An Euler–Euler approach to modeling biomass fast pyrolysis in fluidized-bed reactors – Focusing on the gas phase

•A 3-D CFD model for fast pyrolysis in fluidized beds has been developed.•Focus is on the vapor phase which permits a simplified rendering of the solids.•Predicted results largely agree with measured temperature, pressure, and bed height.

A developed 3D Euler–Euler CFD model, with an integrated pyrolysis model, is proposed as a way of predicting vapor phase dynamics and product distributions in the fluidized bed process for biomass fast pyrolysis. The main interest in this work is the gases resulting from the pyrolysis mixed with the fluidizing gas. We propose therefore a simple rendering of the solid material while directing attention to the vapor phase. At the same time the required computational resources for reaching stabilized conditions in the reactor are reduced. Temperature profile, velocity profile and pyrolysis products are predicted and globally verified by a series of parallel cases, which are compared to experimental measurements and known trends of liquid, solid and gas yields. The comparison of experimental measurements and model predictions satisfy the accuracy of the model and on a quantitative basis, the product yields agree with commonly known trends of bio oil versus temperature and residence time.