Defluidization and agglomeration of a fluidized bed reactor during Cynara cardunculus L. gasification using sepiolite as a bed material

• Sepiolite is proposed as an alternative bed material for biomass gasification.
• Cynara cardunculus L. was gasified in a lab-scale FB using sepiolite and silica sand.
• Defluidization time was obtained using time and frequency analysis methods.
• Sepiolite leads to higher defluidization times than silica sand.
• Different types of agglomerates were formed for both bed materials.

This work studies the defluidization time and the agglomerate generation in a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) reactor during Cynara cardunculus L. gasification using, separately, two different bed materials, silica sand and sepiolite (Mg8Si12O30(OH)4(OH2)48H2). The high adsorption capacity and the elemental composition of the sepiolite make it suitable as an alternative bed material in order to reduce agglomeration. Experiments were performed on a stainless steel lab-scale BFB reactor operating with air as a gasifying agent at different air excess ratios (u/umf). A quartz reactor was alternatively used for the visualization of bed material and biomass during gasification, allowing one to observe the agglomerate formation process. Pressure signals were analyzed both in time and frequency domain to determine the defluidization time. Furthermore, the shape and size of the bed material after the experiments were evaluated. Higher defluidization times in the case of sepiolite were measured. Particle sizes were affected by the type of bed material and the air excess and agglomerates of different shapes were formed for sepiolite and silica sand.