Biomass gasification with CO2 in a fluidized bed

• Biomass co-gasification with CO2 can capture CO2 and produce renewable energy.
• 60% CO2 in gasifying agent is the optimal case for biomass gasification.
• The lower heating value of synthetic gas is at maximum in the optimal case.
• Moisture content and particle size have negative effects on gasification performance.

Biomass gasification with CO2 as the gasifying agent is a promising way to relieve the energy shortage and minimize CO2 emission. In this study, Eulerian method was used to study the CO2 gasification of biomass in a fluidized bed gasifier. It was found that the CO2 percentage in the gasifying mixture with air, the CO2-to-biomass ratio, the moisture content of woodchips, and the woodchip size had great influence on the gasification performance. With the increasing CO2-to-biomass ratio, the mole fraction of CO in the producer gases would be increased while those of H2 and CO2 vary in the opposite trend. When CO2 mass percentage in the gasifying agent was 60%, the fractions of CO and CH4 in the producer gas reached the maximum, as well as the lower heating value and cold gas efficiency, so this was the optimal condition when the gasifier had the best performance. The moisture content and particle size of the woodchips had negative effects on the gasification performance, because of the lower heating value of producer gases, cold gas efficiency and CO2 conversion ratio were both reduced with increasing moisture content and particle size. This study offers a promising way to integrate the gasification of renewable biomass with CO2 capture, and may be helpful in the design and operation of biomass gasifier.

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