Empirical design, construction, and experimental test of a small‐scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor

Abstract

The methods currently used for designing a fluidized bed reactor in gasification plants do not meet an integrated methodology that optimizes all the different parameters for its sizing and operational regime. In the case of small‐scale (several tens of kWs biomass gasifiers), this design is especially complex, and, for this reason, they have usually been built in a very heuristic trial and error way. In this paper, an integrated methodology tailoring all the different parameters for the design and sizing of a small‐scale fluidized bed gasification plants is presented. Using this methodology, a 40 kWth biomass gasification reactor was designed, including the air distribution system. Based on this design, with several simplified assumptions, a reactor was built and commissioned. Results from the experimental tests using this gasifier are also presented in this paper. As a result, it can be said the prototype works properly, and it produces syngas able to produce thermal energy or even electricity.