Biomass steam gasification in fluidized bed of inert or catalytic particles: Comparison between experimental results and thermodynamic equilibrium predictions

In order to improve the understanding of biomass gasification in a bed fluidized by steam, the thermochemical equilibrium of the reactive system was studied. The equilibrium results were compared to LGC experimental results, obtained by the gasification of oak and fir in a laboratory-scale fluidized bed of different catalysts: sand, alumina, and alumina impregnated with nickel. The research was completed by a study of the influence on the equilibrium of additional parameters such as the quantity of steam, the pressure or the kind of biomass. Those results of simulation may be used for evaluating the limits of actual reactors.The following conclusion may be drawn from all the results: The thermodynamic equilibrium state calculated is far away from the experimental results obtained on sand particles. The steam to biomass ratio, between 0.4 and 1 kgsteam/kgdry biomass, has a strong influence on the gas mixture composition. The temperature increase and the use of catalyst allow producing a gas mixture with a high content of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The H2:CO ratio may reach values greater than 3. The use of catalyst allows the system to get closer from the equilibrium, especially for the nickel based catalyst

Hydrodynamic and solid residence time distribution in a circulating fluidized bed: experimental and 3D computational study

Vertical profiles of local pressure, horizontal profiles of net vertical solid mass flux, and residence time distributions (RTD) of the solid phase are experimentally assessed in the riser of a small scale cold Circulating Fluidized Bed of 9 m high having a square cross section of 1111 cm. Air (density 1.2 kg/m3, dynamic viscosity 1.8×10-5 Pa.s) and typical FCC particles (density 1400 kg/m3, mean diameter 70 mm) are used. The superficial gas velocity is kept constant at 7 m/s while the solid mass flux ranges from 46 to 133 kg/m2/s. The axial dispersion of the solid phase is found to decrease when increasing the solid mass flux. Simultaneously, 3D transient CFD simulations are performed to conclude on the usability of the eulerian-eulerian approach for the prediction of the solid phase mixing in the riser. The numerical investigation of the solid mixing is deferred until later since the near-wall region where the solid phase downflow and mixing are predominant is not well predicted in spite of well-predicted vertical profiles of pressure

Gas and solid behaviours during defluidisation of Geldart-A particles

Bed collapsing experiments were carried out in a cold-air transparent column 192 mm in diameter and 2 m high. Typical Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) catalyst with a mean particle size of 76 μm and a density of 1400 kg/m3 was used. Both single and double-drainage protocols were tested. The local pressure drop and bed surface collapse height were acquired throughout the bed settling.Typical results were found regarding dense phase voidage of a fluidised bed and the bed surface collapse velocity. In addition, bubble fraction was calculated based on the collapse curve.Experimental results showed that windbox effect is significantly reduced compared to previous works since the volume of air within the windbox was reduced. The comparison of single/double-drainage protocols revealed a new period in the defluidisation of Geldart-A particles concerning gas compressibility. Through the temporal analysis of local pressure drop, the progress of the solid sedimentation front from bottom to top was determined, analysed and modelled

d13C pattern of dissolved inorganic carbon in a small granitic catchment: the Strengbach case study (Vosges mountains, France)

The transfers and origins of dissolved inorganic carbon DIC. were studied for a year in a soil–spring–stream system in the Strengbach catchment, Vosges mountains, France. This 80 ha experimental research basin is located on the eastern side of the mountains, at an altitude ranging from 883 to 1146 m.a.s.l. and is mainly covered by spruce 80%.. Brown acid and podzolic soils developed on a granitic basement, and, as a result, the DIC originates solely from CO2 generated by oxidation of soil organic matter. The d13CDIC. in catchment waters is highly variable, from about y22‰ in the springs and piezometers to about y12‰ in the stream at the outlet of the catchment. In the springs, pronounced seasonal variations of d13C exist, with the DIC in isotopic equilibrium with the soil CO that has estimated d13DIC 2 C of about y24‰ in winter and y20‰ in summer. These seasonal variations reflect an isotopic fractionation that seems only induced by molecular diffusion of soil CO2 in summer. In stream water, seasonal variations are small and the relatively heavy DIC y12‰ on average. is a result of isotopic equilibration of the aqueous CO2 with atmospheric CO2

Le "remodelage" des terres en Martinique : modification des propriétés de "ferrisols" et d'andosols cultivés en canne à sucre

Le nivellement des collines pratiqué depuis environ 1970 en Martinique pour faciliter la mécanisation des cultures détermine des transformations physicochimiques des sols. Dans cet article les auteurs comparent les propriétés de sols ferrallitiques et d'andosols, dont les horizons A ont été éliminés par ce traitement, avec celles de témoins non remodelé

Organic matter and natural carbon-13 distribution in forested and cultivated oxisols

Etude de la distribution du carbone et de 13C et de leur variation suite au développement des cultures dans trois oxisols de la région de Piracicaba (Sao Paulo, Brésil

Multiscale Study of Reactive Dense Fluidized Bed for FCC Regenerator

This study deals with reactive gas particle flows like the coke combustion during the regeneration of FCC particles. In this kind of reactive flow, the global reaction rate is usually bad predicted. In a first approximation, the chemical scheme can be the reason because of the limitation of its modeling. It is usually based on macroscopic experimental results. The link between these macroscopic measurements and a local kinetics of the heterogeneous reaction occuring at the gas-particle interface is not confirmed. Results of kinetics coming from experimental measurements are used and we try to highlight the problems that appear when the same kinetics are used at different scales. In common industrial computations, coarse meshes are used to solve continuity equations. Averaged or filtered Navier-Stokes and species continuity equations have to be solved in which additional correlation terms appear because of non-linear terms in the original equations, including reaction rate correlation. Therefore a multiscale analysis is performed in order to improve the modeling of this terms. This paper, shows that the eulerian formulation of kinetics has to be improved due to the impact of the particle volume fraction on the reaction rate and the necessity to develop a subgrid model for the reaction rate due to the natural clustering that appears in gas-particle flows and non-linear additional terms appearing in filtered equations