Gasification of two solid recovered fuels (SRFs) in a lab-scale fluidized bed reactor: Influence of experimental conditions on process performance and release of HCl, H2S, HCN and NH3

This paper studied the gasification of two solid recovered fuels (SRFs) in a laboratory scale fluidized bed reactor. The gasification performance and syngas quality were assessed under the influence of: gasification temperature (750 °C and 850 °C), SRF feedstock (RT or FL), bed material (sand or dolomite) and gasification agent (air or O2/H2O). One of the parameters to evaluate the gasification performance was the concentration of minor contaminants (tar, N, S and Cl compounds) in the syngas. High temperature (850 °C) and the use of calcined dolomite as bed material improved gas quality (increasing H2/CO ratio, carbon conversion and reducing tar content) during SRF gasification. The use of O2/H2O also enhanced gas composition (i.e. higher calorific value), although further research is needed to fully understand the release of minor contaminants under these conditions. The results indicated that the presence of minor contaminants in the syngas was strongly affected by the composition of the SRF itself, the composition of the ash fraction and the bed material, and provided valuable information to assess the most adequate conditions for SRF gasification.