A parametric modelling study for pressurised steam/O2-blown fluidised-bed gasification of wood with catalytic reforming

A model for pressurised steam/O2-blown fluidised-bed gasification of biomass with catalytic reforming of hydrocarbons and tars was developed using Aspen Plus simulation software. Seven main blocks were used to model the fluidised-bed gasifier and two for the catalytic reformer. Modelling blocks were complemented with FORTRAN subroutines to simulate the observed non-equilibrium behaviour of the process. The model was fitted with experimental data derived from a 0.5 MW scale test rig operated with crushed wood pellets and forest residues and was shown to be capable of predicting product gas composition from gasification of clean wood. A parametric analysis indicated that a significant improvement in the syngas efficiency could be achieved by rising the filtration temperature and reformer conversions. Other improvement possibilities include fuel drying and lower reforming temperature.

► We introduce a simple yet usable way to model fluidised-bed gasification of wood.
► The model is fitted with experimental data from a 0.5 MW process development unit.
► We examine the effects of key process parameters to the performance of the system.