Euler-Lagrange/DEM simulation of wood gasification in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor

We present an Euler-Lagrange method for the simulation of wood gasification in a bubbling fluidized bed. The gas phase is modeled as a continuum using the 2D Navier-Stokes equations and the solid phase is modeled by a Discrete Element Method (DEM) using a soft-sphere approach for the particle collision dynamic. Turbulence is included via a Large-Eddy approach using the Smagorinsky sub-grid model. The model takes into account detailed gas phase chemistry, zero-dimensional modeling of the pyrolysis and gasification of each individual particle, particle shrinkage, and heat and mass transfer between the gas phase and the particulate phase. We investigate the influence of wood feeding rate and compare exhaust gas compositions and temperature results obtained with the model against experimental data of a laboratory scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor.