Integration of mixed conducting membranes in an oxygen–steam biomass gasification process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Puig Arnavat, Maria; Soprani, Stefano; Søgaard, Martin

2013-01-01

. The two configurations demonstrating the highest efficiency are then thermally integrated into an oxygen– steam biomass gasification plant. The energy demand for oxygen production and the membrane area required for a 6 MWth biomass plant are calculated for different operating conditions. Increasing......Oxygen–steam biomass gasification produces a high quality syngas with a high H2/CO ratio that is suitable for upgrading to liquid fuels. Such a gas is also well suited for use in conjunction with solid oxide fuel cells giving rise to a system yielding high electrical efficiency based on biomass...... distillation, especially for small to medium scale plants. This paper examines different configurations for oxygen production using MIEC membranes where the oxygen partial pressure difference is achieved by creating a vacuum on the permeate side, compressing the air on the feed side or a combination of the two...

Hydrothermal gasification of glucose and starch in a batch and continuous reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuhiro Kumabe

2017-11-01

Full Text Available A batch reactor was used for the gasification of glucose and starch as carbohydrate model compounds. The effects of H2O in various states (low-pressure hot compressed water (LP-HCW, 300 °C and 10 MPa, high-pressure hot compressed water (HP-HCW, 360 °C and 20 MPa, high-temperature steam (HTS, 400 °C and 10 MPa, and supercritical water (SCW, 400 °C and 25 MPa, as well as reaction time (10, 30, and 60 min, sample concentration (10, 20, and 30 wt%, and catalyst (mixture of Ca(OH2 and Na2CO3 on gas production were investigated in the hydrothermal gasification. In addition, using a continuous reactor, the hydrothermal gasification of glucose was examined with LP-HCW (200 °C and 5 MPa, HP-HCW (200 °C and 25 MPa, HTS (600 °C, 5 MPa, and SCW (600 °C, 25 MPa in order to study the productions of gases and tar, and the mass balance. The reaction temperature affected gasification considerably, but pressure had little effect. In the batch experiments, the characteristics of the produced gases were almost identical after a reaction time of 10 min, and addition of Ca(OH2 and Na2CO3 as catalysts in a molar ratio of 7:3 led to selective production of H2 in the SCW gasification of 10 wt% glucose for 30 min. In a continuous experiment under the SCW conditions, the conversion efficiency of glucose to gas was 26% and the composition of the produced gas was 29 vol% CO, 23 vol% H2, and 16 vol% CH4. Under the hydrothermal conditions, glucose was mainly converted to char and suspended components of high-molecular-weight compounds such as fat, whereas starch was mainly converted to gas and liquid.

Performance and economics of a Pd-based planar WGS membrane reactor for coal gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dolan, M.D.; Donelson, R.; Dave, N.C.

2010-01-01

Conceptual 300 tonne per day (tpd) H 2 -from-coal plants have been the subject of several major costing exercises in the past decade. Incorporating conventional high- and low-temperature water-gas-shift (WGS) reactors, amine-based CO 2 removal and PSA-based H 2 purification systems, these studies provide a benchmark against which alternative H 2 -from-coal technologies can be compared. The catalytic membrane reactor (CMR), combining a WGS catalyst and hydrogen-selective metal membrane, can potentially replace the multiple shift and separation stages of a plant based on conventional technology. CMR-based shift and separation offers several major advantages over the conventional approach, including greater-than-equilibrium WGS conversion, the containment of the CO 2 at high-pressure and a reduction in the number of unit processes. To determine capital costs of a WGS CMR-based H 2 -from-coal plant, a prototype planar CMR was constructed and tested with varying catalyst bed depth, residence time and membrane type (commercially-sourced 50 μm Pd or 40 μm Pd-25Ag wt%). Experiments to measure CO conversion, and H 2 flux and yield were conducted at 400 C with a feed pressure of 20 bar H 2 O:C ratio of 3 and a H 2 product pressure of 1 bar. Under the optimum conditions examined (with a 40 μm-thick Pd-25Ag membrane and 2 would be required to provide a throughput of 300 tpd with 85% H 2 yield. The capital cost of the CMR component of the plant would be around $US 180 million (based on current metal prices), of which 73% can be attributed to the cost of the Pd-Ag alloy membranes. Incorporation of a membrane that meets the 2015 US DOE cost and flux targets would offer cost parity, with a plant cost of $US 44 million and a total membrane area of ∝13,000 m 2 . Meeting these performance and cost targets would likely require a shift to very thin Pd-alloy membranes or highly-permeable Group IV, V body-centred-cubic alloys. (author)

Hybrid adsorptive membrane reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Tsotsis, Theodore T [Huntington Beach, CA; Sahimi, Muhammad [Altadena, CA; Fayyaz-Najafi, Babak [Richmond, CA; Harale, Aadesh [Los Angeles, CA; Park, Byoung-Gi [Yeosu, KR; Liu, Paul K. T. [Lafayette Hill, PA

2011-03-01

A hybrid adsorbent-membrane reactor in which the chemical reaction, membrane separation, and product adsorption are coupled. Also disclosed are a dual-reactor apparatus and a process using the reactor or the apparatus.

Thermal and biological gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Overend, R.P.; Rivard, C.J. [National Renewable Energy Lab., Golden, CO (United States)

1993-12-31

Gasification is being developed to enable a diverse range of biomass resources to meet modern secondary energy uses, especially in the electrical utility sector. Biological or anaerobic gasification in US landfills has resulted in the installation of almost 500 MW(e) of capacity and represents the largest scale application of gasification technology today. The development of integrated gasification combined cycle generation for coal technologies is being paralleled by bagasse and wood thermal gasification systems in Hawaii and Scandinavia, and will lead to significant deployment in the next decade as the current scale-up activities are commercialized. The advantages of highly reactive biomass over coal in the design of process units are being realized as new thermal gasifiers are being scaled up to produce medium-energy-content gas for conversion to synthetic natural gas and transportation fuels and to hydrogen for use in fuel cells. The advent of high solids anaerobic digestion reactors is leading to commercialization of controlled municipal solid waste biological gasification rather than landfill application. In both thermal and biological gasification, high rate process reactors are a necessary development for economic applications that address waste and residue management and the production and use of new crops for energy. The environmental contribution of biomass in reducing greenhouse gas emission will also be improved.

Performance and economics of a Pd-based planar WGS membrane reactor for coal gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dolan, M.D. [CSIRO Energy Technology, Pullenvale QLD 4069 (Australia); Donelson, R. [CSIRO Process Science and Engineering, Clayton VIC 3168 (Australia); Dave, N.C. [CSIRO Energy Technology, North Ryde NSW 2113 (Australia)

2010-10-15

Conceptual 300 tonne per day (tpd) H{sub 2}-from-coal plants have been the subject of several major costing exercises in the past decade. Incorporating conventional high- and low-temperature water-gas-shift (WGS) reactors, amine-based CO{sub 2} removal and PSA-based H{sub 2} purification systems, these studies provide a benchmark against which alternative H{sub 2}-from-coal technologies can be compared. The catalytic membrane reactor (CMR), combining a WGS catalyst and hydrogen-selective metal membrane, can potentially replace the multiple shift and separation stages of a plant based on conventional technology. CMR-based shift and separation offers several major advantages over the conventional approach, including greater-than-equilibrium WGS conversion, the containment of the CO{sub 2} at high-pressure and a reduction in the number of unit processes. To determine capital costs of a WGS CMR-based H{sub 2}-from-coal plant, a prototype planar CMR was constructed and tested with varying catalyst bed depth, residence time and membrane type (commercially-sourced 50 {mu}m Pd or 40 {mu}m Pd-25Ag wt%). Experiments to measure CO conversion, and H{sub 2} flux and yield were conducted at 400 C with a feed pressure of 20 bar H{sub 2}O:C ratio of 3 and a H{sub 2} product pressure of 1 bar. Under the optimum conditions examined (with a 40 {mu}m-thick Pd-25Ag membrane and <3 mm-thick catalyst bed), a membrane surface area of {proportional_to}25,000 m{sup 2} would be required to provide a throughput of 300 tpd with 85% H{sub 2} yield. The capital cost of the CMR component of the plant would be around $US 180 million (based on current metal prices), of which 73% can be attributed to the cost of the Pd-Ag alloy membranes. Incorporation of a membrane that meets the 2015 US DOE cost and flux targets would offer

Recent advances on polymeric membranes for membrane reactors

KAUST Repository

Buonomenna, M. G.

2012-06-24

Membrane reactors are generally applied in high temperature reactions (>400 °C). In the field of fine chemical synthesis, however, much milder conditions are generally applicable and polymeric membranes were applied without their damage. The successful use of membranes in membrane reactors is primary the result of two developments concerning: (i) membrane materials and (ii) membrane structures. The selection of a suited material and preparation technique depends on the application the membrane is to be used in. In this chapter a review of up to date literature about polymers and configuration catalyst/ membranes used in some recent polymeric membrane reactors is given. The new emerging concept of polymeric microcapsules as catalytic microreactors has been proposed. © 2012 Bentham Science Publishers. All rights reserved.

Allothermal steam gasification of biomass in cyclic multi-compartment bubbling fluidized-bed gasifier/combustor - new reactor concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Iliuta, Ion; Leclerc, Arnaud; Larachi, Faïçal

2010-05-01

A new reactor concept of allothermal cyclic multi-compartment fluidized bed steam biomass gasification is proposed and analyzed numerically. The concept combines space and time delocalization to approach an ideal allothermal gasifier. Thermochemical conversion of biomass in periodic time and space sequences of steam biomass gasification and char/biomass combustion is simulated in which the exothermic combustion compartments provide heat into an array of interspersed endothermic steam gasification compartments. This should enhance unit heat integration and thermal efficiency and procure N(2)-free biosyngas with recourse neither to oxygen addition in steam gasification nor contact between flue and syngas. The dynamic, one-dimensional, multi-component, non-isothermal model developed for this concept accounts for detailed solid and gas flow dynamics whereupon gasification/combustion reaction kinetics, thermal effects and freeboard-zone reactions were tied. Simulations suggest that allothermal operation could be achieved with switch periods in the range of a minute supporting practical feasibility for portable small-scale gasification units. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

State of the art on reactor designs for solar gasification of carbonaceous feedstock

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Puig Arnavat, Maria; Tora, E.A.; Bruno, J.C.

2013-01-01

to produce high quality synthesis gas with a higher output per unit of feedstock and that allows for the chemical storage of solar energy in the form of a readily transportable fuel, among other advantages. The present paper describes the latest advances in solar thermochemical reactors for gasification...

Sugarcane bagasse gasification: Global reaction mechanism of syngas evolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, I.I.; Gupta, A.K.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Gasification of sugarcane bagasse has been investigated using a semi batch reactor. ► Global reaction mechanism combining pyrolysis and gasification reactions is presented. ► High flow rates of syngas supported fragmentation and secondary reactions. ► CO flow rate increased at higher heating rates at the expense of CO 2 production. ► At high temperatures merger between pyrolysis and char gasification occurs. -- Abstract: Steam gasification of sugarcane bagasse has been investigated. A semi batch reactor with a fixed amount of sugarcane bagasse sample placed in steady flow of high temperature steam at atmospheric pressure has been used. The gasification of bagasse was examined at reactor and steam temperatures of 800, 900 and 1000 °C. The evolution of syngas flow rate and chemical composition has been monitored. The evolution of chemical composition and total flow rate of the syngas has been used to formulate a global reaction mechanism. The mechanism combines pyrolysis reaction mechanisms from the literature and steam gasification/reforming reactions. Steam gasification steps include steam–hydrocarbons reforming, char gasification and water gas shift reactions. Evidence of fragmentation, secondary ring opening reactions and tertiary reactions resulting in formation of gaseous hydrocarbons is supported by higher flow rates of syngas and hydrogen at high heating rates and high reactor temperatures. Increase in carbon monoxide flow rate at the expense of carbon dioxide flow rate with the increase in reactor temperature has been observed. This increase in the ratio of CO/CO 2 flow rate confirms the production of CO and CO 2 from the competing reaction routes. At 1000 °C gasification a total merging between the pyrolysis step and the char gasification step has been observed. This is attributed to acceleration of char gasification reactions and acceleration of steam–hydrocarbons reforming reactions. These hydrocarbons are the precursors to

Entrained Flow Gasification of Biomass

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qin, Ke

The present Ph. D. thesis describes experimental and modeling investigations on entrained flow gasification of biomass and an experimental investigation on entrained flow cogasification of biomass and coal. A review of the current knowledge of biomass entrained flow gasification is presented....... Biomass gasification experiments were performed in a laboratory-scale atmospheric pressure entrained flow reactor with the aim to investigate the effects of operating parameters and biomass types on syngas products. A wide range of operating parameters was involved: reactor temperature, steam/carbon ratio......, excess air ratio, oxygen concentration, feeder gas flow, and residence time. Wood, straw, and lignin were used as biomass fuels. In general, the carbon conversion was higher than 90 % in the biomass gasification experiments conducted at high temperatures (> 1200 °C). The biomass carbon...

ITM oxygen for gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Armstrong, P.A.; Foster, E.P. [Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Toronto, ON (Canada); Gunardson, H.H. [Air Products Canada Ltd., Mississauga, ON (Canada)

2005-11-01

This paper described a newly developed air separation technology called Ionic Transport Membrane (ITM), which reduces the overall cost of the gasification process. The technology is well suited for advanced energy conversion processes such as integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) that require oxygen and use heavy carbonaceous feedstocks such as residual oils, bitumens, coke and coal. It is also well suited for traditional industrial applications for oxygen and distributed power. Air Products Canada Limited developed the ceramic membrane air separation technology that can reduce the cost of pure oxygen by more than 30 per cent. The separation technology achieves a capital cost reduction of 30 per cent and an energy reduction of 35 per cent over conventional cryogenic air separation. ITM is an electrochemical process that integrates well with the gasification process and an IGCC option for producing electricity from the waste heat generated from gasification. This paper described the integration of ITM technology with both the gasification and IGCC processes and showed the attractive economics of ITM. 6 refs., 2 tabs., 6 figs.

Gasification of wood in a fluidized bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sousa, L.C. de; Marti, T; Frankenhaeuser, M [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

1997-06-01

A first series of gasification experiments with our fluidized bed gasifier was performed using clean sawdust as fuel. The installation and the analytical systems were tested in a parametric study in which gasification temperature and equivalence ratio were varied. The data acquired will serve to establish the differences between the gasification of clean wood and the gasification of Altholz (scrapwood) and wood/plastics mixtures. (author) 1 fig., 3 tabs., 5 refs.

One Step Biomass Gas Reforming-Shift Separation Membrane Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roberts, Michael J. [Gas Technology Institute; Souleimanova, Razima [Gas Technology Institute

2012-12-28

GTI developed a plan where efforts were concentrated in 4 major areas: membrane material development, membrane module development, membrane process development, and membrane gasifier scale-up. GTI assembled a team of researchers to work in each area. Task 1.1 Ceramic Membrane Synthesis and Testing was conducted by Arizona State University (ASU), Task 1.2 Metallic Membrane Synthesis and Testing was conducted by the U.S. National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Task 1.3 was conducted by SCHOTT, and GTI was to test all membranes that showed potential. The initial focus of the project was concentrated on membrane material development. Metallic and glass-based membranes were identified as hydrogen selective membranes under the conditions of the biomass gasification, temperatures above 700C and pressures up to 30 atmospheres. Membranes were synthesized by arc-rolling for metallic type membranes and incorporating Pd into a glass matrix for glass membranes. Testing for hydrogen permeability properties were completed and the effects of hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide were investigated for perspective membranes. The initial candidate membrane of Pd80Cu20 chosen in 2008 was selected for preliminary reactor design and cost estimates. Although the H2A analysis results indicated a $1.96 cost per gge H2 based on a 5A (micron) thick PdCu membrane, there was not long-term operation at the required flux to satisfy the go/no go decision. Since the future PSA case yielded a $2.00/gge H2, DOE decided that there was insufficient savings compared with the already proven PSA technology to further pursue the membrane reactor design. All ceramic membranes synthesized by ASU during the project showed low hydrogen flux as compared with metallic membranes. The best ceramic membrane showed hydrogen permeation flux of 0.03 SCFH/ft2 at the required process conditions while the metallic membrane, Pd80Cu20 showed a flux of 47.2 SCFH/ft2 (3 orders of magnitude difference). Results from

Coal gasification coal by steam using process heat from high-temperature nuclear reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heek, K.H. van; Juentgen, H.; Peters, W.

1982-01-01

This paper outlines the coal gasification process using a high-temperature nuclear reactor as a source of the process heat needed. Compared to conventional gasification processes coal is saved by 30-40%, coal-specific emissions are reduced and better economics of gas production are achieved. The introductory chapter deals with motives, aims and tasks of the development, followed by an explanation of the status of investigations, whereby especially the results of a semi-technical pilot plant operated by Bergbau-Forschung are given. Furthermore, construction details of a full-scale commercial gasifier are discussed, including the development of suitable alloys for the heat exchanger. Moreover problems of safety, licensing and economics of future plants have been investigated. (orig.) [de

Innovative hybrid biological reactors using membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diez, R.; Esteban-Garcia, A. L.; Florio, L. de; Rodriguez-Hernandez, L.; Tejero, I.

2011-01-01

In this paper we present two lines of research on hybrid reactors including the use of membranes, although with different functions: RBPM, biofilm reactors and membranes filtration RBSOM, supported biofilm reactors and oxygen membranes. (Author) 14 refs.

Catalytic gasification in fluidized bed, of orange waste. Comparison with non catalytic gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguiar Trujillo, Leonardo; Marquez Montesinos, Francisco; Ramos Robaina, Boris A.; Guerra Reyes, Yanet; Arauzo Perez, Jesus; Gonzalo Callejo, Alberto; Sanchez Cebrian, Jose L

2011-01-01

The industry processing of the orange, generates high volumes of solid waste. This waste has been used as complement in the animal feeding, in biochemical processes; but their energy use has not been valued by means of the gasification process. They were carried out gasification studies with air in catalytic fluidized bed (using dolomite and olivine as catalysts in a secondary reactor, also varying the temperature of the secondary reactor and the catalyst mass), of the solid waste of orange and the results are compared with those obtained in the gasification with non catalytic air. In the processes we use a design of complete factorial experiment of 2k, valuing the influence of the independent variables and their interactions in the answers, using the software Design-Expert version 7 and a grade of significance of 95 %. The results demonstrate the qualities of the solid waste of orange in the energy use by means of the gasification process for the treatment of these residuals, obtaining a gas of low caloric value. The use of catalysts also diminishes the yield of tars obtained in the gasification process, being more active the dolomite that the olivine in this process. (author)

Low temperature circulating fluidized bed gasification and co-gasification of municipal sewage sludge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Tobias Pape; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Gøbel, Benny

2017-01-01

to the mono-sludge ashes, thereby showing the best fertilizer qualities among all assessed materials. It was also found that bottom ashes from the char reactor contained even less heavy metals than cyclone ashes. It is concluded that LT-CFB gasification and co-gasification is a highly effective way to purify...

Recent advances in oxygen production for gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gunardson, H.H. [Air Products Canada Ltd., Mississauga, ON (Canada)

2005-07-01

This paper described the Ionic Transport Membrane (ITM) technology that reduces the overall cost of the gasification process by 7 per cent. Gasification is a proven, but expensive technology for producing hydrogen and synthesis gas from low cost hydrocarbon feedstock. Gasification is also an alternative to conventional steam methane reforming based on natural gas. A key cost element in gasification is the production of oxygen. For that reason, Air Products Canada Limited developed a ceramic membrane air separation technology that can reduce the cost of pure oxygen by more than 30 per cent. The separation technology achieves a capital cost reduction of 30 per cent and an energy reduction of 35 per cent over conventional cryogenic air separation. ITM is an electrochemical process that integrates very well with the gasification process and an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) option for production of electrical power from the waste heat generated from gasification. This paper described the integration of ITM technology with both the gasification and IGCC processes and showed how the superior economics of ITM can allow gasification to compete with steam methane reforming and thereby reduce dependency of oil sands development on increasingly scarce and costly natural gas.

Electrofluid gasification of coal with nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulsifer, A.H.; Wheelock, T.D.

1978-01-01

The gasification of coal by reaction with steam requires addition of large amounts of energy. This energy can be supplied by a high-temperature nuclear reactor which is coupled to a fluidized bed gasifier either thermally or electrically via an electrofluid gasifier. A comparison of the economics of supplying energy by these two alternatives demonstrates that electrofluid gasification in combination with a high-temperature nuclear reactor may in some circumstances be economically attractive. In addition, a review of recent experiments in small-scale electrofluid gasifiers indicates that this method of gasification is technically feasible. (Auth.)

Electrofluid gasification of coal with nuclear energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pulsifer, A.H.; Wheelock, T.D.

1978-01-01

The gasification of coal by reaction with steam requires the addition of large amounts of energy. This energy can be supplied by a high-temperature nuclear reactor which is coupled to a fluidized bed gasifier either thermally or electrically via an electrofluid gasifier. A comparison of the economics of supplying energy by these two alternatives demonstrates that electrofluid gasification in combination with a high-temperature nuclear reactor may in some circumstances be economically attractive. In addition, a review of recent experiments in small-scale electrofluid gasifiers indicates that this method of gasification is technically feasible

Recent advances on polymeric membranes for membrane reactors

KAUST Repository

Buonomenna, M. G.; Choi, Seung Hak

2012-01-01

. The successful use of membranes in membrane reactors is primary the result of two developments concerning: (i) membrane materials and (ii) membrane structures. The selection of a suited material and preparation technique depends on the application the membrane

Partial gasification of coal in a fluidized bed reactor: Comparison of a laboratory and pilot scale reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, R.; Shen, L.H.; Zhang, M.Y.; Jin, B.S.; Xiong, Y.Q.; Duan, Y.F.; Zhong, Z.P.; Zhou, H.C.; Chen, X.P.; Huang, Y.J. [Southeast University, Nanjing (China)

2007-01-15

A 0.1 MWth lab-scale and 2 MWth pilot-scale experimental rigs were constructed to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a new process. The aim of the lab-scale study is to optimize coal partial gasification reactions operating conditions, which were applied in the pilot-scale tests. A comparison between the laboratory and pilot scale experimental results is presented in this paper in order to provide valuable information for scaling-up of the PFB coal partial reactor to industrial applications. The results show that trends and phenomena obtained in the laboratory reactor are confirmed in a pilot plant operating at similar conditions. However, many differences are observed in the two reactors. The higher heat loss in the lab-scale reactor is responsible for higher equivalence ratio (ER) and lower gas heating value at the similar reactor temperature. With respect to the pilot-scale reactor, mass transfer limitation between bubbles and emulsion phase may become important. Hence, longer contact time is required to achieve the same conversions as in the lab-scale reactor. This difference is explained by a significant change of the hydrodynamic conditions due to the formation of larger bubbles.

Thermophilic anaerobic digestion of Lurgi coal gasification wastewater in a UASB reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, W.; Ma, W.C.; Han, H.J.; Li, H.Q.; Yuan, M. [Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin (China)

2011-02-15

Lurgi coal gasification wastewater (LCGW) is a refractory wastewater, whose anaerobic treatment has been a severe problem due to its toxicity and poor biodegradability. Using a mesophilic (35 {+-} 2{sup o}C) reactor as a control, thermophilic anaerobic digestion (55 {+-} 2{sup o}C) of LCGW was investigated in a UASB reactor. After 120 days of operation, the removal of COD and total phenols by the thermophilic reactor could reach 50-55% and 50-60% respectively, at an organic loading rate of 2.5 kg COD/(m{sup 3} d) and HRT of 24h: the corresponding efficiencies were both only 20-30% in the mesophilic reactor. After thermophilic digestion, the wastewater concentrations of the aerobic effluent COD could reach below 200 mg/L compared with around 294 mg/L if mesophilic digestion was done and around 375 mg/L if sole aerobic pre-treatment was done. The results suggested that thermophilic anaerobic digestion improved significantly both anaerobic and aerobic biodegradation of LCGW.

Innovative hybrid biological reactors using membranes; Reactores biologico hibrido innovadores utilizando membranas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Diez, R.; Esteban-Garcia, A. L.; Florio, L. de; Rodriguez-Hernandez, L.; Tejero, I.

2011-07-01

In this paper we present two lines of research on hybrid reactors including the use of membranes, although with different functions: RBPM, biofilm reactors and membranes filtration RBSOM, supported biofilm reactors and oxygen membranes. (Author) 14 refs.

Performance analysis of an integrated biomass gasification and PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) system: Hydrogen and power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chutichai, Bhawasut; Authayanun, Suthida; Assabumrungrat, Suttichai; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

2013-01-01

The PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) is expected to play a significant role in next-generation energy systems. Because most hydrogen that is used as a fuel for PEMFCs is derived from the reforming of natural gas, the use of renewable energy sources such as biomass to produce this hydrogen offers a promising alternative. This study is focused on the performance analysis of an integrated biomass gasification and PEMFC system. The combined heat and power generation output of this integrated system is designed for residential applications, taking into account thermal and electrical demands. A flowsheet model of the integrated PEMFC system is developed and employed to analyze its performance with respect to various key operating parameters. A purification process consisting of a water–gas shift reactor and a preferential oxidation reactor is also necessary in order to reduce the concentration of CO in the synthesis gas to below 10 ppm for subsequent use in the PEMFC. The effect of load level on the performance of the PEMFC system is investigated. Based on an electrical load of 5 kW, it is found that the electrical efficiency of the PEMFC integrated system is 22%, and, when waste heat recovery is considered, the total efficiency of the PEMFC system is 51%. - Highlights: • Performance of a biomass gasification and PEMFC integrated system is analyzed. • A flowsheet model of the PEMFC integrated system is developed. • Effect of biomass sources and key parameters on hydrogen and power generation is presented. • The PEMFC integrated system is designed for small-scale power demand. • Effect of load changes on the performance of PEMFC is investigated

Recovery strategies for tackling the impact of phenolic compounds in a UASB reactor treating coal gasification wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wei; Han, Hongjun

2012-01-01

The impact of phenolic compounds (around 3.2 g/L) resulted in a completely failed performance in a mesophilic UASB reactor treating coal gasification wastewater. The recovery strategies, including extension of HRT, dilution, oxygen-limited aeration, and addition of powdered activated carbon were evaluated in batch tests, in order to obtain the most appropriate way for the quick recovery of the failed reactor performance. Results indicated that addition of powdered activated carbon and oxygen-limited aeration were the best recovery strategies in the batch tests. In the UASB reactor, addition of powdered activated carbon of 1 g/L shortened the recovery time from 25 to 9 days and oxygen-limited aeration of 0-0.5 mgO2/L reduced the recovery time to 17 days. Reduction of bioavailable concentration of phenolic compounds and recovery of sludge activity were the decisive factors for the recovery strategies to tackle the impact of phenolic compounds in anaerobic treatment of coal gasification wastewater. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Counter-current membrane reactor for WGS process: Membrane design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piemonte, Vincenzo; Favetta, Barbara [Department of Chemical Engineering Materials and Environment, University of Rome ' ' La Sapienza' ' , via Eudossiana 18, 00184 Rome (Italy); De Falco, Marcello [Faculty of Engineering, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome (Italy); Basile, Angelo [CNR-ITM, c/o University of Calabria, Via Pietro Bucci, Cubo 17/C, 87030 Rende (CS) (Italy)

2010-11-15

Water gas shift (WGS) is a thermodynamically limited reaction which has to operate at low temperatures, reducing kinetics rate and increasing the amount of catalyst required to reach valuable CO conversions. It has been widely demonstrated that the integration of hydrogen selective membranes is a promising way to enhance WGS reactors performance: a Pd-based MR operated successfully overcoming the thermodynamic constraints of a traditional reactor thanks to the removal of hydrogen from reaction environment. In the first part of a MR, the H{sub 2} partial pressure starts from a minimum value since the reaction has not started. As a consequence, if the carrier gas in the permeation zone is sent in counter-current, which is the most efficient configuration, in the first reactor section the H{sub 2} partial pressure in reaction zone is low while in the permeation zone is high, potentially implying back permeation. This means a bad utilization of the first part of the membrane area and thus, a worsening of the MR performance with lower H{sub 2} recovery and lower CO conversion with respect to the case in which the whole selective surface is properly used. To avoid this problem different MR configurations were evaluated by a 1-D pseudo-homogeneous model, validated with WGS industrial data reported in scientific literature. It was demonstrated that the permeated H{sub 2} flow rate per membrane surface, i.e. the membrane flux, strongly improves if selective membrane is placed only in the second part of the reactor: in fact, if the membrane is placed at L{sub m}/L{sub tot} = 0.5, the membrane flux is 0.2 kmol/(m{sup 2}h) about, if it is placed along all reactor tube (L{sub m}/L{sub tot} = 1), flux is 0.05 kmol/(m{sup 2}h). The effect of the L/D reactor ratio and of the reactor wall temperature on the CO conversion were also assessed. (author)

Status of steam gasification of coal by using heat from high-temperature reactors (HTRs)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schroeter, H.J.; Kirchhoff, R.; Heek, K.H. van; Juentgen, H.; Peters, W.

1984-01-01

Bergbau-Forschung GmbH, Essen, is developing a process for steam gasification of coal by using process heat from high-temperature nuclear reactors (HTRs). The envisaged allothermal gas generator is heated by an internally mounted bundle of heat exchanging tubes through which the gaseous reactor coolant helium flows. Research and development work for this process has been under way for about 11 years. After intensive small-scale investigations the principle of the process was tested in a semi-technical plant with 0.2 t/h coal throughput. In its gasifier a fluidized bed of approximately 1 m 2 cross-section and up to 4 m high is operated at 40 bar. Heat is supplied to the bed from an immersed heat exchanger with helium flowing through it. The gas generator is a cut-out version of the full-scale generator, in which the height of the bed, and the arrangement of the heat-exchanger tubes correspond to the full-scale design. The semi-technical plant has now achieved a total gasification time of about 13,000 hours. Roughly 2000 t of coal have been put through. During recent years the gasification of Federal German coking coal by using a jet-feeding system was demonstrated successfully. The results, confirmed and expanded by material tests for the heat exchanger, engineering and computer models and design studies, have shown the feasibility of nuclear steam gasification of coal. The process described offers the following advantages compared with existing processes: higher efficiency as more gas can be produced from less coal; less emission of pollutants as, instead of a coal-fired boiler, the HTR is used for producing steam and electricity; lower production costs for gas. The next step in the project is a pilot plant of about 2-4 t/h coal throughput, still with non-nuclear heating, to demonstrate the construction and operation of the allothermal gas generator on a representative scale for commercial applications. (author)

Gasification Performance of a Top-Lit Updraft Cook Stove

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yogesh Mehta

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This paper reports on an experimental study of a top-lit updraft cook stove with a focus on gasification. The reactor is operated with primary air only. The performance is studied for a variation in the primary airflow, as well as reactor geometry. Temperature in the reactor, air flow rate, fuel consumption rate, and producer gas composition were measured. From the measurements the superficial velocity, pyrolysis front velocity, peak bed temperature, air fuel ratio, heating value of the producer gas, and gasification rate were calculated. The results show that the producer gas energy content was maximized at a superficial velocity of 9 cm/s. The percent char remaining at the end of gasification decreased with increasing combustion chamber diameter. For a fixed superficial velocity, the gasification rate and producer gas energy content were found to scale linearly with diameter. The energy content of the producer gas was maximized at an air fuel (AF ratio of 1.8 regardless of the diameter.

OXIDATIVE COUPLING OF METHANE USING INORGANIC MEMBRANE REACTORS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dr. Y.H. Ma; Dr. W.R. Moser; Dr. A.G. Dixon; Dr. A.M. Ramachandra; Dr. Y. Lu; C. Binkerd

1998-04-01

The objective of this research is to study the oxidative coupling of methane in catalytic inorganic membrane reactors. A specific target is to achieve conversion of methane to C{sub 2} hydrocarbons at very high selectivity and higher yields than in conventional non-porous, co-feed, fixed bed reactors by controlling the oxygen supply through the membrane. A membrane reactor has the advantage of precisely controlling the rate of delivery of oxygen to the catalyst. This facility permits balancing the rate of oxidation and reduction of the catalyst. In addition, membrane reactors minimize the concentration of gas phase oxygen thus reducing non selective gas phase reactions, which are believed to be a main route for the formation of CO{sub x} products. Such gas phase reactions are a cause of decreased selectivity in the oxidative coupling of methane in conventional flow reactors. Membrane reactors could also produce higher product yields by providing better distribution of the reactant gases over the catalyst than the conventional plug flow reactors. Membrane reactor technology also offers the potential for modifying the membranes both to improve catalytic properties as well as to regulate the rate of the permeation/diffusion of reactants through the membrane to minimize by-product generation. Other benefits also exist with membrane reactors, such as the mitigation of thermal hot-spots for highly exothermic reactions such as the oxidative coupling of methane. The application of catalytically active inorganic membranes has potential for drastically increasing the yield of reactions which are currently limited by either thermodynamic equilibria, product inhibition, or kinetic selectivity.

Oxidative coupling of methane using inorganic membrane reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Y.H.; Moser, W.R.; Dixon, A.G. [Worcester Polytechnic Institute, MA (United States)] [and others

1995-12-31

The goal of this research is to improve the oxidative coupling of methane in a catalytic inorganic membrane reactor. A specific target is to achieve conversion of methane to C{sub 2} hydrocarbons at very high selectivity and relatively higher yields than in fixed bed reactors by controlling the oxygen supply through the membrane. A membrane reactor has the advantage of precisely controlling the rate of delivery of oxygen to the catalyst. This facility permits balancing the rate of oxidation and reduction of the catalyst. In addition, membrane reactors minimize the concentration of gas phase oxygen thus reducing non selective gas phase reactions, which are believed to be a main route for formation of CO{sub x} products. Such gas phase reactions are a cause for decreased selectivity in oxidative coupling of methane in conventional flow reactors. Membrane reactors could also produce higher product yields by providing better distribution of the reactant gases over the catalyst than the conventional plug flow reactors. Modeling work which aimed at predicting the observed experimental trends in porous membrane reactors was also undertaken in this research program.

Mathematical modeling of a fluidized bed gasifier for steam gasification of coal using high-temperature nuclear reactor heat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubiak, H.; vanHeek, K.-H.; Juntgen, H.

1986-01-01

Coal gasification is a well-known technique and has already been developed and used since a long time. In the last few years, forced by the energy situation, new efforts have been made to improve known processes and to start new developments. Conventional gasification processes use coal not only as feedstock to be gasified but also for supply of energy for reaction heat, steam production, and other purposes. With a nuclear high temperature reactor (HTR) as a source for process heat, it is possible to transform the whole of the feed coal into gas. This concept offers advantages over existing gasification processes: saving of coal, as more gas can be produced from coal; less emission of pollutants, as the HTR is used for the production of steam and electricity instead of a coal-fired boiler; and lower production costs for the gas

Pyrolysis and gasification behavior of black liquor under pressurized conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whitty, K

1997-11-01

The purpose of this study has been to enhance the understanding of the processes involved in pressurized black liquor gasification. Gasification is known to occur in three stages: drying, pyrolysis and char gasification. The work presented here focuses on the pyrolysis and gasification stages. Experiments were carried out primarily in two laboratory-scale reactors. A pressurized grid heater was used to study black liquor pyrolysis under pressurized conditions. Char yields and the fate of elements in the liquor, as well as the degree of liquor swelling, were measured in this device. A pressurized thermogravimetric reactor was used to measure the rate of the char gasification process under different temperatures and pressures and in various gas atmospheres. Pyrolysis experiments were also carried out in this device, and data on swelling behavior, char yields and component release were obtained 317 refs.

Radiolytic carbon gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shennan, J.V.

1980-01-01

A vast body of knowledge has been accumulated over the past thirty years related to the radiolytic oxidation of the graphite moderator in carbon dioxide cooled Reactors. In the last ten years the dominance of the internal pore structure of the graphite in controlling the rate of carbon gasification has been steadily revealed. The object of this paper is to sift the large body of evidence and show how internal gas composition and hence carbon gasification is controlled by the virgin pore structure and the changes in pore structure brought about by progressive radiolytic oxidation. (author)

Modelling the low-tar BIG gasification concept[Biomass Integrated gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersen, Lars; Elmegaard, B.; Qvale, B.; Henriksen, Ulrrik [Technical univ. of Denmark (Denmark); Bentzen, J.D.; Hummelshoej, R. [COWI A/S (Denmark)

2007-07-01

A low-tar, high-efficient biomass gasification concept for medium- to large-scale power plants has been designed. The concept is named 'Low-Tar BIG' (BIG = Biomass Integrated Gasification). The concept is based on separate pyrolysis and gasification units. The volatile gases from the pyrolysis (containing tar) are partially oxidised in a separate chamber, and hereby the tar content is dramatically reduced. Thus, the investment, and running cost of a gas cleaning system can be reduced, and the reliability can be increased. Both pyrolysis and gasification chamber are bubbling fluid beds, fluidised with steam. For moist fuels, the gasifier can be integrated with a steam drying process, where the produced steam is used in the pyrolysis/gasification chamber. In this paper, mathematical models and results from initial tests of a laboratory Low-Tar BIG gasifier are presented. Two types of models are presented: 1. The gasifier-dryer applied in different power plant systems: Gas engine, Simple cycle gas turbine, Recuperated gas turbine and Integrated Gasification and Combined Cycle (IGCC). The paper determines the differences in efficiency of these systems and shows that the gasifier will be applicable for very different fuels with different moisture contents, depending on the system. 2. A thermodynamic Low-Tar BIG model. This model is based on mass and heat balance between four reactors: Pyrolysis, partial oxidation, gasification, gas-solid mixer. The paper describes the results from this study and compares the results to actual laboratory tests. The study shows, that the Low-Tar BIG process can use very wet fuels (up to 65-70% moist) and still produce heat and power with a remarkable high electric efficiency. Hereby the process offers the unique combination of large scale gasification and low-cost gas cleaning and use of low-cost fuels which very likely is the necessary combination that will lead to a breakthrough of gasification technology. (au)

Research results of sewage sludge and waste oil disposal by entrained bed gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schingnitz, M.; Goehler, P.; Wenzel, W.; Seidel, W. (Noell-DBI Energie- und Entsorgungstechnik GmbH, Freiberg (Germany))

1992-01-01

Presents results of gasifying sewage sludge and waste oil with the GSP technology, developed by the Freiberg Fuel Institute (FRG). The GSP reactor was developed in 1976 for gasification of pulverized brown coal. An industrial reactor of this design operated for over 5 years with a total coal throughput of more than 300,000 t. The design of the gasification generator and the flowsheet of a 3 MW experimental pilot plant for waste gasification are presented. The PCB content in the gasification sludge is 6.14 mg/kg, in waste oil - 160 mg/kg. Gasification takes place at high temperatures of more than 1,400 C for complete destruction of toxic pollutants. Gasification results compare composition of raw gas produced by gasification of brown coal, sewage sludge and waste oil. A detailed list of content of pollutants (PCDD, PCDF, PAH, dioxin and furan) in the gasification gas, in process waters and in solid residue of the process water is provided. It is concluded that the GSP gasification process is suitable for safe disposal of waste with toxic content. 3 refs.

Treatment of coal gasification wastewater by membrane bioreactor hybrid powdered activated carbon (MBR–PAC) system.

