Entrained flow gasification of hardwood bark: experimental characterization of inorganic matter versus equilibrium and viscosity predictions

Françoise Defoort (1, 2) , Boris Grangier (1, 2) , Thierry Chataing (1, 2) , Serge Ravel (1, 2) , Gilles Ratel (1, 2) , Sylvie Valin (1, 2)

1 Univ. Grenoble Alpes – CEA/LITEN
2 NUCLEART - ARC-Nucleart CEA Grenoble

Hardwood bark (HW bark) containing a high ash yield (6.5 wt%) was gasified on a pilot scale in a pressurized entrained flow reactor (250 KWth) in allothermal conditions. Conventional physical-chemical characterizations were performed on the ash/slag (ash yield, weight and sieving, inductively coupled plasma, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometry) and on the water (pH and Ionic Chromatography) both collected at the bottom of the entrained flow reactor (EFR). Simulations were performed to predict the phase speciation (solid + liquid + gas) at equilibrium with Factsage 7.3 and its databases and to predict the viscosity with the Factsage “melt” and Thomas models above and below liquidus temperature respectively. Results showed that the inorganic matter collected could be characterized with a well closed overall and elemental mass balance. A slight pollution by the alumina wall of the reactor was observed. A very small amount (< 4%) of fly ash was noticed. The quench water was acidic due to the oxidation of the injected N2 (and not due to N-biomass).

Mots clés: Entrained flow reactor; Biomass ash; Gasification; Viscosity calculations; Thermodynamic calculations

Domaines: Chimie

Françoise Defoort, Boris Grangier, Thierry Chataing, Serge Ravel, Gilles Ratel, et al.. Entrained flow gasification of hardwood bark: experimental characterization of inorganic matter versus equilibrium and viscosity predictions. Energy & Fuels, 2021, 35 (15), pp.12151-12164. ⟨10.1021/acs.energyfuels.1c00993⟩. ⟨cea-04071672⟩