Integration of Biomass Gasification and Hot Gas Cleaning Processes

In the near future, most of the world population will live in the developing countries, and it is plausible that biomass will be one of the main renewable energy sources of the future. Fluidized bed reactors should be the best solution to transform biomasses having different physical properties in e...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sergio Rapagna, Elisa Savuto, Andrea Di Carlo, Katia Gallucci, Ugo Foscolo Pier
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIDIC Servizi S.r.l. 2018-09-01
Series:Chemical Engineering Transactions
Online Access:https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/8997
_version_ 1829520774100156416
author Sergio Rapagna
Elisa Savuto
Andrea Di Carlo
Katia Gallucci
Ugo Foscolo Pier
author_facet Sergio Rapagna
Elisa Savuto
Andrea Di Carlo
Katia Gallucci
Ugo Foscolo Pier
author_sort Sergio Rapagna
collection DOAJ
description In the near future, most of the world population will live in the developing countries, and it is plausible that biomass will be one of the main renewable energy sources of the future. Fluidized bed reactors should be the best solution to transform biomasses having different physical properties in energy and chemical vectors through gasification, due to its possibility to operate continuously, at high temperatures, and to utilize catalysts into the reactor and downstream of it, in order to reduce tar, NH3 etc. in the product gas. Catalytic filter candles are an innovative solution for hot gas cleaning & conditioning. It has been demonstrated that catalytic ceramic filters inserted in the freeboard of a fluidized bed gasifier, allow the complete removal of particulate by means of their anisotropic porous filtering structure, and furthermore act as catalyst to remove tar and ammonia, thanks to the Ni based catalyst contained into the filter itself (Rapagnà, Gallucci and Foscolo, 2017). To by-pass the preparation of the catalytic ceramic filters and to render the overall process more feasible in practice, ceramic filters filled with commercial steam reforming catalyst pellets have been located in the freeboard of a 0.1 m ID fluidized bed reactor, where olivine particles act as bed inventory. Experimental tests were carried out to check the values of the gas pressure drop through the plain filter and through the filter containing catalyst pellets, at different temperatures and gas filtration velocities. It has been found that at the highest temperature and filtration velocity (T 800°C and v 140 m/h) the pressure drops are around 48 mbar, while at the operating conditions (T 800°C and v 100 m/h) the total pressure drops are only 35 mbar. Furthermore it was observed that there is an almost negligible difference between the pressure drops in the case of empty and filled candle; it was thus deduced that the catalyst pellets do not cause relevant additional losses compared to the empty filter. The trends of pressure drops were fitted with the empirical Darcy-Forchheimer relation and with the Ergun equation, and it was found that the major contribution is given by the viscous term of the relation. Furthermore an additional contribution of concentrated pressure drops was identified and ascribed to the outer Al2O3 membrane of the candle characterized by very fine pores.
first_indexed 2024-12-16T15:03:54Z
format Article
id doaj.art-7c226e6827e94b53b9fc4e1011bb7df5
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2283-9216
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-16T15:03:54Z
publishDate 2018-09-01
publisher AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.
record_format Article
series Chemical Engineering Transactions
spelling doaj.art-7c226e6827e94b53b9fc4e1011bb7df52022-12-21T22:27:12ZengAIDIC Servizi S.r.l.Chemical Engineering Transactions2283-92162018-09-016710.3303/CET1867111Integration of Biomass Gasification and Hot Gas Cleaning ProcessesSergio RapagnaElisa SavutoAndrea Di CarloKatia GallucciUgo Foscolo PierIn the near future, most of the world population will live in the developing countries, and it is plausible that biomass will be one of the main renewable energy sources of the future. Fluidized bed reactors should be the best solution to transform biomasses having different physical properties in energy and chemical vectors through gasification, due to its possibility to operate continuously, at high temperatures, and to utilize catalysts into the reactor and downstream of it, in order to reduce tar, NH3 etc. in the product gas. Catalytic filter candles are an innovative solution for hot gas cleaning & conditioning. It has been demonstrated that catalytic ceramic filters inserted in the freeboard of a fluidized bed gasifier, allow the complete removal of particulate by means of their anisotropic porous filtering structure, and furthermore act as catalyst to remove tar and ammonia, thanks to the Ni based catalyst contained into the filter itself (Rapagnà, Gallucci and Foscolo, 2017). To by-pass the preparation of the catalytic ceramic filters and to render the overall process more feasible in practice, ceramic filters filled with commercial steam reforming catalyst pellets have been located in the freeboard of a 0.1 m ID fluidized bed reactor, where olivine particles act as bed inventory. Experimental tests were carried out to check the values of the gas pressure drop through the plain filter and through the filter containing catalyst pellets, at different temperatures and gas filtration velocities. It has been found that at the highest temperature and filtration velocity (T 800°C and v 140 m/h) the pressure drops are around 48 mbar, while at the operating conditions (T 800°C and v 100 m/h) the total pressure drops are only 35 mbar. Furthermore it was observed that there is an almost negligible difference between the pressure drops in the case of empty and filled candle; it was thus deduced that the catalyst pellets do not cause relevant additional losses compared to the empty filter. The trends of pressure drops were fitted with the empirical Darcy-Forchheimer relation and with the Ergun equation, and it was found that the major contribution is given by the viscous term of the relation. Furthermore an additional contribution of concentrated pressure drops was identified and ascribed to the outer Al2O3 membrane of the candle characterized by very fine pores.https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/8997
spellingShingle Sergio Rapagna
Elisa Savuto
Andrea Di Carlo
Katia Gallucci
Ugo Foscolo Pier
Integration of Biomass Gasification and Hot Gas Cleaning Processes
Chemical Engineering Transactions
title Integration of Biomass Gasification and Hot Gas Cleaning Processes
title_full Integration of Biomass Gasification and Hot Gas Cleaning Processes
title_fullStr Integration of Biomass Gasification and Hot Gas Cleaning Processes
title_full_unstemmed Integration of Biomass Gasification and Hot Gas Cleaning Processes
title_short Integration of Biomass Gasification and Hot Gas Cleaning Processes
title_sort integration of biomass gasification and hot gas cleaning processes
url https://www.cetjournal.it/index.php/cet/article/view/8997
work_keys_str_mv AT sergiorapagna integrationofbiomassgasificationandhotgascleaningprocesses
AT elisasavuto integrationofbiomassgasificationandhotgascleaningprocesses
AT andreadicarlo integrationofbiomassgasificationandhotgascleaningprocesses
AT katiagallucci integrationofbiomassgasificationandhotgascleaningprocesses
AT ugofoscolopier integrationofbiomassgasificationandhotgascleaningprocesses