A Practical Approach to Using Energy Integration in the Simulation of Biomass Thermochemical Processes: Application to Supercritical Water Gasification
Solid biomass is usually simulated by decomposing it into a solid phase (carbon, ash, and sulfur) and a gas phase (water and diatomic molecules of H<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>, O<sub>2</sub>, and Cl<sub>2</sub>) from the proximate and ultimate analysis...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/4/1577 |
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| author | Francisco Javier Gutiérrez Ortiz F. López-Guirao |
| author_facet | Francisco Javier Gutiérrez Ortiz F. López-Guirao |
| author_sort | Francisco Javier Gutiérrez Ortiz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Solid biomass is usually simulated by decomposing it into a solid phase (carbon, ash, and sulfur) and a gas phase (water and diatomic molecules of H<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>, O<sub>2</sub>, and Cl<sub>2</sub>) from the proximate and ultimate analysis before entering a reactor operating under chemical equilibrium when using Aspen Plus. However, this method prevents the use of energy integration for the feed stream from the system inlet to the reactor. This paper proposes an approach to solving this issue, considering biomass with both known and unknown chemical compositions; the latter involves the decomposition of biomass into complex molecular compounds. Different process arrangements were assessed to achieve a realistic simulation, and a sensitivity analysis was carried out to examine the effect of the concentration and heating upstream of the reactor, focused on supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of orange peel. This process is very energy-intensive, so the approach is useful for a better calculation of the energy requirement and exergy losses in a plant; these are usually and mainly related to the train of heat exchangers. In addition to this application to SCWG, this approach can be used for any other thermochemical process, such as gasification, pyrolysis, or combustion, and for any real biomass. Upon a base case study using a wet biomass of 10,000 kg/h with 90 wt.% water where the SCWG reaction takes place at 240 bar and 800 °C, if the temperature at the SCWG reactor inlet increases from 350 °C to 400 °C, the heat exchange increases by 57% from 4 MW and by 34% if the water content decreases to 70 wt.%, although more heat relative to the solid is saved. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:43:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8ccb177814c24aa3a0d22a0618cbd0ec |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T22:43:39Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-8ccb177814c24aa3a0d22a0618cbd0ec2024-02-23T15:06:28ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-02-01144157710.3390/app14041577A Practical Approach to Using Energy Integration in the Simulation of Biomass Thermochemical Processes: Application to Supercritical Water GasificationFrancisco Javier Gutiérrez Ortiz0F. López-Guirao1Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, E.T.S. de Ingeniería, Universidad de Sevilla, 41092 Seville, SpainDepartment of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, E.T.S. de Ingeniería, Universidad de Sevilla, 41092 Seville, SpainSolid biomass is usually simulated by decomposing it into a solid phase (carbon, ash, and sulfur) and a gas phase (water and diatomic molecules of H<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>, O<sub>2</sub>, and Cl<sub>2</sub>) from the proximate and ultimate analysis before entering a reactor operating under chemical equilibrium when using Aspen Plus. However, this method prevents the use of energy integration for the feed stream from the system inlet to the reactor. This paper proposes an approach to solving this issue, considering biomass with both known and unknown chemical compositions; the latter involves the decomposition of biomass into complex molecular compounds. Different process arrangements were assessed to achieve a realistic simulation, and a sensitivity analysis was carried out to examine the effect of the concentration and heating upstream of the reactor, focused on supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of orange peel. This process is very energy-intensive, so the approach is useful for a better calculation of the energy requirement and exergy losses in a plant; these are usually and mainly related to the train of heat exchangers. In addition to this application to SCWG, this approach can be used for any other thermochemical process, such as gasification, pyrolysis, or combustion, and for any real biomass. Upon a base case study using a wet biomass of 10,000 kg/h with 90 wt.% water where the SCWG reaction takes place at 240 bar and 800 °C, if the temperature at the SCWG reactor inlet increases from 350 °C to 400 °C, the heat exchange increases by 57% from 4 MW and by 34% if the water content decreases to 70 wt.%, although more heat relative to the solid is saved.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/4/1577supercritical watergasificationsimulationbiomassheat integrationaspen plus |
| spellingShingle | Francisco Javier Gutiérrez Ortiz F. López-Guirao A Practical Approach to Using Energy Integration in the Simulation of Biomass Thermochemical Processes: Application to Supercritical Water Gasification Applied Sciences supercritical water gasification simulation biomass heat integration aspen plus |
| title | A Practical Approach to Using Energy Integration in the Simulation of Biomass Thermochemical Processes: Application to Supercritical Water Gasification |
| title_full | A Practical Approach to Using Energy Integration in the Simulation of Biomass Thermochemical Processes: Application to Supercritical Water Gasification |
| title_fullStr | A Practical Approach to Using Energy Integration in the Simulation of Biomass Thermochemical Processes: Application to Supercritical Water Gasification |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Practical Approach to Using Energy Integration in the Simulation of Biomass Thermochemical Processes: Application to Supercritical Water Gasification |
| title_short | A Practical Approach to Using Energy Integration in the Simulation of Biomass Thermochemical Processes: Application to Supercritical Water Gasification |
| title_sort | practical approach to using energy integration in the simulation of biomass thermochemical processes application to supercritical water gasification |
| topic | supercritical water gasification simulation biomass heat integration aspen plus |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/4/1577 |
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