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Shengyong; Han, Hongjun; Hou, Baolin; Zhuang, Haifeng; Fang, Fang; Zhao, Qian

2014-12-01

A laboratory-scale membrane bioreactor hybrid powdered activated carbon (MBR–PAC) system was developed to treat coal gasification wastewater to enhance the COD, total phenols (TPh), NH4+ removals and migrate the membrane fouling. Since the MBR–PAC system operated with PAC dosage of 4 g L−1, the maximum removal efficiencies of COD, TPh and NH4+ reached 93%, 99% and 63%, respectively with the corresponding influent concentrations of 2.27 g L−1, 497 mg L−1 and 164 mg N L−1; the PAC extraction efficiencies of COD, TPh and NH4+ were 6%, 3% and 13%, respectively; the transmembrane pressure decreased 34% with PAC after 50 d operation. The results demonstrate that PAC played a key role in the enhancement of biodegradability and mitigation of membrane fouling.

Study of the Apparent Kinetics of Biomass Gasification Using High-Temperature Steam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alevanau, Aliaksandr

2010-10-15

Among the latest achievements in gasification technology, one may list the development of a method to preheat gasification agents using switched ceramic honey combs. The best output from this technology is achieved with use of water steam as a gasification agent, which is heated up to 1600 deg C. The application of these temperatures with steam as a gasification agent provides a cleaner syngas (no nitrogen from air, cracked tars) and the ash melts into easily utilised glass-like sludge. High hydrogen content in output gas is also favourable for end-user applications.Among the other advantages of this technology is the presumable application of fixed-bed-type reactors fed by separately produced and preheated steam. This construction assumes relatively high steam flow rates to deliver the heat needed for endothermic reactions involving biomass. The biomass is to be heated uniformly and evenly in the volume of the whole reactor, providing easier and simpler control and operation in comparison to other types of reactors. To provide potential constructors and exploiters of these reactors with the kinetic data needed for the calculations of vital parameters for both reactor construction and exploitation, basic experimental research of high-temperature steam gasification of four types of industrially produced biomass has been conducted.Kinetic data have been obtained for straw and wood pellets, wood-chip charcoal and compressed charcoal of mixed origin

Study of Raw Materials Treatment by Melting and Gasification Process in Plasma Arc Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter KURILLA

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The world consumption of metals and energy has increased in last few decades and it is still increasing. Total volume production results to higher waste production. Raw material basis of majority metals and fossil fuels for energy production is more complex and current waste treatment has long term tendency. Spent power cells of different types have been unneeded and usually they are classified as dangerous waste. This important issue is the main topic of the thesis, in which author describes pyrometallurgical method for storage batteries – power cells and catalysts treatment. During the process there were tested a trial of spent NiMH, Li – ion power cells and spent copper catalysts with metal content treatment by melting and gasification process in plasma arc reactor. The synthetic gas produced from gasification process has been treated by cogenerations micro turbines units for energy recovery. The metal and slag from treatment process are produced into two separately phases and they were analyzing continually.

Upgrading of Gasification Gases by means of a Catalytic Membrane Reactor: WGS Catalysts and Inorganic Palladium Membranes HENRECA Project (ENE2004-07758-CO2-01). Final Report; Estudios de Enriquecimiento en H{sub 2} de Gases de Gasificacion mediante el Uso Reactor Catalitico de Membranas: Catalizadores WGS y Membranas Inorganicas de Paladio. Informe Final Proyecto HENRECA (ENE2004-07758-C02-01)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maranon Bujan, M.; Sanchez Hervas, J. M.; Barreiro Carou, M. del

2008-07-01

The combination of a CO catalytic converter with a highly hydrogen selective membrane out stands as a very promising technology for the upgrading of biomass gasification gases. The advantages of this combined system over the traditional two stages WGS technology has been investigated within the HENRECA project, financed under the Spanish PN 2004-2007 of the Ministry of Science and Technology. This project started in September 2004 and had a duration of three years. The Division of Combustion and Gasification of CIEMAT participates in this project in three main activities: the study of the catalytic activity of WGS catalysts synthesised by the other partner of the project (University Rey Juan Carlos), the design of the reaction-separation system and the design and construction of a bench-scale pilot plant where the performance of the membranes prepared by URJC and the catalytic membrane system were investigated. This report describes the activities carried out within the project and the main results obtained. (Author) 14 ref.

Recent advances in AFB biomass gasification pilot plant with catalytic reactors in a downstream slip flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aznar, M P; Gil, J; Martin, J A; Frances, E; Olivares, A; Caballero, M A; Perez, P [Saragossa Univ. (Spain). Dept. of Chemistry and Environment; Corella, J [Madrid Univ. (Spain)

1997-12-31

A new 3rd generation pilot plant is being used for hot catalytic raw gas cleaning. It is based on a 15 cm. i.d. fluidized bed with biomass throughputs of 400-650 kg/h.m{sup 2}. Gasification is performed using mixtures of steam and oxygen. The produced gas is passed in a slip flow by two reactors in series containing a calcined dolomite and a commercial reforming catalyst. Tars are periodically sampled and analysed after the three reactors. Tar conversions of 99.99 % and a 300 % increase of the hydrogen content in the gas are obtained. (author) (2 refs.)

Recent advances in AFB biomass gasification pilot plant with catalytic reactors in a downstream slip flow

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aznar, M.P.; Gil, J.; Martin, J.A.; Frances, E.; Olivares, A.; Caballero, M.A.; Perez, P. [Saragossa Univ. (Spain). Dept. of Chemistry and Environment; Corella, J. [Madrid Univ. (Spain)

1996-12-31

A new 3rd generation pilot plant is being used for hot catalytic raw gas cleaning. It is based on a 15 cm. i.d. fluidized bed with biomass throughputs of 400-650 kg/h.m{sup 2}. Gasification is performed using mixtures of steam and oxygen. The produced gas is passed in a slip flow by two reactors in series containing a calcined dolomite and a commercial reforming catalyst. Tars are periodically sampled and analysed after the three reactors. Tar conversions of 99.99 % and a 300 % increase of the hydrogen content in the gas are obtained. (author) (2 refs.)

Treating domestic sewage by Integrated Inclined-Plate-Membrane bio-reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Li Ming; Wang, Zi; Chen, Lei; Zhong, Min; Dong, Zhan Feng

2017-12-01

Membrane fouling shorten the service life of the membrane and increases aeration rate for membrane surface cleaning. Two membrane bio-reactors, one for working and another for comparing, were set up to evaluate the feasibility of alleviating membrane fouling and improving wastewater treatment efficiency by integrating inclined-plate precipitation and membrane separation. The result show that: (1) Inclined-plate in reactor had a good effect on pollutant removal of membrane bioreactor. The main role of inclined-plate is dividing reactor space and accelerating precipitation. (2) Working reactor have better performance in COD, TN and TP removal, which can attribute to that working reactor (integrated inclined-plate-Membrane bioreactor) takes both advantages of membrane separation and biological treatment. When influent COD, TP and TN concentration is 163-248 mg/L, 2.08-2.81 mg/L and 24.38-30.49 mg/L in working reactor, effluent concentration is 27-35 mg/L, 0.53-0.59 mg/L and 11.28-11.56 mg/L, respectively. (3) Membrane fouling was well alleviated in integrated inclined-plate-Membrane bioreactor, and membrane normal service time is significantly longer than that in comparing reactor, which can attribute to accelerating precipitation of inclined-plate. In summary, integrated inclined-plate-Membrane bioreactor is a promising technology to alleviating membrane fouling and improving wastewater treatment efficiency, having good performance and bright future in application.

Recent advances on membranes and membrane reactors for hydrogen production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gallucci, F.; Fernandez Gesalaga, E.; Corengia, P.; Sint Annaland, van M.

2013-01-01

Membranes and membrane reactors for pure hydrogen production are widely investigated not only because of the important application areas of hydrogen, but especially because mechanically and chemically stable membranes with high perm-selectivity towards hydrogen are available and are continuously

Artificial neural network based modelling approach for municipal solid waste gasification in a fluidized bed reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Pandey, Daya Shankar; Das, Saptarshi; Pan, Indranil; Leahy, James J; Kwapinski, Witold

2016-12-01

In this paper, multi-layer feed forward neural networks are used to predict the lower heating value of gas (LHV), lower heating value of gasification products including tars and entrained char (LHV p ) and syngas yield during gasification of municipal solid waste (MSW) during gasification in a fluidized bed reactor. These artificial neural networks (ANNs) with different architectures are trained using the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) back-propagation algorithm and a cross validation is also performed to ensure that the results generalise to other unseen datasets. A rigorous study is carried out on optimally choosing the number of hidden layers, number of neurons in the hidden layer and activation function in a network using multiple Monte Carlo runs. Nine input and three output parameters are used to train and test various neural network architectures in both multiple output and single output prediction paradigms using the available experimental datasets. The model selection procedure is carried out to ascertain the best network architecture in terms of predictive accuracy. The simulation results show that the ANN based methodology is a viable alternative which can be used to predict the performance of a fluidized bed gasifier. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of Residual Particulates from Biomass Entrained Flow Gasification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qin, Ke; Lin, Weigang; Fæster, Søren

2013-01-01

Biomass gasification experiments were carried out in a bench scale entrained flow reactor, and the produced solid particles were collected by a cyclone and a metal filter for subsequent characterization. During wood gasification, the major part of the solid material collected in the filter is soot...

Supercritical Water Gasification of Biomass in a Ceramic Reactor: Long-Time Batch Experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniele Castello

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Supercritical water gasification (SCWG is an emerging technology for the valorization of (wet biomass into a valuable fuel gas composed of hydrogen and/or methane. The harsh temperature and pressure conditions involved in SCWG (T > 375 °C, p > 22 MPa are definitely a challenge for the manufacturing of the reactors. Metal surfaces are indeed subject to corrosion under hydrothermal conditions, and expensive special alloys are needed to overcome such drawbacks. A ceramic reactor could be a potential solution to this issue. Finding a suitable material is, however, complex because the catalytic effect of the material can influence the gas yield and composition. In this work, a research reactor featuring an internal alumina inlay was utilized to conduct long-time (16 h batch tests with real biomasses and model compounds. The same experiments were also conducted in batch reactors made of stainless steel and Inconel 625. The results show that the three devices have similar performance patterns in terms of gas production, although in the ceramic reactor higher yields of C2+ hydrocarbons were obtained. The SEM observation of the reacted alumina surface revealed a good resistance of such material to supercritical conditions, even though some intergranular corrosion was observed.

Low temperature circulating fluidized bed gasification and co-gasification of municipal sewage sludge. Part 2: Evaluation of ash materials as phosphorus fertilizer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Tobias Pape; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Gøbel, Benny

2017-01-01

to the mono-sludge ashes, thereby showing the best fertilizer qualities among all assessed materials. It was also found that bottomashes from the char reactor contained even less heavy metals than cyclone ashes. It is concluded thatLT-CFB gasification and co-gasification is a highly effective way to purify...

Biomass gasification and fuel cells: system with PEM fuel cell; Gaseificacao de biomassa e celula a combustivel: sistema com celula tipo PEMFC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sordi, Alexandre; Lobkov, Dmitri D.; Lopes, Daniel Gabriel; Rodrigues, Jean Robert Pereira [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Fac. de Engenharia Mecanica], e-mail: asordi@fem.unicamp.br, e-mail: lobkov@fem.unicamp.br, e-mail: danielg@fem.unicamp.br, e-mail: jrobert@fem.unicamp.br; Silva, Ennio Peres da [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica Gleb Wataghin], e-mail: Lh2ennio@ifi.unicamp.br

2006-07-01

The objective of this paper is to present the operation flow diagram of an electricity generation system based on the biomass integrated gasification fuel cell of the type PEMFC (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell). The integration between the gasification and a fuel cell of this type consists of the gas methane (CH4) reforming contained in the synthesis gas, the conversion of the carbon monoxide (CO), and the cleaning of the gaseous flow through a PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) system. A preliminary analysis was carried out to estimate the efficiency of the system with and without methane gas reforming. The performance was also analyzed for different gasification gas compositions, for larger molar fractions of hydrogen and methane. The system electrical efficiency was 29% respective to the lower heating value of the gasification gas. The larger the molar fraction of hydrogen at the shift reactor exit, the better the PSA exergetic performance. Comparative analysis with small gas turbines exhibited the superiority of the PEMFC system. (author)

Air gasification of empty fruit bunch for hydrogen-rich gas production in a fluidized-bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohammed, M.A.A.; Salmiaton, A.; Wan Azlina, W.A.K.G.; Mohammad Amran, M.S.; Fakhru'l-Razi, A.

2011-01-01

A study on gasification of empty fruit bunch (EFB), a waste of the palm oil industry, was investigated. The composition and particle size distribution of feedstock were determined and the thermal degradation behaviour was analysed by a thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Then fluidized bed bench scale gasification unit was used to investigate the effect of the operating parameters on EFB air gasification namely reactor temperature in the range of 700-1000 o C, feedstock particle size in the range of 0.3-1.0 mm and equivalence ratio (ER) in the range of 0.15-0.35. The main gas species generated, as identified by a gas chromatography (GC), were H 2 , CO, CO 2 and CH 4 . With temperature increasing from 700 o C to 1000 o C, the total gas yield was enhanced greatly and reached the maximum value (∼92 wt.%, on the raw biomass sample basis) at 1000 o C with big portions of H 2 (38.02 vol.%) and CO (36.36 vol.%). Feedstock particle size showed an influence on the upgrading of H 2 , CO and CH 4 yields. The feedstock particle size of 0.3-0.5 mm, was found to obtain a higher H 2 yield (33.93 vol.%), and higher LHV of gas product (15.26 MJ/m 3 ). Equivalence ratio (ER) showed a significant influence on the upgrading of hydrogen production and product distribution. The optimum ER (0.25) was found to attain a higher H 2 yield (27.31 vol.%) at 850 o C. Due to the low efficiency of bench scale gasification unit the system needs to be scaling-up. The cost analysis for scale-up EFB gasification unit showed that the hydrogen supply cost is RM 6.70/kg EFB ($2.11/kg = $0.18/Nm 3 ).

Membrane contactor/separator for an advanced ozone membrane reactor for treatment of recalcitrant organic pollutants in water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, Wai Kit; Jouët, Justine; Heng, Samuel; Yeung, King Lun; Schrotter, Jean-Christophe

2012-01-01

An advanced ozone membrane reactor that synergistically combines membrane distributor for ozone gas, membrane contactor for pollutant adsorption and reaction, and membrane separator for clean water production is described. The membrane reactor represents an order of magnitude improvement over traditional semibatch reactor design and is capable of complete conversion of recalcitrant endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in water at less than three minutes residence time. Coating the membrane contactor with alumina and hydrotalcite (Mg/Al=3) adsorbs and traps the organics in the reaction zone resulting in 30% increase of total organic carbon (TOC) removal. Large surface area coating that diffuses surface charges from adsorbed polar organic molecules is preferred as it reduces membrane polarization that is detrimental to separation. - Graphical abstract: Advanced ozone membrane reactor synergistically combines membrane distributor for ozone, membrane contactor for sorption and reaction and membrane separator for clean water production to achieve an order of magnitude enhancement in treatment performance compared to traditional ozone reactor. Highlights: ► Novel reactor using membranes for ozone distributor, reaction contactor and water separator. ► Designed to achieve an order of magnitude enhancement over traditional reactor. ► Al 2 O 3 and hydrotalcite coatings capture and trap pollutants giving additional 30% TOC removal. ► High surface area coating prevents polarization and improves membrane separation and life.

Gasification of carbon deposits on catalysts and metal surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Figueiredo, J L

1986-10-01

'Coke' deposited on catalysts and reactor surfaces includes a variety of carbons of different structures and origins, their reactivities being conveniently assessed by Temperature Programmed Reaction (TPR). The gasification of carbon deposits obtained in the laboratory under well controlled conditions, and the regeneration of coked catalysts from petroleum refining processes are reviewed and discussed. Filamentary carbon deposits, containing dispersed metal particles, behave as supported metal catalysts during gasification, and show high reactivities. Pyrolytic and acid catalysis carbons are less reactive on their own, as the gasification is not catalysed; however, metal components of the catalyst or metal impurities deposited on the surface may enhance gasification. 26 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.

Ceramic oxygen transport membrane array reactor and reforming method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kelly, Sean M.; Christie, Gervase Maxwell; Robinson, Charles; Wilson, Jamie R.; Gonzalez, Javier E.; Doraswami, Uttam R.

2016-11-08

The invention relates to a commercially viable modular ceramic oxygen transport membrane reforming reactor configured using repeating assemblies of oxygen transport membrane tubes and catalytic reforming reactors.

NOVEL COMPOSITE MEMBRANES FOR HYDROGEN SEPARATION IN GASIFICATION PROCESSES IN VISION 21 ENERGY PLANTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Michael Schwartz

2004-12-01

This report describes the work performed, accomplishments and conclusion obtained from the project entitled ''Novel Composite Membranes for Hydrogen Separation in Gasification Processes in Vision 21 Energy Plants'' under the United States Department of Energy Contract DE-FC26-01NT40973. ITN Energy Systems was the prime contractor. Team members included: the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory; Nexant Consulting; Argonne National Laboratory and Praxair. The objective of the program was to develop a novel composite membrane structure for hydrogen separation as a key technology module within the future ''Vision 21'' fossil fuel plants. The separation technology module is targeted for use within the gasification module of the ''Vision 21'' fossil fuel plant. The high performance and low-cost manufacturing of the proposed technology will benefit the deployment of ''Vision 21'' fossil fuel plant processes by improving the energy efficiency, flexibility and environmental performance of these plants. Of particular importance is that this technology will also produce a stream of pure carbon dioxide. This allows facile sequestration or other use of this greenhouse gas. These features will benefit the U.S. in allowing for the continued use of domestic fossil fuels in a more energy efficient and environmentally acceptable manner. The program developed and evaluated composite membranes and catalysts for hydrogen separation. Components of the monolithic modules were fabricated by plasma spray processing. The engineering and economic characteristics of the proposed Ion Conducting Ceramic Membrane (ICCM) approach, including system integration issues, were also assessed. This resulted in a comprehensive evaluation of the technical and economic feasibility of integration schemes of ICCM hydrogen separation technology within Vision 21 fossil fuel plants. Several results and conclusion

Biowaste utilization in the process of co-gasification with bituminous coal and lignite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howaniec, Natalia; Smoliński, Adam

2017-01-01

Biowaste utilization in co-gasification with bituminous coal and lignite gives the benefits of stable supplies of a primary energy source – coal and utilization of a zero-emission, waste material (i.e. agriculture waste, sewage sludge, etc.) with higher process efficiency and lower negative environmental impact than biomass or coal gasification, respectively. The main focus of the study presented is co-gasification of bituminous coal or lignite with biowaste to hydrogen-rich gas. The experiments were performed in the laboratory scale fixed-bed reactor installation at 700 and 900 °C. The Hierarchical Clustering Analysis complemented with a color map of studied data were applied in the selection of the optimal operating parameters for biowaste utilization in the co-gasification process based on the experimental data of gasification/co-gasification process as well as physical and chemical properties of fuels tested. The experimental results showed that the carbon conversion rate in co-gasification increased with increasing biomass content in a fuel. The total gas volume and hydrogen volume in co-gasification were higher than the values expected based on the results of the gasification process of the fuels analyzed. - Highlights: • Biowaste co-gasification with bituminous coal/lignite to hydrogen-rich gas. • Steam co-gasification in laboratory scale fixed-bed reactor at 700 and 900 °C. • Hierarchical Clustering Analysis complemented with color map of experimental data. • Carbon conversion increase with increasing biomass content. • The highest total gas and hydrogen volume in co-gasification of C-B20 blend at 900C.

Pyrolysis and Gasification Kinetics of Large Biomass Particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svenson, Jenny; Hagstroem, Magnus; Andersson, Patrik U.; Loenn, Benny; Pettersson, Jan B.C. [Goteborg Univ. (Sweden). Dep. of Chemistry, Atmospheric Science; Davidsson, Kent O. [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Energy Conversion

2004-05-01

The aim of the project is to provide experimental data on single biomass particle pyrolysis that have an applied as well as a fundamental bearing. Transport phenomena and kinetics on the single particle level are characterized, including heat and mass transport processes. New experimental techniques and methods are applied and developed within the project. A single-particle reactor has been developed for the investigations, and several detection techniques including fast thermogravimetric analysis, molecular beam mass spectrometry, laser spectroscopy, video recording and pyrometry are applied. The experimental data are used to develop robust models for pyrolysis and gasification, which are essential components in the design of gasification and combustion reactors.

Effects of blend ratio between high density polyethylene and biomass on co-gasification behavior in a two-stage gasification system

KAUST Repository

Park, Jae Hyun

2016-08-12

The co-gasification of a high density polyethylene (HDPE) blended with a biomass has been carried out in a two-stage gasification system which comprises an oxidative pyrolysis reactor and a thermal plasma reactor. The equivalence ratio was changed from 0.38 to 0.85 according to the variation of blend ratio between HDPE and biomass. The highest production yield was achieved to be 71.4 mol/h, when the equivalence ratio was 0.47. A large amount of hydrocarbons was produced from the oxidative pyrolysis reactor as decreasing equivalence ratio below 0.41, while the CO2 concentration significantly increased with a high equivalence ratio over 0.65. The production yield was improved by the thermal plasma reactor due to the conversion of hydrocarbons into syngas in a high temperature region of thermal plasma. At the equivalence ratio of 0.47, conversion selectivities of CO and H2 from hydrocarbons were calculated to be 74% and 44%, respectively. © 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC.

Gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, David J.

1999-12-01

Contains Executive Summary and Chapters on: Introduction; Review of driving forces for change; Gasification technology; Versatility of the gasification process; Commercial Application of gasification; Gas turbine development; Fuel Cell Development; Economics of gasification; Global warming and gasification; Discussion; Summary and Conclusions. (Author)

CHRISGAS Project. WP13: Ancillary and Novel Processes. Final Report: Separation of Hydrogen with Membranes Combined with Water Gas Shift Reaction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanchez-Hervas, J. M.; Marono, M.; Barreiro, M. M.

2011-05-13

Oxygen pressurized gasification of biomass out stands as a very promising approach to obtain energy or hydrogen from renewable sources. The technical feasibility of this technology has been investigated under the scope of the VI FP CHRISGAS project, which started in September 2004 and had a duration of five and a half years. The Division of Combustion and Gasification of CIEMAT participated in this project in Work Package 13: Ancillary and novel processes, studying innovative gas separation and gas upgrading systems. Such systems include novel or available high temperature water gas shift catalysts and commercially available membranes not yet tried in this type of atmosphere. This report describes the activities carried out during the project regarding the performance of high temperature water gas shift catalysts for upgrading of synthesis gas obtained from biomass gasification, the separation of H2 with selective membranes and the combination of both processes in one by means of a catalytic membrane reactor. (Author) 20 refs.

CHRISGAS Project. WP13: Ancillary and Novel Processes. Final Report: Separation of Hydrogen with Membranes Combined with Water Gas Shift Reaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez-Hervas, J. M.; Marono, M.; Barreiro, M. M.

2011-01-01

Oxygen pressurized gasification of biomass out stands as a very promising approach to obtain energy or hydrogen from renewable sources. The technical feasibility of this technology has been investigated under the scope of the VI FP CHRISGAS project, which started in September 2004 and had a duration of five and a half years. The Division of Combustion and Gasification of CIEMAT participated in this project in Work Package 13: Ancillary and novel processes, studying innovative gas separation and gas upgrading systems. Such systems include novel or available high temperature water gas shift catalysts and commercially available membranes not yet tried in this type of atmosphere. This report describes the activities carried out during the project regarding the performance of high temperature water gas shift catalysts for upgrading of synthesis gas obtained from biomass gasification, the separation of H2 with selective membranes and the combination of both processes in one by means of a catalytic membrane reactor. (Author) 20 refs.

Supercritical water gasification of Victorian brown coal: Experimental characterisation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamaguchi, Doki; Aye, Lu [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Vic 3010 (Australia); Sanderson, P. John; Lim, Seng [CSIRO Minerals, Clayton, Vic 3168 (Australia)

2009-05-15

Supercritical water gasification is an innovative thermochemical conversion method for converting wet feedstocks into hydrogen-rich gaseous products. The non-catalytic gasification characteristics of Victorian brown coal were investigated in supercritical water by using a novel immersion technique with quartz batch reactors. Various operating parameters such as temperature, feed concentration and reaction time were varied to investigate their effect on the gasification behaviour. Gas yields, carbon gasification efficiency and the total gasification efficiency increased with increasing temperature and reaction time, and decreasing feed concentration. The mole fraction of hydrogen in the product gases was lowest at 600 C, and increased to over 30 % at a temperature of 800 C. Varying parameters, especially reaction time, did not improve the coal utilisation for gas production significantly and the measured data showed a large deviation from the equilibrium level. (author)

Optimization of a membrane reactor for hydrogen production with genetic algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raceanu, Mircea; Iordache, Ioan; Curuia, Marian; Rasoi, Gabriel; Patularu, Laurentiu; Enache, Adrian

2009-01-01

Full text: Hydrogen is produced via steam reforming of hydrocarbons such as natural gas or methane by using conventional systems. Unfortunately, these systems need at least four different stages, consisting of three reactors and a purification system. Moreover, the steam reforming reaction is an endothermic thermodynamically limited system, meaning that high temperature energy supply is needed for complete conversion. Among different technologies related to production, separation and purification of H 2 , membrane technologies seem to really play a fundamental role. The specific thermodynamic limits are overcome using the so-called membrane reactors, systems in which both reaction and separation occur simultaneously. The hydrogen is driven across the membrane by the pressure difference, depending on the temperature, pressure and reactor length the methane can be completely converted and consequently very pure hydrogen is produced. A membrane reactor has two components which can be optimized namely, the membrane and the reactor dimensions. This paper presents a study on optimization of membrane reactor for enhancing the overall production. A mathematical heterogeneous model of the reactor was used for optimization of reactor performance. Genetic algorithms were used as powerful methods for optimization of complex problems. (authors)

Use of a Ceramic Membrane to Improve the Performance of Two-Separate-Phase Biocatalytic Membrane Reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ranieri, Giuseppe; Mazzei, Rosalinda; Wu, Zhentao; Li, Kang; Giorno, Lidietta

2016-03-14

Biocatalytic membrane reactors (BMR) combining reaction and separation within the same unit have many advantages over conventional reactor designs. Ceramic membranes are an attractive alternative to polymeric membranes in membrane biotechnology due to their high chemical, thermal and mechanical resistance. Another important use is their potential application in a biphasic membrane system, where support solvent resistance is highly needed. In this work, the preparation of asymmetric ceramic hollow fibre membranes and their use in a two-separate-phase biocatalytic membrane reactor will be described. The asymmetric ceramic hollow fibre membranes were prepared using a combined phase inversion and sintering technique. The prepared fibres were then used as support for lipase covalent immobilization in order to develop a two-separate-phase biocatalytic membrane reactor. A functionalization method was proposed in order to increase the density of the reactive hydroxyl groups on the surface of ceramic membranes, which were then amino-activated and treated with a crosslinker. The performance and the stability of the immobilized lipase were investigated as a function of the amount of the immobilized biocatalytst. Results showed that it is possible to immobilize lipase on a ceramic membrane without altering its catalytic performance (initial residual specific activity 93%), which remains constant after 6 reaction cycles.

Use of a Ceramic Membrane to Improve the Performance of Two-Separate-Phase Biocatalytic Membrane Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giuseppe Ranieri

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Biocatalytic membrane reactors (BMR combining reaction and separation within the same unit have many advantages over conventional reactor designs. Ceramic membranes are an attractive alternative to polymeric membranes in membrane biotechnology due to their high chemical, thermal and mechanical resistance. Another important use is their potential application in a biphasic membrane system, where support solvent resistance is highly needed. In this work, the preparation of asymmetric ceramic hollow fibre membranes and their use in a two-separate-phase biocatalytic membrane reactor will be described. The asymmetric ceramic hollow fibre membranes were prepared using a combined phase inversion and sintering technique. The prepared fibres were then used as support for lipase covalent immobilization in order to develop a two-separate-phase biocatalytic membrane reactor. A functionalization method was proposed in order to increase the density of the reactive hydroxyl groups on the surface of ceramic membranes, which were then amino-activated and treated with a crosslinker. The performance and the stability of the immobilized lipase were investigated as a function of the amount of the immobilized biocatalytst. Results showed that it is possible to immobilize lipase on a ceramic membrane without altering its catalytic performance (initial residual specific activity 93%, which remains constant after 6 reaction cycles.

Determination of the gas-to-membrane mass transfer coefficient in a catalytic membrane reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldsink, J.W.; Versteeg, G.F.; Swaaij, W.P.M. van

1995-01-01

A novel method to determine the external mass transfer coefficient in catalytic membrane reactors (Sloot et al., 1992a, b) was presented in this study. In a catalytically active membrane reactor, in which a very fast reaction occurs, the external transfer coefficient can conveniently be measured by

Use of a Ceramic Membrane to Improve the Performance of Two-Separate-Phase Biocatalytic Membrane Reactor

OpenAIRE

Ranieri, G; Mazzei, R; Wu, Z; Li, K; Giorno, L

2016-01-01

Biocatalytic membrane reactors (BMR) combining reaction and separation within the same unit have many advantages over conventional reactor designs. Ceramic membranes are an attractive alternative to polymeric membranes in membrane biotechnology due to their high chemical, thermal and mechanical resistance. Another important use is their potential application in a biphasic membrane system, where support solvent resistance is highly needed. In this work, the preparation of asymmetric ceramic ho...

Advanced design of fast reactor-membrane reformer (FR-MR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tashimo, M.; Hori, I.; Yasuda, I.; Shirasaki, Y.; Kobayashi, K.

2004-01-01

A new plant concept of nuclear-produced hydrogen is being studied using a Fast Reactor-Membrane Reformer (FR-MR). The conventional steam methane reforming (SMR) system is a three-stage process. The first stage includes the reforming, the second contains a shift reaction and the third is the separation process. The reforming process requires high temperatures of 800 ∼ 900 deg C. The shift process generates heat and is performed at around 200 deg C. The membrane reforming has only one process stage under a nonequilibrium condition by removing H2 selectively through a membrane tube. The steam reforming temperature can be decreased from 800 deg C to 550 deg C, which is a remarkable benefit offered by the non-equilibrium condition. With this new technology, the reactor type can be changed from a High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) to a Fast Reactor (FR). A Fast Reactor-Membrane Reformer (FR-MR) is composed of a nuclear plant and a hydrogen plant. The nuclear plant is a sodium-cooled Fast Reactor with mixed oxide fuel and with a power of 240 MWt. The heat transport system contains two circuits, the primary circuit and the secondary circuit. The membrane reformer units are set in the secondary circuit. The heat, supplied by the sodium, can produce 200 000 Nm 3 /h by 2 units. There are two types of membranes. One is made of Pd another one (advanced) is made of, for example V, or Nb. The technology for the Pd membrane is already established in a small scale. The non-Pd type is expected to improve the performance. (author)

Reduced membrane fouling in a novel bio-entrapped membrane reactor for treatment of food and beverage processing wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Kok-Kwang; Lin, Cheng-Fang; Panchangam, Sri Chandana; Andy Hong, Pui-Kwan; Yang, Ping-Yi

2011-08-01

A novel Bio-Entrapped Membrane Reactor (BEMR) packed with bio-ball carriers was constructed and investigated for organics removal and membrane fouling by soluble microbial products (SMP). An objective was to evaluate the stability of the filtration process in membrane bioreactors through backwashing and chemical cleaning. The novel BEMR was compared to a conventional membrane bioreactor (CMBR) on performance, with both treating identical wastewater from a food and beverage processing plant. The new reactor has a longer sludge retention time (SRT) and lower mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) content than does the conventional. Three different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) of 6, 9, and 12 h were studied. The results show faster rise of the transmembrane pressure (TMP) with decreasing hydraulic retention time (HRT) in both reactors, where most significant membrane fouling was associated with high SMP (consisting of carbohydrate and protein) contents that were prevalent at the shortest HRT of 6 h. Membrane fouling was improved in the new reactor, which led to a longer membrane service period with the new reactor. Rapid membrane fouling was attributed to increased production of biomass and SMP, as in the conventional reactor. SMP of 10-100 kDa from both MBRs were predominant with more than 70% of the SMP <100 kDa. Protein was the major component of SMP rather than carbohydrate in both reactors. The new reactor sustained operation at constant permeate flux that required seven times less frequent chemical cleaning than did the conventional reactor. The new BEMR offers effective organics removal while reducing membrane fouling. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Storage capacity assessment of liquid fuels production by solar gasification in a packed bed reactor using a dynamic process model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaniyal, Ashok A.; Eyk, Philip J. van; Nathan, Graham J.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • First analysis to assess storage requirements of a stand-alone packed bed, batch process solar gasifier. • 35 days of storage required for stand-alone solar system, whereas 8 h of storage required for hybrid system. • Sensitivity of storage requirement to reactor operation, solar region and solar multiple evaluated. - Abstract: The first multi-day performance analysis of the feasibility of integrating a packed bed, indirectly irradiated solar gasification reactor with a downstream FT liquids production facility is reported. Two fuel-loading scenarios were assessed. In one, the residual unconverted fuel at the end of a day is reused, while in the second, the residual fuel is discarded. To estimate a full year time-series of operation, a simplified statistical model was developed from short-period simulations of the 1-D heat transfer, devolatilisation and gasification chemistry model of a 150 kW th packed bed reactor (based on the authors’ earlier work). The short time-series cover a variety of solar conditions to represent seasonal, diurnal and cloud-induced solar transience. Also assessed was the influence of increasing the solar flux incident at the emitter plate of the packed bed reactor on syngas production. The combination of the annual time-series and daily model of syngas production was found to represent reasonably the seasonal transience in syngas production. It was then used to estimate the minimum syngas storage volume required to maintain a stable flow-rate and composition of syngas to a FT reactor over a full year of operation. This found that, for an assumed heliostat field collection area of 1000 m 2 , at least 64 days of storage is required, under both the Residual Fuel Re-Use and Discard scenarios. This figure was not sensitive to the two solar sites assessed, Farmington, New Mexico or Tonopah Airport, Nevada. Increasing the heliostat field collection area from 1000 to 1500 m 2 , led to an increase in the calculated daily rate

Recovery of hydrogen from impurities using a palladium membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willms, R.S.; Okuno, K.

1993-01-01

One of the important steps in processing the exhaust from a fusion reactor is recovering tritium which is incorporated into molecules such as water and methane. One device which may prove to be very effective for this purpose is a palladium membrane reactor. This is a reactor which incorporates a Pd/Ag membrane in the reactor geometry. Reactions such as water gas shift, steam reforming and methane cracking can be carried out over the reactor catalyst, and the product hydrogen can be simultaneously removed from the reacting mixture. Because product is removed, greater than usual conversions can be obtained. In addition ultrapure hydrogen is produced, eliminating the need for an additional processing step. A palladium membrane reactor has been built and tested with three different catalysts. Initial results with a Ni-based catalyst show that it is very effective at promoting all three reactions listed above. Under the proper conditions, hydrogen recoveries approaching 100% have been observed. This study serves to experimentally validate the palladium membrane reactor as potentially important tool for fusion fuel processing

A study on pyrolytic gasification of coffee grounds and implications to allothermal gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Masek, Ondrej; Konno, Miki; Hosokai, Sou; Sonoyama, Nozomu; Norinaga, Koyo; Hayashi, Jun-ichiro [Centre for Advanced Research of Energy Conversion Materials, Hokkaido University, N13-W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628 (Japan)

2008-01-15

The increasing interest in biomass, as a renewable source of energy, is stimulating a search for suitable biomass resources as well as the development of technologies for their effective utilization. This work concentrated on characteristics of processes occurring during pyrolytic gasification of upgraded food industry residues, namely residue from industrial production of liquid coffee, and assessed its suitability for conversion in an allothermal gasifier. The influence of several operating parameters on product composition was examined with three different laboratory-scale reactors, studying the primary pyrolysis and secondary pyrolysis of nascent volatiles, and the steam gasification of char. The experimental results show that a high degree of conversion of UCG into volatiles and gases (up to 88% C-basis) can be achieved by fast pyrolysis even at temperatures as low as 1073 K. In addition, the degree of conversion is not influenced by the presence or concentration of steam, which is an important factor in allothermal gasification. Mathematical simulation of an allothermal gasifier showed that net cold-gas efficiency as high as 86% can be reached. (author)

A study on pyrolytic gasification of coffee grounds and implications to allothermal gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masek, Ondrej; Konno, Miki; Hosokai, Sou; Sonoyama, Nozomu; Norinaga, Koyo; Hayashi, Jun-ichiro

2008-01-01

The increasing interest in biomass, as a renewable source of energy, is stimulating a search for suitable biomass resources as well as the development of technologies for their effective utilization. This work concentrated on characteristics of processes occurring during pyrolytic gasification of upgraded food industry residues, namely residue from industrial production of liquid coffee, and assessed its suitability for conversion in an allothermal gasifier. The influence of several operating parameters on product composition was examined with three different laboratory-scale reactors, studying the primary pyrolysis and secondary pyrolysis of nascent volatiles, and the steam gasification of char. The experimental results show that a high degree of conversion of UCG into volatiles and gases (up to 88% C-basis) can be achieved by fast pyrolysis even at temperatures as low as 1073 K. In addition, the degree of conversion is not influenced by the presence or concentration of steam, which is an important factor in allothermal gasification. Mathematical simulation of an allothermal gasifier showed that net cold-gas efficiency as high as 86% can be reached

Inhibition and recovery of nitrification in treating real coal gasification wastewater with moving bed biofilm reactor

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Huiqiang Li; Hongjun Han; Maoan Du; Wei Wang

2011-01-01

Moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) was used to treat real coal gasification wastewater.Nitrification of the MBBR was inhibited almost completely during start-up period.Sudden increase of influent total NH3 concentration was the main factor inducing nitrification inhibition.Increasing DO concentration in the bulk liquid (from 2 to 3 mg/L) had little effect on nitrification recovery.Nitrification of the MBBR recovered partially by the addition of nitrifying sludge into the reactor and almost ceased within 5 days.Nitrification ratio of the MBBR achieved 65％ within 12 days by increasing dilute ratio of the influent wastewater with tap water.The ratio of nitrification decreased to 25％ when infiuent COD concentration increased from 650 to 1000 mg/L after nitrification recovery and recovered 70％for another 4 days.

Assessment of the SRI Gasification Process for Syngas Generation with HTGR Integration -- White Paper

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A.M. Gandrik

2012-04-01

This white paper is intended to compare the technical and economic feasibility of syngas generation using the SRI gasification process coupled to several high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) with more traditional HTGR-integrated syngas generation techniques, including: (1) Gasification with high-temperature steam electrolysis (HTSE); (2) Steam methane reforming (SMR); and (3) Gasification with SMR with and without CO2 sequestration.

Process and technological aspects of municipal solid waste gasification. A review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arena, Umberto

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Critical assessment of the main commercially available MSW gasifiers. ► Detailed discussion of the basic features of gasification process. ► Description of configurations of gasification-based waste-to-energy units. ► Environmental performance analysis, on the basis of independent sources data. - Abstract: The paper proposes a critical assessment of municipal solid waste gasification today, starting from basic aspects of the process (process types and steps, operating and performance parameters) and arriving to a comparative analysis of the reactors (fixed bed, fluidized bed, entrained bed, vertical shaft, moving grate furnace, rotary kiln, plasma reactor) as well as of the possible plant configurations (heat gasifier and power gasifier) and the environmental performances of the main commercially available gasifiers for municipal solid wastes. The analysis indicates that gasification is a technically viable option for the solid waste conversion, including residual waste from separate collection of municipal solid waste. It is able to meet existing emission limits and can have a remarkable effect on reduction of landfill disposal option.

Catalytic effect of mineral matter of high ash Onakawana lignite on steam gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furimsky, E.

1986-04-01

Reactivities of untreated and acid washed Onakawana lignite during steam gasification were compared in a thermobalance reactor. The acid treatment resulted in removal of Ca, Mg, Ba and Sr from mineral matter. This was accompanied by a marked decrease in the rates of H/sub 2/, CO and CO/sub 2/ formation. The decrease of gasification rate was attributed to the decrease in concentration of gasification sites during the acid treatment.

Steam reforming of heptane in a fluidized bed membrane reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Rakib, Mohammad A.; Grace, John R.; Lim, C. Jim; Elnashaie, Said S. E. H.

n-Heptane served as a model compound to study steam reforming of naphtha as an alternative feedstock to natural gas for production of pure hydrogen in a fluidized bed membrane reactor. Selective removal of hydrogen using Pd 77Ag 23 membrane panels shifted the equilibrium-limited reactions to greater conversion of the hydrocarbons and lower yields of methane, an intermediate product. Experiments were conducted with no membranes, with one membrane panel, and with six panels along the height of the reactor to understand the performance improvement due to hydrogen removal in a reactor where catalyst particles were fluidized. Results indicate that a fluidized bed membrane reactor (FBMR) can provide a compact reformer for pure hydrogen production from a liquid hydrocarbon feedstock at moderate temperatures (475-550 °C). Under the experimental conditions investigated, the maximum achieved yield of pure hydrogen was 14.7 moles of pure hydrogen per mole of heptane fed.

Enriched-air fluidized bed gasification using bench and pilot scale reactors of dairy manure with sand bedding based on response surface methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nam, Hyungseok; Maglinao, Amado L.; Capareda, Sergio C.; Rodriguez-Alejandro, David Aaron

2016-01-01

Enriched-air gasification was performed in fluidized bed reactors using the processed dairy manure which was mixed with sand bedding. The effects of temperature, modified equivalence ratio (ER_m), and oxygen concentration on the gas products were investigated based on the statistical models using a bench-scale reactor in order to obtain empirical correlations. Then, the empirical equations were applied to compare the produced gases from a pilot-scale fluidized bed gasifier. The empirical and actual H_2 and CH_4 compositions were within a 10% error, while the sum of produced CO and CO_2 gases showed similar composition within 3% error. The most influential factors for the syngas heating value were temperature followed by the oxygen concentration and ER (equivalence ratio). The composition of H_2 (2.1–11.5%) and CO (5.9–20.3%) rose with an increase in temperature and oxygen concentration. The variation of CO_2 (16.8–31.6%) was mainly affected by the degree of oxygen concentration in the gasifying agent. The ranges of the LHV (lower heating value), carbon conversion efficiency and cold gas efficiency were discussed. An economic review showed favorable indications for on-site dairy manure gasification process for electric power based on the depreciable payback period and the power production costs. - Highlights: • Sand mixed dairy manure obtained directly from a dairy farm was processed and used. • Response surface methodology was used to investigate the enriched-air gasification. • Syngas results from bench and pilot scale gasifiers were compared and reviewed. • A highest LVH of 8 MJ/Nm"3 was obtained from the enriched-air gasification. • The power production costs were determined to be $0.053/kWh

Co-gasification of meat and bone meal with coal in a fluidised bed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

E. Cascarosa; L. Gasco; G. Gea; J.L. Sanchez; J. Arauzo [Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain). Thermochemical Processes Group

2011-08-15

After the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy illness appeared, the meat and bone meat (MBM) produced from animal residues became an important waste. In spite of being a possible fuel due to its heating value (around 21.4 MJ/kg), an important fraction of the meat and bone meal is being sent to landfills. The aim of this work is to evaluate the co-gasification of low percentages of meat and bone meal with coal in a fluidised bed reactor as a potential waste management alternative. The effect of the bed temperature (800-900{sup o}C), the equivalence ratio (0.25-0.35) and the percentage of MBM in the solid fed (0-1 wt.%) on the co-gasification product yields and properties is evaluated. The results show the addition of 1 wt.% of MBM in a coal gasification process increases the gas and the liquid yield and decreases the solid yield at 900{sup o}C and 0.35 of temperature and equivalence ratio operational conditions. At operational conditions of 900{sup o}C and equivalence ratio of 0.35, the specific yield to gas (y{sub gas}) increases from 3.18 m{sup 3}(STP)/kg to 4.47 m{sup 3}(STP)/kg. The gas energy yield decreased 24.1% and the lower heating value of the gas decreases from 3.36 MJ/m{sup 3}(STP) to 2.16 MJ/m{sup 3}(STP). The concentration of the main gas components (H{sub 2}, CO and CO{sub 2}) hardly varies with the addition of MBM, however the light hydrocarbon concentrations decrease and the H{sub 2}S concentration increases at the higher temperature (900{sup o}C). 32 refs., 9 figs., 7 tabs.

Glas generator for the steam gasification of coal with nuclear generated heat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buchner, G.

1980-01-01

The use of heat from a High Temperature Reactor (HTR) for the steam gasification of coal saves coal, which otherwise is burnt to generate the necessary reaction heat. The gas generator for this process, a horizontal pressure vessel, contains a fluidized bed of coal and steam. An ''immersion-heater'' type of heat exchanger introduces the nuclear generated heat to the process. Some special design problems of this gasifier are presented. Reference is made to the present state of development of the steam gasification process with heat from high temperature reactors. (author)

ENHANCEMENT OF EQUILIBRIUMSHIFT IN DEHYDROGENATION REACTIONS USING A NOVEL MEMBRANE REACTOR; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shamsuddin Ilias, Ph.d., P.E.; Franklin G. King, D.Sc.

2001-01-01

With the advances in new inorganic materials and processing techniques, there has been renewed interest in exploiting the benefits of membranes in many industrial applications. Inorganic and composite membranes are being considered as potential candidates for use in membrane-reactor configuration for effectively increasing reaction rate, selectivity and yield of equilibrium limited reactions. To investigate the usefulness of a palladium-ceramic composite membrane in a membrane reactor-separator configuration, we investigated the dehydrogenation of cyclohexane by equilibrium shift. A two-dimensional pseudo-homogeneous reactor model was developed to study the dehydrogenation of cyclohexane by equilibrium shift in a tubular membrane reactor. Radial diffusion was considered to account for the concentration gradient in the radial direction due to permeation through the membrane. For a dehydrogenation reaction, the feed stream to the reaction side contained cyclohexane and argon, while the separation side used argon as the sweep gas. Equilibrium conversion for dehydrogenation of cyclohexane is 18.7%. The present study showed that 100% conversion could be achieved by equilibrium shift using Pd-ceramic membrane reactor. For a feed containing cyclohexane and argon of 1.64 x 10(sup -6) and 1.0 x 10(sup -3) mol/s, over 98% conversion could be readily achieved. The dehydrogenation of cyclohexane was also experimentally investigated in a palladium-ceramic membrane reactor. The Pd-ceramic membrane was fabricated by electroless deposition of palladium on ceramic substrate. The performance of Pd-ceramic membrane was compared with a commercially available hydrogen-selective ceramic membrane. From limited experimental data it was observed that by appropriate choice of feed flow rate and sweep gas rate, the conversion of cyclohexane to benzene and hydrogen can increased to 56% at atmospheric pressure and 200 C in a Pd-ceramic membrane reactor. In the commercial ceramic membrane

Effect of bioleaching on hydrogen-rich gas production by steam gasification of sewage sludge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Hanhui; Chen, Zhihua; Huo, Chan; Hu, Mian; Guo, Dabin; Xiao, Bo

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Bioleaching can modify the physicochemical property of sewage sludge. • The enhancement is mainly hydrogen. • Bioleaching can enhance the gas production in gasification of sewage sludge. • Study provides an insight for future application of bioleached sewage sludge. - Abstract: Effect of bioleaching on hydrogen-rich gas production by steam gasification of sewage sludge was carried out in a lab-scale fixed-bed reactor. The influence of sewage sludge solids concentrations (6–14% (w/v) in 2% increments) during the bioleaching process and reactor temperature (600–900 °C in 100 °C increments) on gasification product yields and gas composition were studied. Characterization of samples showed that bioleaching treatment, especially in 6% (w/v) sludge solids concentration, led to metal removal effectively and modifications in the physicochemical property of sewage sludge which was favored for gasification. The maximum gas yield (49.4%) and hydrogen content (46.4%) were obtained at 6% (w/v) sludge solids concentration and reactor temperature of 900 °C. Sewage sludge after the bioleaching treatment may be a feasible feedstock for hydrogen-rich gas product.

Dynamic modeling of Shell entrained flow gasifier in an integrated gasification combined cycle process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hyeon-Hui; Lee, Jae-Chul; Joo, Yong-Jin; Oh, Min; Lee, Chang-Ha

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Detailed dynamic model for the Shell entrained flow gasifier was developed. • The model included sub-models of reactor, membrane wall, gas quench and slag flow. • The dynamics of each zone including membrane wall in the gasifier were analyzed. • Cold gas efficiency (81.82%), gas fraction and temperature agreed with Shell data. • The model could be used as part of the overall IGCC simulation. - Abstract: The Shell coal gasification system is a single-stage, up-flow, oxygen-blown gasifier which utilizes dry pulverized coal with an entrained flow mechanism. Moreover, it has a membrane wall structure and operates in the slagging mode. This work provides a detailed dynamic model of the 300 MW Shell gasifier developed for use as part of an overall IGCC (integrated gasification combined cycle) process simulation. The model consists of several sub-models, such as a volatilization zone, reaction zone, quench zone, slag zone, and membrane wall zone, including heat transfers between the wall layers and steam generation. The dynamic results were illustrated and the validation of the gasifier model was confirmed by comparing the results in the steady state with the reference data. The product gases (H 2 and CO) began to come out from the exit of the reaction zone within 0.5 s, and nucleate boiling heat transfer was dominant in the water zone of the membrane wall due to high heat fluxes. The steady state of the process was reached at nearly t = 500 s, and our simulation data for the steady state, such as the temperature and composition of the syngas, the cold gas efficiency (81.82%), and carbon conversion (near 1.0) were in good agreement with the reference data

Recent Advances on Carbon Molecular Sieve Membranes (CMSMs and Reactors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margot A. Llosa Tanco

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Carbon molecular sieve membranes (CMSMs are an important alternative for gas separation because of their ease of manufacture, high selectivity due to molecular sieve separation, and high permeance. The integration of separation by membranes and reaction in only one unit lead to a high degree of process integration/intensification, with associated benefits of increased energy, production efficiencies and reduced reactor or catalyst volume. This review focuses on recent advances in carbon molecular sieve membranes and their applications in membrane reactors.

Gasification of coal using nuclear process heat. Chapter D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schilling, H.-D.; Bonn, B.; Krauss, U.

1979-01-01

In the light of the high price of coal and the enormous advances made recently in nuclear engineering, the possibility of using heat from high-temperature nuclear reactors for gasification processes was discussed as early as the 1960s. The advantages of this technology are summarized. A joint programme of development work is described, in which the Nuclear Research Centre at Juelich is aiming to develop a high-temperature reactor which will supply process heat at as high a temperature as possible, while other organizations are working on the hydrogasification of lignites and hard coals, and steam gasification. Experiments are at present being carried out on a semi-technical scale, and no operational data for large-scale plants are available as yet. (author)

Experimental study on the gasification characteristics of coal and orimulsion in 0.5 T/D gasifier

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Ho Young; Kim, Jong Young; An, Dal Hong; Park, Tae Jun [Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), Taejon (Korea, Republic of). Research Center

1995-12-31

For the construction of commercial plant for IGCC imported from aboard in near future, it is aimed to get gasification data, practice the gasification design capability, and develop a fundamental key technology through the experiments for different kinds of coals (Datong, Roto, Alaska) by 0.5 T/D gasifier. We performed the experiments for physical properties and reactivities on selected coals by means of Drop Tube Reactor, numerical analysis for the reactor. Throughout the characteristic studies of orimulsion gasification, feasibility studies for orimulsion gasification as a fuel for power plant be performed. With the six experiment runs for the coal gasifier, several problems were found to remedy. After remedies, the gasifier could run at good operating conditions maintaining with 200% design feed rate over 1200-1550 degree. The third and fourth gasification runs with Roto were satisfactorily completed, during which gross heating values from produced gas were 7200-8200 Kcal/Nm{sup 3}. (author). 118 refs., 145 figs.

Experimental study on the gasification characteristics of coal and orimulsion in 0.5 T/D gasifier

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Ho Young; Kim, Jong Young; An, Dal Hong; Park, Tae Jun [Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), Taejon (Korea, Republic of). Research Center

1996-12-31

For the construction of commercial plant for IGCC imported from aboard in near future, it is aimed to get gasification data, practice the gasification design capability, and develop a fundamental key technology through the experiments for different kinds of coals (Datong, Roto, Alaska) by 0.5 T/D gasifier. We performed the experiments for physical properties and reactivities on selected coals by means of Drop Tube Reactor, numerical analysis for the reactor. Throughout the characteristic studies of orimulsion gasification, feasibility studies for orimulsion gasification as a fuel for power plant be performed. With the six experiment runs for the coal gasifier, several problems were found to remedy. After remedies, the gasifier could run at good operating conditions maintaining with 200% design feed rate over 1200-1550 degree. The third and fourth gasification runs with Roto were satisfactorily completed, during which gross heating values from produced gas were 7200-8200 Kcal/Nm{sup 3}. (author). 118 refs., 145 figs.

Multienzyme Immobilized Polymeric Membrane Reactor for the Transformation of a Lignin Model Compound

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rupam Sarma

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We have developed an integrated, multienzyme functionalized membrane reactor for bioconversion of a lignin model compound involving enzymatic catalysis. The membrane bioreactors were fabricated through the layer-by-layer assembly approach to immobilize three different enzymes (glucose oxidase, peroxidase and laccase into pH-responsive membranes. This novel membrane reactor couples the in situ generation of hydrogen peroxide (by glucose oxidase to oxidative conversion of a lignin model compound, guaiacylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether (GGE. Preliminary investigation of the efficacy of these functional membranes towards GGE degradation is demonstrated under convective flow mode. Over 90% of the initial feed could be degraded with the multienzyme immobilized membranes at a residence time of approximately 22 s. GGE conversion product analysis revealed the formation of oligomeric oxidation products upon reaction with peroxidase, which may be a potential hazard to membrane bioreactors. These oxidation products could further be degraded by laccase enzymes in the multienzymatic membranes, explaining the potential of multi enzyme membrane reactors. The multienzyme incorporated membrane reactors were active for more than 30 days of storage time at 4 °C. During this time span, repetitive use of the membrane reactor was demonstrated involving 5–6 h of operation time for each cycle. The membrane reactor displayed encouraging performance, losing only 12% of its initial activity after multiple cycles of operation.

Influence of pyrolysis conditions on the structure and gasification reactivity of biomass chars

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

E. Cetin; B. Moghtaderi; R. Gupta; T.F. Wall [University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW (Australia). Discipline of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, School of Engineering

2004-11-01

The physical and chemical structure as well as gasification reactivities of chars generated from several biomass species (i.e. pinus radiata, eucalyptus maculata and sugar cane bagasse) were studied to gain insight into the role of heating rate and pressure on the gasification characteristics of biomass chars. Char samples were generated in a suite of reactors including a wire mesh reactor, a tubular reactor, and a drop tube furnace. Scanning electron microscopy analysis, X-ray diffractometry, digital cinematography and surface area analysis were employed to determine the impact of operating conditions on the char structure. The global gasification reactivities of char samples were also determined for a range of pressures between 1 and 20 bar using pressurised thermogravimetric analysis technique. Char reactivities were found to increase with increasing pyrolysis heating rates and decreasing pyrolysis pressure. It was found that under high heating rates the char particles underwent plastic deformation (i.e. melted) developing a structure different to that of the virgin biomass. Pressure was also found to influence the physical and chemical structures of char particles. The difference in the gasification reactivities of biomass chars at pressure was found to correlate well with the effect of pyrolysis pressure on the graphitisation process in the biomass char structure. 29 refs., 18 figs., 2 tabs.

Energetic assessment of air-steam gasification of sewage sludge and of the integration of sewage sludge pyrolysis and air-steam gasification of char

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gil-Lalaguna, N.; Sánchez, J.L.; Murillo, M.B.; Atienza-Martínez, M.; Gea, G.

2014-01-01

Thermo-chemical treatment of sewage sludge is an interesting option for recovering energy and/or valuable products from this waste. This work presents an energetic assessment of pyrolysis and gasification of sewage sludge, also considering the prior sewage sludge thermal drying and the gasification of the char derived from the pyrolysis stage. Experimental data obtained from pyrolysis of sewage sludge, gasification of sewage sludge and gasification of char (all of these performed in a lab-scale fluidized reactor) were used for the energetic calculations. The results show that the energy contained in the product gases from pyrolysis and char gasification is not enough to cover the high energy consumption for thermal drying of sewage sludge. Additional energy could be obtained from the calorific value of the pyrolysis liquid, but some of its properties must be improved facing towards its use as fuel. On the other hand, the energy contained in the product gas of sewage sludge gasification is enough to cover the energy demand for both the sewage sludge thermal drying and the gasification process itself. Furthermore, a theoretical study included in this work shows that the gasification efficiency is improved when the chemical equilibrium is reached in the process. - Highlights: • 4 MJ kg −1 for thermal drying of sewage sludge (SS) from 65 to 6.5 wt.% of moisture. • 0.15 MJ kg −1 for thermal decomposition of sewage sludge during fast pyrolysis. • Not enough energy in gases from SS pyrolysis and char gasification for thermal drying. • Enough energy in SS gasification gas for thermal drying and gasification process. • Gasification efficiency improves when equilibrium is reached in the process

A comparative study of charcoal gasification in two types of spouted bed reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdul Salam, P.; Bhattacharya, S.C.

2006-01-01

Gasification is considered to be a favourable method for converting a solid fuel into a more versatile gaseous fuel. Performance of a gasifier depends on the design of the gasifier, type of fuel used and air flow rate, etc. The applications of spouted bed for a variety of processes such as drying, coating, pyrolysis, gasification and combustion have been reported. Gasification of solid fuels in a spouted bed, which has certain potential advantages over other fluid bed configurations, appears to be an under-exploited technique so far. Central jet distributors are the most commonly used in the experimental studies that has been reported in the literature. Circular slit distributor is a new concept. This paper presents results of a comparative experimental study on air gasification of charcoal in central jet and circular slit inert sand spouted beds. The experiments were carried for an equivalence ratio of 0.25. The effect of spouting velocity and type of the distributor on the gasification performance were discussed. The steady state dense bed temperature varied between 979 and 1183 deg C for central jet spouted bed and between 964 and 1235 deg C for circular slit spouted bed. At higher spouting velocities, the gasification efficiency of the circular slit spouted bed was slightly more compared with that of central jet spouted bed

Synergistic combination of biomass torrefaction and co-gasification: Reactivity studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Geng, Ping; Liu, Rui

2017-12-01

Two typical biomass feedstocks obtained from woody wastes and agricultural residues were torrefied or mildly pyrolized in a fixed-bed reactor. Effects of the torrefaction conditions on product distributions, compositional and energetic properties of the solid products, char gasification reactivity, and co-gasification behavior between coal and torrefied solids were systematically investigated. Torrefaction pretreatment produced high quality bio-solids with not only increased energy density, but also concentrated alkali and alkaline earth metals (AAEM). As a consequence of greater retention of catalytic elements in the solid products, the chars derived from torrefied biomass exhibited a faster conversion than those derived from raw biomass during CO 2 gasification. Furthermore, co-gasification of coal/torrefied biomass blends exhibited stronger synergy compared to the coal/raw biomass blends. The results and insights provided by this study filled a gap in understanding synergy during co-gasification of coal and torrefied biomass. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simulation of Water Gas Shift Zeolite Membrane Reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Makertiharta, I. G. B. N.; Rizki, Z.; Zunita, Megawati; Dharmawijaya, P. T.

2017-07-01

The search of alternative energy sources keeps growing from time to time. Various alternatives have been introduced to reduce the use of fossil fuel, including hydrogen. Many pathways can be used to produce hydrogen. Among all of those, the Water Gas Shift (WGS) reaction is the most common pathway to produce high purity hydrogen. The WGS technique faces a downstream processing challenge due to the removal hydrogen from the product stream itself since it contains a mixture of hydrogen, carbon dioxide and also the excess reactants. An integrated process using zeolite membrane reactor has been introduced to improve the performance of the process by selectively separate the hydrogen whilst boosting the conversion. Furthermore, the zeolite membrane reactor can be further improved via optimizing the process condition. This paper discusses the simulation of Zeolite Membrane Water Gas Shift Reactor (ZMWGSR) with variation of process condition to achieve an optimum performance. The simulation can be simulated into two consecutive mechanisms, the reaction prior to the permeation of gases through the zeolite membrane. This paper is focused on the optimization of the process parameters (e.g. temperature, initial concentration) and also membrane properties (e.g. pore size) to achieve an optimum product specification (concentration, purity).

Plant concept of heat utilization of high temperature gas-cooled reactors. Co-generation and coal-gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tonogouchi, M.; Maeda, S.; Ide, A.

1996-01-01

In Japan, JAERI is now constructing the High temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) and the new era is coming for the development and utilization of HTR. Recognizing that the heat utilization of HTR would mitigate problems of environment and resources and contribute the effective use and steady supply of the energy, FAPIG organized a working group named 'HTR-HUC' to study the heat utilization of HTR in the field other than electric power generation. We chose three kinds of plants to study, 1) a co-generation plant in which the existing power units supplying steam and electricity can be replaced by a nuclear plant, 2) Coal gasification plant which can accelerate the clean use of coal and contribute stable supply of the energy and preservation of the environment in the world and 3) Hydrogen production plant which can help to break off the use of the new energy carrier HYDROGEN and will release people from the dependence of fossil energy. In this paper the former two plants, Co-generation chemical plant and Coal-gasification plant are focussed on. The main features, process flow and safety assessment of these plants are discussed. (J.P.N.)

Co-gasification of pine and oak biochar with sub-bituminous coal in carbon dioxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Beagle, E; Wang, Y; Bell, D; Belmont, E

2018-03-01

Pine and oak biochars derived as byproducts of demonstration-scale pyrolysis, and blends of these two feedstocks with Powder River Basin coal, were gasified in a carbon dioxide environment using a modified drop tube reactor (MDTR) and a thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The impact of gasification temperature on conversion kinetics was evaluated from the temporal evolution of major product gases in the MDTR as measured using a mass spectrometer. Random pore modeling was conducted to simulate gasification in the MDTR with favorable results. The MDTR and TGA were used to conduct gasification for assessment of non-linear additive effects in the blends. Additive analysis of the blends showed deviation from the experimental blend results, indicating inhibiting effects of co-gasifying the biochar and coal. Inhibitory effects are more significant for oak than pine and more pronounced in the TGA at lower gasification temperatures. Results are discussed in the context of feedstock and reactor type. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen production from coal gasification for effective downstream CO{sub 2} capture

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gnanapragasam, Nirmal V.; Reddy, Bale V.; Rosen, Marc A. [Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario, L1H 7K4 (Canada)

2010-05-15

The coal gasification process is used in commercial production of synthetic gas as a means toward clean use of coal. The conversion of solid coal into a gaseous phase creates opportunities to produce more energy forms than electricity (which is the case in coal combustion systems) and to separate CO{sub 2} in an effective manner for sequestration. The current work compares the energy and exergy efficiencies of an integrated coal-gasification combined-cycle power generation system with that of coal gasification-based hydrogen production system which uses water-gas shift and membrane reactors. Results suggest that the syngas-to-hydrogen (H{sub 2}) system offers 35% higher energy and 17% higher exergy efficiencies than the syngas-to-electricity (IGCC) system. The specific CO{sub 2} emission from the hydrogen system was 5% lower than IGCC system. The Brayton cycle in the IGCC system draws much nitrogen after combustion along with CO{sub 2}. Thus CO{sub 2} capture and compression become difficult due to the large volume of gases involved, unlike the hydrogen system which has 80% less nitrogen in its exhaust stream. The extra electrical power consumption for compressing the exhaust gases to store CO{sub 2} is above 70% for the IGCC system but is only 4.5% for the H{sub 2} system. Overall the syngas-to-hydrogen system appears advantageous to the IGCC system based on the current analysis. (author)

Substitute natural gas from biomass gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tunaa, Per (Lund Inst. of Technology, Lund (SE))

2008-03-15

Biomass is by many considered as the only alternative to phase-out the usage of fossil fuels such as natural gas and oil especially for the transportation sector where alternative solutions, such as hydrogen fuel cells and batteries, are not yet fully developed. Thermal gasification or other methods such as pyrolysis of the biomass must be applied in order to produce an intermediate product suitable for further upgrading to either gaseous or liquid products. This thesis will evaluate the possibilities of producing, substitute natural gas, (SNG) from biomass gasification by using computer simulation. Three different gasification techniques were evaluated; entrained-flow, fluidized-bed and indirect gasification coupled with two different desulphurisation systems and two methanation processes. The desulphurisation systems were a zinc oxide bed and a Rectisol wash system. Methanation were performed by a series of adiabatic reactors with gas recycling and by an isothermal reactor. The impact on SNG efficiency from system pressure, isothermal methanation temperature and PSA methane recovery were evaluated as well. The results show that the fluidized-bed and the indirect gasifier have the highest SNG efficiency. Furthermore there are little to no difference between the methanation processes and small differences for the gas cleanup systems. SNG efficiencies in excess of 50 % were possible for all gasifiers. SNG efficiency is defined as the energy in the SNG product divided by the total input to the system from biomass, drying and oxygen. Increasing system pressure has a negative impact on SNG efficiency as well as increasing operating costs due to increased power for compression. Isothermal methanation temperature has no significant impact on SNG efficiency. Recovering as much methane as possible in the PSA is the most important parameter. Recovering methane that has been dissolved in condensed process water increases the SNG efficiency by 2-10% depending on system.

Development of an advanced continuous mild gasification process for the production of coproducts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jha, M.C.; McCormick, R.L.; Hogsett, R.F.; Rowe, R.M.; Anast, K.R.

1991-12-01

This document describes the results of Task 4 under which a 50 pound/hour char-to-carbon (CTC) process research unit (PRU) was designed in the second half of 1989, with construction completed in June 1990. The CTC PRU at Golden was operated for nearly one year during which 35 runs were completed for a total of nearly 800 hours of operation. Char methanation and carbon production reactor development activities are detailed in this report, as well as the results of integrated runs of the CTC process. Evaluation of the process and the carbon product produced is also included. It was concluded that carbon could be produced from mild gasification char utilizing the CTC process. Char methanation and membrane separation steps performed reasonably well and can scaled up with confidence. However, the novel directly heated reactor system for methane cracking did not work satisfactorily due to materials of construction and heat transfer problems, which adversely affected the quantity and quality of the carbon product. Alternative reactor designs are recommended.

The development of solid fuel gasification systems for cost-effective power generation with low environmental impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nieminen, M; Kurkela, E; Staahlberg, P; Laatikainen-Luntama, J; Ranta, J; Hepola, J; Kangasmaa, K [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland). Gasification and Advanced Combustion

1997-10-01

Relatively low carbon conversion is a disadvantage related to the air-blown fluidised-bed coal-biomass co-gasification process. Low carbon conversion is due to different reactivities and ash sintering behaviour of coal and biomass which leads to compromises in definition of gasification process conditions. In certain cases co-gasification may also lead to unexpected deposit formations or corrosion problems in downstream components especially when high alkali metal or chlorine containing biomass feedstocks are co-gasified with coal. During the reporting period, the work focused on co-gasification of coal and wood waste. The objectives of the present work were to find out the optimum conditions for improving the carbon conversion and to study the formation of different gas impurities. The results based on co-gasification tests with a pressurised fluidised-bed gasifies showed that in co-gasification even with only 15 % coal addition the heavy tar concentration was decreased significantly and, simultaneously, an almost total carbon conversion was achieved by optimising the gasification conditions. The study of filter fines recirculation and solid residues utilisation was started by characterizing filter dust. The work was carried out with an entrained-flow reactor in oxidising, inert and reducing gas conditions. The aim was to define the conditions required for achieving increased carbon conversion in different reactor conditions

Comparison of packed bed and fluidized bed membrane reactors for methane reforming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gallucci, F.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2009-01-01

In this work the performance of different membrane reactor concepts, both fluidized bed and packed bed membrane reactors, have been compared for the reforming of methane for the production of ultra-pure hydrogen. Using detailed theoretical models, the required membrane area to reach a given

Feasibility of Biomass Biodrying for Gasification Process

Science.gov (United States)

Hamidian, Arash

An important challenge of biomass gasification is the limitation of feedstock quality especially the moisture content, which plays a significant role on the performance of gasification process. Gasification requires low moisture levels (20% and less) and several reports have emphasized on the moisture as a typical problem while gasifying biomass. Moisture affects overall reaction rates in the gasifiers as a result of temperature drop and ultimately increases tar content, decreases gas yield, changes the composition of produced gas and affects the efficiency. Therefore, it is mandatory to pre-treat the biomass before gasification and reduce the moisture content to the suitable and economic level. The well-known solutions are either natural drying (not practical for commercial plants) or conventional drying technologies (have high operating costs). Biodrying is an alternative process, which uses both convective air and heat of biological reactions as a source of energy, to reduce the moisture. In the biodrying reactor heat is generated from exothermic decomposition of organic fraction of biomass and that is why the process is called "self-heating process". Employing such technology for drying biomass at pre-treatment units of gasification process returns several economic and environmental advantages to mills. In Europe, municipal waste treatment (MSW) plants use the biodrying at commercial scale to degrade a part of the biodegradable fraction of waste to generate heat and reduce the moisture content for high quality SRF (Solid Recovered Fuel) production. In Italy, wine industry is seeking to develop biodrying for energy recovery of grape wastes after fermentation and distillation, which returns economic benefits to the industry. In Canada, the development of biodrying technology for pulp and paper industry was started at Ecole polytechnique de Montreal as an option for sludge management solution. Therefore, batch biodrying reactor was successfully developed in 2004

Low temperature circulating fluidized bed gasification and co-gasification of municipal sewage sludge. Part 2: Evaluation of ash materials as phosphorus fertilizer.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomsen, Tobias Pape; Hauggaard-Nielsen, Henrik; Gøbel, Benny; Stoholm, Peder; Ahrenfeldt, Jesper; Henriksen, Ulrik B; Müller-Stöver, Dorette Sophie

2017-08-01

The study is part 2 of 2 in an investigation of gasification and co-gasification of municipal sewage sludge in low temperature gasifiers. In this work, solid residuals from thermal gasification and co-gasification of municipal sewage sludge were investigated for their potential use as fertilizer. Ashes from five different low temperature circulating fluidized bed (LT-CFB) gasification campaigns including two mono-sludge campaigns, two sludge/straw mixed fuels campaigns and a straw reference campaign were compared. Experiments were conducted on two different LT-CFBs with thermal capacities of 100kW and 6MW, respectively. The assessment included: (i) Elemental composition and recovery of key elements and heavy metals; (ii) content of total carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N); (iii) pH; (iv) water extractability of phosphorus after incubation in soil; and (v) plant phosphorus response measured in a pot experiment with the most promising ash material. Co-gasification of straw and sludge in LT-CFB gasifiers produced ashes with a high content of recalcitrant C, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), a low content of heavy metals (especially cadmium) and an improved plant P availability compared to the mono-sludge ashes, thereby showing the best fertilizer qualities among all assessed materials. It was also found that bottom ashes from the char reactor contained even less heavy metals than cyclone ashes. It is concluded that LT-CFB gasification and co-gasification is a highly effective way to purify and sanitize sewage sludge for subsequent use in agricultural systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new model for coal gasification on pressurized bubbling fluidized bed gasifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sánchez, Cristian; Arenas, Erika; Chejne, Farid; Londoño, Carlos A.; Cisneros, Sebastian; Quintana, Juan C.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A new model was proposed for the simulation of fluidized bed reactors. • The model was validated against experimental data found in the literature. • The model was compared and found to be superior to other models reported in the literature. • Effects of pressure, temperature, steam/coal and air/coal ratios over gas composition were studied. - Abstract: Many industries have taken interest in the use of coal gasification for the production of chemicals and fuels. This gasification can be carried out inside a fluidized bed reactor. This non-ideal reactor is difficult to predict due to the complex physical phenomena and the different chemical changes that the feedstock undergoes. The lack of a good model to simulate the reactor’s behavior produces less efficient processes and plant designs. Various approaches to the proper simulation of such reactor have been proposed. In this paper, a new model is developed for the simulation of a pressurized bubbling fluidized bed (PBFB) gasifier that rigorously models the physical phenomena and the chemical changes of the feedstock inside the reactor. In the model, the reactor is divided into three sections; devolatilization, volatile reactions and combustion-gasification. The simulation is validated against experimental data reported in the literature and compared with other models proposed by different authors; once the model is validated, the dependence of the syngas composition on operational pressure, temperature, steam/coal and air/coal ratios are studied. The results of this article show how this model satisfactorily predicts the performance of PBFB gasifiers.

System and method for air temperature control in an oxygen transport membrane based reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Sean M

2016-09-27

A system and method for air temperature control in an oxygen transport membrane based reactor is provided. The system and method involves introducing a specific quantity of cooling air or trim air in between stages in a multistage oxygen transport membrane based reactor or furnace to maintain generally consistent surface temperatures of the oxygen transport membrane elements and associated reactors. The associated reactors may include reforming reactors, boilers or process gas heaters.

Syngas production from downdraft gasification of oil palm fronds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atnaw, Samson Mekbib; Sulaiman, Shaharin Anwar; Yusup, Suzana

2013-01-01

Study on gasification of OPF (oil palm fronds) is scarce although the biomass constitutes more than 24% of the total oil palm waste. The lack of research related to gasification of oil palm fronds calls for a study on gasification behaviour of the fuel. In this paper the effects of reactor temperature and ER (equivalence ratio) on gas composition, calorific value and gasification efficiency of downdraft gasification of OPF were investigated. The heating value of syngas and the values of cold gas and carbon conversion efficiencies of gasification obtained were found to be comparable with woody biomass. The study showed that oxidation zone temperature above 850 °C is favourable for high concentration of the fuel components of syngas CO, H 2 and CH 4 . Average syngas lower heating value of 5.2 MJ/Nm 3 was obtained for operation with oxidation zone temperatures above 1000 °C, while no significant change in heating value was observed for temperature higher than 1100 °C. The average and peak heating values of 4.8 MJ/Nm 3 and 5.5 MJ/Nm 3 , and cold gas efficiency of 70.2% at optimum equivalence ratio of 0.37 showed that OPF have a high potential as a fuel for gasification. - Highlights: • Kinetic study of pyrolysis and combustion of OPF (oil palm fronds) was done. • Experimental study on syngas production utilizing OPF and parametric study was done. • OPF was found to have a comparable performance with wood in downdraft gasification

A forced-flow membrane reactor for transfructosylation using ceramic membrane.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishizawa, K; Nakajima, M; Nabetani, H

2000-04-05

A forced-flow membrane reactor system for transfructosylation was investigated using several ceramic membranes having different pore sizes. beta-Fructofuranosidase from Aspergillus niger ATCC 20611 was immobilized chemically to the inner surface of a ceramic membrane activated by a silane-coupling reagent. Sucrose solution was forced through the ceramic membrane by crossflow filtration while transfructosylation took place. The saccharide composition of the product, which was a mixture of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), was a function of the permeate flux, which was easily controlled by pressure. Using 0.2 micrometer pore size of symmetric ceramic membrane, the volumetric productivity obtained was 3.87 kg m(-3) s(-1), which was 560 times higher than that in a reported batch system, with a short residence time of 11 s. The half-life of the immobilized enzyme in the membrane was estimated to be 35 days by a long-term operation. Copyright 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Water Gas Shift Reaction with A Single Stage Low Temperature Membrane Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ciora, Richard J [Media and Process Technology Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Liu, Paul KT [Media and Process Technology Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

2013-12-31

Palladium membrane and Palladium membrane reactor were developed under this project for hydrogen separation and purification for fuel cell applications. A full-scale membrane reactor was designed, constructed and evaluated for the reformate produced from a commercial scale methanol reformer. In addition, the Pd membrane and module developed from this project was successfully evaluated in the field for hydrogen purification for commercial fuel cell applications.

Steam gasification of Bulmer coal in the presence of lignite ash

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palmer, A.; Furimsky, E.

1986-01-01

Steam gasification of blends prepared from Balmer coal and the ash from combustion of Onakawana lignite was performed in a fixed bed reactor. The blends were prepared by co-slurrying followed by drying. In the presence of 20 wt% ash the gasification rate doubled at 830 and 930 C. Direct blending of coal and lignite resulted in an overall increase in carbon conversion at 830 C but had no effect at 930 C. 5 refs.

Simulation of a porous ceramic membrane reactor for hydrogen production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu, W.; Ohmori, T.; Yamamoto, T.; Endo, A.; Nakaiwa, M.; Hayakawa, T. [National Inst. of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba (Japan); Itoh, N. [National Inst. of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba (Japan); Utsunomiya Univ. (Japan). Dept. of Applied Chemistry

2005-08-01

A systematic simulation study was performed to investigate the performance of a porous ceramic membrane reactor for hydrogen production by means of methane steam reforming. The results show that the methane conversions much higher than the corresponding equilibrium values can be achieved in the membrane reactor due to the selective removal of products from the reaction zone. The comparison of isothermal and non-isothermal model predictions was made. It was found that the isothermal assumption overestimates the reactor performance and the deviation of calculation results between the two models is subject to the operating conditions. The effects of various process parameters such as the reaction temperature, the reaction side pressure, the feed flow rate and the steam to methane molar feed ratio as well as the sweep gas flow rate and the operation modes, on the behavior of membrane reactor were analyzed and discussed. (author)

Plasma gasification process: Modeling, simulation and comparison with conventional air gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Janajreh, Isam; Raza, Syed Shabbar; Valmundsson, Arnar Snaer

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Plasma/conventional gasification are modeled via Gibbs energy minimization. ► The model is applied to wide range of feedstock, tire, biomass, coal, oil shale. ► Plasma gasification show high efficiency for tire waste and coal. ► Efficiency is around 42% for plasma and 72% for conventional gasification. ► Lower plasma gasification efficiency justifies hazardous waste energy recovery. - Abstract: In this study, two methods of gasification are developed for the gasification of various feedstock, these are plasma gasification and conventional air gasification. The two methods are based on non-stoichiometric Gibbs energy minimization approach. The model takes into account the different type of feedstocks, which are analyzed at waste to energy lab at Masdar Institute, oxidizer used along with the plasma energy input and accurately evaluates the syngas composition. The developed model is applied for several types of feedstock, i.e. waste tire material, coal, plywood, pine needles, oil shale, and municipal solid waste (MSW), algae, treated/untreated wood, instigating air/steam as the plasma gas and only air as oxidizer for conventional gasification. The results of plasma gasification and conventional air gasification are calculated on the bases of product gas composition and the process efficiency. Results of plasma gasification shows that high gasification efficiency is achievable using both tire waste material and coal, also, the second law efficiency is calculated for plasma gasification that shows a relative high efficiency for tire and coal as compare to other feedstock. The average process efficiency for plasma gasification is calculated to be around 42%. On other hand the result of conventional gasification shows an average efficiency of 72%. The low efficiency of plasma gasification suggest that if only the disposal of hazard waste material is considered then plasma gasification can be a viable option to recover energy.

