be processed.