Characterization of particulate matter formed during wood pellet gasification in an indirect bubbling fluidized bed gasifier using aerosol measurement techniques

This study characterizes particulate matter, organic compounds, and inorganic compounds formed in an atmospheric indirect bubbling fluidized bed gasifier at two different steam-to-fuel ratios using wood pellets as fuel. The sampling and conditioning system consisted of a high-temperature dilution probe to quench aerosol dynamics and condense inorganic vapors, a primary thermodenuder to adsorb tar components, and a secondary thermodenuder to investigate the volatility/thermal stability of the remaining aerosol. Both online and offline instruments were used to characterize the aerosol in terms of number size distribution, mass size distribution, particle mass concentration, particle number concentration, morphology, and elemental analysis. Size distributions with three distinct modes were established. The fine and intermediate modes were mainly formed by tar and alkali vapors that had condensed in the sampling and conditioning systems. The coarse mode mainly consisted of the original particles, which are char, fly ash, and fragmented bed material. At the higher steam-to-fuel ratio, tar components seem to be reduced and more coarse-mode particles emitted compared to the low steam case. Furthermore, a possibility for online monitoring of heavy tar is suggested.