Ceramic membrane microfilter as an immobilized enzyme reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrington, T J; Gainer, J L; Kirwan, D J

1992-10-01

This study investigated the use of a ceramic microfilter as an immobilized enzyme reactor. In this type of reactor, the substrate solution permeates the ceramic membrane and reacts with an enzyme that has been immobilized within its porous interior. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of permeation rate on the observed kinetic parameters for the immobilized enzyme in order to assess possible mass transfer influences or shear effects. Kinetic parameters were found to be independent of flow rate for immobilized penicillinase and lactate dehydrogenase. Therefore, neither mass transfer nor shear effects were observed for enzymes immobilized within the ceramic membrane. Both the residence time and the conversion in the microfilter reactor could be controlled simply by regulating the transmembrane pressure drop. This study suggests that a ceramic microfilter reactor can be a desirable alternative to a packed bed of porous particles, especially when an immobilized enzyme has high activity and a low Michaelis constant.

Hydrogen and syngas production from sewage sludge via steam gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nipattummakul, Nimit [The Combustion Laboratory, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); The Waste Incineration Research Center, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, King Mongkut' s University of Technology, North Bangkok (Thailand); Ahmed, Islam I.; Gupta, Ashwani K. [The Combustion Laboratory, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Kerdsuwan, Somrat [The Waste Incineration Research Center, Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, King Mongkut' s University of Technology, North Bangkok (Thailand)

2010-11-15

High temperature steam gasification is an attractive alternative technology which can allow one to obtain high percentage of hydrogen in the syngas from low-grade fuels. Gasification is considered a clean technology for energy conversion without environmental impact using biomass and solid wastes as feedstock. Sewage sludge is considered a renewable fuel because it is sustainable and has good potential for energy recovery. In this investigation, sewage sludge samples were gasified at various temperatures to determine the evolutionary behavior of syngas characteristics and other properties of the syngas produced. The syngas characteristics were evaluated in terms of syngas yield, hydrogen production, syngas chemical analysis, and efficiency of energy conversion. In addition to gasification experiments, pyrolysis experiments were conducted for evaluating the performance of gasification over pyrolysis. The increase in reactor temperature resulted in increased generation of hydrogen. Hydrogen yield at 1000 C was found to be 0.076 g{sub gas} g{sub sample}{sup -1}. Steam as the gasifying agent increased the hydrogen yield three times as compared to air gasification. Sewage sludge gasification results were compared with other samples, such as, paper, food wastes and plastics. The time duration for sewage sludge gasification was longer as compared to other samples. On the other hand sewage sludge yielded more hydrogen than that from paper and food wastes. (author)

Theoretical comparison of packed bed and fluidized bed membrane reactors for methane reforming

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gallucci, F.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2010-01-01

In this theoretical work the performance of different membrane reactor concepts, both fluidized bed and packed bed membrane reactors, has been compared for ultra-pure hydrogen production via methane reforming. Using detailed theoretical models, the required membrane area to reach a given conversion

3. International conference on catalysis in membrane reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-09-01

The 3. International Conference on Catalysis in Membrane Reactors, Copenhagen, Denmark, is a continuation of the previous conferences held in Villeurbanne 1994 and Moscow 1996 and will deal with the rapid developments taking place within membranes with emphasis on membrane catalysis. The approx. 80 contributions in form of plenary lectures and posters discuss hydrogen production, methane reforming into syngas, selectivity and specificity of various membranes etc. The conference is organised by the Danish Catalytic Society under the Danish Society for Chemical Engineering. (EG)

Influence of fuel moisture content and reactor temperature on the calorific value of syngas resulted from gasification of oil palm fronds.

Science.gov (United States)

Atnaw, Samson Mekbib; Sulaiman, Shaharin Anwar; Yusup, Suzana

2014-01-01

Biomass wastes produced from oil palm mills and plantations include empty fruit bunches (EFBs), shells, fibers, trunks, and oil palm fronds (OPF). EFBs and shells are partially utilized as boiler fuel while the rest of the biomass materials like OPF have not been utilized for energy generation. No previous study has been reported on gasification of oil palm fronds (OPF) biomass for the production of fuel gas. In this paper, the effect of moisture content of fuel and reactor temperature on downdraft gasification of OPF was experimentally investigated using a lab scale gasifier of capacity 50 kW. In addition, results obtained from equilibrium model of gasification that was developed for facilitating the prediction of syngas composition are compared with experimental data. Comparison of simulation results for predicting calorific value of syngas with the experimental results showed a satisfactory agreement with a mean error of 0.1 MJ/Nm³. For a biomass moisture content of 29%, the resulting calorific value for the syngas was found to be only 2.63 MJ/Nm³, as compared to nearly double (4.95 MJ/Nm³) for biomass moisture content of 22%. A calorific value as high as 5.57 MJ/Nm³ was recorded for higher oxidation zone temperature values.

Microbial activity catalyzes oxygen transfer in membrane-aerated nitritating biofilm reactors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pellicer i Nàcher, Carles; Domingo Felez, Carlos; Lackner, Susanne

2013-01-01

The remarkable oxygen transfer efficiencies attainable in membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) are expected to favor their prompt industrial implementation. However, tests in clean water, currently used for the estimation of their oxygen transfer potential, lead to wrong estimates once biofilm...... is present, significantly complicating reactor modelling and control. This study shows for the first time the factors affecting oxygen mass transfer across membranes during clean water tests and reactor operation via undisturbed microelectrode inspection and bulk measurements. The mass transfer resistance...... of the liquid boundary layer developed at the membrane-liquid interface during clean water tests accounted for two thirds of the total mass transfer resistance, suggesting a strong underestimation of the oxygen transfer rates when it is absent (e.g. after biofilm growth). Reactor operation to attain partial...

On the study of catalytic membrane reactor for water detritiation: Modeling approach

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liger, Karine, E-mail: karine.liger@cea.fr [CEA, DEN, DTN/SMTA/LIPC Cadarache, Saint Paul-lez-Durance F-13108 (France); Mascarade, Jérémy [CEA, DEN, DTN/SMTA/LIPC Cadarache, Saint Paul-lez-Durance F-13108 (France); Joulia, Xavier; Meyer, Xuan-Mi [Université de Toulouse, INPT, UPS, Laboratoire de Génie Chimique, 4, Allée Emile Monso, Toulouse F-31030 (France); CNRS, Laboratoire de Génie Chimique, Toulouse F-31030 (France); Troulay, Michèle; Perrais, Christophe [CEA, DEN, DTN/SMTA/LIPC Cadarache, Saint Paul-lez-Durance F-13108 (France)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • Experimental results for the conversion of tritiated water (using deuterium as a simulant of tritium) by means of a catalytic membrane reactor in view of tritium recovery. • Phenomenological 2D model to represent catalytic membrane reactor behavior including the determination of the compositions of gaseous effluents. • Good agreement between the simulation results and experimental measurements performed on the dedicated facility. • Explanation of the unexpected behavior of the catalytic membrane reactor by the modeling results and in particular the gas composition estimation. - Abstract: In the framework of tritium recovery from tritiated water, efficiency of packed bed membrane reactors have been successfully demonstrated. Thanks to protium isotope swamping, tritium bonded water can be recovered under the valuable Q{sub 2} form (Q = H, D or T) by means of isotope exchange reactions occurring on catalyst surface. The use of permselective Pd-based membrane allows withdrawal of reactions products all along the reactor, and thus limits reverse reaction rate to the benefit of the direct one (shift effect). The reactions kinetics, which are still little known or unknown, are generally assumed to be largely greater than the permeation ones so that thermodynamic equilibriums of isotope exchange reactions are generally assumed. This paper proposes a new phenomenological 2D model to represent catalytic membrane reactor behavior with the determination of gas effluents compositions. A good agreement was obtained between the simulation results and experimental measurements performed on a dedicated facility. Furthermore, the gas composition estimation permits to interpret unexpected behavior of the catalytic membrane reactor. In the next future, further sensitivity analysis will be performed to determine the limits of the model and a kinetics study will be conducted to assess the thermodynamic equilibrium of reactions.

On the study of catalytic membrane reactor for water detritiation: Modeling approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liger, Karine; Mascarade, Jérémy; Joulia, Xavier; Meyer, Xuan-Mi; Troulay, Michèle; Perrais, Christophe

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Experimental results for the conversion of tritiated water (using deuterium as a simulant of tritium) by means of a catalytic membrane reactor in view of tritium recovery. • Phenomenological 2D model to represent catalytic membrane reactor behavior including the determination of the compositions of gaseous effluents. • Good agreement between the simulation results and experimental measurements performed on the dedicated facility. • Explanation of the unexpected behavior of the catalytic membrane reactor by the modeling results and in particular the gas composition estimation. - Abstract: In the framework of tritium recovery from tritiated water, efficiency of packed bed membrane reactors have been successfully demonstrated. Thanks to protium isotope swamping, tritium bonded water can be recovered under the valuable Q_2 form (Q = H, D or T) by means of isotope exchange reactions occurring on catalyst surface. The use of permselective Pd-based membrane allows withdrawal of reactions products all along the reactor, and thus limits reverse reaction rate to the benefit of the direct one (shift effect). The reactions kinetics, which are still little known or unknown, are generally assumed to be largely greater than the permeation ones so that thermodynamic equilibriums of isotope exchange reactions are generally assumed. This paper proposes a new phenomenological 2D model to represent catalytic membrane reactor behavior with the determination of gas effluents compositions. A good agreement was obtained between the simulation results and experimental measurements performed on a dedicated facility. Furthermore, the gas composition estimation permits to interpret unexpected behavior of the catalytic membrane reactor. In the next future, further sensitivity analysis will be performed to determine the limits of the model and a kinetics study will be conducted to assess the thermodynamic equilibrium of reactions.

Challenges of selecting materials for the process of biomass gasification in supercritical water

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boukis, N.; Habicht, W.; Hauer, E.; Dinjus, E. [Karlsruher Institut fuer Technologie (KIT), Karlsruhe (Germany). Inst. fuer Technische Chemie

2010-07-01

A new process for the gasification of wet biomass is the reaction in supercritical water. The product is a combustible gas, rich in hydrogen with a high calorific value. The reaction is performed under high temperatures - up to 700 C - and pressures up to 30 MPa. The combination of these physical conditions and the corrosive environment is very demanding for the construction materials of the reactor. Only few alloys exhibit the required mechanical properties, especially the mechanical strength at temperatures higher than 600 C. Ni-Base alloys like alloy 625 can be applied up to a temperature of 700 C and are common materials for application under supercritical water conditions. During gasification experiments with corn silage and other biomasses, corrosion of the reactor material alloy 625 appears. The gasification of an aqueous methanol solution in supercritical water at temperatures up to 600 C and 25 - 30 MPa pressure results in an product gas rich in hydrogen, carbon dioxide and some methane. Alloy 625 shows very low corrosion rates in this environment. It is obvious that the heteroatoms and salts present in biomass cause corrosion of the reactor material. (orig.)

The carbon dioxide gasification characteristics of biomass char samples and their effect on coal gasification reactivity during co-gasification.

Science.gov (United States)

Mafu, Lihle D; Neomagus, Hein W J P; Everson, Raymond C; Okolo, Gregory N; Strydom, Christien A; Bunt, John R

2018-06-01

The carbon dioxide gasification characteristics of three biomass char samples and bituminous coal char were investigated in a thermogravimetric analyser in the temperature range of 850-950 °C. Char SB exhibited higher reactivities (R i , R s , R f ) than chars SW and HW. Coal char gasification reactivities were observed to be lower than those of the three biomass chars. Correlations between the char reactivities and char characteristics were highlighted. The addition of 10% biomass had no significant impact on the coal char gasification reactivity. However, 20 and 30% biomass additions resulted in increased coal char gasification rate. During co-gasification, chars HW and SW caused increased coal char gasification reactivity at lower conversions, while char SB resulted in increased gasification rates throughout the entire conversion range. Experimental data from biomass char gasification and biomass-coal char co-gasification were well described by the MRPM, while coal char gasification was better described by the RPM. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-Combustion Carbon Dioxide Capture by a New Dual Phase Ceramic-Carbonate Membrane Reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, Jerry Y. S. [Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)

2015-01-31

This report documents synthesis, characterization and carbon dioxide permeation and separation properties of a new group of ceramic-carbonate dual-phase membranes and results of a laboratory study on their application for water gas shift reaction with carbon dioxide separation. A series of ceramic-carbonate dual phase membranes with various oxygen ionic or mixed ionic and electronic conducting metal oxide materials in disk, tube, symmetric, and asymmetric geometric configurations was developed. These membranes, with the thickness of 10 μm to 1.5 mm, show CO₂ permeance in the range of 0.5-5×10^-7 mol·m^-2·s^-1·Pa^-1 in 500-900°C and measured CO₂/N₂ selectivity of up to 3000. CO₂ permeation mechanism and factors that affect CO₂ permeation through the dual-phase membranes have been identified. A reliable CO₂ permeation model was developed. A robust method was established for the optimization of the microstructures of ceramic-carbonate membranes. The ceramic-carbonate membranes exhibit high stability for high temperature CO₂ separations and water gas shift reaction. Water gas shift reaction in the dual-phase membrane reactors was studied by both modeling and experiments. It is found that high temperature syngas water gas shift reaction in tubular ceramic-carbonate dual phase membrane reactor is feasible even without catalyst. The membrane reactor exhibits good CO₂ permeation flux, high thermal and chemical stability and high thermal shock resistance. Reaction and separation conditions in the membrane reactor to produce hydrogen of 93% purity and CO₂ stream of >95% purity, with 90% CO₂ capture have been identified. Integration of the ceramic-carbonate dual-phase membrane reactor with IGCC process for carbon dioxide capture was analyzed. A methodology was developed to identify optimum operation conditions for a

CFD Simulation of an Anaerobic Membrane BioReactor (AnMBR to Treat Industrial Wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura C. Zuluaga

2015-06-01

Full Text Available A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD simulation has been developed for an Anaerobic Membrane BioReactor (AnMBR to treat industrial wastewater. As the process consists of a side-stream MBR, two separate simulations were created: (i reactor and (ii membrane. Different cases were conducted for each one, so the surrounding temperature and the total suspended solids (TSS concentration were checked. For the reactor, the most important aspects to consider were the dead zones and the mixing, whereas for the ceramic membrane, it was the shear stress over the membrane surface. Results show that the reactor's mixing process was adequate and that the membrane presented higher shear stress in the 'triangular' channel.

Biofilm formation on membranes used for membrane aerated biological reactors, under different stress conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrade-Molinar, C.; Ballinas-Casarrubias, M. L.; Solis-Martinez, F. J.; Rivera-Chavira, B. E.; Cuevas-Rodirguez, G.; Nevarez-Moorillon, G. V.

2009-01-01

Bacterial biofilm play an important role in wastewater treatment processes, and have been optimized in the membrane aerated biofilm reactors (MABR). In MABR, a hydrophobic membrane is used as support for the formation of biofilm, and supplements enough aeration to assure an aerobic process. (Author)

Integration of coal gasification and packed bed CLC for high efficiency and near-zero emission power generation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spallina, V.; Romano, M.C.; Chiesa, P.; Gallucci, F.; Sint Annaland, van M.; Lozza, G.

2014-01-01

A detailed thermodynamic analysis has been carried out of large-scale coal gasification-based power plant cycles with near zero CO2 emissions, integrated with chemical looping combustion (CLC). Syngas from coal gasification is oxidized in dynamically operated packed bed reactors (PBRs), generating a

Investigation of a submerged membrane reactor for continuous biomass hydrolysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Malmali, Mohammadmahdi; Stickel, Jonathan; Wickramasinghe, S. Ranil

2015-10-01

Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is one of the most costly steps in the bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass. Use of a submerged membrane reactor has been investigated for continuous enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose thus allowing for greater use of the enzyme compared to a batch process. Moreover, the submerged 0.65 μm polyethersulfone microfiltration membrane avoids the need to pump a cellulose slurry through an external loop. Permeate containing glucose is withdrawn at pressures slightly below atmospheric pressure. The membrane rejects cellulose particles and cellulase enzyme bound to cellulose. Our proof-of-concept experiments have been conducted using a modified, commercially available membrane filtration cell under low fluxes around 75 L/(m2 h). The operating flux is determined by the rate of glucose production. Maximizing the rate of glucose production involves optimizing mixing, reactor holding time, and the time the feed is held in the reactor prior to commencement of membrane filtration and continuous operation. When we maximize glucose production rates it will require that we operate it at low glucose concentration in order to minimize the adverse effects of product inhibition. Consequently practical submerged membrane systems will require a combined sugar concentration step in order to concentrate the product sugar stream prior to fermentation.

Hydrogen Selective Exfoliated Zeolite Membranes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsapatsis, Michael [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Daoutidis, Prodromos [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Elyassi, Bahman [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Lima, Fernando [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Iyer, Aparna [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Agrawal, Kumar [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; Sabnis, Sanket [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States). Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

2015-04-06

The objective of this project was to develop and evaluate an innovative membrane technology at process conditions that would be representative of Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) advanced power generation with pre-combustion capture of carbon dioxide (CO₂). This research focused on hydrogen (H₂)-selective zeolite membranes that could be utilized to separate conditioned syngas into H₂-rich and CO₂-rich components. Both experiments and process design and optimization calculations were performed to evaluate the concept of ultra-thin membranes made from zeolites nanosheets. In this work, efforts in the laboratory were made to tackle two fundamental challenges in application of zeolite membranes in harsh industrial environments, namely, membrane thickness and membrane stability. Conventional zeolite membranes have thicknesses in the micron range, limiting their performance. In this research, we developed a method for fabrication of ultimately thin zeolite membranes based on zeolite nanosheets. A range of layered zeolites (MWW, RWR, NSI structure types) suitable for hydrogen separation was successfully exfoliated to their constituent nanosheets. Further, membranes were made from one of these zeolites, MWW, to demonstrate the potential of this group of materials. Moreover, long-term steam stability of these zeolites (up to 6 months) was investigated in high concentrations of steam (35 mol% and 95 mole%), high pressure (10 barg), and high temperatures (350 °C and 600 °C) relevant to conditions of water-gas-shift and steam methane reforming reactions. It was found that certain nanosheets are stable, and that stability depends on the concentration of structural defects. Additionally, models that represent a water-gas-shift (WGS) membrane reactor equipped with the zeolite membrane were developed for systems studies. These studies had the aim of analyzing the effect of the membrane reactor integration into IGCC plants

Novel Catalytic Membrane Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stuart Nemser, PhD

2010-10-01

There are many industrial catalytic organic reversible reactions with amines or alcohols that have water as one of the products. Many of these reactions are homogeneously catalyzed. In all cases removal of water facilitates the reaction and produces more of the desired chemical product. By shifting the reaction to right we produce more chemical product with little or no additional capital investment. Many of these reactions can also relate to bioprocesses. Given the large number of water-organic compound separations achievable and the ability of the Compact Membrane Systems, Inc. (CMS) perfluoro membranes to withstand these harsh operating conditions, this is an ideal demonstration system for the water-of-reaction removal using a membrane reactor. Enhanced reaction synthesis is consistent with the DOE objective to lower the energy intensity of U.S. industry 25% by 2017 in accord with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and to improve the United States manufacturing competitiveness. The objective of this program is to develop the platform technology for enhancing homogeneous catalytic chemical syntheses.

Hydrogen enrichment and separation from synthesis gas by the use of a membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanchez, J.M.; Barreiro, M.M.; Marono, M.

2011-01-01

One of the objectives of the CHRISGAS project was to study innovative gas separation and gas upgrading systems that have not been developed sufficiently yet to be tested at a demonstration scale within the time frame of the project, but which show some attractive merits and features for further development. In this framework CIEMAT studied, at bench scale, hydrogen enrichment and separation from syngas by the use of membranes and membrane catalytic reactors. In this paper results about hydrogen separation from synthesis gas by means of selective membranes are presented. Studies dealt with the evaluation of permeation and selectivity to hydrogen of prepared and pre-commercial Pd-based membranes. Whereas prepared membranes turned out to be non-selective, due to discontinuities of the palladium layer, studies conducted with the pre-commercial membrane showed that by means of a membrane reactor it is possible to completely separate hydrogen from the other gas components and produce pure hydrogen as a permeate stream, even in the case of complex reaction system (H 2 /CO/CO 2 /H 2 O) under WGS conditions gas mixtures. The advantages of using a water-gas shift membrane reactor (MR) over a traditional fixed bed reactor (TR) have also been studied. The experimental device included the pre-commercial Pd-based membrane and a commercial high temperature Fe-Cr-based, WGS catalyst, which was packed in the annulus between the membrane and the reactor outer shell. Results show that in the MR concept, removal of H 2 from the reaction side has a positive effect on WGS reaction, reaching higher CO conversion than in a traditional packed bed reactor at a given temperature. On increasing pressure on the reaction side permeation is enhanced and hence carbon monoxide conversion increases. -- Highlights: → H 2 enrichment and separation using a bench-scale membrane reactor MR is studied. → Permeation and selectivity to H 2 of Pd-based membranes was determined. → Complete separation

Oxygen transport membrane system and method for transferring heat to catalytic/process reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Sean M; Kromer, Brian R; Litwin, Michael M; Rosen, Lee J; Christie, Gervase Maxwell; Wilson, Jamie R; Kosowski, Lawrence W; Robinson, Charles

2014-01-07

A method and apparatus for producing heat used in a synthesis gas production is provided. The disclosed method and apparatus include a plurality of tubular oxygen transport membrane elements adapted to separate oxygen from an oxygen containing stream contacting the retentate side of the membrane elements. The permeated oxygen is combusted with a hydrogen containing synthesis gas stream contacting the permeate side of the tubular oxygen transport membrane elements thereby generating a reaction product stream and radiant heat. The present method and apparatus also includes at least one catalytic reactor containing a catalyst to promote the stream reforming reaction wherein the catalytic reactor is surrounded by the plurality of tubular oxygen transport membrane elements. The view factor between the catalytic reactor and the plurality of tubular oxygen transport membrane elements radiating heat to the catalytic reactor is greater than or equal to 0.5.

Oxygen transport membrane system and method for transferring heat to catalytic/process reactors

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Sean M.; Kromer, Brian R.; Litwin, Michael M.; Rosen, Lee J.; Christie, Gervase Maxwell; Wilson, Jamie R.; Kosowski, Lawrence W.; Robinson, Charles

2016-01-19

A method and apparatus for producing heat used in a synthesis gas production process is provided. The disclosed method and apparatus include a plurality of tubular oxygen transport membrane elements adapted to separate oxygen from an oxygen containing stream contacting the retentate side of the membrane elements. The permeated oxygen is combusted with a hydrogen containing synthesis gas stream contacting the permeate side of the tubular oxygen transport membrane elements thereby generating a reaction product stream and radiant heat. The present method and apparatus also includes at least one catalytic reactor containing a catalyst to promote the steam reforming reaction wherein the catalytic reactor is surrounded by the plurality of tubular oxygen transport membrane elements. The view factor between the catalytic reactor and the plurality of tubular oxygen transport membrane elements radiating heat to the catalytic reactor is greater than or equal to 0.5

Gasification of Coal and PET in Fluidized Bed Reactor

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Pohořelý, Michael; Vosecký, Martin; Kameníková, Petra; Punčochář, Miroslav; Skoblia, Sergej; Staf, M.; Vošta, J.; Koutský, B.; Svoboda, Karel

2006-01-01

Roč. 85, 17-18 (2006), s. 2458-2468 ISSN 0016-2361 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA104/04/0829 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40720504 Keywords : fludized bed * gasification * plastic waste Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering Impact factor: 1.358, year: 2006

About the gasification of untreated scrap and waste wood in fluidized bed reactor for use in decentralized gas engine-cogeneration plants; Zur Vergasung von Rest- und Abfallholz in Wirbelschichtreaktoren fuer dezentrale Energieversorgungsanlagen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tepper, H.

2005-10-20

This dissertation examines the thermochemical conversion (gasification) of untreated scrap and waste wood in combustible gases for use in decentralized gas engine-cogeneration plants of low output (1 to 10 MW fuel power). A general section goes into the basics of the energetic utilization of solid biomass, the subprocesses of thermochemical conversion being described in more detail. Special attention is given to the processes and state of the art of biomass gasification in decentralized plants. A theoretical section analyzes the gasification models for solid biomass presented in the literature. Based on this analysis, a simplified kinetic model is derived for the gasification of untreated scrap and waste wood with air in bubbling fluidized bed reactors. It includes a fluid mechanic analysis of the fluidized bed based on HILLIGARDT, an empirical pyrolysis model and a global kinetic approach to the main chemical reaction taken from the literature. An experimental section describes the tests of the gasification of forest scrap wood in a semi-industrial fluidized bed gasification test plant with 150 kW fuel power and presents the significant test results. The gasification model derived is applied to check the test plant's standard settings and compare them with measured values. Furthermore, the model is employed to explain basic reaction paths and zones and to perform concluding parameter simulations. (orig.)

Oxyfuel combustion using a catalytic ceramic membrane reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tan, Xiaoyao; Li, K. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, University of London, South Kensington, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Thursfield, A.; Metcalfe, I.S. [School of Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU (United Kingdom)

2008-02-29

Membrane catalytic combustion (MCC) is an environmentally friendly technique for heat and power generation from methane. This work demonstrates the performances of a MCC perovskite hollow fibre membrane reactor for the catalytic combustion of methane. The ionic-electronic La{sub 0.6}Sr{sub 0.4}Co{sub 0.2}Fe{sub 0.8}O{sub 3-{alpha}} (LSCF6428) mixed conductor, in the form of an oxygen-permeable hollow fibre membrane, has been prepared successfully by means of a phase-inversion spinning/sintering technique. For this process polyethersulfone (PESf) was used as a binder, N-methyl-2-pyrrollidone (NMP) as solvent and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP, K16-18) as an additive. With the prepared LSCF6428 hollow fibre membranes packed with catalyst, hollow fibre membrane reactors (HFMRs) have been assembled to perform the catalytic combustion of methane. A simple mathematical model that combines the local oxygen permeation rate with approximate catalytic reaction kinetics has been developed and can be used to predict the performance of the HFMRs for methane combustion. The effects of operating temperature and methane and air feed flow rates on the performance of the HFMR have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Both the methane conversion and oxygen permeation rate can be improved by means of coating platinum on the air side of the hollow fibre membranes. (author)

Staged catalytic gasification/steam reforming of pyrolysis oil

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rossum, G.; Kersten, Sascha R.A.; van Swaaij, Willibrordus Petrus Maria

2009-01-01

Gasification/steam reforming of pyrolysis oil was studied in a staged reactor concept, which consisted of an inert fluidized bed and a catalytic fixed bed. Methane and C2−C3 free syngas is produced at a single temperature around 800 °C at atmospheric pressure. By lowering the temperature of the

Influence of Fuel Moisture Content and Reactor Temperature on the Calorific Value of Syngas Resulted from Gasification of Oil Palm Fronds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samson Mekbib Atnaw

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Biomass wastes produced from oil palm mills and plantations include empty fruit bunches (EFBs, shells, fibers, trunks, and oil palm fronds (OPF. EFBs and shells are partially utilized as boiler fuel while the rest of the biomass materials like OPF have not been utilized for energy generation. No previous study has been reported on gasification of oil palm fronds (OPF biomass for the production of fuel gas. In this paper, the effect of moisture content of fuel and reactor temperature on downdraft gasification of OPF was experimentally investigated using a lab scale gasifier of capacity 50 kW. In addition, results obtained from equilibrium model of gasification that was developed for facilitating the prediction of syngas composition are compared with experimental data. Comparison of simulation results for predicting calorific value of syngas with the experimental results showed a satisfactory agreement with a mean error of 0.1 MJ/Nm3. For a biomass moisture content of 29%, the resulting calorific value for the syngas was found to be only 2.63 MJ/Nm3, as compared to nearly double (4.95 MJ/Nm3 for biomass moisture content of 22%. A calorific value as high as 5.57 MJ/Nm3 was recorded for higher oxidation zone temperature values.

Influence of Fuel Moisture Content and Reactor Temperature on the Calorific Value of Syngas Resulted from Gasification of Oil Palm Fronds

Science.gov (United States)

Atnaw, Samson Mekbib; Sulaiman, Shaharin Anwar; Yusup, Suzana

2014-01-01

Biomass wastes produced from oil palm mills and plantations include empty fruit bunches (EFBs), shells, fibers, trunks, and oil palm fronds (OPF). EFBs and shells are partially utilized as boiler fuel while the rest of the biomass materials like OPF have not been utilized for energy generation. No previous study has been reported on gasification of oil palm fronds (OPF) biomass for the production of fuel gas. In this paper, the effect of moisture content of fuel and reactor temperature on downdraft gasification of OPF was experimentally investigated using a lab scale gasifier of capacity 50 kW. In addition, results obtained from equilibrium model of gasification that was developed for facilitating the prediction of syngas composition are compared with experimental data. Comparison of simulation results for predicting calorific value of syngas with the experimental results showed a satisfactory agreement with a mean error of 0.1 MJ/Nm3. For a biomass moisture content of 29%, the resulting calorific value for the syngas was found to be only 2.63 MJ/Nm3, as compared to nearly double (4.95 MJ/Nm3) for biomass moisture content of 22%. A calorific value as high as 5.57 MJ/Nm3 was recorded for higher oxidation zone temperature values. PMID:24578617

Updraft gasification of poultry litter at farm-scale--A case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Taupe, N C; Lynch, D; Wnetrzak, R; Kwapinska, M; Kwapinski, W; Leahy, J J

2016-04-01

Farm and animal wastes are increasingly being investigated for thermochemical conversion, such as gasification, due to the urgent necessity of finding new waste treatment options. We report on an investigation of the use of a farm-scale, auto-thermal gasification system for the production of a heating gas using poultry litter (PL) as a feedstock. The gasification process was robust and reliable. The PL's ash melting temperature was 639°C, therefore the reactor temperature was kept around this value. As a result of the low reactor temperature the process performance parameters were low, with a cold gas efficiency (CGE) of 0.26 and a carbon conversion efficiency (CCE) of 0.44. The calorific value of the clean product gas was 3.39 MJ m(-3)N (LHV). The tar was collected as an emulsion containing 87 wt.% water and the extracted organic compounds were identified. The residual char exceeds thresholds for Zn and Cu to obtain European biochar certification; however, has potential to be classified as a pyrogenic carbonaceous material (PCM), which resembles a high nutrient biochar. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prevention of the ash deposits by means of process conditions in biomass gasification; Biomassapolttoaineiden tuhkan kuonaantumiskaeyttaeytymisen estaeminen prosessiolosuhteiden avulla

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moilanen, A; Laatikainen-Luntama, J; Nieminen, M; Kurkela, E; Korhonen, J [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

1997-10-01

In fluidised-bed gasification, various types of deposits and agglomerates may be formed by biomass ash in the bed, in upper zones of the reactor, for instance in cyclones. These may decisively hamper the operation of the process. The aim of the project was to obtain data on the detrimental fouling behaviour of the ash of different types of biomass in fluidised-bed gasification, and on the basis of these data to determine the process conditions and ways of preventing this kind of behaviour. Different types of biomass fuel relevant to energy production such as straw, wood residue were be used as samples. The project consisted of laboratory studies and fluidised-bed reactor tests including ash behaviour studied both in the bed and freeboard. In laboratory tests, the sample material was characterised as a function of different process parameters. In fluid-bed reactors, the most harmful biomasses were tested using process variables such as temperature, bed material and the gasification agents. Bubbling fluidised-bed gasification tests with wheat straw showed that agglomerates with different sizes and structures formed in the bed depending on the temperature, the feed gas composition and bed material. Agglomerates consisted of molten ash which sintered with bed material and other solids. In all BFB tests, freeboard walls were slicked by ash agglomerates (different amounts) which, however, were easily removable. The results of this project and the earlier pilot-scale gasification experience obtained with the same feedstocks showed that useful characteristic data about ash behaviour can be obtained using laboratory tests and small scale reactors. (orig.)

Reaction Mechanism of Tar Evolution in Biomass Steam Gasification for Hydrogen Production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shingo Katayama; Masahiro Suzuki; Atsushi Tsutsumi

2006-01-01

Reaction mechanism of tar evolution in steam gasification of biomass was investigated with a continuous cross-flow moving bed type differential reactor, in which tar and gases can be fractionated according to reaction time. We estimated that time profile of tar and gas evolution in the gasification of cellulose, xylan, and lignin, and compared it with experimental product time profile of real biomass gasification. The experimental tar evolution rate is different from estimated tar evolution rate. The estimated tar evolution rate has a peak at 20 s. On the other hand, the experimental tar evolution rate at 20 s is little, and tar at initial stage includes more water-soluble and water-insoluble compounds. It can be concluded that in the real biomass steam gasification the evolution of tar from cellulose and lignin component was found to be precipitated by that from hemi-cellulose component. (authors)

Fouling-induced enzyme immobilization for membrane reactors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Luo, Jianquan; Meyer, Anne S.; Jonsson, Gunnar Eigil

2013-01-01

A simple enzyme immobilization method accomplished by promoting membrane fouling formation is proposed. The immobilization method is based on adsorption and entrapment of the enzymes in/on the membrane. To evaluate the concept, two membrane orientations, skin layer facing feed (normal mode......, but the reverse mode allowed for higher enzyme loading and stability, and irreversible fouling (i.e. pore blocking) developed more readily in the support structure than in the skin layer. Compared with an enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) with free enzymes, the novel EMR with enzymes immobilized in membrane......) and support layer facing feed (reverse mode), were used to immobilize alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH, EC 1.1.1.1) and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH, EC 1.4.1.3), respectively. The nature of the fouling in each mode was determined by filtration fouling models. The permeate flux was larger in the normal mode...

Coal gasification by indirect heating in a single moving bed reactor: Process development & simulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junaid Akhlas

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In this work, the development and simulation of a new coal gasification process with indirect heat supply is performed. In this way, the need of pure oxygen production as in a conventional gasification process is avoided. The feasibility and energetic self-sufficiency of the proposed processes are addressed. To avoid the need of Air Separation Unit, the heat required by gasification reactions is supplied by the combustion flue gases, and transferred to the reacting mixture through a bayonet heat exchanger installed inside the gasifier. Two alternatives for the flue gas generation have been investigated and compared. The proposed processes are modeled using chemical kinetics validated on experimental gasification data by means of a standard process simulator (Aspen PlusTM, integrated with a spreadsheet for the modeling of a special type of heat exchanger. Simulation results are presented and discussed for proposed integrated process schemes. It is shown that they do not need external energy supply and ensure overall efficiencies comparable to conventional processes while producing syngas with lower content of carbon dioxide.

Gasification of refinery sludge in an updraft reactor for syngas production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmed, Reem; Eldmerdash, Usama [Department of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia); Sinnathambi, Chandra M., E-mail: chandro@petronas.com.my [Fundamental and Applied Sciences Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak (Malaysia)

2014-10-24

The study probes into the investigation on gasification of dry refinery sludge. The details of the study includes; influence of operation time, oxidation temperature and equivalence ratios on carbon gas conversion rate, gasification efficiency, heating value and fuel gas yield are presented. The results show that, the oxidation temperature increased sharply up to 858°C as the operating time increased up to 36 min then bridging occurred at 39 min which cause drop in reaction temperature up to 819 °C. This bridging was found to affect also the syngas compositions, meanwhile as the temperature decreased the CO, H{sub 2}, CH{sub 4} compositions are also found to be decreases. Higher temperature catalyzed the reduction reaction (CO{sub 2}+C = 450 2CO), and accelerated the carbon conversion and gasification efficiencies, resulted in more solid fuel is converted to a high heating value gas fuel. The equivalence ratio of 0.195 was found to be the optimum value for carbon conversion and cold gas efficiencies, high heating value of gas, and fuel gas yield to reach their maximum values of 96.1 % and 53.7 %, 5.42 MJ Nm{sup −3} of, and 2.5 Nm{sup 3} kg{sup −1} respectively.

Gasification of refinery sludge in an updraft reactor for syngas production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, Reem; Eldmerdash, Usama; Sinnathambi, Chandra M.

2014-01-01

The study probes into the investigation on gasification of dry refinery sludge. The details of the study includes; influence of operation time, oxidation temperature and equivalence ratios on carbon gas conversion rate, gasification efficiency, heating value and fuel gas yield are presented. The results show that, the oxidation temperature increased sharply up to 858°C as the operating time increased up to 36 min then bridging occurred at 39 min which cause drop in reaction temperature up to 819 °C. This bridging was found to affect also the syngas compositions, meanwhile as the temperature decreased the CO, H 2 , CH 4 compositions are also found to be decreases. Higher temperature catalyzed the reduction reaction (CO 2 +C = 450 2CO), and accelerated the carbon conversion and gasification efficiencies, resulted in more solid fuel is converted to a high heating value gas fuel. The equivalence ratio of 0.195 was found to be the optimum value for carbon conversion and cold gas efficiencies, high heating value of gas, and fuel gas yield to reach their maximum values of 96.1 % and 53.7 %, 5.42 MJ Nm −3 of, and 2.5 Nm 3 kg −1 respectively

Mathematical modeling of methyl ester concentration distribution in a continuous membrane tubular reactor and comparison with conventional tubular reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Talaghat, M. R.; Jokar, S. M.; Modarres, E.

2017-10-01

The reduction of fossil fuel resources and environmental issues made researchers find alternative fuels include biodiesels. One of the most widely used methods for production of biodiesel on a commercial scale is transesterification method. In this work, the biodiesel production by a transesterification method was modeled. Sodium hydroxide was considered as a catalyst to produce biodiesel from canola oil and methanol in a continuous tubular ceramic membranes reactor. As the Biodiesel production reaction from triglycerides is an equilibrium reaction, the reaction rate constants depend on temperature and related linearly to catalyst concentration. By using the mass balance for a membrane tubular reactor and considering the variation of raw materials and products concentration with time, the set of governing equations were solved by numerical methods. The results clearly show the superiority of membrane reactor than conventional tubular reactors. Afterward, the influences of molar ratio of alcohol to oil, weight percentage of the catalyst, and residence time on the performance of biodiesel production reactor were investigated.

Techno-economic prospects of small-scale membrane reactors in a future hydrogen-fuelled transportation sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sjardin, M.; Damen, K.J.; Faaij, A.P.C.

