Simultaneous Fine Particulate Matter Separation and CO2 Adsorption in a Cyclone Separator with a Fixed Bed Bottom Ash from a Palm Oil Mill Boiler: A Simulation Study

Abstract

At palm oil mills, a cyclone is an integrated piece of equipment in the boiler with the sole purpose of separating air and particles resulting from the shell and fiber combustion process in the boiler unit. Meanwhile, the CO2 gas emissions produced cannot be reduced simultaneously in the boiler unit. This study aims to minimize the amount of fine particulate matter resulting from the combustion process while reducing CO2 emissions. By modifying the cyclone separator, namely by placing the adsorbent from bottom ash on the cyclone vortex finder, the research was conducted using the Computational Fluid Dynamics Method. This study was carried out by varying the inlet velocity, namely 10; 15; 20; 25; and 30 m/s, and the bed height at the cyclone separator gas outlet is 0; 0.155; 0.310; and 0.460 meters. The RNG model equation k-ε, capable of supporting device direction simulation flow, is modified with a mass load of 0.1 kg/s and an operating temperature of 573 K to determine particle collection efficiency, CO2 adsorption percentage, and pressure drop. The results showed that at a bed height of 0.465 m and an inlet velocity of 30 m/s, the cyclone separator achieved the greatest particle collection efficiency of 92.61 percent. At a bed height of 0.465 m and an inlet velocity of 10 m/s, the maximum percentage of CO2 adsorption is 99.61 percent. Cyclone modification by using bottom ash as an adsorbent is able to reduce CO2 emissions and minimize fine particulates simultaneously