2006-01-01

The membrane reactor is a novel technology for the production of hydrogen from natural gas. It promises economic small-scale hydrogen production, e.g. at refuelling stations and has the potential of inexpensive CO 2 separation. Four configurations of the membrane reactor have been modelled with Aspen plus to determine its thermodynamic and economic prospects. Overall energy efficiency is 84% HHV without H 2 compression (78% with compression up to 482bar). The modelling results also indicate that by using a sweep gas, the membrane reactor can produce a reformer exit stream consisting mainly of CO 2 and H 2 O (>90% mol ) suited for CO 2 sequestration after water removal with an efficiency loss of only 1% pt . Reforming with a 2MW membrane reactor (250 unit production volume) costs 14$/GJ H 2 including compression, which is more expensive than conventional steam reforming+compression (12$/GJ). It does, however, promise a cheap method of CO 2 separation, 14$/t CO 2 captured, due to the high purity of the exit stream. The well-to-wheel chain of the membrane reactor has been compared to centralised steam reforming to assess the trade-off between production scale and the construction of a hydrogen and a CO 2 distribution infrastructure. If the scale of centralised hydrogen production is below 40MW, the trade-off could be favourable for the membrane reactor with small-scale CO 2 capture (18$/GJ including H 2 storage, dispensing and CO 2 sequestration for 40MW SMR versus 19$/GJ for MR). The membrane reactor might become competitive with conventional steam reforming provided that thin membranes can be combined with high stability and a cheap manufacturing method for the membrane tubes. Thin membranes, industrial utility prices and larger production volumes (i.e. technological learning) might reduce the levelised hydrogen cost of the membrane reactor at the refuelling station to less than 14$/GJ including CO 2 sequestration cost, below that of large-scale H 2 production with

Ceramic oxygen transport membrane array reactor and reforming method

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Sean M.; Christie, Gervase Maxwell; Robinson, Charles; Wilson, Jamie R; Gonzalez, Javier E.; Doraswami, Uttam R.

2017-10-03

The invention relates to a commercially viable modular ceramic oxygen transport membrane system for utilizing heat generated in reactively-driven oxygen transport membrane tubes to generate steam, heat process fluid and/or provide energy to carry out endothermic chemical reactions. The system provides for improved thermal coupling of oxygen transport membrane tubes to steam generation tubes or process heater tubes or reactor tubes for efficient and effective radiant heat transfer.

CFD simulations of influence of steam in gasification agent on parameters of UCG process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alina Żogała

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Underground coal gasification (UCG is considered to be a perspective and constantly developing technology. Nevertheless it is a very complex and technically difficult process, which results depend on many variables. Mathematical models enable detailed analysis of UCG process – for example – give possibility of prediction of syngas composition depending on applied gasification medium. In practice, mixtures of oxygen, air and steam are the most frequently used as converting agents. Steam is injected to the reactor in order to obtain combustible components. Nevertheless higher concentrations of steam create a problem of reduction of temperature in reactor. This issue of amount of steam in reacting system was analyzed in given paper. Computer simulations were used as test method applied in presented work. Calculations were carried by using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CDF method and Ansys Fluent software. Changes in outlet concentrations of syngas components (CO, CO2, CH4, H2O, H2, in relation with time of process, were presented. Composition of product gas, its heating value and temperature of process were also examined (on outlet of rector in function of content of steam in gasification agent (which was mixture of O2 and H2O. Obtained results indicated a possibility of conduct of stable gasification process (with predictable characteristic of gas. The simulation also demonstrated a possibility of deterioration of conditions in real reactors as a results of applying of too high amounts of steam.

A submerged ceramic membrane reactor for the p-nitrophenol hydrogenation over nano-sized nickel catalysts.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, R Z; Sun, H L; Xing, W H; Jin, W Q; Xu, N P

2009-02-01

The catalytic hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol over nano-sized nickel catalysts was carried out in a submerged ceramic membrane reactor. It has been demonstrated that the submerged ceramic membrane reactor is more suitable for the p-nitrophenol hydrogenation over nano-sized nickel catalysts compared with the side-stream ceramic membrane reactor, and the membrane module configuration has a great influence on the reaction rate of p-nitrophenol hydrogenation and the membrane treating capacity. The deactivation of nano-sized nickel is mainly caused by the adsorption of impurity on the surface of nickel and the increase of oxidation degree of nickel.

Challege and Opportunities of Membrane Bioelctrochemical Reactors for Wastewater Treatment

OpenAIRE

Li, Jian

2016-01-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are potentially advantageous as an energy-efficient approach for wastewater treatment. Integrating membrane filtration with MFCs could be a viable option for advanced wastewater treatment with a low energy input. Such an integration is termed as membrane bioelectrochemical reactors (MBERs). Comparing to the conventional membrane bioreactors or anaerobic membrane bioreactors, MBER could be a competitive technology, due to the its advantages on energy consumption and...

NH{sub 3} decomposition and simultaneous H{sub 2} separation with a commercial Pd-Cu-Ag/V membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Skodras, G.; Sakelleropoulos, G. [Centre for Research and Technology, Hellas, Ptolemaidas-Kozanis, Ptolemaida (Greece). Inst. for Solid Fuel Technolgy and Applications]|[Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki (Greece). Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Process Engineering Lab]|[Centre for Research and Technology, Hellas, Thermis, Thessaloniki (Greece). Chemical Process Research Inst.; Kaldis, S. [Centre for Research and Technology, Hellas, Thermis, Thessaloniki (Greece). Chemical Process Research Inst.; Topis, S. [Centre for Research and Technology, Hellas, Ptolemaidas-Kozanis, Ptolemaida (Greece). Inst. for Solid Fuel Technolgy and Applications]|[Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki (Greece). Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Process Engineering Lab; Koutsonikolas, D. [Aristotle Univ. of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki (Greece). Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Process Engineering Lab; Grammelis, P. [Centre for Research and Technology, Hellas, Ptolemaidas-Kozanis, Ptolemaida (Greece). Inst. for Solid Fuel Technolgy and Applications

2006-07-01

The potential for integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) technology to emerge as an efficient and environmentally clean technology for power generation from coal gas was discussed. Ammonia (NH{sub 3}) is formed during gasification of coal. The concentration in coal gas depends on temperature, pressure, residence time and coal rank. In the gas turbine as much as 50 per cent of the NH{sub 3} in the fuel gas can be converted to NOx when the gas is combusted to produce power. A catalyst is required to bring NH{sub 3} levels down to acceptable levels for a gas turbine. This study examined the simultaneous ammonia (NH{sub 3}) decomposition and hydrogen (H{sub 2}) separation via a commercial Pd-Cu-Ag/V catalytic membrane reactor with 100 per cent H{sub 2} selectivity. A 16 per cent Ni/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst was prepared and 88 per cent NH{sub 3} conversion was achieved with 20 per cent H{sub 2} in the feed stream. Increase of temperature and prolongation of residence time resulted in higher conversions. However, pressure increase lowered the decomposition due to the high H{sub 2} partial pressure. In order to develop kinetic equations, experiments at differential conversions were also performed. H{sub 2} diffusion was found to be the rate limiting step of H{sub 2} transport through the membrane. As such, H{sub 2} permeance increased exponentially with temperature. Mathematical model were then developed to describe the operation of the catalytic membrane reactor and to compare its performance with the conventional reactor. It was concluded that the conversion of NH{sub 3} can be increased significantly using the Pd-Cu-Ag/V membrane. 14 refs., 3 tabs., 7 figs.

Achievements of European projects on membrane reactor for hydrogen production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

di Marcoberardino, G.; Binotti, M.; Manzolini, G.; Viviente, J.L.; Arratibel Plazaola, A.; Roses, L.; Gallucci, F.

2017-01-01

Membrane reactors for hydrogen production can increase both the hydrogen production efficiency at small scale and the electric efficiency in micro-cogeneration systems when coupled with Polymeric Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells. This paper discusses the achievements of three European projects

Fluidized-Bed Gasification of Plastic Waste, Wood, and Their Blends with Coal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucio Zaccariello

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The effect of fuel composition on gasification process performance was investigated by performing mass and energy balances on a pre-pilot scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor fed with mixtures of plastic waste, wood, and coal. The fuels containing plastic waste produced less H2, CO, and CO2 and more light hydrocarbons than the fuels including biomass. The lower heating value (LHV progressively increased from 5.1 to 7.9 MJ/Nm3 when the plastic waste fraction was moved from 0% to 100%. Higher carbonaceous fines production was associated with the fuel containing a large fraction of coal (60%, producing 87.5 g/kgFuel compared to only 1.0 g/kgFuel obtained during the gasification test with just plastic waste. Conversely, plastic waste gasification produced the highest tar yield, 161.9 g/kgFuel, while woody biomass generated only 13.4 g/kgFuel. Wood gasification showed a carbon conversion efficiency (CCE of 0.93, while the tests with two fuels containing coal showed lowest CCE values (0.78 and 0.70, respectively. Plastic waste and wood gasification presented similar cold gas efficiency (CGE values (0.75 and 0.76, respectively, while that obtained during the co-gasification tests varied from 0.53 to 0.73.

A novel auto-thermal reforming membrane reactor for high purity H2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tony Boyd; Grace, J.R.; Lim, C.J.; Adris, A.M.

2006-01-01

A novel hydrogen reactor based on steam reforming of natural gas has been developed and tested. The reactor produces high purity hydrogen using in-situ perm-selective membranes installed in a fluidized catalyst bed, thus shifting the thermodynamic equilibrium of the SMR reaction and eliminating the need for downstream hydrogen purification. The reactor is particularly suited to auto-thermal reforming, where air is added to the reformer to provide the endothermic reaction heat, thus eliminating the need to indirectly heat the reactor. The gas flow pattern within the fluidized bed induces an internal circulation of catalyst particles between the central SMR reaction (permeation) zone and an outer annulus. The circulating hot catalyst particles from the oxidation zone carry the required endothermic heat of reaction for the reforming, while ensuring that the palladium membranes are not exposed to excessive temperatures or to oxygen. Another beneficial characteristic of the reactor is that very little of the nitrogen present in the oxidation air reaches the reaction zone, thus maintaining the hydrogen driving force for the perm-selective membranes. Pilot plant results carried out in a semi-industrial scale reactor will be presented. The reactor was operated up to 650 C and 14 bar. Pure hydrogen (99.999+%) was initially obtained from the reactor and an equilibrium shift was demonstrated. (authors)

Pd-Ag membrane reactor for steam reforming reactions: a comparison between different fuels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gallucci, F.; Basile, A.

2008-01-01

The simulation of a dense Pd-based membrane reactor for carrying out the methane, the methanol and the ethanol steam reforming (SR) reactions for pure hydrogen production is performed. The same simulation is also performed in a traditional reactor. This modelling work shows that the use of membrane

Continuous hyperpolarization with parahydrogen in a membrane reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmkuhl, Sören; Wiese, Martin; Schubert, Lukas; Held, Mathias; Küppers, Markus; Wessling, Matthias; Blümich, Bernhard

2018-06-01

Hyperpolarization methods entail a high potential to boost the sensitivity of NMR. Even though the "Signal Amplification by Reversible Exchange" (SABRE) approach uses para-enriched hydrogen, p-H2, to repeatedly achieve high polarization levels on target molecules without altering their chemical structure, such studies are often limited to batch experiments in NMR tubes. Alternatively, this work introduces a continuous flow setup including a membrane reactor for the p-H2, supply and consecutive detection in a 1 T NMR spectrometer. Two SABRE substrates pyridine and nicotinamide were hyperpolarized, and more than 1000-fold signal enhancement was found. Our strategy combines low-field NMR spectrometry and a membrane flow reactor. This enables precise control of the experimental conditions such as liquid and gas pressures, and volume flow for ensuring repeatable maximum polarization.

Membrane steam reforming of natural gas for hydrogen production by utilization of medium temperature nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Djati Hoesen Salimy

2010-01-01

The assessment of steam reforming process with membrane reactor for hydrogen production by utilizing of medium temperature nuclear reactor has been carried out. Difference with the conventional process of natural gas steam reforming that operates at high temperature (800-1000°C), the process with membrane reactor operates at lower temperature (~500°C). This condition is possible because the use of perm-selective membrane that separate product simultaneously in reactor, drive the optimum conversion at the lower temperature. Besides that, membrane reactor also acts the role of separation unit, so the plant will be more compact. From the point of nuclear heat utilization, the low temperature of process opens the chance of medium temperature nuclear reactor utilization as heat source. Couple the medium temperature nuclear reactor with the process give the advantage from the point of saving fossil fuel that give direct implication of decreasing green house gas emission. (author)

Artificial neural network models for biomass gasification in fluidized bed gasifiers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Puig Arnavat, Maria; Hernández, J. Alfredo; Bruno, Joan Carles

2013-01-01

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have been applied for modeling biomass gasification process in fluidized bed reactors. Two architectures of ANNs models are presented; one for circulating fluidized bed gasifiers (CFB) and the other for bubbling fluidized bed gasifiers (BFB). Both models determine...

Gasification of biomass and coal in a pressurised fluidised bed gasifier

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andries, J; Jong, W de; Hein, K R.G. [Technische Univ. Delft (Netherlands)

1998-09-01

During a 3 year (1996-1998) multinational JOULE project, partly funded by the EU, experimental and theoretical research is being done on co-gasification of biomass (pelletised straw and Miscanthus) and coal in a pressurised fluidised bed reactor. The influence of feedstock and operating conditions on gasification characteristics has been studied using a 1.5 MW{sub th} gasifier, which has been operated at a pressure of 5 bar and temperatures up to 900 C. The project and the test rig are described and results obtained in the first part of the project are presented and analysed. (orig.)

Experimental study on steam gasification of coal using molten blast furnace slag as heat carrier for producing hydrogen-enriched syngas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duan, Wenjun; Yu, Qingbo; Wu, Tianwei; Yang, Fan; Qin, Qin

2016-01-01

Highlights: • New method for producing HRG by gasification using BFS as heat carrier was proposed. • The continuous experiment of steam gasification in molten BFS was conducted. • The hydrogen-enriched syngas was produced by this method. • The molten BFS waste heat was utilized effectively by steam gasification. • This method could be widely used in steam gasification of different types of coal. - Abstract: The new method for producing hydrogen-enriched syngas (HRG) by steam gasification of coal using molten blast furnace slag (BFS) as heat carrier was established. In order to achieve the HRG production, a gasification system using this method was proposed and constructed. The carbon gasification efficiency (CE), hydrogen yield (YH_2) and cold gasification efficiency (CGE) in the molten slag reactor were measured, and the effects of temperature, S/C (steam to coal) ratio and coal type on the reaction performance were accessed. The results indicated that the preferred temperature was 1350 °C, which ensured the miscibility of coal–steam–slag, the diffusion of reactant in molten BFS as well as recovering waste heat. The optimal S/C ratio was 1.5–2.0 for producing HRG. Under these conditions, the hydrogen fraction was higher than 63% and the gas yield reached to 1.89 Nm"3/kg. The CE and CGE were higher than 96% and 102%, respectively. The YH_2 also reached to 1.20 Nm"3/kg. Meanwhile, different types of coal were successfully gasified in molten BFS reactor for producing HRG. The proposed method enhanced the gasification efficiency of different types of coal, recovered the BFS waste heat effectively, and had important guidance for industrial manufacture.

Gasification of oil shale by solar energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ingel, Gil

1992-04-01

Gasification of oil shales followed by catalytic reforming can yield synthetic gas, which is easily transportable and may be used as a heat source or for producing liquid fuels. The aim of the present work was to study the gasification of oil shales by solar radiation, as a mean of combining these two energy resources. Such a combination results in maximizing the extractable fuel from the shale, as well as enabling us to store solar energy in a chemical bond. In this research special attention was focused upon the question of the possible enhancement of the gasification by direct solar irradiation of the solid carbonaceous feed stock. The oil shale served here as a model feedstock foe other resources such as coal, heavy fuels or biomass all of which can be gasified in the same manner. The experiments were performed at the Weizman institute's solar central receiver, using solar concentrated flux as an energy source for the gasification. The original contributions of this work are : 1) Experimental evidence is presented that concentrated sunlight can be used effectively to carry out highly endothermic chemical reactions in solid particles, which in turn forms an essential element in the open-loop solar chemical heat pipe; 2) The solar-driven gasification of oil shales can be executed with good conversion efficiencies, as well as high synthesis gas yields; 3)There was found substantial increase in deliverable energy compared to the conventional retorting of oil shales, and considerable reduction in the resulting spent shale. 5) A detailed computer model that incorporates all the principal optical and thermal components of the solar concentrator and the chemical reactor has been developed and compared favorably against experimental data. (author)

A critical review on biomass gasification, co-gasification, and their environmental assessments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Somayeh Farzad

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Gasification is an efficient process to obtain valuable products from biomass with several potential applications, which has received increasing attention over the last decades. Further development of gasification technology requires innovative and economical gasification methods with high efficiencies. Various conventional mechanisms of biomass gasification as well as new technologies are discussed in this paper. Furthermore, co-gasification of biomass and coal as an efficient method to protect the environment by reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions has been comparatively discussed. In fact, the increasing attention to renewable resources is driven by the climate change due to GHG emissions caused by the widespread utilization of conventional fossil fuels, while biomass gasification is considered as a potentially sustainable and environmentally-friendly technology. Nevertheless, social and environmental aspects should also be taken into account when designing such facilities, to guarantee the sustainable use of biomass. This paper also reviews the life cycle assessment (LCA studies conducted on biomass gasification, considering different technologies and various feedstocks.

Ethanol steam reforming kinetics of a Pd-Ag membrane reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tosti, S.; Basile, A.; Borelli, R.; Borgognoni, F.; Castelli, S.; Fabbricino, M.; Gallucci, F.; Licusati, C.

2009-01-01

The ethanol steam reforming reaction carried out in a Pd-based tubular membrane reactor has been modelled via a finite element code. The model considers the membrane tube divided into finite volume elements where the mass balances for both lumen and shell sides are carried out accordingly to the

Sewage disposal using anaerobic membrane reactor. Kenkiseimaku reactor ni yoru gesui shori

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fujita, Y. (Dic-Degremont Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan))

1991-11-01

Discussions were given on a small-scale sewage disposal of about bod 200 mg/l, for which no many examples of use have been hitherto available, using a system combining an anaerobic reactor and membrane modules. Experiments had been carried out from 1988 through 1990 as a part of the Aqua-Renaissance Project. The test equipment wza installed in the premises of the Chigasaki Coastal Research Facilities operated by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which used sewage flowing from the adjoining sewage treatment plant for the southern area of the Fujisawa City. The test facility consisted of a system comprising a pretreatment facility, SS decomposing reactor, fluid-bed reactor, separation membrane modules, nitrogen removing facility and micro-organism activity measurement. The test facility was constucted assuming a treatment of 10 m{sup 3} a day. The system was divided into a composite system, A system and B system to operate the system in simplified flows. As a result of comparing the composite system, A system and B system, it was found that B system can deal with wider range of disposal for a small-scale sewage treatment of about 1000 m{sup 3} a day. 6 refs., 14 figs., 3 tabs.

The Enhancement of the Selectivity of Complex Reactions by a Catalytic Membrane Reactor -Ethylene Oxidation Over a Ag Catalyst Supported in a Ceramic Membrane-

OpenAIRE

馮, 臨; 小林, 正義; Lin, FENG; Masayoshi, KOBAYASHI

1991-01-01

This research demonstrated that, using a membrane reactor consisting of a tubular, microporous, glass-ceramic membrane, it is possible to achieve selective oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide with an Ag catalyst. In experiments which a reaction temperature range of 115 to 300℃ and a contact time of 1.5 to 5 seconds, resulting data illustrated the following characteristics of this membrane reactor : 1) compared with a classic tubular reactor, the selectivity of ethylene oxide is increased ...

Co-gasification of coal and biomass: Synergy, characterization and reactivity of the residual char.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Junhao; Shao, Jingai; Yang, Haiping; Lin, Guiying; Chen, Yingquan; Wang, Xianhua; Zhang, Wennan; Chen, Hanping

2017-11-01

The synergy effect between coal and biomass in their co-gasification was studied in a vertical fixed bed reactor, and the physic-chemical structural characteristics and gasification reactivity of the residual char obtained from co-gasification were also investigated. The results shows that, conversion of the residual char and tar into gas is enhanced due to the synergy effect between coal and biomass. The physical structure of residual char shows more pore on coal char when more biomass is added in the co-gasification. The migration of inorganic elements between coal and biomass was found, the formation and competitive role of K 2 SiO 3 , KAlSiO 4 , and Ca 3 Al 2 (SiO 4 ) 3 is a mechanism behind the synergy. The graphization degree is enhanced but size of graphite crystallite in the residual char decreases with biomass blending ratio increasing. TGA results strongly suggest the big difference in the reactivity of chars derived from coal and biomass in spite of influence from co-gasification. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Catalytic combustion of propane in a membrane reactor with separate feed of reactants—II. Operation in presence of trans-membrane pressure gradients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saracco, Guido; Veldsink, Jan Willem; Versteeg, Geert F.; Swaaij, Wim P.M. van

1995-01-01

This is the second communication of a series dealing with an experimental and modelling study on propane catalytic combustion in a membrane reactor with separate feed of reactants. In paper I the behaviour of the reactor in the absence of trans-membrane pressure gradients was presented and

SFW-Funk process for gasification of solid urban and industrial waste

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hummelsiep, H; Heinrich, F

1982-01-01

It was the purpose of the R+D-project, to develop the SFW-Funk process for gasification of solid urban and industrial waste for commercial plants. On the base of a literature study and some experiments on a laboratory plant, a demonstration plant was designed and built. The test runs can be divided into two sections. During the first, problems of the enlarging of the plant were examined and solved. In the second section, gasification tests where run under several conditions. During the period of run, different input-materials (domestic waste of different composition, grain size and closeners of grain, rubber and wood) were gasified at varying operating conditions (composition, quantity and constitution of the oxidant) with good results. The experiments showed, that, unless the reactor was optimized during the period of run, it is possible to optimize some further elements of the gasification plant.

Use of farm waste biomass in the process of gasification for energy production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piechocki, J. [Warmia and Mazury Univ., Olsztyn (Poland)

2010-07-01

The process of gasification of waste biomass from farm production was examined along with the energy balance of the process. A newly developed biomass gasification technology that uses manure from poultry farms as the input material was shown to meet all environmental requirements. The gas was purified in a membrane process to increase its calorific value. The gas was then used in an internal combustion engine powering a current generating system to produce electricity and heat in a combined heat and power system (CHP).

A novel water perm-selective membrane dual-type reactor concept for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of GTL (gas to liquid) technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahimpour, M.R.; Mirvakili, A.; Paymooni, K.

2011-01-01

The present study proposes a novel configuration of Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) reactors in which a fixed-bed water perm-selective membrane reactor is followed by a fluidized-bed hydrogen perm-selective membrane reactor. This novel concept which has been named fixed-bed membrane reactor followed by fluidized-bed membrane reactor (FMFMDR) produces gasoline from synthesis gas. The walls of the tubes of a fixed-bed reactor (water-cooled reactor) of FMFMDR configuration are coated by a high water perm-selective membrane layer. In this new configuration, two membrane reactors instead of one membrane reactor are developed for FTS reactions. In other words, two different membrane layers are used. In order to investigate the performance of FMFMDR, a one-dimensional heterogeneous model is taken into consideration. The simulation results of three schemes named fluidized-bed membrane dual-type reactor (FMDR), FMFMDR and conventional fixed-bed reactor (CR) are presented. They have been compared in terms of temperature, gasoline and CO 2 yields, H 2 and CO conversions and the water permeation rate through the membrane layer. Results show that the gasoline yield in FMFMDR is higher than the one in FMDR. The FMFMDR configuration not only decreases the undesired product such as CO 2 but also produces more gasoline. -- Research highlights: → The application of H-SOD membrane layer in FTS reactors. → Approximate 7.5% and 37% increase in the gasoline yield in terms of [g/g feed x 100] in comparison with FMDR and CR, respectively. → A remarkable decrease in CO 2 emission to the environment. → A good configuration mainly due to reduction in catalysts sintering as a result of in situ water removal.

Gasification of bio char from empty fruit bunch in a fluidized bed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nsamba Hussein Kisiki; Amran Mohammad Salleh; Wan Azlina; Hamdan Yusof

2010-01-01

Full text: Bio char from empty fruit bunch was gasified in a fluidized bed reactor using compressed air as a gasifying agent. The experiment was conducted in the temperature ranges of 500-850 degree Celsius and the equivalence ratio, temperature and size of the feedstock was varied. A series of parameters such as gas yield, overall carbon conversion, gas quality, and composition, were measured as a function of temperature, equivalence ratio and temperature. Results obtained were compared to the actual values of coal and other gasification feedstock reveal that, bio char has the potential to replace coal as a gasification agent in power plants .Hydrogen gas from bio char was also optimized during the experiment. There is great potential of making Hydrogen from Bio char through thermo chemical gasification It was observed that it has a very great potential of being upgraded to Fischer Tropsh fuels. There is a great opportunity of using this char from empty fruit bunch as an alternative fuel in power plants and all the adverse effects of coal gasification can be counteracted. (author)

Catalytic membrane reactor for tritium extraction system from He purge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santucci, Alessia; Incelli, Marco; Sansovini, Mirko; Tosti, Silvano

2016-01-01

Highlights: • In the HCBB blanket, the produced tritium is recovered by purging with helium; membrane technologies are able to separate tritium from helium. • The paper presents the results of two experimental campaigns. • In the first, a Pd–Ag diffuser for hydrogen separation is tested at several operating conditions. • In the second, the ability of a Pd–Ag membrane reactor for water decontamination is assessed by performing isotopic swamping and water gas shift reactions. - Abstract: In the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) blanket concept, the produced tritium is recovered purging the breeder with helium at low pressure, thus a tritium extraction system (TES) is foreseen to separate the produced tritium (which contains impurities like water) from the helium gas purge. Several R&D activities are running in parallel to experimentally identify most promising TES technologies: particularly, Pd-based membrane reactors (MR) are under investigation because of their large hydrogen selectivity, continuous operation capability, reliability and compactness. The construction and operation under DEMO relevant conditions (that presently foresee a He purge flow rate of about 10,000 Nm 3 /h and a H 2 /He ratio of 0.1%) of a medium scale MR is scheduled for next year, while presently preliminary experiments on a small scale reactor are performed to identify most suitable operative conditions and catalyst materials. This work presents the results of an experimental campaign carried out on a Pd-based membrane aimed at measuring the capability of this device in separating hydrogen from the helium. Many operative conditions have been investigated by considering different He/H 2 feed flow ratios, several lumen pressures and reactor temperatures. Moreover, the performances of a membrane reactor (composed of a Pd–Ag tube having a wall thickness of about 113 μm, length 500 mm and diameter 10 mm) in processing the water contained in the purge gas have been measured by using

Catalytic membrane reactor for tritium extraction system from He purge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santucci, Alessia, E-mail: alessia.santucci@enea.it [ENEA for EUROfusion, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Roma (Italy); Incelli, Marco [ENEA for EUROfusion, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Roma (Italy); DEIM, University of Tuscia, Via del Paradiso 47, 01100 Viterbo (Italy); Sansovini, Mirko; Tosti, Silvano [ENEA for EUROfusion, Via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati, Roma (Italy)

2016-11-01

Highlights: • In the HCBB blanket, the produced tritium is recovered by purging with helium; membrane technologies are able to separate tritium from helium. • The paper presents the results of two experimental campaigns. • In the first, a Pd–Ag diffuser for hydrogen separation is tested at several operating conditions. • In the second, the ability of a Pd–Ag membrane reactor for water decontamination is assessed by performing isotopic swamping and water gas shift reactions. - Abstract: In the Helium Cooled Pebble Bed (HCPB) blanket concept, the produced tritium is recovered purging the breeder with helium at low pressure, thus a tritium extraction system (TES) is foreseen to separate the produced tritium (which contains impurities like water) from the helium gas purge. Several R&D activities are running in parallel to experimentally identify most promising TES technologies: particularly, Pd-based membrane reactors (MR) are under investigation because of their large hydrogen selectivity, continuous operation capability, reliability and compactness. The construction and operation under DEMO relevant conditions (that presently foresee a He purge flow rate of about 10,000 Nm{sup 3}/h and a H{sub 2}/He ratio of 0.1%) of a medium scale MR is scheduled for next year, while presently preliminary experiments on a small scale reactor are performed to identify most suitable operative conditions and catalyst materials. This work presents the results of an experimental campaign carried out on a Pd-based membrane aimed at measuring the capability of this device in separating hydrogen from the helium. Many operative conditions have been investigated by considering different He/H{sub 2} feed flow ratios, several lumen pressures and reactor temperatures. Moreover, the performances of a membrane reactor (composed of a Pd–Ag tube having a wall thickness of about 113 μm, length 500 mm and diameter 10 mm) in processing the water contained in the purge gas have been

Geomechanical Analysis of Underground Coal Gasification Reactor Cool Down for Subsequent CO2 Storage

Science.gov (United States)

Sarhosis, Vasilis; Yang, Dongmin; Kempka, Thomas; Sheng, Yong

2013-04-01

Underground coal gasification (UCG) is an efficient method for the conversion of conventionally unmineable coal resources into energy and feedstock. If the UCG process is combined with the subsequent storage of process CO2 in the former UCG reactors, a near-zero carbon emission energy source can be realised. This study aims to present the development of a computational model to simulate the cooling process of UCG reactors in abandonment to decrease the initial high temperature of more than 400 °C to a level where extensive CO2 volume expansion due to temperature changes can be significantly reduced during the time of CO2 injection. Furthermore, we predict the cool down temperature conditions with and without water flushing. A state of the art coupled thermal-mechanical model was developed using the finite element software ABAQUS to predict the cavity growth and the resulting surface subsidence. In addition, the multi-physics computational software COMSOL was employed to simulate the cavity cool down process which is of uttermost relevance for CO2 storage in the former UCG reactors. For that purpose, we simulated fluid flow, thermal conduction as well as thermal convection processes between fluid (water and CO2) and solid represented by coal and surrounding rocks. Material properties for rocks and coal were obtained from extant literature sources and geomechanical testings which were carried out on samples derived from a prospective demonstration site in Bulgaria. The analysis of results showed that the numerical models developed allowed for the determination of the UCG reactor growth, roof spalling, surface subsidence and heat propagation during the UCG process and the subsequent CO2 storage. It is anticipated that the results of this study can support optimisation of the preparation procedure for CO2 storage in former UCG reactors. The proposed scheme was discussed so far, but not validated by a coupled numerical analysis and if proved to be applicable it could

Improvement of Membrane Performances to Enhance the Yield of Vanillin in a Pervaporation Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Camera-Roda

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In membrane reactors, the interaction of reaction and membrane separation can be exploited to achieve a “process intensification”, a key objective of sustainable development. In the present work, the properties that the membrane must have to obtain this result in a pervaporation reactor are analyzed and discussed. Then, the methods to enhance these properties are investigated for the photocatalytic synthesis of vanillin, which represents a case where the recovery from the reactor of vanillin by means of pervaporation while it is produced allows a substantial improvement of the yield, since its further oxidation is thus prevented. To this end, the phenomena that control the permeation of both vanillin and the reactant (ferulic acid are analyzed, since they ultimately affect the performances of the membrane reactor. The results show that diffusion of the aromatic compounds takes place in the presence of low concentration gradients, so that the process is controlled by other phenomena, in particular by the equilibrium with the vapor at the membrane-permeate interface. On this basis, it is demonstrated that the performances are enhanced by increasing the membrane thickness and/or the temperature, whereas the pH begins to limit the process only at values higher than 6.5.

International Seminar on Gasification 2009 - Biomass Gasification, Gas Clean-up and Gas Treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2009-10-15

During the seminar international and national experts gave presentations concerning Biomass gasification, Gas cleaning and gas treatment; and Strategy and policy issues. The presentations give an overview of the current status and what to be expected in terms of development, industrial interest and commercialization of different biomass gasification routes. The following PPT presentations are reproduced in the report: Black Liquor Gasification (Chemrec AB.); Gasification and Alternative Feedstocks for the Production of Synfuels and 2nd Generation Biofuels (Lurgi GmbH); Commercial Scale BtL Production on the Verge of Becoming Reality (Choren Industries GmbH.); Up-draft Biomass Gasification (Babcock and Wilcox Voelund A/S); Heterogeneous Biomass Residues and the Catalytic Synthesis of Alcohols (Enerkem); Status of the GoBiGas-project (Goeteborg Energi AB.); On-going Gasification Activities in Spain (University of Zaragoza,); Biomass Gasification Research in Italy (University of Perugia.); RDandD Needs and Recommendations for the Commercialization of High-efficient Bio-SNG (Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands.); Cleaning and Usage of Product Gas from Biomass Steam Gasification (Vienna University of Technology); Biomass Gasification and Catalytic Tar Cracking Process Development (Research Triangle Institute); Syngas Cleaning with Catalytic Tar Reforming (Franhofer UMSICHT); Biomass Gas Cleaning and Utilization - The Topsoee Perspective (Haldor Topsoee A/S); OLGA Tar Removal Technology (Dahlman); Bio-SNG - Strategy and Activities within E.ON (E.ON Ruhrgas AG); Strategy and Gasification Activities within Sweden (Swedish Energy Agency); 20 TWh/year Biomethane (Swedish Gas Association)

Development of an advanced continuous mild gasification process for the production of coproducts. Task 4, System integration studies: Char upgrading

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jha, M.C.; McCormick, R.L.; Hogsett, R.F.; Rowe, R.M.; Anast, K.R.

1991-12-01

This document describes the results of Task 4 under which a 50 pound/hour char-to-carbon (CTC) process research unit (PRU) was designed in the second half of 1989, with construction completed in June 1990. The CTC PRU at Golden was operated for nearly one year during which 35 runs were completed for a total of nearly 800 hours of operation. Char methanation and carbon production reactor development activities are detailed in this report, as well as the results of integrated runs of the CTC process. Evaluation of the process and the carbon product produced is also included. It was concluded that carbon could be produced from mild gasification char utilizing the CTC process. Char methanation and membrane separation steps performed reasonably well and can scaled up with confidence. However, the novel directly heated reactor system for methane cracking did not work satisfactorily due to materials of construction and heat transfer problems, which adversely affected the quantity and quality of the carbon product. Alternative reactor designs are recommended.

A new HYSYS model for underground gasification of hydrocarbons under hydrothermal conditions

KAUST Repository

Alshammari, Y.M.

2014-08-01

A new subsurface process model was developed using the ASPEN HYSYS simulation environment to analyse the process energy and gasification efficiency at steady-state equilibrium conditions. Injection and production wells were simulated using the HYSYS pipe flow utilities which makes use of the Beggs and Brill flow correlation applicable for vertical pipes. The downhole reservoir hydrothermal reactions were assumed to be in equilibrium, and hence, the Gibbs reactor was used. It was found that high W/C ratios and low O/C ratios are required to maximise gasification efficiency at a constant hydrocarbon feed flowrate, while the opposite is true for the energy efficiency. This occurs due to the dependence of process energy efficiency on the gas pressure and temperature at surface, while the gasification efficiency depends on the gas composition which is determined by the reservoir reaction conditions which affects production distribution. Another effect of paramount importance is the increase in reservoir production rate which was found to directly enhance both energy and gasification efficiency showing conditions where the both efficiencies are theoretically maximised. Results open new routes for techno-economic assessment of commercial implementation of underground gasification of hydrocarbons. © 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Date palm waste gasification in downdraft gasifier and simulation using ASPEN HYSYS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bassyouni, M.; Waheed ul Hasan, Syed; Abdel-Aziz, M.H.; Abdel-hamid, S.M.-S.; Naveed, Shahid; Hussain, Ahmed; Ani, Farid Nasir

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Simulation of date palm waste gasification using ASPEN HYSYS was studied. • A steady state simulation of downdraft gasifier has been developed. • The results were used to predict synthesis gas composition. • Simulation results and experimental results are in good agreement. - Abstract: The present research aims to study the simulation of date palm waste gasification using ASPEN HYSYS. A steady state simulation of downdraft gasifier firing date palm leaves has been developed. The model is able to predict syngas composition with sound accuracy and can be used to find optimal operating conditions of the gasifier. Biomass is defined as an unconventional hypothetical solid component in HYSYS. A set of six reactor models simulates various reaction zones of the downdraft gasifier in accordance with its hydrodynamics. Biomass decomposition into constituents in the pyrolysis zone is modeled with a conversion reactor. The combustion of char and volatiles in the combustion zone are modeled with equilibrium and Gibbs reactor models respectively. The gasification zone is modeled with a Gibbs and equilibrium reactor. The results of simulation are validated against experimental results of a parametric variability study on a lab scale gasifier. The proportion of synthesis gas increase as temperature increases (concentration, molar fraction, and partial pressure). CO 2 and CH 4 in the product gases were also found to decrease with increasing temperature. At 800 °C, the exit gas reaches a stable molar composition (H 2 = 56.27%, CO = 21.71%, CO 2 = 18.24%, CH 4 = 3.78%). Increasing steam to biomass ratio increases CO 2 and H 2 at the expense of CO, governed by shift reaction. Steam induction increases the methane contents, thereby improves the heating value of the product gas

Date palm waste gasification in downdraft gasifier and simulation using ASPEN HYSYS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bassyouni, M. [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh 21911 (Saudi Arabia); Department of Chemical Engineering, Higher Technological Institute, Tenth of Ramdan City (Egypt); Waheed ul Hasan, Syed [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh 21911 (Saudi Arabia); Abdel-Aziz, M.H., E-mail: helmy2002@gmail.com [Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh 21911 (Saudi Arabia); Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria (Egypt); Abdel-hamid, S. M.-S. [Department of Chemical Engineering, Higher Technological Institute, Tenth of Ramdan City (Egypt); Naveed, Shahid [Punjab Institute of Contemporary Sciences, 5.5 KM Raiwind Road, Lahore (Pakistan); Hussain, Ahmed [Department of Nuclear Engineering, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589 (Saudi Arabia); Ani, Farid Nasir [Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, UTM 81310 Johor Bahru (Malaysia)

2014-12-15

Highlights: • Simulation of date palm waste gasification using ASPEN HYSYS was studied. • A steady state simulation of downdraft gasifier has been developed. • The results were used to predict synthesis gas composition. • Simulation results and experimental results are in good agreement. - Abstract: The present research aims to study the simulation of date palm waste gasification using ASPEN HYSYS. A steady state simulation of downdraft gasifier firing date palm leaves has been developed. The model is able to predict syngas composition with sound accuracy and can be used to find optimal operating conditions of the gasifier. Biomass is defined as an unconventional hypothetical solid component in HYSYS. A set of six reactor models simulates various reaction zones of the downdraft gasifier in accordance with its hydrodynamics. Biomass decomposition into constituents in the pyrolysis zone is modeled with a conversion reactor. The combustion of char and volatiles in the combustion zone are modeled with equilibrium and Gibbs reactor models respectively. The gasification zone is modeled with a Gibbs and equilibrium reactor. The results of simulation are validated against experimental results of a parametric variability study on a lab scale gasifier. The proportion of synthesis gas increase as temperature increases (concentration, molar fraction, and partial pressure). CO{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} in the product gases were also found to decrease with increasing temperature. At 800 °C, the exit gas reaches a stable molar composition (H{sub 2} = 56.27%, CO = 21.71%, CO{sub 2} = 18.24%, CH{sub 4} = 3.78%). Increasing steam to biomass ratio increases CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2} at the expense of CO, governed by shift reaction. Steam induction increases the methane contents, thereby improves the heating value of the product gas.

Intrinsic char reactivity of plastic waste (PET) during CO2 gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gil, M.V.; Fermoso, J.; Pevida, C.; Pis, J.J.; Rubiera, F.

2010-01-01

Char reactivity has a strong influence on the gasification process, since char gasification is the slowest step in the process. A sample of waste PET was devolatilised in a vertical quartz reactor and the resulting char was partially gasified under a CO 2 atmosphere at 925 C in order to obtain samples with different degrees of conversion. The reactivity of the char in CO 2 was determined by isothermal thermogravimetric analysis at different temperatures in a kinetically controlled regime and its reactive behaviour was evaluated by means of the random pore model (RPM). The texture of the char was characterised by means of N 2 and CO 2 adsorption isotherms. The results did not reveal any variation in char reactivity during conversion, whereas the micropore surface area was affected during the gasification process. It was found that the intrinsic reaction rate of the char can be satisfactorily calculated by normalizing the reaction rate by the narrow micropore surface area calculated from the CO 2 adsorption isotherms. It can be concluded therefore that the surface area available for the gasification process is the area corresponding to the narrow microporosity. (author)

Feasibility study of a reverse flow catalytic membrane reactor with porous membranes for the production of syngas

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, J.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2005-01-01

In this paper a novel reverse flow catalytic membrane reactor (RFCMR) is proposed for the partial oxidation of CH4 to syngas. The feasibility of the RFCMR concept has been investigated for industrial conditions on basis of a simulation study employing a reactor model, which includes a detailed

Pyrolysis and Gasification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Astrup, Thomas; Bilitewski, B.

2011-01-01

a waste management perspective, pyrolysis and gasification are of relatively little importance as an overall management option. Today, gasification is primarily used on specific waste fractions as opposed to mixed household wastes. The main commercial activity so far has been in Japan, with only limited....... Today gasification is used within a range of applications, the most important of which are conversion of coal into syngas for use as chemical feedstock or energy production; but also gasification of biomass and waste is gaining significant interest as emerging technologies for sustainable energy. From...... success in Europe and North America (Klein et al., 2004). However, pyrolysis and gasification of waste are generally expected to become more widely used in the future. A main reason for this is that public perceptions of waste incineration in some countries is a major obstacle for installing new...

SEPARATION OF HYDROGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE USING A NOVEL MEMBRANE REACTOR IN ADVANCED FOSSIL ENERGY CONVERSION PROCESS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shamsuddin Ilias

2005-02-03

Inorganic membrane reactors offer the possibility of combining reaction and separation in a single operation at high temperatures to overcome the equilibrium limitations experienced in conventional reactor configurations. Such attractive features can be advantageously utilized in a number of potential commercial opportunities, which include dehydrogenation, hydrogenation, oxidative dehydrogenation, oxidation and catalytic decomposition reactions. However, to be cost effective, significant technological advances and improvements will be required to solve several key issues which include: (a) permselective thin solid film, (b) thermal, chemical and mechanical stability of the film at high temperatures, and (c) reactor engineering and module development in relation to the development of effective seals at high temperature and high pressure. In this project, we are working on the development and application of palladium and palladium-silver alloy thin-film composite membranes in membrane reactor-separator configuration for simultaneous production and separation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide at high temperature. From our research on Pd-composite membrane, we have demonstrated that the new membrane has significantly higher hydrogen flux with very high perm-selectivity than any of the membranes commercially available. The steam reforming of methane by equilibrium shift in Pd-composite membrane reactor is being studied to demonstrate the potential application of this new development. A two-dimensional, pseudo-homogeneous membrane-reactor model was developed to investigate the steam-methane reforming (SMR) reactions in a Pd-based membrane reactor. Radial diffusion was taken into consideration to account for the concentration gradient in the radial direction due to hydrogen permeation through the membrane. With appropriate reaction rate expressions, a set of partial differential equations was derived using the continuity equation for the reaction system. The equations were

Computational simulation of the biomass gasification process in a fluidized bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rojas Mazaira, Leorlen Y.; Gamez Rodriguez, Abel; Andrade Gregori, Maria Dolores; Armas Cardona, Raul

2009-01-01

In an agro-industrial country as Cuba many residues of cultivation like the rice and the cane of sugar take place, besides the forest residues in wooded extensions. Is an interesting application for all this biomass, the gasification technology, by its high efficiency and its positive environmental impact. The computer simulation appears like a useful tool in the researches of parameters of operation of a gas- emitting, because it reduces the number of experiments to realise and the cost of the researches. In the work the importance of the application of the computer simulation is emphasized to anticipate the hydrodynamic behavior of fluidized bed and of the process of combustion of the biomass for different residues and different conditions of operation. A model using CFD for the simulation of the process of combustion in a gas- emitting of biomass sets out of fluidized bed, the hydrodynamic parameters of the multiphasic flow from the elaboration of a computer simulator that allows to form and to vary the geometry of the reactor, as well as the influence of the variation of magnitudes are characterized such as: speed, diameter of the sand and equivalent reason. Experimental results in cylindrical channels appear, to complete the study of the computer simulation realised in 2D. (author)

Development of a catalytic system for gasification of wet biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elliott, D.C.; Sealock, L.J.; Phelps, M.R.; Neuenschwander, G.G.; Hart, T.R. [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)

1993-12-31

A gasification system is under development at Pacific Northwest Laboratory that can be used with high-moisture biomass feedstocks. The system operates at 350{degrees}C and 205 atm using a liquid water phase as the processing medium. Since a pressurized system is used, the wet biomass can be fed as a slurry to the reactor without drying. Through the development of catalysts, a useful processing system has been produced. This paper includes assessment of processing test results of different catalysts. Reactor system results including batch, bench-scale continuous, and engineering-scale processing results are presented to demonstrate the applicability of this catalytic gasification system to biomass. The system has utility both for direct conversion of biomass to fuel gas or as a wastewater cleanup system for treatment of unconverted biomass from bioconversion processes. By the use of this system high conversions of biomass to fuel gas can be achieved. Medium-Btu is the primary product. Potential exists for recovery/recycle of some of the unreacted inorganic components from the biomass in the aqueous byproduct stream.

Steam gasification of plant biomass using molten carbonate salts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hathaway, Brandon J.; Honda, Masanori; Kittelson, David B.; Davidson, Jane H.

2013-01-01

This paper explores the use of molten alkali-carbonate salts as a reaction and heat transfer medium for steam gasification of plant biomass with the objectives of enhanced heat transfer, faster kinetics, and increased thermal capacitance compared to gasification in an inert gas. The intended application is a solar process in which concentrated solar radiation is the sole source of heat to drive the endothermic production of synthesis gas. The benefits of gasification in a molten ternary blend of lithium, potassium, and sodium carbonate salts is demonstrated for cellulose, switchgrass, a blend of perennial plants, and corn stover through measurements of reaction rate and product composition in an electrically heated reactor. The feedstocks are gasified with steam at 1200 K in argon and in the molten salt. The use of molten salt increases the total useful syngas production by up to 25%, and increases the reactivity index by as much as 490%. Secondary products, in the form of condensable tar, are reduced by 77%. -- Highlights: ► The presence of molten salt increases the rate of gasification by up to 600%. ► Reaction rates across various feedstocks are more uniform with salt present. ► Useful syngas yield is increased by up to 30% when salt is present. ► Secondary production of liquid tars are reduced by 77% when salt is present.

Application of a mechanism-based rate equation to black liquor gasification rate data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Overacker, N.L.; Waag, K.J.; Frederick, W.J. [Oregon State University, OR (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering; Whitty, K.J.

1995-09-01

There is growing interest worldwide to develop alternate chemical recovery processes for paper mills which are cheaper, safer, more efficient and more environmentally sound than traditional technology. Pressurized gasification of black liquor is the basis for many proposed schemes and offers the possibility to double the amount of electricity generated per unit of dry black liquor solids. Such technology also has capital, safety and environmental advantages. One of the most important considerations regarding this emerging technology is the kinetics of the gasification reaction. This has been studied empirically at Aabo Akademi University for the pressurized gasification with carbon dioxide and steam. For the purposes of reactor modeling and scale-up, however, a thorough understanding of the mechanism behind the reaction is desirable. This report discusses the applicability of a mechanism-based rate equation to gasification of black liquor. The mechanism considered was developed for alkali-catalyzed gasification of carbon and is tested using black liquor gasification data obtained during simultaneous reaction with H{sub 2}O and CO. Equilibrium considerations and the influence of the water-gas shift reaction are also discussed. The work presented here is a cooperative effort between Aabo Akademi University and Oregon State University. The experimental work and some of the data analysis was performed at Aabo Akademi University. Development of the models and consideration of their applicability was performed primarily at Oregon State University

Co-gasification of biomass and plastics: pyrolysis kinetics studies, experiments on 100 kW dual fluidized bed pilot plant and development of thermodynamic equilibrium model and balances.

Science.gov (United States)

Narobe, M; Golob, J; Klinar, D; Francetič, V; Likozar, B

2014-06-01

Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) of volatilization reaction kinetics for 50 wt.% mixtures of plastics (PE) and biomass (wood pellets) as well as for 100 wt.% plastics was conducted to predict decomposition times at 850°C and 900°C using iso-conversional model method. For mixtures, agreement with residence time of dual fluidized bed (DFB) reactor, treated as continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR), was obtained at large conversions. Mono-gasification of plastics and its co-gasification with biomass were performed in DFB pilot plant, using olivine as heterogeneous catalyst and heat transfer agent. It was found that co-gasification led to successful thermochemical conversion of plastics as opposed to mono-gasification. Unknown flow rates were determined applying nonlinear regression to energy and mass balances acknowledging combustion fuel, air, steam, feedstock, but also exiting char, tar, steam and other components in DFB gasification unit. Water-gas shift equilibrium and methanol synthesis requirements were incorporated into gasification model, based on measurements. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Removal of COD, phenols and ammonium from Lurgi coal gasification wastewater using A2O-MBR system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zixing; Xu, Xiaochen; Gong, Zheng; Yang, Fenglin

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Anaerobic–anoxic–aerobic MBR system treated the coal gasification wastewater. ► COD removal rate was 97.4% with effluent concentration less than 100 mg/L. ► NH 4 + -N removal rate was 92.8% with effluent concentration less than 12 mg/L. ► HRT and recycle ratio strongly affected the performance of the system. ► GC/MS analysis found refractory organic removal in anaerobic and anoxic stage. - Abstract: As a typical industrial wastewater, coal gasification wastewater has poor biodegradability and high toxicity. In this paper, a laboratory-scale anaerobic–anoxic–oxic membrane reactor (A 2 O-MBR) system was developed to investigate the treatment ability of coal gasification wastewater. The removal capacity of each pollutants used in this system were determined at different hydraulic residence times (HRT) and mixed liquor recycle ratios (R). The experimental results showed that this system could effectively deal with COD and phenol removal and remain in a stable level when the operational parameters altered, while the nitrification was sensitive to operational conditions. The best performance was obtained at HRT of 48 h and R of 3. The maximum removal efficiencies of COD, NH 4 + -N and phenols were 97.4%, 92.8% and 99.7%, with final concentrations in the effluent of 71 mg/L, 9.6 mg/L and 3 mg/L, respectively. Organics degradation and transformation were analyzed by GC/MS and it was found that anaerobic process played an important role in degradation of refractory compounds.

Pressured fluidized-bed gasification experiments with wood, peat and coal at VTT in 1991-1992. Test facilities and gasification experiments with sawdust

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurkela, E; Staahlberg, P; Laatikainen, J [Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland). Lab. of Fuel and Process Technology

1994-12-31

Fluidized-bed air gasification of Finnish pine saw dust was studied in the PDU-scale test facilities of VTT to support the development of simplified integrated gasification combined-cycle processes by providing new information on the formation and behaviour of different gas impurities in wood gasification. The gasifier was operated at 4-5 bar pressure and at 880-1 020 deg C Product gas was cleaned by ceramic candle filters operated at 490-715 deg C. Concentrations of tars, fixed nitrogen species and vapour-phase alkali metals were determined in different operating conditions. Carbon conversion exceeded 95 deg C in all test periods although the gasifier was operated without recycling the cyclone or filter fines back to the reactor. However, at the gasification temperature of 880-900 deg C more than 5 deg C of the wood carbon was converted to tars. The total concentration of tars (compounds heavier than benzene) was reduced from 6 000 to 3 000 mg/m{sup 3}n by increasing the gasification temperature from 880 deg C to 1 000 deg C. The expected catalytic effects of calcium on tar decomposition could not be achieved in these experiments by feeding coarse dolomite into the bed. The use of sand or aluminium oxide as an inert bed material did neither lead to any decrease in tar concentrations. However, the tar concentrations were dramatically reduced in the cogasification experiments, when a mixture of approximately 50 deg C/50 deg C wood and coal was used as the feed stock. Wood nitrogen was mainly converted into ammonia, while the concentrations of HCN and organic nitrogen containing compounds were very low

Pressured fluidized-bed gasification experiments with wood, peat and coal at VTT in 1991-1992. Test facilities and gasification experiments with sawdust

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurkela, E.; Staahlberg, P.; Laatikainen, J. [Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland). Lab. of Fuel and Process Technology

1993-12-31

Fluidized-bed air gasification of Finnish pine saw dust was studied in the PDU-scale test facilities of VTT to support the development of simplified integrated gasification combined-cycle processes by providing new information on the formation and behaviour of different gas impurities in wood gasification. The gasifier was operated at 4-5 bar pressure and at 880-1 020 deg C Product gas was cleaned by ceramic candle filters operated at 490-715 deg C. Concentrations of tars, fixed nitrogen species and vapour-phase alkali metals were determined in different operating conditions. Carbon conversion exceeded 95 deg C in all test periods although the gasifier was operated without recycling the cyclone or filter fines back to the reactor. However, at the gasification temperature of 880-900 deg C more than 5 deg C of the wood carbon was converted to tars. The total concentration of tars (compounds heavier than benzene) was reduced from 6 000 to 3 000 mg/m{sup 3}n by increasing the gasification temperature from 880 deg C to 1 000 deg C. The expected catalytic effects of calcium on tar decomposition could not be achieved in these experiments by feeding coarse dolomite into the bed. The use of sand or aluminium oxide as an inert bed material did neither lead to any decrease in tar concentrations. However, the tar concentrations were dramatically reduced in the cogasification experiments, when a mixture of approximately 50 deg C/50 deg C wood and coal was used as the feed stock. Wood nitrogen was mainly converted into ammonia, while the concentrations of HCN and organic nitrogen containing compounds were very low

Computational fluid dynamic model for glycerol gasification in supercritical water in a tee junction shaped cylindrical reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yukananto, Riza; Pozarlik, Artur K.; Brem, Gerrit

2018-01-01

Gasification in supercritical water is a very promising technology to process wet biomass into a valuable gas. Providing insight of the process behavior is therefore very important. In this research a computational fluid dynamic model is developed to investigate glycerol gasification in

Gas-phase reactions at combustion and gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hupa, M.; Kilpinen, P.; Chowdhury, K.; Brink, A.; Mueller, C.

1995-01-01

Formation and destruction of gaseous nitrogen pollutants at combustion (NO x , N 2 O) and gasification (NH 3 , HCN) are studied based on detailed chemical kinetic modelling and experiments in laboratory reactors. During 1994 the following topics have been studied: (a) nitrogen reactions in pressurized combustion processes (in co-operation with the LIEKKI projects 202 and 204), (b) NO x reduction by staging techniques in CO 2 , rich combustion processes, (c) HCN reactions at pyrolysis, (d) formation of soot precursors in a blast furnace (in co-operation with the SULA project 103) (e) incorporation of better NO x description into furnace models, (in co-operation with the LIEKKI project Y01). NH 3 conversion to N 2 in gasification product gases, (in co-operation with the LIEKKI project 203). In this report, some results of the items (a-c) will be presented. The results of items (d-f) are described in the reports by the co-operation projects. (author)

APPLICATION OF MEMBRANE SORPTION REACTOR TECHNOLOGY FOR LRW MANAGEMENT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glagolenko, Yuri; Dzekun, Evgeny; Myasoedovg, Boris; Gelis, Vladimir; Kozlitin, Evgeny; Milyutin, Vitaly; Trusov, Lev; Rengel, Mike; Mackay, Stewart M.; Johnson, Michael E.

2003-01-01

A new membrane-sorption technology has been recently developed and industrially implemented in Russia for the treatment of the Liquid (Low-Level) Radioactive Waste (LRW). The first step of the technology is a precipitation of the radionuclides and/or their adsorption onto sorbents of small particle size. The second step is filtration of the precipitate/sorbent through the metal-ceramic membrane, Trumem.. The unique feature of the technology is a Membrane-Sorption Reactor (MSR), in which the precipitation / sorption and the filtration of the radionuclides occur simultaneously, in one stage. This results in high efficiency, high productivity and compactness of the equipment, which are the obvious advantages of the developed technology. Two types of MSR based on Flat Membranes device and Centrifugal Membrane device were developed. The advantages and disadvantages of application of each type of the reactors are discussed. The MSR technology has been extensively tested and efficiently implemented at ''Mayak '' nuclear facility near Chelyabinsk, Russia as well as at other Russian sites. The results of this and other applications of the MSR technology at the different Russian nuclear facilities are discussed. The results of the first industrial applications of the MSR technology for radioactive waste treatment in Russia and analysis of the available information about LRW accumulated in other countries imply that this technology can be successfully used for the Low Level Radioactive Waste treatment in the USA and in other nuclear countries

Gasification of peat and biomass in suspension flow 2; Turpeen ja biomassan suspensiokaasutus 2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurkela, E.; Hepola, J. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland); Haukka, P.; Vehmaan-Kreula, M.; Raiko, R. [Tampere Univ. of Technology (Finland)

1996-12-01

This project was an extension of the earlier Liekki-project 402 carried out in 1993-1994. The aims of the 1995 project were: (1) to study the formation of problematic tar/soot compounds and nitrogen pounds in the conditions of entrained flow gasification of biomass and peat, (2) study the product yields and kinetics of pyrolysis, and (3) to develop simulation methods for entrained flow pyrolysis and gasification. Pyrolysis and gasification tests were carried out at a new entrained flow reactor of the Gasification Research Group of VTT using mainly peat as the feedstock. The pyrolysis kinetics was studies using three particle size distributions of fuel peat (0.075-0.125 mm, 0.16-0.25 mm and 0.315-0.5 mm). The char yields were determined at two temperatures (900 and 1000 deg C) and the effects fuel to gas ratio (suspension density) as well as the effects of gas atmosphere were determined. Limited amount of tests were also carried out with pine wood and dried de-inking sludge. The formation of tars and nitrogen compounds was studied with peat as the feedstock. Based on the test results of this project and the on earlier fluidized-bed gasification data of VTT, the following conclusions can be made: (1) the char yields in rapid entrained flow pyrolysis of small particles of peat and biomass are considerably lower than derived in fluid-bed pyrolysis of more coarse feedstocks. Consequently, simple entrained flow reactors without any recycling of char could already give rather high carbon conversions. However, high carbon conversions can also be easily achieved in fluidized-bed gasifiers with biomass fuels due to the high gasification reactivity of the char, (2) more tars were formed in entrained flow pyrolysis of peat than in fluidized-bed experiments carried out at the same temperature, (3) the total conversion of peat nitrogen to NH{sub 3}+HCN was as high in the entrained flow pyrolysis as in the fluid-bed pyrolysis experiments. (Abstract Truncated)

Modelling, simulation, and optimisation of a downflow entrained flow reactor for black liquor gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marklund, Magnus [ETC Energitekniskt Centrum, Piteaa (Sweden)

2003-12-01

Black liquor, a by-product of the chemical pulping process, is an important liquid fuel in the pulp and paper industry. A potential technology for improving the recovery cycle of energy and chemicals contained in the liquid fuel is pressurised gasification of black liquor (PGLG). However, uncertainties about the reliability and robustness of the technology are preventing a large-scale market introduction. One important step towards a greater trust in the process reliability is the development of simulation tools that can provide a better understanding of the process and improve performance through optimisation. In the beginning of 2001 a project was initiated in order to develop a simulation tool for an entrained-flow gasifier in PBLG based on CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). The aim has been to provide an advanced tool for a better understanding of process performance, to help with trouble shooting in the development plant, and for use in optimisation of a full-scale commercial gasifier. Furthermore, the project will also provide quantitative information on burner functionality through advanced laser-optical measurements by use of a Phase Doppler Anemometer (PDA). To this point in current project, three different concept models have been developed. The work has been comprised in a thesis 'Modelling and Simulation of Pressurised Black Liquor Gasification at High Temperature' and presented at Luleaa Univ. of Technology in Oct 2003. The construction of an atmospheric burner test rig has also been initiated. The main objective with the rig will be to quantify the atomisation performance of suitable burner nozzles for a PBLG gasifier that can be used as input for the CFD model. The main conclusions from the modelling work done this far can be condensed to the following points: From the first modelling results it was concluded that a wide spray pattern is preferable with respect to demand for long residence times for black liquor droplets and a low amount

Non-slag co-gasification of biomass and coal in entrained-bed furnace

Science.gov (United States)

Itaya, Yoshinori; Suami, Akira; Kobayashi, Nobusuke

2018-02-01

Gasification is a promising candidate of processes to upgrade biomass and to yield clean gaseous fuel for utilization of renewable energy resources. However, a sufficient amount of biomass is not always available to operate a large scale of the plant. Co-gasification of biomass with coal is proposed as a solution of the problem. Tar emission is another subject during operation in shaft or kiln type of gasifiers employed conventionally for biomass. The present authors proposed co-gasification of biomass and coal in entrained-bed furnace, which is a representative process without tar emission under high temperature, but operated so to collect dust as flyash without molten slag formation. This paper presents the works performed on co-gasification performance of biomass and pulverized coal to apply to entrained-bed type of furnaces. At first, co-gasification of woody powder and pulverized coal examined using the lab-scale test furnace of the down-flow entrained bed showed that the maximum temperatures in the furnace was over 1500 K and the carbon conversion to gas achieved at higher efficiency than 80-90 percent although the residence time in the furnace was as short as a few seconds. Non-slag co-gasification was carried out successfully without slag formation in the furnace if coal containing ash with high fusion temperature was employed. The trend suggesting the effect of reaction rate enhancement of co-gasification was also observed. Secondary, an innovative sewage sludge upgrading system consisting of self-energy recovery processes was proposed to yield bio-dried sludge and to sequentially produce char without adding auxiliary fuel. Carbonization behavior of bio-dried sludge was evaluated through pyrolysis examination in a lab-scale quartz tube reactor. The thermal treatment of pyrolysis of sludge contributed to decomposition and removal of contaminant components such as nitrogen and sulfur. The gasification kinetics of sludge and coal was also determined by a

Steam gasification of oil palm trunk waste for clean syngas production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nipattummakul, Nimit; Ahmed, Islam I.; Kerdsuwan, Somrat; Gupta, Ashwani K.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Initial high values of syngas flow rate are attributed to rapid devolatilization. ► Over 50% of syngas generated was obtained during the first five minutes of the process. ► Increase in steam flow rate resulted in reduced gasification time. ► Variation in steam flow rate slightly affected the apparent thermal efficiency. ► Oil palm yielded more energy than that from mangrove wood, paper and food waste. -- Abstract: Waste and agricultural residues offer significant potential for harvesting chemical energy with simultaneous reduction of environmental pollution, providing carbon neutral (or even carbon negative) sustained energy production, energy security and alleviating social concerns associated with the wastes. Steam gasification is now recognized as one of the most efficient approaches for waste to clean energy conversion. Syngas generated during the gasification process can be utilized for electric power generation, heat generation and for other industrial and domestic uses. In this paper results obtained from the steam assisted gasification of oil palm trunk waste are presented. A batch type gasifier has been used to examine the syngas characteristics from gasification of palm trunk waste using steam as the gasifying agent. Reactor temperature was fixed at 800 °C. Results show initial high values of syngas flow rate, which is attributed to rapid devolatilization of the sample. Approximately over 50% of the total syngas generated was obtained during the first five minutes of the process. An increase in steam flow rate accelerated the gasification reactions and resulted in reduced gasification time. The effect of steam flow rate on the apparent thermal efficiency has also been investigated. Variation in steam flow rate slightly affected the apparent thermal efficiency and was found to be very high. Properties of the syngas obtained from the gasification of oil palm trunk waste have been compared to other samples under similar operating

Co-gasification of biosolids with biomass: Thermogravimetric analysis and pilot scale study in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Ming Ming; Masnadi, Mohammad S; Grace, John R; Bi, Xiaotao T; Lim, C Jim; Li, Yonghua

2015-01-01

This work studied the feasibility of co-gasification of biosolids with biomass as a means of disposal with energy recovery. The kinetics study at 800°C showed that biomass, such as switchgrass, could catalyze the reactions because switchgrass ash contained a high proportion of potassium, an excellent catalyst for gasification. However, biosolids could also inhibit gasification due to interaction between biomass alkali/alkaline earth metals and biosolids clay minerals. In the pilot scale experiments, increasing the proportion of biosolids in the feedstock affected gasification performance negatively. Syngas yield and char conversion decreased from 1.38 to 0.47m(3)/kg and 82-36% respectively as the biosolids proportion in the fuel increased from 0% to 100%. Over the same range, the tar content increased from 10.3 to 200g/m(3), while the ammonia concentration increased from 1660 to 19,200ppmv. No more than 25% biosolids in the fuel feed is recommended to maintain a reasonable gasification. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A new combination of membranes and membrane reactors for improved tritium management in breeder blanket of fusion machines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demange, D.; Staemmler, S.; Kind, M.

2011-01-01

Tritium used as fuel in future fusion machines will be produced within the breeder blanket. The tritium extraction system recovers the tritium to be routed into the inner-fuel cycle of the machine. Accurate and precise tritium accountancy between both systems is mandatory to ensure a reliable operation. Handling in the blanket huge helium flow rates containing tritium as traces in molecular and oxide forms is challenging both for the process and the accountancy. Alternative tritium processes based on combinations of membranes and membrane reactors are proposed to facilitate the tritium management. The PERMCAT process is based on counter-current isotope swamping in a palladium membrane reactor. It allows recovering tritium efficiently from any chemical species. It produces a pure hydrogen stream enriched in tritium of advantage for integration upstream of the accountancy stage. A pre-separation and pre-concentration stage using new zeolite membranes has been studied to optimize the whole process. Such a combination could improve the tritium processes and facilitate accountancy in DEMO.

Microbial community stratification in Membrane-Aerated Biofilm Reactors for Completely Autotrophic Nitrogen Removal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pellicer i Nàcher, Carles; Ruscalleda, Maël; Terada, Akihiko

of bacterial granules or biofilms. In this sense, completely autotrophic nitrogen removal from high ammonium strength wastewater was achieved in a Membrane-Aereated Biofilm Reactor (MABR) in a single step. Here, a biofilm containing nitrifiers (Aerobic Ammonium and Nitrite Oxidizing Bacteria, AOB and NOB......, respectively) and Anaerobic Ammonium Oxidizing Bacteria (AnAOB) is grown on bubbleless aeration membranes to remove ammonium. Since oxygen permeates through the membrane-biofilm interface while ammonium diffuses into the biofilm from the biofilm-liquid interface, oxygen gradients can be established across...... the biofilm, allowing nitrogen removal in a single reactor by simultaneous activity of the mentioned biocatalysts. This work consists on the analysis of the microbial community existing in two laboratory-scale reactors operated for more than 300 days, which removed up to 5.5 g-N/m2/day. The system contained...

Mississippi Ethanol Gasification Project, Final Scientific / Technical Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pearson, Larry, E.

2007-04-30

The Mississippi Ethanol (ME) Project is a comprehensive effort to develop the conversion of biomass to ethanol utilizing a proprietary gasification reactor technology developed by Mississippi Ethanol, LLC. Tasks were split between operation of a 1/10 scale unit at the Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory (DIAL) of Mississippi State University (MSU) and the construction, development, and operation of a full scale pilot unit located at the ME facility in Winona, Mississippi. In addition to characterization of the ME reactor gasification system, other areas considered critical to the operational and economic viability of the overall ME concept were evaluated. These areas include syngas cleanup, biological conversion of syngas to alcohol, and effects of gasification scale factors. Characterization of run data from the Pre-Pilot and Pilot Units has allowed development of the factors necessary for scale-up from the small unit to the larger unit. This scale range is approximately a factor of 10. Particulate and tar sampling gave order of magnitude values for preliminary design calculations. In addition, sampling values collected downstream of the ash removal system show significant reductions in observed loadings. These loading values indicate that acceptable particulate and tar loading rates could be attained with standard equipment additions to the existing configurations. Overall operation both the Pre-Pilot and Pilot Units proceeded very well. The Pilot Unit was operated as a system, from wood receiving to gas flaring, several times and these runs were used to address possible production-scale concerns. Among these, a pressure feed system was developed to allow feed of material against gasifier system pressure with little or no purge requirements. Similarly, a water wash system, with continuous ash collection, was developed, installed, and tested. Development of a biological system for alcohol production was conducted at Mississippi State University with

Thermodynamic considerations in the application of reverse mode gasification to the destruction of hazardous substances

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, D.W.; Washington, M.D.; Manahan, S.E.; Medcalf, B.; Stary, F.E. [University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

1999-09-01

Previous studies by the authors have demonstrated the effectiveness of reverse mode gasification using a granular coal char matrix for treatment of hazardous wastes. Calculations pertaining to this gasification are presented, including a one-dimensional temperature profile and a thermodynamic analysis. Equilibrium compositions were calculated by free energy minimization using commercially available software. The calculated results were compared with experimental data for gasification of mixtures containing water, selected hydrocarbons, and used motor oil. Batch and continuous feed reactors were used with optimized operating parameters to generate the data. The dry gas product obtained from gasification of water and selected hydrocarbons contains carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and hydrogen, in agreement with thermodynamic predictions, and the compositions agree well with predictions obtained assuming that chemical equilibrium is attained at a temperature of 650{degree}C. The dry gas product from gasification of motor oil contains small amounts of low molecular weight hydrocarbons, which are not thermodynamically stable, but the composition of the major products generally agrees with the thermodynamic predictions. Under optimized conditions, the aqueous condensate contains between 1 and 100 ppm organics. Heat balance terms for the process were also calculated, and these demonstrate the efficiency of gasification as a treatment method. 21 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

Supercritical gasification of wastewater from updraft wood gasifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Blasi, Colomba; Branca, Carmen; Galgano, Antonio; Meier, Dietrich; Brodzinski, Ina; Malmros, Olof

2007-01-01

Supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of the wood tar fraction soluble in water is discussed. The mixture is collected downstream of an updraft wood gasification plant and presents tar compounds typical of low-temperature pyrolysis, with the highest yields attained by acetic acid, levoglucosan and 1-hydroxy-2-propanone. SCWG tests, using a laboratory-scale reactor with a plug-flow behavior, temperatures of 723-821 K, residence times of 46-114 s and initial total organic carbon (TOC) contents of 6.5-31 g/l (pressure equal to 25 MPa), show TOC conversion roughly between 30% and 70%. The corresponding yields of gas (l) with respect to the initial TOC contents (g) vary from 0.4 to 1. Gasification of TOC is well described by an irreversible, first-order, Arrhenius rate reaction with an activation energy of 75.7±22 kJ/mol and a pre-exponential factor of 897±30 s -1 . Quantification of 23 tar compounds of the product stream shows the prompt conversion of sugars and complex phenols, with the formation of intermediate products, such as furfurals, which successively decompose, and more thermally resistant species, such as acetic acid, propionic acid, 1,2-ethanediol, ketones and especially cresols and phenols

Experiments and stochastic simulations of lignite coal during pyrolysis and gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, I.I.; Gupta, A.K.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Lignite pyrolysis and gasification has been conducted in a semi batch reactor. ► The objective is to understand mechanism of syngas evolution during pyrolysis. ► Stochastic simulations of lignite pyrolysis were conducted using Gillespie algorithm. ► First order, single step mechanism failed to fit cumulative yield of hydrogen. ► Evolution of hydrogen via pyrolysis of gaseous hydrocarbon following bridges scission. -- Abstract: Lignite pyrolysis and gasification has been conducted in a semi batch reactor at reactor temperatures of 800–950 °C in 50 °C intervals. CO 2 has been used as the gasifying agent for gasification experiments. The objective of this investigation is to understand the mechanism of syngas evolution during pyrolysis and to unravel the effect of CO 2 on pyrolysis mechanism. Stochastic simulations of lignite pyrolysis have been conducted using Gillespie algorithm. Two reaction mechanisms have been used in the simulations; first order, single step mechanism and the FLASHCHAIN mechanism. The first order single step mechanism was successful in fitting cumulative yield of CO 2 , CO, CH 4 and other hydrocarbons (C n H m ). The first order, single step failed to fit the cumulative yield of hydrogen, which suggests a more complex mechanism for hydrogen evolution. Evolution of CO 2 , CO, CH 4 , C n H m and H 2 flow rates has been monitored. The only effect of CO 2 on pyrolysis mechanism is promotion of reverse water gas shift reaction for the experiments described here. Methane evolution extended for slightly longer time than other hydrocarbons and hydrogen evolution extended for a slightly longer time than methane. This indicated the evolution of hydrogen via further pyrolysis of aliphatic hydrocarbon. It is also suggested that this step occurs in series after aliphatic hydrocarbons evolution by bridges scission.

Production of hydrogen by direct gasification of coal with steam using nuclear heat

Science.gov (United States)

1975-01-01

Problems related to: (1) high helium outlet temperature of the reactor, and (2) gas generator design used in hydrogen production are studied. Special attention was given to the use of Oklahoma coal in the gasification process. Plant performance, operation, and environmental considerations are covered.

Utilisation of biomass gasification by-products for onsite energy production.

Science.gov (United States)

Vakalis, S; Sotiropoulos, A; Moustakas, K; Malamis, D; Baratieri, M

2016-06-01

Small scale biomass gasification is a sector with growth and increasing applications owing to the environmental goals of the European Union and the incentivised policies of most European countries. This study addresses two aspects, which are at the centre of attention concerning the operation and development of small scale gasifiers; reuse of waste and increase of energy efficiency. Several authors have denoted that the low electrical efficiency of these systems is the main barrier for further commercial development. In addition, gasification has several by-products that have no further use and are discarded as waste. In the framework of this manuscript, a secondary reactor is introduced and modelled. The main operating principle is the utilisation of char and flue gases for further energy production. These by-products are reformed into secondary producer gas by means of a secondary reactor. In addition, a set of heat exchangers capture the waste heat and optimise the process. This case study is modelled in a MATLAB-Cantera environment. The model is non-stoichiometric and applies the Gibbs minimisation principle. The simulations show that some of the thermal energy is depleted during the process owing to the preheating of flue gases. Nonetheless, the addition of a secondary reactor results in an increase of the electrical power production efficiency and the combined heat and power (CHP) efficiency. © The Author(s) 2016.

Performance of HT-WGS Catalysts for Upgrading of Syngas Obtained from Biomass Gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marano Bujan, M.; Sanchez Hervas, J. M.

2009-05-21

Oxygen pressurized gasification of biomass out stands as a very promising approach to obtain energy or hydrogen from renewable sources. The technical feasibility of this technology is being investigated under the scope of the VI FP CHRISGAS project, which has started in September 2004 and has a duration of five years. The Division of Combustion and Gasification of CIEMAT participates in this project in Work Package 13: Ancillary and novel processes, studying innovative gas separation and gas upgrading systems. Such systems include novel or available high temperature water gas shift catalysts and commercially available membranes not yet tried in this type of atmosphere. This report describes the activities carried out during the period 2005-2007 regarding the performance of high temperature water gas shift catalysts for upgrading of synthesis gas obtained from biomass gasification. (Author) 28 refs.

Ceramic membrane reactor with two reactant gases at different pressures

Science.gov (United States)

Balachandran, Uthamalingam; Mieville, Rodney L.

2001-01-01

The invention is a ceramic membrane reactor for syngas production having a reaction chamber, an inlet in the reactor for natural gas intake, a plurality of oxygen permeating ceramic slabs inside the reaction chamber with each slab having a plurality of passages paralleling the gas flow for transporting air through the reaction chamber, a manifold affixed to one end of the reaction chamber for intake of air connected to the slabs, a second manifold affixed to the reactor for removing the oxygen depleted air, and an outlet in the reaction chamber for removing syngas.

Palladium based membranes and membrane reactors for hydrogen production and purification : An overview of research activities at Tecnalia and TU/e

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fernandez, E.; Helmi Siasi Farimani, A.; Medrano Jimenez, J.A.; Coenen, K.T.; Arratibel Plazaola, A.; Melendez Rey, J.; de Nooijer, N.C.A.; Viviente, J.L.; Zuniga, J.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Gallucci, F.; Pacheco Tanaka, D.A.

2017-01-01

In this paper, the main achievements of several European research projects on Pd based membranes and Pd membrane reactors for hydrogen production are reported. Pd-based membranes have received an increasing interest for separation and purification of hydrogen. In addition, the integration of such

Catalytic steam gasification of biomass in fluidized bed at low temperature: Conversion from livestock manure compost to hydrogen-rich syngas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xiao, Xianbin; Le, Duc Dung; Li, Liuyun; Meng, Xianliang; Cao, Jingpei; Morishita, Kayoko; Takarada, Takayuki

2010-01-01

Utilizing large amounts of animal waste as a source of renewable energy has the potential to reduce its disposal problems and associated pollution issues. Gasification characteristics of the manure compost make it possible for low temperature gasification. In this paper, an energy efficient approach to hydrogen-rich syngas from manure compost is represented at relatively low temperature, around 600 o C, in a continuous-feeding fluidized bed reactor. The effects of catalyst performance, reactor temperature, steam, and reaction type on gas yield, gas composition, and carbon conversion efficiency are discussed. The Ni-Al 2 O 3 catalyst simultaneously promotes tar cracking and steam reforming. Higher temperature contributes to higher gas yield and carbon conversion. The steam introduction increases hydrogen yield, by steam reforming and water-gas shift reaction. Two-stage gasification is also tried, showing the advantage of better catalyst utilization and enhancing the catalytic reactions to some extent.

High Pressure Biomass Gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agrawal, Pradeep K [Georgia Tech Research Corporation, Atlanta, GA (United States)

2016-07-29

According to the Billion Ton Report, the U.S. has a large supply of biomass available that can supplement fossil fuels for producing chemicals and transportation fuels. Agricultural waste, forest residue, and energy crops offer potential benefits: renewable feedstock, zero to low CO₂ emissions depending on the specific source, and domestic supply availability. Biomass can be converted into chemicals and fuels using one of several approaches: (i) biological platform converts corn into ethanol by using depolymerization of cellulose to form sugars followed by fermentation, (ii) low-temperature pyrolysis to obtain bio-oils which must be treated to reduce oxygen content via HDO hydrodeoxygenation), and (iii) high temperature pyrolysis to produce syngas (CO + H₂). This last approach consists of producing syngas using the thermal platform which can be used to produce a variety of chemicals and fuels. The goal of this project was to develop an improved understanding of the gasification of biomass at high pressure conditions and how various gasification parameters might affect the gasification behavior. Since most downstream applications of synags conversion (e.g., alcohol synthesis, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis etc) involve utilizing high pressure catalytic processes, there is an interest in carrying out the biomass gasification at high pressure which can potentially reduce the gasifier size and subsequent downstream cleaning processes. It is traditionally accepted that high pressure should increase the gasification rates (kinetic effect). There is also precedence from coal gasification literature from the 1970s that high pressure gasification would be a beneficial route to consider. Traditional approach of using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) or high-pressure themogravimetric analyzer (PTGA) worked well in understanding the gasification kinetics of coal gasification which was useful in designing high pressure coal gasification processes. However

On the potential of nickel catalysts for steam reforming in membrane reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pieterse, J.A.Z.; Boon, J.; Van Delft, Y.C.; Dijkstra, J.W.; Van den Brink, R.W. [Energy research Center of the Netherlands, P.O. Box 1, 1755 ZG Petten (Netherlands)

2010-10-15

Hydrogen membrane reactors have been identified as a promising option for hydrogen production for power generation from natural gas with pre-combustion decarbonisation. While Pd or Pd-alloy membranes already provide good hydrogen permeances the most suitable catalyst design for steam reforming in membrane reactors (SRMR) is yet to be identified. This contribution aims to provide insight in the suitability of nickel based catalysts in SRMR. The use of nickel (Ni) catalysts would benefit the cost-effectiveness of membrane reactors and therefore its feasibility. For this, the activity of nickel catalysts in SRMR was assessed with kinetics reported in literature. A 1D model was composed in order to compare the hydrogen production rates derived from the kinetics with the rate of hydrogen withdrawal by permeation. Catalyst stability was studied by exposing the catalysts to reformate gas with two different H/C ratios to mimic the hydrogen lean reformate gas in the membrane reactor. For both the activity (modeling) and stability study the Ni-based catalysts were compared to relevant catalyst compositions based on rhodium (Rh). Using the high pressure kinetics reported for Al2O3 supported Rh and MgAl2O4 and Al2O3 supported Ni catalyst it showed that Ni and Rh catalysts may very well provide similar hydrogen production rates. Interestingly, the stability of Ni-based catalysts proved to be superior to precious metal based catalysts under exposure to simulated reformate feed gas with low H/C molar ratio. A commercial (pre-)reforming Ni-based catalyst was selected for further testing in an experimental membrane reactor for steam reforming at high pressure. During the test period 98% conversion at 873 K could be achieved. The conversion was adjusted to approximately 90% and stable conversion was obtained during the test period of another 3 weeks. Nonetheless, carbon quantification tests of the Ni catalyst indicated that a small amount of carbon had deposited onto the catalyst

Coupling of separation and reaction in zeolite membrane reactor for hydroisomerization of hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gora, L.; Jansen, J.C. [Ceramic Membrane Centre, The Pore, DelftChemTech, Delft Univ. of Technology, Delft (Netherlands)

2005-03-01

A zeolite membrane reactor has been developed for the hydroisomerization of hydrocarbons, in which the linear molecules are separated from branched ones on the silicalite-1 membrane prior to conversion of the permeated linear hydrocarbons to equilibrium levels on the catalyst bed. Model studies using C{sub 6} components are conducted. n-C{sub 6} separated from 2MP (selectivity 24) is converted for 72% with 36% selectivity towards di-branched isomers (at 393 K). The results indicate that platinum containing chlorinated alumina/silicalite-1 membrane reactor has a potential in upgrading octane values and offers advantages such as higher efficiency, better process control and lower consumption of energy. (orig.)

Coupling of separation and reaction in zeolite membrane reactor for hydroisomerization of hydrocarbons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gora, L.; Maloncy, M.L.; Jansen, J.C. [Ceramic Membrane Centre, The Pore, DelftChemTech, Delft Univ. of Technology (Netherlands)

2004-07-01

A zeolite membrane reactor has been developed for the hydroisomerization of hydrocarbons, in which the linear molecules are separated from branch ones on the silicalite-1 membrane prior to conversion of the permeated linear hydrocarbons to equilibrium levels on the catalyst bed. A model studies using C6 components are conduct. Separated n-C6 from 2MP (selectivity 24) is converted for 72% with 36% selectivity towards di-branched isomers (at 393 K). The results indicate that platinum containing chlorinated alumina/silicalite-1 membrane reactor has a potential in upgrading octane values and offers advantages such as higher efficiency, better process control and lower consumption of energy. (orig.)

Novel Composite Hydrogen-Permeable Membranes for Non-Thermal Plasma Reactors for the Decomposition of Hydrogen Sulfide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morris D. Argyle; John F. Ackerman; Suresh Muknahallipatna; Jerry C. Hamann; Stanislaw Legowski; Guibing Zhao; Sanil John

2006-09-30

The goal of this experimental project is to design and fabricate a reactor and membrane test cell to dissociate hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S) in a non-thermal plasma and recover hydrogen (H{sub 2}) through a superpermeable multi-layer membrane. Superpermeability of hydrogen atoms (H) has been reported by some researchers using membranes made of Group V transition metals (niobium, tantalum, vanadium, and their alloys), although it has yet to be confirmed in this study. Several pulsed corona discharge (PCD) reactors have been fabricated and used to dissociate H{sub 2}S into hydrogen and sulfur. Visual observation shows that the corona is not uniform throughout the reactor. The corona is stronger near the top of the reactor in argon, while nitrogen and mixtures of argon or nitrogen with H{sub 2}S produce stronger coronas near the bottom of the reactor. Both of these effects appear to be explainable base on the different electron collision interactions with monatomic versus polyatomic gases. A series of experiments varying reactor operating parameters, including discharge capacitance, pulse frequency, and discharge voltage were performed while maintaining constant power input to the reactor. At constant reactor power input, low capacitance, high pulse frequency, and high voltage operation appear to provide the highest conversion and the highest energy efficiency for H{sub 2}S decomposition. Reaction rates and energy efficiency per H{sub 2}S molecule increase with increasing flow rate, although overall H{sub 2}S conversion decreases at constant power input. Voltage and current waveform analysis is ongoing to determine the fundamental operating characteristics of the reactors. A metal infiltrated porous ceramic membrane was prepared using vanadium as the metal and an alumina tube. Experiments with this type of membrane are continuing, but the results thus far have been consistent with those obtained in previous project years: plasma driven permeation or superpermeability

Effect of Operating Conditions on Catalytic Gasification of Bamboo in a Fluidized Bed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thanasit Wongsiriamnuay

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Catalytic gasification of bamboo in a laboratory-scale, fluidized bed reactor was investigated. Experiments were performed to determine the effects of reactor temperature (400, 500, and 600°C, gasifying medium (air and air/steam, and catalyst to biomass ratio (0 : 1, 1 : 1, and 1.5 : 1 on product gas composition, H2/CO ratio, carbon conversion efficiency, heating value, and tar conversion. From the results obtained, it was shown that at 400°C with air/steam gasification, maximum hydrogen content of 16.5% v/v, carbon conversion efficiency of 98.5%, and tar conversion of 80% were obtained. The presence of catalyst was found to promote the tar reforming reaction and resulted in improvement of heating value, carbon conversion efficiency, and gas yield due to increases in H2, CO, and CH4. The presence of steam and dolomite had an effect on the increasing of tar conversion.

Simultaneous hydrogen and methanol enhancement through a recuperative two-zone thermally coupled membrane reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bayat, M. [Shiraz University, Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rahimpour, M.R. [Shiraz University, Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Shiraz University, Gas Center of Excellence, Shiraz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2012-12-15

In this work, a novel configuration with two zones instead of one single integrated catalytic bed in thermally coupled membrane reactor (TCMR) is developed for enhancement of simultaneous methanol, benzene and hydrogen production. In the first zone, the synthesis gas is partly converted to methanol in a conventional water-cooled reactor. In the second zone, the reaction heat is used to drive the endothermic dehydrogenation of cyclohexane reaction in second tube side. Selective permeation of hydrogen through the Pd-Ag membrane is achieved by co-current flow of sweep gas through the permeation side. The length of first zone is chosen equal 35 cm which the optimization procedure obtained this value. The proposed model has been used to compare the performance of a two-zone thermally coupled membrane reactor (TZTCMR) with conventional reactor (CR) and TCMR at identical process conditions. The simulation results represent 13.14 % enhancement in the production of pure hydrogen in comparison with TCMR. Moreover, 2.96 and 4.54 % enhancement of the methanol productivity relative to TCMR and CR were seen, respectively, owing to utilizing higher temperature at the first parts of reactor for higher reaction rate and then reducing temperature gradually at the end parts of reactor for increasing thermodynamics equilibrium conversion in TZTCMR. (orig.)

CO2 reduction potential of future coal gasification based power generation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansen, D.; Oudhuis, A.B.J.; Van Veen, H.M.

1992-03-01

Assessment studies are carried out on coal gasification power plants integrated with gas turbines (IGCC) or molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) without and with CO 2 -removal. System elements include coal gasification, high-temperature gas-cleaning, molten carbonate fuel cells or gas turbines, CO shift, membrane separation, CO 2 recovery and a bottoming cycle. Various system configurations are evaluated on the basis of thermodynamic computations. The energy balances of the various system configurations clearly indicate that integrated coal gasification MCFC power plants (IGMCFC) with CO 2 removal have high efficiencies (42-47% LHV) compared to IGCC power plants with CO 2 -removal (33-38% LHV) and that the CO 2 -removal is simplified due to the specific properties of the molten carbonate fuel cells. IGMCFC is therefore an option with future prospective in the light of clean coal technologies for power generation with high energy efficiencies and low emissions. 2 figs., 3 tabs., 10 refs

Reed as a gasification fuel: a comparison with woody fuels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Link

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Reed and coniferous wood can be used for energy production via thermochemical conversion, for instance by gasification. The rate-determining step of the gasification process is the reaction between the char and the gaseous environment in the gasifier, whose rate depends on variables such as pressure, temperature, particle size, mineral matter content, porosity, etc. It is known that reactivity can be improved by increasing the temperature, but on the other hand the temperature achieved in the reactor is limited due to the ash fusion characteristics. Usually, the availability of reed as a fuel is locally modest and, therefore, it must be blended with other fuels such as wood. Blending of fuels brings together several problems relating to ash behaviour, i.e. ash fusion issues. Because there is no correlation between the ash fusion characteristics of biomass blends and their individual components, it is essential to carry out prior laboratory-scale ash fusion tests on the blends. This study compares the reactivity of reed and coniferous wood, and the ash fusion characteristics of blends of reed and coniferous wood ashes. When compared with Douglas fir and reed chars, pine pellets have the highest reactivity. Reed char exhibits the lowest reactivity and, therefore, it is advantageous to gasify reed alone at higher gasification temperatures because the ash fusion temperatures of reed are higher than those of woody fuels. The ash produced by reed and wood blends can melt at lower temperatures than ash from both reed and wood gasified separately. Due to this circumstance the gasification temperature should be chosen carefully when gasification of blends is carried out.

A dense Pd/Ag membrane reactor for methanol steam reforming: Experimental study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Basile, A.; Gallucci, F.; Paturzo, L.

2005-01-01

This paper focuses on an experimental study of the methanol steam reforming (MSR) reaction. A dense Pd/Ag membrane reactor (MR) has been used, and its behaviour has been compared to the performance of a traditional reactor (TR) packed with the same catalyst type and amount. The parameters

Gasification - Status and technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Held, Joergen

2012-06-15

In this report gasification and gas cleaning techniques for biomass are treated. The main reason for gasifying biomass is to refine the fuel to make it suitable for efficient CHP production, as vehicle fuel or in industrial processes. The focus is on production of synthesis gas that can be used for production of vehicle fuel and for CHP production. Depending on application different types of gasifiers, gasification techniques and process parameters are of interest. Two gasification techniques have been identified as suitable for syngas generation, mainly due to the fact that they allow the production of a nitrogen free gas out of the gasifier; Indirect gasification and pressurized oxygen-blown gasification For CHP production there are no restrictions on the gas composition in terms of nitrogen and here air-blown gasification is of interest as well. The main challenge when it comes to gas cleaning is related to sulphur and tars. There are different concepts and alternatives to handle sulphur and tars. Some of them are based on conventional techniques with well-proven components that are commercially available while others, more advantageous solutions, still need further development.

Investigation of sewage sludge gasification with use of flue gas as a gasifying agent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maj Izabella

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents results of investigation of low-temperature sewage sludge gasification with use of flue gas as a gasifying agent. Tests were conducted in a laboratory stand, equipped with a gasification reactor designed and constructed specifically for this purpose. During presented tests, gas mixture with a composition of typical flue gases was used as a gasifying agent. The measuring system ensures online measurements of syngas composition: CO, CO2, H2, CH4. As a result of gasification process a syngas with combustible components has been obtained. The aim of the research was to determine the usability of sewage sludge for indirect cofiring in power boilers with the use of flue gas from the boiler as a gasifying agent and recirculating the syngas to the boiler’s combustion chamber. Results of presented investigation will be used as a knowledge base for industrial-scale sewage sludge gasification process. Furthermore, toxicity of solid products of the process has been determined by the use of Microtox bioassay. Before tests, solid post-gasification residues have been ground to two particle size fractions and extracted into Milli-Q water. The response of test organisms (bioluminescent Aliivibrio fischeri bacteria in reference to a control sample (bacteria exposed to 2% NaCl solution was measured after 5 and 15 minutes of exposure. The obtained toxicity results proved that thermal treatment of sewage sludge by their gasification reduces their toxicity relative to water organisms.

Production of synthesis gas and methane via coal gasification utilizing nuclear heat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

van Heek, K.H.; Juentgen, H.

1982-01-01

The steam gasificaton of coal requires a large amount of energy for endothermic gasification, as well as for production and heating of the steam and for electricity generation. In hydrogasification processes, heat is required primarily for the production of hydrogen and for preheating the reactants. Current developments in nuclear energy enable a gas cooled high temperature nuclear reactor (HTR) to be the energy source, the heat produced being withdrawn from the system by means of a helium loop. There is a prospect of converting coal, in optimal yield, into a commercial gas by employing the process heat from a gas-cooled HTR. The advantages of this process are: (1) conservation of coal reserves via more efficient gas production; (2) because of this coal conservation, there are lower emissions, especially of CO 2 , but also of dust, SO 2 , NO/sub x/, and other harmful substances; (3) process engineering advantages, such as omission of an oxygen plant and reduction in the number of gas scrubbers; (4) lower gas manufacturing costs compared to conventional processes. The main problems involved in using nuclear energy for the industrial gasification of coal are: (1) development of HTRs with helium outlet temperatures of at least 950 0 C; (2) heat transfer from the core of the reactor to the gas generator, methane reforming oven, or heater for the hydrogenation gas; (3) development of a suitable allothermal gas generator for the steam gasification; and (4) development of a helium-heated methane reforming oven and adaption of the hydrogasification process for operation in combination with the reactor. In summary, processes for gasifying coal that employ heat from an HTR have good economic and technical prospects of being realized in the future. However, time will be required for research and development before industrial application can take place. 23 figures, 4 tables. (DP)

Downdraft gasification of pellets made of wood, palm-oil residues respective bagasse: Experimental study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erlich, Catharina; Fransson, Torsten H.

2011-01-01

The downdraft gasification technology has an increased interest among researchers worldwide due to the possibility to produce mechanical and electrical power from biomass in small-scale to an affordable price. The research is generally focused on improvement of the performance and optimizing of a certain gasifier, on testing different fuels, on increasing the user-friendliness of the gasifier and on finding other uses for the product gas than in an IC-engine, for example liquid fuel production. The main objective with the gasification tests presented here is to further contribute in the field by studying the impact of the char bed properties such as char bed porosity and pressure drop on the gasification performance as well as the impact of fuel particle size and composition on the gasification process in one and the same gasifier. In addition, there is very little gasification data available in literature of 'before disregarded' fuels such as sugar cane bagasse from sugar/alcohol production and empty fruit bunch (EFB) from the palm-oil production. By pelletizing these residues, it is possible to introduce them into downdraft gasification technology which has been done in this study. The results show that one and the same reactor can be used for a variety of fuels in pellet form, but at varying air-fuel ratios, temperature levels, gas compositions and lower heating values. Gasification of wood pellets results in a richer producer gas while EFB pellets give a poorer one with higher contents of non-combustible compounds. In this gasification study, there is almost linear relation between the air-fuel ratio and the cold-gas efficiency for the studied fuels: Higher air-fuel ratios result in better efficiency. The pressure drop in the char bed is higher for more reactive fuels, which in turn is caused by low porosity char beds.

Catalytic Gasification of Lignocellulosic Biomass

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chodimella, Pramod; Seshan, Kulathuiyer; Schlaf, Marcel; Zhang, Z. Conrad

2015-01-01

Gasification of lignocellulosic biomass has attracted substantial current research interest. Various possible routes to convert biomass to fuels have been explored. In the present chapter, an overview of the gasification processes and their possible products are discussed. Gasification of solid

Dry Reforming of Methane Using a Nickel Membrane Reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jonas M. Leimert

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Dry reforming is a very interesting process for synthesis gas generation from CH 4 and CO 2 but suffers from low hydrogen yields due to the reverse water–gas shift reaction (WGS. For this reason, membranes are often used for hydrogen separation, which in turn leads to coke formation at the process temperatures suitable for the membranes. To avoid these problems, this work shows the possibility of using nickel self-supported membranes for hydrogen separation at a temperature of 800 ∘ C. The higher temperature effectively suppresses coke formation. The paper features the analysis of the dry reforming reaction in a nickel membrane reactor without additional catalyst. The measurement campaign targeted coke formation and conversion of the methane feedstock. The nickel approximately 50% without hydrogen separation. The hydrogen removal led to an increase in methane conversion to 60–90%.

Gasification of peat and biomass in suspension flow; Turpeen ja biomassan suspensiokaasutus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Raiko, R.; Haukka, P. [Tampere Univ. of Technology (Finland). Thermal Engineering

1995-11-01

This is the second phase of a project that started with examination of a gasification process for fuels containing high amounts of volatiles such as biomass. In the earlier phase of the project the gasification process was studied with the aid of computer models. Gas production with this gasification method is based mainly on rapid pyrolysis in dilute suspension flow enabling high solid to gas conversion. The two-stage approach eliminates char gasification as a limiting process step, and consequently, allows product temperature to be controlled by the kinetics of volatile reactions. A greater amount of enthalpy is made available for rapid pyrolysis through the total combustion of the residual char than is possible by partial oxidation. The main goal in the second year (1994) was to get experimental information on peat reactivity, main pyrolysis products and formation of nitrogen compounds in the early stages of peat pyrolysis in dilute pressurized flow conditions. These experiments were conducted using pressurized entrained flow reactor at VTT Energy (Jyvaeskylae). Preliminary experiments gave the result that pressure increase accelerates pyrolysis of peat at first (residence time < 100 ms), but this difference disappears gradually. The total amount of volatile matter does not seem to depend on pressure level. (author)

Survey of Biomass Gasification, Volume II: Principles of Gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reed, T.B. (comp.)

1979-07-01

Biomass can be converted by gasification into a clean-burning gaseous fuel that can be used to retrofit existing gas/oil boilers, to power engines, to generate electricity, and as a base for synthesis of methanol, gasoline, ammonia, or methane. This survey describes biomass gasification, associated technologies, and issues in three volumes. Volume I contains the synopsis and executive summary, giving highlights of the findings of the other volumes. In Volume II the technical background necessary for understanding the science, engineering, and commercialization of biomass is presented. In Volume III the present status of gasification processes is described in detail, followed by chapters on economics, gas conditioning, fuel synthesis, the institutional role to be played by the federal government, and recommendations for future research and development.

Feasibility study on combining anaerobic digestion and biomass gasification to increase the production of biomethane

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Hailong; Larsson, Eva; Thorin, Eva; Dahlquist, Erik; Yu, Xinhai

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Anaerobic digestion and biomass gasification are integrated. • The novel concept can produce much more biomethane. • The novel concept can improve the exergy efficiency. • The novel concept demonstrates a big potential of income increase. - Abstract: There is a rapid growing interest in using biomethane as fuel for transport applications. A new concept is proposed to combine anaerobic digestion and biomass gasification to produce biomethane. H 2 is separated from the syngas generated by biomass gasification in a membrane system, and then is used to upgrade raw biogas from anaerobic digestion. Simulations have been conducted based on the real operation data of one full scale biogas plant and one full scale biomass gasification plant in order to investigate the feasibility of the new concept. Results show that although less power and heat are generated compared to the gasification plant, which results in a lower overall efficiency, much more biomethane can be produced than the biogas plant; and the new concept can achieve a higher exergy efficiency. Due to the increasing price of biomethane, the novel concept demonstrates a big potential of income increase. For example, at a biomethane price of 12.74SEK/kg, the annual income can be increased by 5.3% compared to the total income of the biogas and gasification plant

Membrane bio-reactor for textile wastewater treatment plant upgrading.

Science.gov (United States)

Lubello, C; Gori, R

2005-01-01

Textile industries carry out several fiber treatments using variable quantities of water, from five to forty times the fiber weight, and consequently generate large volumes of wastewater to be disposed of. Membrane Bio-reactors (MBRs) combine membrane technology with biological reactors for the treatment of wastewater: micro or ultrafiltration membranes are used for solid-liquid separation replacing the secondary settling of the traditional activated sludge system. This paper deals with the possibility of realizing a new section of one existing WWTP (activated sludge + clariflocculation + ozonation) for the treatment of treating textile wastewater to be recycled, equipped with an MBR (76 l/s as design capacity) and running in parallel with the existing one. During a 4-month experimental period, a pilot-scale MBR proved to be very effective for wastewater reclamation. On average, removal efficiency of the pilot plant (93% for COD, and over 99% for total suspended solids) was higher than the WWTP ones. Color was removed as in the WWTP. Anionic surfactants removal of pilot plant was lower than that of the WWTP (90.5 and 93.2% respectively), while the BiAS removal was higher in the pilot plant (98.2 vs. 97.1). At the end cost analysis of the proposed upgrade is reported.

Energy generation by air gasification of two industrial plastic wastes in a pilot scale fluidized bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arena, Umberto; Di Gregorio, Fabrizio

2014-01-01

Two plastic wastes obtained as co-products from an industrial process were fed in a pilot-scale bubbling fluidized bed gasifier, having an internal diameter of 0.38 m and a maximum thermal output of about 400 kW. The experimental runs were carried out by reaching a condition of thermal and chemical steady state under values of equivalence ratio ranging from 0.2 to 0.3. Olivine, a neo-silicate of Fe and Mg, already tested as a good catalyst for tar removal during gasification of polyolefin plastic wastes, was used as bed material. The results provide the complete composition of the syngas, including the tar, particulate and acid/basic gas contents as well as the chemical and physical characterization of the bed material and entrained fines. The gasification process appears technically feasible, yielding a producer gas of valuable quality for energy applications in an appropriate plant configuration. On the other hand, under the experimental conditions tested, olivine particles show a strongly reduced catalytic activity in all the runs. The differences in the gasification behaviour of the two industrial plastics are explained on the basis of the structure and composition of the wastes, taking also into account the results of a combined material and substance flow analysis. - Highlights: • Pilot-scale investigation of fluidized bed gasification of two industrial plastic wastes. • Tests under conditions of thermal/chemical steady state at various equivalence ratios. • Complete composition of the producer gas, including tar, particulate and acid/basic gases. • Differences in the gasification behaviour of plastic wastes. • Material, substance, and feedstock energy flow analysis for different gasification tests

Experimental fact-finding in CFB biomass gasification for ECN's 500 kWth pilot-plant

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kersten, Sascha R.A.; Prins, W.; van der Drift, A.; van Swaaij, Willibrordus Petrus Maria

2003-01-01

CFB biomass gasification has been studied by experimentation with ECN's pilot facility and a cold-flow model of this plant. Data obtained by normal operation of this plant and the results of some special experiments have provided new insight into the behavior of circulating fluidized bed reactors

Membrane support of accelerated fuel capsules for inertial fusion energy reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petzoldt, R.W.; Moir, R.W.

1993-01-01

The use of a thin membrane to suspend an (inertial fusion energy) fuel capsule in a holder for injection into a reactor chamber is investigated. Capsule displacement and membrane deformation angle are calculated for an axisymmetric geometry for a range of membrane strain and capsule size. This information is used to calculate maximum target accelerations. Membranes must be thin (perhaps of order one micron) to minimize their effect on capsule implosion symmetry. For example, a 5 μm thick cryogenic mylar membrane is calculated to allow 1,000 m/s 2 acceleration of a 3 mm radius, 100 mg capsule. Vibration analysis (for a single membrane support) shows that if membrane vibration is not deliberately minimized, allowed acceleration may be reduced by a factor of four. A two membrane alternative geometry would allow several times greater acceleration. Therefore, alternative membrane geometry's should be used to provide greater target acceleration potential and reduce capsule displacement within the holder (for a given membrane thickness)

Anaerobic membrane bio-reactors for severe industrial effluents and urban spill waters : The AMBROSIUS project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Lier, J.B.; Ozgun, H.; Ersahin, M.E.; Dereli, R.K.

2013-01-01

With growing application experiences from aerobic membrane bioreactors, combination of membrane and anaerobic processes become more and more attractive and feasible. In anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs), biomass and particulate organic matter are physically retained inside the reactor,

Gas core reactors for coal gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weinstein, H.

1976-01-01

The concept of using a gas core reactor to produce hydrogen directly from coal and water is presented. It is shown that the chemical equilibrium of the process is strongly in favor of the production of H 2 and CO in the reactor cavity, indicating a 98 percent conversion of water and coal at only 1500 0 K. At lower temperatures in the moderator-reflector cooling channels the equilibrium strongly favors the conversion of CO and additional H 2 O to CO 2 and H 2 . Furthermore, it is shown the H 2 obtained per pound of carbon has 23 percent greater heating value than the carbon so that some nuclear energy is also fixed. Finally, a gas core reactor plant floating in the ocean is conceptualized which produces H 2 , fresh water and sea salts from coal

Membrane assisted fluidized bed reactor: experimental demonstration for partial oxidation of methanol

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Deshmukh, S.A.R.K.

2004-01-01

In this thesis the reactor concept has been developed on the basis of an experimental study on the effect of fluidization conditions on the membrane permeation rate in a MAFBR, the extent of gas back mixing and the tube-to-bed heat transfer rates in the presence of membrane bundles with and without

Co-current and counter-current configurations for ethanol steam reforming in a dense Pd-Ag membrane reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gallucci, F.; de Falco, M.; Tosti, S.; Marrelli, L; Basile, A.

2008-01-01

The ethanol steam-reforming reaction to produce pure hydrogen has been studied theoretically. A mathematical model has been formulated for a traditional system and a palladium membrane reactor packed with a Co-based catalyst and the simulation results related to the membrane reactor for both

Role of membranes and membrane reactors in the hydrogen supply of fuel cells for transports

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Julbe, A.; Guizard, Ch. [Institut Europeen des Membranes, UMII, Lab. des Materiaux et des Procedes Membranaires, CNRS UMR 5635, 34 - Montpellier (France)

2000-07-01

Production, storage and supply of high-purity hydrogen as a clean and efficient fuel is central to fuel cells technology, in particular in vehicle traction. Actually, technologies for handling liquefied or gaseous hydrogen in transports are not available so that a number of alternative fuels are considered with the aim of in-situ generation of hydrogen through catalytic processes. The integrated concept of membrane reactors (MRs) can greatly benefit to these technologies. Particular emphasis is put on inorganic membranes and their role in MRs performance for H{sub 2} production.

Coupling membrane pervaporation with a fixed-bed reactor for enhanced esterification of oleic acid with ethanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Ying; Lv, Enmin; Ma, Lingling; Lu, Jie; Chen, Kexun; Ding, Jincheng

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The reactor coupling membrane pervaporation with a fixed-bed reactor was studied. • The factors effecting the esterification of oleic acid were investigated. • NaA zeolite membrane was used for dehydration in the coupled reactor. - Abstract: Process intensification through membrane pervaporation (PV) integrated with a fixed-bed reactor could be successfully applied to the esterification of oleic acid and ethanol, which is a crucial step in the biodiesel synthesis using waste oil and grease as resource. The properties of the NaA zeolite membrane such as structure, formulation and separation were investigated by scanning electronic microscopy–energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and PV dehydration. Results showed that the NaA zeolite membrane had good separating property for removing water from the organics mixture. The operating conditions were optimized as the ethanol to oleic acid molar ratio of 15:1, feedstock flow rate of 1.0 ml/min, reaction temperature of 80.0 °C and catalyst bed height of 132 mm. The final conversion of oleic acid increased from 84.23% to 87.18% by PV using the NaA zeolite membrane at 24.0 h of operation. The membrane showed good PV performance after used for eight successive runs in the PV-assisted esterification. The resin exhibited a much high catalytic activity and operation stability after used for 100 h in the consecutive single pass fixed-bed esterification.

Chemical looping coal gasification with calcium ferrite and barium ferrite via solid–solid reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siriwardane, Ranjani; Riley, Jarrett; Tian, Hanjing; Richards, George

2016-01-01

Highlights: • BaFe 2 O 4 and CaFe 2 O 4 are excellent for chemical looping coal gasification. • BaFe 2 O 4 and CaFe 2 O 4 have minimal reactivity with synthesis gas. • Steam enhances the gasification process with these oxygen carriers. • Reaction rates of steam gasification of coal with CaFe 2 O 4 was better than with gaseous oxygen. • Coal gasification appears to be via solid–solid interaction with the oxygen carrier. - Abstract: Coal gasification to produce synthesis gas by chemical looping was investigated with two oxygen carriers, barium ferrite (BaFe 2 O 4 ) and calcium ferrite (CaFe 2 O 4 ). Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and fixed-bed flow reactor data indicated that a solid–solid interaction occurred between oxygen carriers and coal to produce synthesis gas. Both thermodynamic analysis and experimental data indicated that BaFe 2 O 4 and CaFe 2 O 4 have high reactivity with coal but have a low reactivity with synthesis gas, which makes them very attractive for the coal gasification process. Adding steam increased the production of hydrogen (H 2 ) and carbon monoxide (CO), but carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) remained low because these oxygen carriers have minimal reactivity with H 2 and CO. Therefore, the combined steam–oxygen carrier produced the highest quantity of synthesis gas. It appeared that neither the water–gas shift reaction nor the water splitting reaction promoted additional H 2 formation with the oxygen carriers when steam was present. Wyodak coal, which is a sub-bituminous coal, had the best gasification yield with oxygen carrier–steam while Illinois #6 coal had the lowest. The rate of gasification and selectivity for synthesis gas production was significantly higher when these oxygen carriers were present during steam gasification of coal. The rates and synthesis gas yields during the temperature ramps of coal–steam with oxygen carriers were better than with gaseous oxygen.

Ion transport membrane reactor systems and methods for producing synthesis gas

Science.gov (United States)

Repasky, John Michael

2015-05-12

Embodiments of the present invention provide cost-effective systems and methods for producing a synthesis gas product using a steam reformer system and an ion transport membrane (ITM) reactor having multiple stages, without requiring inter-stage reactant injections. Embodiments of the present invention also provide techniques for compensating for membrane performance degradation and other changes in system operating conditions that negatively affect synthesis gas production.

Removal of selected nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds in biologically pretreated coal gasification wastewater (BPCGW) using the catalytic ozonation process combined with the two-stage membrane bioreactor (MBR).

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Hao; Han, Yuxing; Ma, Wencheng; Han, Hongjun; Ma, Weiwei

2017-12-01

Three identical anoxic-aerobic membrane bioreactors (MBRs) were operated in parallel for 300 consecutive days for raw (R 1 ), ozonated (R 2 ) and catalytic ozonated (R 3 ) biologically pretreated coal gasification wastewater (BPCGW) treatment. The results demonstrated that catalytic ozonation process (COP) applied asa pretreatment remarkably improved the performance of the unsatisfactory single MBR. The overall removal efficiencies of COD, NH 3 -N and TN in R 3 were 92.7%, 95.6% and 80.6%, respectively. In addition, typical nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds (NHCs) of quinoline, pyridine and indole were completely removed in the integrated process. Moreover, COP could alter sludge properties and reshape microbial community structure, thus delaying the occurrence of membrane fouling. Finally, the total cost for this integrated process was estimated to be lower than that of single MBR. The results of this study suggest that COP is a good option to enhance pollutants removal and alleviate membrane fouling in the MBR for BPCGW treatment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study of a dense metal membrane reactor for hydrogen separation from hydroiodic acid decomposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tosti, Silvano; Borelli, Rodolfo; Borgognoni, Fabio [ENEA, Dipartimento FPN, C.R. ENEA Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, Frascati, Roma I-00044 (Italy); Favuzza, Paolo; Tarquini, Pietro [ENEA, Dipartimento TER, C.R. ENEA Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, Roma (Italy); Rizzello, Claudio [Tesi Sas, Via Bolzano 28, Roma (Italy)

2008-10-15

A membrane reactor has been studied for separating the hydrogen produced by the dissociation of hydroiodic acid in the thermochemical-sulfur iodine process. A dense metal membrane tube of wall thickness 0.250 mm has been considered in this analysis for hosting a fixed-bed catalyst: the selective separation of hydrogen from an azeotropic H{sub 2}O-HI mixture has been studied in the temperature range of 700-800 K. The materials being considered for the construction of the membrane tube are niobium and tantalum; as a matter of fact, the most commonly used Pd-Ag membranes cannot withstand the corrosive environment generated by the hydroiodic acid. The Damkohler-Peclet analysis has been used for designing the membrane reactor, while a finite element method has simulated its behaviour: the effect of the temperature and pressure on the HI conversion and hydrogen yield has been evaluated. (author)

Application of CO{sub 2} selective membrane reactors in pre-combustion decarbonisation systems for power production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steven C.A. Kluiters; Virginie C. Feuillade; Jan Wilco Dijkstra; Daniel Jansen; Wim G. Haije [Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Petten (Netherlands)

2006-07-01

For pre-combustion decarbonisation of fuels for large-scale power production or H{sub 2} generation both CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2} selective membranes are viable candidates for use in steam reforming and water gas shift membrane reactors. It will be shown that the choice between either option is not a matter of taste, but dictated by the fuel used and, to a lesser extent, the total system layout. Hydrotalcites, clay-like materials, are shown to be promising candidates as membrane material for low temperature, below 400{sup o}C, membrane shift reactors. 7 refs., 6 figs., 1 tab.

A study of the isobutane dehydrogenation in a porous membrane catalytic reactor: design, use and modelling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casanave, D

1996-01-26

The aim of this study was to set up and model a catalytic fixed-bed membrane reactor for the isobutane dehydrogenation. The catalyst, developed at Catalysis Research Institute (IRC), was a silicalite-supported Pt-based catalyst. Their catalytic performances (activity, selectivity, stability) where found better adapted to the membrane reactor, when compared with commercial Pt or Cr based catalysts. The kinetic study of the reaction has been performed in a differential reactor and led to the determination of a kinetic law, suitable when the catalyst is used near thermodynamic equilibrium. The mass transfer mechanisms were determined in meso-porous and microporous membranes through both permeability and gas mixtures (iC{sub 4}/H{sub 2}/N{sub 2}) separation measurements. For the meso-porous {gamma}-alumina, the mass transfer is ensured by a Knudsen diffusion mechanism which can compete with surface diffusion for condensable gas like isobutane. The resulting permselectivity H{sub 2}/iC4 of this membrane is low ({approx} 4). For the microporous zeolite membrane, molecular sieving occurs due to steric hindrance, leading to higher permselectivity {approx}14. Catalyst/membrane associations were compared in terms of isobutane dehydrogenation performances, for both types of membranes (meso-porous and microporous) and for two different reactor configurations (co-current and counter-current sweep gas flow). The best experimental results were obtained with the zeolite membrane, when sweeping the outer compartment in a co-current flow. The equilibrium displacement observed with the {gamma}-alumina membrane was lower and mainly due to a dilution effect of the reaction mixture by the sweep gas. A mathematical model was developed, which correctly describes all the experimental results obtained with the zeolite membrane, when the co-current mode is used. (Abstract Truncated)

A conceptual design of catalytic gasification fuel cell hybrid power plant with oxygen transfer membrane

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Wangying; Han, Minfang

2017-09-01

A hybrid power generation system integrating catalytic gasification, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), oxygen transfer membrane (OTM) and gas turbine (GT) is established and system energy analysis is performed. In this work, the catalytic gasifier uses steam, recycled anode off-gas and pure oxygen from OTM system to gasify coal, and heated by hot cathode off-gas at the same time. A zero-dimension SOFC model is applied and verified by fitting experimental data. Thermodynamic analysis is performed to investigate the integrated system performance, and system sensitivities on anode off-gas back flow ratio, SOFC fuel utilization, temperature and pressure are discussed. Main conclusions are as follows: (1) System overall electricity efficiency reaches 60.7%(HHV) while the gasifier operates at 700 °C and SOFC at 850 °C with system pressure at 3.04 bar; (2) oxygen enriched combustion simplify the carbon-dioxide capture process, which derives CO2 of 99.2% purity, but results in a penalty of 6.7% on system electricity efficiency; (3) with SOFC fuel utilization or temperature increasing, the power output of SOFC increases while GT power output decreases, and increasing system pressure can improve both the performance of SOFC and GT.

PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF THE SOLID AND LIQUID WASTE PRODUCTS FROM THE HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATED ENERGY CROPS GASIFICATION PROCESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastian Werle

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the results of basic physico-chemical properties of solid (ash and liquid (tar waste products of the gasification process of the heavy metal contaminated energy crops. The gasification process has carried out in a laboratory fixed bed reactor. Three types of energy crops: Miscanthus x giganteus, Sida hermaphrodita and Spartina Pectinata were used. The experimental plots were established on heavy metal contaminated arable land located in Bytom (southern part of Poland, Silesian Voivodship.

Power generation from biomass: Status report on catalytic-allothermal wood gasification. Papers; Energetische Nutzung von Biomasse: Stand der Realisierung der katalytisch-allothermen Holzvergasung. Vortraege

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spindler, H.; Bauermeister, U.; Kliche, H.; Seiffarth, K. (comps.)

2001-12-01

The topic of this event is bound up with the activities of FOeST in the field of gasification of biomass in decentralized small plants (< 2 MW{sub el}). The start project was a research work in 1993 to select a gasification process for using wood, sludge or plastic waste, continued 1995 by a research project with gasification tests of tar oil contaminated wood in a small gasification reactor with good results in environmental compatibility. But the following planning process of a demonstration plant for 500 kW{sub el} has shown, that the biomass gasification couldn't reach economic efficiency. Due to the development of an catalytic-partial allothermal gasification process of GNS ltd. it was clear, that the technical efficiency could be increased considerably. So, in 2000, a project started to test this catalytic-partial allothermal gasification in a pilot plant. Today the results of research, development and testing of biomass gasification with catalytic-partial allothermal processing as well as practically experience with a gasification plant, general conditions and further activities for energetically utilisation of biomass in Saxonia-Anhalt will be presented. (orig.)

Carbon dioxide (hydrogen sulfide) membrane separations and WGS membrane reactor modeling for fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jin

Acid-gas removal is of great importance in many environmental or energy-related processes. Compared to current commercial technologies, membrane-based CO2 and H2S capture has the advantages of low energy consumption, low weight and space requirement, simplicity of installation/operation, and high process flexibility. However, the large-scale application of the membrane separation technology is limited by the relatively low transport properties. In this study, CO2 (H2S)-selective polymeric membranes with high permeability and high selectivity have been studied based on the facilitated transport mechanism. The membrane showed facilitated effect for both CO2 and H2S. A CO2 permeability of above 2000 Barrers, a CO2/H2 selectivity of greater than 40, and a CO2/N2 selectivity of greater than 200 at 100--150°C were observed. As a result of higher reaction rate and smaller diffusing compound, the H2S permeability and H2S/H2 selectivity were about three times higher than those properties for CO2. The novel CO2-selective membrane has been applied to capture CO 2 from flue gas and natural gas. In the CO2 capture experiments from a gas mixture with N2 and H2, a permeate CO 2 dry concentration of greater than 98% was obtained by using steam as the sweep gas. In CO2/CH4 separation, decent CO 2 transport properties were obtained with a feed pressure up to 500 psia. With the thin-film composite membrane structure, significant increase on the CO2 flux was achieved with the decrease of the selective layer thickness. With the continuous removal of CO2, CO2-selective water-gas-shift (WGS) membrane reactor is a promising approach to enhance CO conversion and increase the purity of H2 at process pressure under relatively low temperature. The simultaneous reaction and transport process in the countercurrent WGS membrane reactor was simulated by using a one-dimensional non-isothermal model. The modeling results show that a CO concentration of less than 10 ppm and a H2 recovery of greater

Mussel-inspired co-deposition to enhance bisphenol A removal in a bifacial enzymatic membrane reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cao, Xiaotong; Luo, Jianquan; Woodley, John M.

2018-01-01

were used as the matrix to further exploit the potential of the biocatalytic membranes. such prepared biocatalytic membranes were enzymatically active on both sides, making it possible to construct a bifacial enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) for highly efficient micro-pollutants removal (taking...

Fluidized bed gasification of high tonnage sorghum, cotton gin trash and beef cattle manure: Evaluation of synthesis gas production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maglinao, Amado L.; Capareda, Sergio C.; Nam, Hyungseok

2015-01-01

Highlights: • High tonnage sorghum, cotton gin trash and beef cattle manure were characterized and gasified in a fluidized bed reactor. • Biomass gasification at 730 °C and ER = 0.35 produced synthesis gas with an average energy content of 4.19 MJ Nm −3 . • Synthesis gas heating value and yield were relatively constant at reaction temperatures from 730 °C to 800 °C. • Optimum hydrogen production on HTS gasification was achieved at 780 °C temperature and ER of 0.4. - Abstract: Fluidized bed gasification using high-tonnage sorghum, cotton gin trash and beef cattle manure was performed in a pilot scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor equipped with the necessary feedback control system. Characterization of biomass showed that the high-tonnage sorghum had the highest energy and carbon content of 19.58 MJ kg −1 and 42.29% wt , respectively among the three feed stocks. At 730 °C reaction temperature and equivalence ratio of 0.35, comparable yields of methane, nitrogen and carbon dioxide (within ± 1.4% vol ) were observed in all three feed stocks. The gasification system produced synthesis gas with an average heating value of 4.19 ± 0.09 MJ Nm −3 and an average yield of 1.98 ± 0.1 Nm 3 kg −1 of biomass. Carbon conversion and gasification efficiencies indicated that most of the carbon was converted to gaseous products (85% average ) while 48% average of the energy from the biomass was converted into combustible gas. The production of hydrogen was significantly affected by the biomass used during gasification. The synthesis gas heating value and yield were relatively constant at reaction temperatures from 730 °C to 800 °C. Utilizing high-tonnage sorghum, the optimum hydrogen production during gasification was achieved at a reaction temperature of 780 °C and an equivalence ratio of 0.40.

Catalytic mechanism of sodium compounds in black liquor during gasification of coal black liquor slurry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuang Jianping; Zhou Junhu; Zhou Zhijun; Liu Jianzhong; Cen Kefa

2008-01-01

The coal black liquor slurry (CBLS) was composed of coal and black pulping liquor, which has plenty of sodium compounds, lignin and cellulose. The sodium compounds have a catalytic effect on the gasification process of coal black liquor slurry, while lignin and cellulose enhance the heat value. Alkali-catalyzed gasification experiments of CBLS and CWS (coal water slurry) are investigated on the thermobalance and fixed bed reactor. The residues of the gasification of CBLS and CWS are analyzed by XRD, SEM and FT-IR. It is found that many micro- and mesopores and zigzag faces exist in the surface of the CBLS coke, which play a key role in the catalytic gasification. Sodium can enhance the reaction potential, weaken the bond of C-O and improve the gasification reaction rate. XRD results show that sodium aluminum silicate and nepheline are the main crystal components of the CBLS and CWS. The C-O stretching vibration peak in the 1060 cm -1 band in the CBLS shifts to 995.65 cm -1 in the CBLS coke after partial gasification. This means that the energy of the C-O stretching vibration in the CBLS carbon matrix decreases, so the structure of the carbon matrix is more liable to react with an oxygen ion or hydroxide ion. The amplitude of the C-O stretching vibration peak is augmented step by step due to the ground-excited level jump of the C-O band

Gasification of peat and biomass in suspension. Turpeen ja biomassan suspensiokaasutus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haukka, P.; Raiko, R.

1993-01-01

Gasification of peat and biomass in dilute particle-gas suspension has not been studied significantly in Finland, even though these fuels require drying, which often produces dry pulverized fuel. This report has concentrated on studying suitability of so-called two-stage entrained-bed gasification for peat and biomass. The gasification system consists of a pyrolysis reactor (entrained flow) and an adiabatic char combustor. Dry or almost dry fuel is fed into the hot flue gas stream coming from the char combustor. Gasification is based on flash pyrolysis in the dilute suspension flow. Residual char is separated from pyrolyzer gases in a gas cleaning device and fed back to the adiabatic combustor. In the combustor char is burned at high temperature to supply the heat required to support endothermic reactions occurring in the pyrolyzer. To study entrained-bed gasification two types of computer models were developed: steady state simulation model and kinetic pyrolyzer model. With the help of these computer models mass and energy balances of the gasifier can be solved and the main dimensions of the gasifier can be determined. Lack of proper kinetic parameters for fast pyrolysis of peat and biomass makes it more difficult to apply the kinetic model in practice. Quantitative data concerning fast pyrolysis in dilute gas-particle suspension are needed to be able to evaluate the performance of the suspension gasifier in more detail. Gasifier operation has been studied using three different levels for amounts of pyrolysis pro- ducts, nine pressure levels between 15-23 bars and five temperature levels between 800-1200 deg C. Furthermore, normal pressure performance was simulated. In addition to simulation studies product gas heating value was optimized

Performance and membrane fouling of a step-fed submerged membrane sequencing batch reactor treating swine biogas digestion slurry.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Zhiying; Chen, Shixia; Lin, Xiaochang; Yu, Hongjun; Duan, Li'an; Ye, Zhangying; Jia, Yanbo; Zhu, Songming; Liu, Dezhao

2018-01-02

To identify the performance of step-fed submerged membrane sequencing batch reactor (SMSBR) treating swine biogas digestion slurry and to explore the correlation between microbial metabolites and membrane fouling within this novel reactor, a lab-scale step-fed SMSBR was operated under nitrogen loading rate of 0.026, 0.052 and 0.062 g NH 4 + -N (gVSS·d) -1 . Results show that the total removal efficiencies for NH 4 + -N, total nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand in the reactor (>94%, >89% and >97%, respectively) were high during the whole experiment. However, the cycle removal efficiency of NH 4 + -N decreased significantly when the nitrogen loading rate was increased to 0.062 g NH 4 + -N (gVSS·d) -1 . The total removal efficiency of total phosphorus in the step-fed SMSBR was generally higher than 75%, though large fluctuations were observed during the experiments. In addition, the concentrations of microbial metabolites, i.e., soluble microbial products (SMP) and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from activated sludge increased as nitrogen loading rate increased, both showing quadratic equation correlations with viscosity of the mixed liquid in the step-fed SMSBR (both R 2 > 0.90). EPS content was higher than SMP content, while protein (PN) was detected as the main component in both SMP and EPS. EPS PN was found to be well correlated with transmembrane pressure, membrane flux and the total membrane fouling resistance. Furthermore, the three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy results suggested the tryptophan-like protein as one of the main contributors to the membrane fouling. Overall, this study showed that the step-fed SMSBR could be used to treat swine digestion slurry at nitrogen loading rate of 0.052 g NH 4 + -N (gVSS·d) -1 , and the control strategy of membrane fouling should be developed based on reducing the tryptophan-like PN in EPS.

Modeling and simulation of ammonia removal from purge gases of ammonia plants using a catalytic Pd-Ag membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rahimpour, M.R.; Asgari, A.

2008-01-01

In this work, the removal of ammonia from synthesis purge gas of an ammonia plant has been investigated. Since the ammonia decomposition is thermodynamically limited, a membrane reactor is used for complete decomposition. A double pipe catalytic membrane reactor is used to remove ammonia from purge gas. The purge gas is flowing in the reaction side and is converted to hydrogen and nitrogen over nickel-alumina catalyst. The hydrogen is transferred through the Pd-Ag membrane of tube side to the shell side. A mathematical model including conservation of mass in the tube and shell side of reactor is proposed. The proposed model was solved numerically and the effects of different parameters on the rector performance were investigated. The effects of pressure, temperature, flow rate (sweep ratio), membrane thickness and reactor diameter have been investigated in the present study. Increasing ammonia conversion was observed by raising the temperature, sweep ratio and reducing membrane thickness. When the pressure increases, the decomposition is gone toward completion but, at low pressure the ammonia conversion in the outset of reactor is higher than other pressures, but complete destruction of the ammonia cannot be achieved. The proposed model can be used for design of an industrial catalytic membrane reactor for removal of ammonia from ammonia plant and reducing NO x emissions

Hydrogen production by co-gasification of coal and renewables

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fermoso, J.; Arias, B.; Rubiera, F.; Arenillas, A.; Pis, J.J. [Instituto Nacional del Carbon, CSIC, Apartado 73, 33080 Oviedo, (Spain)

2006-07-01

In this work, co-gasification of two coals with samples of pet-coke, sewage sludge and biomass was conducted at atmospheric pressure in a fixed bed reactor under steam/oxygen atmosphere, in order to evaluate possible synergistic effects during co-gasification. Experiments carried out at non-isothermal conditions for blends of a low volatile bituminous coal and dried sewage sludge, indicated the absence of interactive effects between the blends. The concentration of H{sub 2} and CO could be predicted from the concentrations of the individual components in the blends and their respective mass fractions. The results obtained under isothermal (1000 C) conditions for blends of a high ash coal with pet-coke, and blends with biomass (chestnut) produced less gas yield than the theoretically calculated. However, for the mixtures of coal and biomass the quality of the syngas, expressed by the amount of the produced H{sub 2}+CO and by the H{sub 2}/CO ratio, was not altered. (authors)

Hydrogen production by co-gasification of coal and renewables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fermoso, J.; Arias, B.; Rubiera, F.; Arenillas, A.; Pis, J.J.

2006-01-01

In this work, co-gasification of two coals with samples of pet-coke, sewage sludge and biomass was conducted at atmospheric pressure in a fixed bed reactor under steam/oxygen atmosphere, in order to evaluate possible synergistic effects during co-gasification. Experiments carried out at non-isothermal conditions for blends of a low volatile bituminous coal and dried sewage sludge, indicated the absence of interactive effects between the blends. The concentration of H 2 and CO could be predicted from the concentrations of the individual components in the blends and their respective mass fractions. The results obtained under isothermal (1000 C) conditions for blends of a high ash coal with pet-coke, and blends with biomass (chestnut) produced less gas yield than the theoretically calculated. However, for the mixtures of coal and biomass the quality of the syngas, expressed by the amount of the produced H 2 +CO and by the H 2 /CO ratio, was not altered. (authors)

THE INFLUENCE OF MIEX® RESIN FOR WATER TREATMENT EFFICIENCYIN A HYBRID MEMBRANE REACTOR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariola Rajca

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the results of studies related to the effectiveness of removal of natural organic matter (NOM from water using hybrid membrane reactor in which ion exchange and ultrafiltration processes were performed. MIEX® resin by Orica Watercare and immersed ultrafiltration polyvinylidene fluoride capillary module ZeeWeed 1 (ZW 1 by GE Power&Water operated at negative pressure were used. The application of multifunctional reactor had a positive effect on the removal of contaminants and enabled the production of high quality water. Additionally, in refer to single stage ultrafiltration it minimalized the occurrence of membrane fouling.

Micro-scale H2-CO2 dynamics in a hydrogenotrophic methanogenic membrane reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garcia-Robledo, Emilio; Ottosen, Lars Ditlev Mørck; Voigt, Niels Vinther

2016-01-01

Biogas production is a key factor in a sustainable energy supply. It is possible to get biogas with very high methane content if the biogas reactors are supplied with exogenous hydrogen, and one of the technologies for supplying hydrogen is through gas permeable membranes. In this study the activ......Biogas production is a key factor in a sustainable energy supply. It is possible to get biogas with very high methane content if the biogas reactors are supplied with exogenous hydrogen, and one of the technologies for supplying hydrogen is through gas permeable membranes. In this study...

Effect of powdered activated carbon technology on short-cut nitrogen removal for coal gasification wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Qian; Han, Hongjun; Xu, Chunyan; Zhuang, Haifeng; Fang, Fang; Zhang, Linghan

2013-08-01

A combined process consisting of a powdered activated carbon technology (PACT) and short-cut biological nitrogen removal reactor (SBNR) was developed to enhance the removal efficiency of the total nitrogen (TN) from the effluent of an upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor, which was used to treat coal gasification wastewater (CGW). The SBNR performance was improved with the increasing of COD and TP removal efficiency via PACT. The average removal efficiencies of COD and TP in PACT were respectively 85.80% and 90.30%. Meanwhile, the NH3-N to NO2-N conversion rate was achieved 86.89% in SBNR and the total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency was 75.54%. In contrast, the AOB in SBNR was significantly inhibited without PACT or with poor performance of PACT in advance, which rendered the removal of TN. Furthermore, PAC was demonstrated to remove some refractory compounds, which therefore improved the biodegradability of the coal gasification wastewater. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Ethanol steam reforming kinetics of a Pd-Ag membrane reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tosti, Silvano; Borelli, Rodolfo; Borgognoni, Fabio [ENEA, Dipartimento FPN, C.R. ENEA Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, Frascati (RM) I-00044 (Italy); Basile, Angelo [Institute on Membrane Technology, ITM-CNR, c/o Univ. of Calabria, via P. Bucci, Cubo 17/C, 87030 Rende (CS) (Italy); Castelli, Stefano [ENEA, Dipartimento ACS, C.R. ENEA Casaccia, Via Anguillarese 301, Roma I-00123 (Italy); Fabbricino, Massimiliano; Licusati, Celeste [Dept. of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Naples Federico II, Via Claudio 21, Naples 80125 (Italy); Gallucci, Fausto [Fundamentals of Chemical Reaction Engineering Group, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, Enschede (Netherlands)

2009-06-15

The ethanol steam reforming reaction carried out in a Pd-based tubular membrane reactor has been modelled via a finite element code. The model considers the membrane tube divided into finite volume elements where the mass balances for both lumen and shell sides are carried out accordingly to the reaction and permeation kinetics. Especially, a simplified ''power law'' has been applied for the reaction kinetics: the comparison with experimental data obtained by using three different kinds of catalyst (Ru, Pt and Ni based) permitted defining the coefficients of the kinetics expression as well as to validate the model. Based on the Damkohler-Peclet analysis, the optimization of the membrane reformer has been also approached. (author)

Degradation of Reactive Black 5 dye using anaerobic/aerobic membrane bioreactor (MBR) and photochemical membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

You, Sheng-Jie; Damodar, Rahul A.; Hou, Sheng-Chon

2010-01-01

Three different types of advance treatment methods were evaluated for the degradation of Reactive Black 5 (RB5). The performance of two stage anaerobic SBR-aerobic MBR, anaerobic MBR with immobilized and suspended biocells and an integrated membrane photocatalytic reactor (MPR) using slurry UV/TiO 2 system were investigated. The results suggest that, nearly 99.9% color removal and 80-95% organic COD and TOC removal can be achieved using different reactor systems. Considering the Taiwan EPA effluent standard discharge criteria for COD/TOC, the degree of treatment achieved by combining the anaerobic-aerobic system was found to be acceptable. Anew, Bacilluscereus, high color removal bacterium was isolated from Anaerobic SBR. Furthermore, when this immobilized into PVA-calcium alginate pellets, and suspended in the anaerobic MBR was able to achieve high removal efficiencies, similar to the suspended biocells system. However, the immobilized cell Anaerobic MBR was found to be more advantageous, due to lower fouling rates in the membrane unit. Results from slurry type MPR system showed that this system was capable of mineralizing RB5 dyes with faster degradation rate as compared to other systems. The reactor was also able to separate the catalyst effectively and perform efficiently without much loss of catalyst activity.

Theoretical Study of Palladium Membrane Reactor Performance During Propane Dehydrogenation Using CFD Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kamran Ghasemzadeh

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This study presents a 2D-axisymmetric computational fluid dynamic (CFD model to investigate the performance Pd membrane reactor (MR during propane dehydrogenation process for hydrogen production. The proposed CFD model provided the local information of temperature and component concentration for the driving force analysis. After investigation of mesh independency of CFD model, the validation of CFD model results was carried out by other modeling data and a good agreement between CFD model results and theoretical data was achieved. Indeed, in the present model, a tubular reactor with length of 150 mm was considered, in which the Pt-Sn-K/Al2O3 as catalyst were filled in reaction zone. Hence, the effects of the important operating parameter (reaction temperature on the performances of membrane reactor (MR were studied in terms of propane conversion and hydrogen yield. The CFD results showed that the suggested MR system during propane dehydrogenation reaction presents higher performance with respect to once obtained in the conventional reactor (CR. In particular, by applying Pd membrane, was found that propane conversion can be increased from 41% to 49%. Moreover, the highest value of propane conversion (X = 91% was reached in case of Pd-Ag MR. It was also established that the feed flow rate of the MR is to be the one of the most important factors defining efficiency of the propane dehydrogenation process.

Analysis of Organic and Inorganic Contaminants in Dried Sewage Sludge and By-Products of Dried Sewage Sludge Gasification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastian Werle

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Organic and inorganic contaminants in sewage sludge may cause their presence also in the by-products formed during gasification processes. Thus, this paper presents multidirectional chemical instrumental activation analyses of dried sewage sludge as well as both solid (ash, char coal and liquid (tar by-products formed during sewage gasification in a fixed bed reactor which was carried out to assess the extent of that phenomenon. Significant differences were observed in the type of contaminants present in the solid and liquid by-products from the dried sewage sludge gasification. Except for heavy metals, the characteristics of the contaminants in the by-products, irrespective of their form (solid and liquid, were different from those initially determined in the sewage sludge. It has been found that gasification promotes the migration of certain valuable inorganic compounds from sewage sludge into solid by-products which might be recovered. On the other hand, the liquid by-products resulting from sewage sludge gasification require a separate process for their treatment or disposal due to their considerable loading with toxic and hazardous organic compounds (phenols and their derivatives.

Supercritical water gasification with decoupled pressure and heat transfer modules

KAUST Repository

Dibble, Robert

2017-09-14

The present invention discloses a system and method for supercritical water gasification (SCWG) of biomass materials wherein the system includes a SCWG reactor and a plurality of heat exchangers located within a shared pressurized vessel, which decouples the function of containing high pressure from the high temperature function. The present invention allows the heat transfer function to be conducted independently from the pressure transfer function such that the system equipment can be designed and fabricated in manner that would support commercial scaled-up SCWG operations. By using heat exchangers coupled to the reactor in a series configuration, significant efficiencies are achieved by the present invention SCWG system over prior known SCWG systems.

Modelling of gasification using deferent kinds of biomass in a downdraft reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabell Ferran, Santiago J.; Brito Sauvanell, Angel L

2011-01-01

In this work is exposed the methodology of realization of a equilibrium model, capable to predict the composition of the generated gas, its caloric value, the cold and hot efficiency and the quantity of air per quantity of biomass in a downdraft reactor. For this model's realization it was considered that all the chemical reactions that happen in the gasification area are in thermodynamic equilibrium, doesn't considered tar formation, and alone it is considered the methane formation(CH4), it is not considered formation of CxHy. To make more practical and more accessible the model was carried out a software in Excel. The work use as fuel, wood, paddy husk, paper and solid waste. The behavior of generated gases was studied with the variation of the content of humidity. Were determined the calorific value of generated gas, and the value of the cold and hot efficiency for each biomass varying the content of humidity of the same one, where it shows for 20% of humidity, for the wood a value of 5,65MJ/Nm3, for the paddy husk is of 3,88 MJ/Nm3, for the paper it is of 5,83 MJ/Nm3, and for the waste it is of 4,36 MJ/Nm3; and the cold and hot efficiency for wood 30,16%, and 60,37%; for paddy husk 25,43% and 40,83%, paper 33,40% and 63,28%; and waste 22,18% and 41,35% respectively. It was also determined the gravimetric relationship of necessary air/ biomass for each biomass. (author)

Hydrogen-Rich Syngas Production from Gasification and Pyrolysis of Solar Dried Sewage Sludge: Experimental and Modeling Investigations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aïda Ben Hassen Trabelsi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Solar dried sewage sludge (SS conversion by pyrolysis and gasification processes has been performed, separately, using two laboratory-scale reactors, a fixed-bed pyrolyzer and a downdraft gasifier, to produce mainly hydrogen-rich syngas. Prior to SS conversion, solar drying has been conducted in order to reduce moisture content (up to 10%. SS characterization reveals that these biosolids could be appropriate materials for gaseous products production. The released gases from SS pyrolysis and gasification present relatively high heating values (up to 9.96 MJ/kg for pyrolysis and 8.02  9.96 MJ/kg for gasification due to their high contents of H2 (up to 11 and 7 wt%, resp. and CH4 (up to 17 and 5 wt%, resp.. The yields of combustible gases (H2 and CH4 show further increase with pyrolysis. Stoichiometric models of both pyrolysis and gasification reactions were determined based on the global biomass formula, CαHβOγNδSε, in order to assist in the products yields optimization.

Application of CaO-Based Bed Material for Dual Fluidized Bed Steam Biomass Gasification

Science.gov (United States)

Koppatz, S.; Pfeifer, C.; Kreuzeder, A.; Soukup, G.; Hofbauer, H.

Gasification of biomass is a suitable option for decentralized energy supply based on renewable sources in the range of up to 50 MW fuel input. The paper presents the dual fluidized bed (DFB) steam gasification process, which is applied to generate high quality and nitrogen-free product gas. Essential part of the DFB process is the bed material used in the fluidized reactors, which has significant impact on the product gas quality. By the use of catalytically active bed materials the performance of the overall process is increased, since the bed material favors reactions of the steam gasification. In particular, tar reforming reactions are favored. Within the paper, the pilot plant based on the DFB process with 100kW fuel input at Vienna University of Technology, Austria is presented. Actual investigations with focus on CaO-based bed materials (limestone) as well as with natural olivine as bed material were carried out at the pilot plant. The application of CaO-based bed material shows mainly decreased tar content in the product gas in contrast to experiments with olivine as bed material. The paper presents the results of steam gasification experiments with limestone and olivine, whereby the product gas composition as well as the tar content and the tar composition are outlined.

Modelling and sequential simulation of multi-tubular metallic membrane and techno-economics of a hydrogen production process employing thin-layer membrane reactor

KAUST Repository

Shafiee, Alireza

2016-09-24

A theoretical model for multi-tubular palladium-based membrane is proposed in this paper and validated against experimental data for two different sized membrane modules that operate at high temperatures. The model is used in a sequential simulation format to describe and analyse pure hydrogen and hydrogen binary mixture separations, and then extended to simulate an industrial scale membrane unit. This model is used as a sub-routine within an ASPEN Plus model to simulate a membrane reactor in a steam reforming hydrogen production plant. A techno-economic analysis is then conducted using the validated model for a plant producing 300 TPD of hydrogen. The plant utilises a thin (2.5 μm) defect-free and selective layer (Pd75Ag25 alloy) membrane reactor. The economic sensitivity analysis results show usefulness in finding the optimum operating condition that achieves minimum hydrogen production cost at break-even point. A hydrogen production cost of 1.98 $/kg is estimated while the cost of the thin-layer selective membrane is found to constitute 29% of total process capital cost. These results indicate the competiveness of this thin-layer membrane process against conventional methods of hydrogen production. © 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC

A reverse flow catalytic membrane reactor for the production of syngas: an experimental study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smit, J.; Bekink, G.J.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2005-01-01

In this paper experimental results are presented for a demonstration unit of a recently proposed novel integrated reactor concept (Smit et. al., 2005) for the partial oxidation of natural gas to syngas (POM), namely a Reverse Flow Catalytic Membrane Reactor (RFCMR). Natural gas has great potential

GASIFICATION FOR DISTRIBUTED GENERATION

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ronald C. Timpe; Michael D. Mann; Darren D. Schmidt

2000-05-01

A recent emphasis in gasification technology development has been directed toward reduced-scale gasifier systems for distributed generation at remote sites. The domestic distributed power generation market over the next decade is expected to be 5-6 gigawatts per year. The global increase is expected at 20 gigawatts over the next decade. The economics of gasification for distributed power generation are significantly improved when fuel transport is minimized. Until recently, gasification technology has been synonymous with coal conversion. Presently, however, interest centers on providing clean-burning fuel to remote sites that are not necessarily near coal supplies but have sufficient alternative carbonaceous material to feed a small gasifier. Gasifiers up to 50 MW are of current interest, with emphasis on those of 5-MW generating capacity. Internal combustion engines offer a more robust system for utilizing the fuel gas, while fuel cells and microturbines offer higher electric conversion efficiencies. The initial focus of this multiyear effort was on internal combustion engines and microturbines as more realistic near-term options for distributed generation. In this project, we studied emerging gasification technologies that can provide gas from regionally available feedstock as fuel to power generators under 30 MW in a distributed generation setting. Larger-scale gasification, primarily coal-fed, has been used commercially for more than 50 years to produce clean synthesis gas for the refining, chemical, and power industries. Commercial-scale gasification activities are under way at 113 sites in 22 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, according to the Gasification Technologies Council. Gasification studies were carried out on alfalfa, black liquor (a high-sodium waste from the pulp industry), cow manure, and willow on the laboratory scale and on alfalfa, black liquor, and willow on the bench scale. Initial parametric tests

Novel Composite Hydrogen-Permeable Membranes for Nonthermal Plasma Reactors for the Decomposition of Hydrogen Sulfide

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morris Argyle; John Ackerman; Suresh Muknahallipatna; Jerry Hamann; Stanislaw Legowski; Gui-Bing Zhao; Sanil John; Ji-Jun Zhang; Linna Wang

2007-09-30

The goal of this experimental project was to design and fabricate a reactor and membrane test cell to dissociate hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S) in a nonthermal plasma and to recover hydrogen (H{sub 2}) through a superpermeable multi-layer membrane. Superpermeability of hydrogen atoms (H) has been reported by some researchers using membranes made of Group V transition metals (niobium, tantalum, vanadium, and their alloys), but it was not achieved at the moderate pressure conditions used in this study. However, H{sub 2}S was successfully decomposed at energy efficiencies higher than any other reports for the high H{sub 2}S concentration and moderate pressures (corresponding to high reactor throughputs) used in this study.

Distribution of volatile sulphur containing products during fixed bed pyrolysis and gasification of coals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furimsky, E.

1991-08-01

Various coals were used to study the evolution of H{sub 2}S COS, and SO{sub 2} in a fixed bed reactor. For all types of coal, most of H{sub 2}S and SO{sub 2} were released during the devolatilization stage. COS was formed only during the gasification stage in the presence of CO{sub 2}.

Catalytic hot gas cleaning of gasification gas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simell, P. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland). Energy Production Technologies

1997-12-31

The aim of this work was to study the catalytic cleaning of gasification gas from tars and ammonia. In addition, factors influencing catalytic activity in industrial applications were studied, as well as the effects of different operation conditions and limits. Also the catalytic reactions of tar and ammonia with gasification gas components were studied. The activities of different catalyst materials were measured with laboratory-scale reactors fed by slip streams taken from updraft and fluid bed gasifiers. Carbonate rocks and nickel catalysts proved to be active tar decomposing catalysts. Ammonia decomposition was in turn facilitated by nickel catalysts and iron materials like iron sinter and iron dolomite. Temperatures over 850 deg C were required at 2000{sup -1} space velocity at ambient pressure to achieve almost complete conversions. During catalytic reactions H{sub 2} and CO were formed and H{sub 2}O was consumed in addition to decomposing hydrocarbons and ammonia. Equilibrium gas composition was almost achieved with nickel catalysts at 900 deg C. No deactivation by H{sub 2}S or carbon took place in these conditions. Catalyst blocking by particulates was avoided by using a monolith type of catalyst. The apparent first order kinetic parameters were determined for the most active materials. The activities of dolomite, nickel catalyst and reference materials were measured in different gas atmospheres using laboratory apparatus. This consisted of nitrogen carrier, toluene as tar model compound, ammonia and one of the components H{sub 2}, H{sub 2}O, CO, CO{sub 2}, CO{sub 2}+H{sub 2}O or CO+CO{sub 2}. Also synthetic gasification gas was used. With the dolomite and nickel catalyst the highest toluene decomposition rates were measured with CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O. In gasification gas, however, the rate was retarded due to inhibition by reaction products (CO, H{sub 2}, CO{sub 2}). Tar decomposition over dolomite was modelled by benzene reactions with CO{sub 2}, H

A catalytically membrane reactor for fast, highly exothermic, heterogeneous gas reactions : a pilot plant study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldsink, J.W.; Veldsink, J.W.; Versteeg, Geert; van Swaaij, Willibrordus Petrus Maria

1995-01-01

Membrane reactors have been frequently studied because of their ability to combine chemical activity and separation properties into one device. Due to their thermal stability and mechanical strength, ceramic membranes are preferred over polymeric ones, but small transmembrane fluxes obstruct a

Isolation of a naphthalene-degrading strain from activated sludge and bioaugmentation with it in a MBR treating coal gasification wastewater.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Peng; Ma, Wencheng; Han, Hongjun; Jia, Shengyong; Hou, Baolin

2015-03-01

A highly effective naphthalene-degrading bacterial strain was isolated from acclimated activated sludge from a coal gasification wastewater plant, and identified as a Streptomyces sp., designated as strain QWE-35. The optimal pH and temperature for naphthalene degradation were 7.0 and 35°C. The presence of additional glucose and methanol significantly increased the degradation efficiency of naphthalene. The strain showed tolerance to the toxicity of naphthalene at a concentration as great as 200 mg/L. The Andrews mode could be fitted to the degradation kinetics data well over a wide range of initial naphthalene concentrations (10-200 mg/L), with kinetic values q max = 0.84 h(-1), K s = 40.39 mg/L, and K i = 193.76 mg/L. Metabolic intermediates were identified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, allowing a new degradation pathway for naphthalene to be proposed for the first time. Strain QWE-35 was added into a membrane bioreactor (MBR) to enhance the treatment of real coal gasification wastewater. The results showed that the removal of chemical oxygen demand and total nitrogen were similar between bioaugmented and non-bioaugmented MBRs, however, significant removal of naphthalene was obtained in the bioaugmented reactor. The findings suggest a potential bioremediation role of Streptomyces sp. QWE-35 in the removal of naphthalene from wastewaters.

Municipal Solid Waste Gasification with Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Stirling Engine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud

2014-01-01

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) can be considered a valid biomass to be used in a power plant. The major advantage is the reduction of pollutants and greenhouse gases emissions not only within large cities but also globally. Another advantage is that by th eir use it is possible to reduce the waste...... studied to optimize the plant efficiency in terms of operating conditions. Compared with modern waste incinerators with heat recovery, the gasification process integrated with SOFC and Stirling engine permits an increase in electricity output up of 50%, which means that the solid waste gasification......, waste is subject to chemical treatments through air or/and steam utilization; the result is a synthesis gas, called “Syngas” which is principally composed of hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Traces of hydrogen sulfide could also be present which can easily be separated in a desulfurization reactor...

Texaco gasification power systems for clean energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quintana, M.E.; Thone, P.W.

1991-01-01

The Texaco Gasification Power Systems integrate Texaco's proprietary gasification technology with proven power generation and energy recovery schemes for efficient and environmentally superior fuel utilization. Texaco's commercial experience on gasification spans a period of over 40 years. During this time, the Texaco Gasification Process has been used primarily to manufacture synthesis gas for chemical applications in one hundred commercial installations worldwide. Power generation using the Texaco Gasification Power Systems (TGPS) concept has been successfully demonstrated at the Texaco-sponsored Cool Water Coal Gasification Program in California. The environmental superiority of this technology was demonstrated by the consistent performance of Cool Water in exceeding the strict emission standards of the state of California. Currently, several TGPS projects are under evaluation worldwide for power generation in the range of 90MW to 1300MW

Simulation of the gasification of animal wastes in a dual gasifier using Aspen Plus®

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez-Lopez, M.; Pedroche, J.; Valverde, J.L.; Sanchez-Silva, L.

2017-01-01

Highlights: • The gasification of manure was evaluated using the software Aspen Plus®. • Composition and LHV of the obtained syngas depends on the operating conditions. • CO 2 net emissions for the steam and CO 2 gasification processes were calculated. • Manure steam gasification can be used as feedstock for Fischer-Tropsch. • Manure CO 2 gasification lead to a syngas suitable for energy production. - Abstract: The gasification of an animal waste biomass (manure) in a dual gasifier was studied using the software Aspen Plus®. For this purpose, a model based on a Gibbs free energy reactor was considered. Effects of the gasification temperature, the gasifying/biomass ratio and the use of steam and CO 2 as the gasifying agents on the composition and the low heating value (LHV) of the produced syngas were evaluated. In this sense, the H 2 /CO ratio and the LHV were the parameters calculated to stablish the best operating conditions for the production of either hydrocarbons via Fischer-Tropsch or energy. Furthermore, the CO 2 net emissions generated by the gasification process were also important in the selection of the best operating conditions from an environmental point of view. The obtained results showed that for both gasifying agents the H 2 and CO production was favoured at high temperatures whereas the production of CH 4 and CO 2 was favoured at low ones. On the other hand, the H 2 production was higher when steam was used as the gasifying agent and the formation of CO was enhanced when CO 2 was considered as gasification agent. An increase of the gasifying agent/biomass ratio had a negatively influence on the production of CH 4 , leading to a decrease of the LHV. Therefore, steam as the gasifying agent and high temperatures favoured the obtaining of a syngas suitable for the Fischer-Tropsch process whereas CO 2 and low gasification temperatures enhanced a syngas with a high LHV which could be used for energy production. Finally, the net CO 2

DEVELOPMENT OF PRESSURIZED CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED PARTIAL GASIFICATION MODULE (PGM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unknown

2001-01-01

sequestration of stack gas carbon dioxide gases for a 100% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The amount of syngas and char produced by the PGM can be tailored to fit the production objectives of the overall plant, i.e., power generation, clean liquid fuel production, chemicals production, etc. Hence, PGM is a robust building block that offers all the advantages of coal gasification but in a more user friendly form; it is also fuel flexible in that it can use alternative fuels such as biomass, sewerage sludge, etc. The PGM consists of a pressurized circulating fluidized bed (PCFB) reactor together with a recycle cyclone and a particulate removing barrier filter. Coal, air, steam, and possibly sand are fed to the bottom of the PCFB reactor and establish a relatively dense bed of coal/char in the bottom section. As these constituents react, a hot syngas is produced which conveys the solids residue vertically up through the reactor and into the recycle cyclone. Solids elutriated from the dense bed and contained in the syngas are collected in the cyclone and drain via a dipleg back to the dense bed at the bottom of the PCFB reactor. This recycle loop of hot solids acts as a thermal flywheel and promotes efficient solid-gas chemical reaction

Catalytic combustion of propane in a membrane reactor with separate feed of reactants—I. Operation in absence of trans-membrane pressure gradients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saracco, Guido; Veldsink, Jan Willem; Versteeg, Geert F.; Swaaij, Wim P.M. van

1995-01-01

A pilot plant study on propane catalytic combustion in a membrane reactor with separate reactant feeds is presented. The membrane consisted of a porous alumina tube activated by insertion into its pores of a Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst. The role of reactants concentration and of the feed flow rates were

Experimental evaluation of methane dry reforming process on a membrane reactor to hydrogen production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Fabiano S.A.; Benachour, Mohand; Abreu, Cesar A.M. [Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil). Dept. of Chemical Engineering], Email: f.aruda@yahoo.com.br

2010-07-01

In a fixed bed membrane reactor evaluations of methane-carbon dioxide reforming over a Ni/{gamma}- Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst were performed at 773 K, 823 K and 873 K. A to convert natural gas into syngas a fixed-bed reactor associate with a selective membrane was employed, where the operating procedures allowed to shift the chemical equilibrium of the reaction in the direction of the products of the process. Operations under hydrogen permeation, at 873 K, promoted the increase of methane conversion, circa 83%, and doubled the yield of hydrogen production, when compared with operations where no hydrogen permeation occurred. (author)

Coal conversion processes and analysis methodologies for synthetic fuels production. [technology assessment and economic analysis of reactor design for coal gasification

Science.gov (United States)

1979-01-01

Information to identify viable coal gasification and utilization technologies is presented. Analysis capabilities required to support design and implementation of coal based synthetic fuels complexes are identified. The potential market in the Southeast United States for coal based synthetic fuels is investigated. A requirements analysis to identify the types of modeling and analysis capabilities required to conduct and monitor coal gasification project designs is discussed. Models and methodologies to satisfy these requirements are identified and evaluated, and recommendations are developed. Requirements for development of technology and data needed to improve gasification feasibility and economies are examined.

Water-Gas-Shift Membrane Reactor for High-Pressure Hydrogen Production. A comprehensive project report (FY2010 - FY2012)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klaehn, John [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Peterson, Eric [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Orme, Christopher [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Bhandari, Dhaval [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Miller, Scott [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Ku, Anthony [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Polishchuk, Kimberly [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Narang, Kristi [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Singh, Surinder [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Wei, Wei [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Shisler, Roger [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Wickersham, Paul [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); McEvoy, Kevin [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Alberts, William [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Howson, Paul [General Electric Global Research, Niskayuna, New York (United States); Barton, Thomas [Western Research inst., Laramie, WY (United States); Sethi, Vijay [Western Research inst., Laramie, WY (United States)

2013-01-01

Idaho National Laboratory (INL), GE Global Research (GEGR), and Western Research Institute (WRI) have successfully produced hydrogen-selective membranes for water-gas-shift (WGS) modules that enable high-pressure hydrogen product streams. Several high performance (HP) polymer membranes were investigated for their gas separation performance under simulated (mixed gas) and actual syngas conditions. To enable optimal module performance, membranes with high hydrogen (H₂) selectivity, permeance, and stability under WGS conditions are required. The team determined that the VTEC PI 80-051 and VTEC PI 1388 (polyimide from Richard Blaine International, Inc.) are prime candidates for the H₂ gas separations at operating temperatures (~200°C). VTEC PI 80-051 was thoroughly analyzed for its H₂ separations under syngas processing conditions using more-complex membrane configurations, such as tube modules and hollow fibers. These membrane formats have demonstrated that the selected VTEC membrane is capable of providing highly selective H₂/CO₂ separation (α = 7-9) and H₂/CO separation (α = 40-80) in humidified syngas streams. In addition, the VTEC polymer membranes are resilient within the syngas environment (WRI coal gasification) at 200°C for over 1000 hours. The information within this report conveys current developments of VTEC PI 80-051 as an effective H₂ gas separations membrane for high-temperature syngas streams.

Promoting effect of various biomass ashes on the steam gasification of low-rank coal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rizkiana, Jenny; Guan, Guoqing; Widayatno, Wahyu Bambang; Hao, Xiaogang; Li, Xiumin; Huang, Wei; Abudula, Abuliti

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Biomass ash was utilized to promote gasification of low rank coal. • Promoting effect of biomass ash highly depended on AAEM content in the ash. • Stability of the ash could be improved by maintaining AAEM amount in the ash. • Different biomass ash could have completely different catalytic activity. - Abstract: Application of biomass ash as a catalyst to improve gasification rate is a promising way for the effective utilization of waste ash as well as for the reduction of cost. Investigation on the catalytic activity of biomass ash to the gasification of low rank coal was performed in details in the present study. Ashes from 3 kinds of biomass, i.e. brown seaweed/BS, eel grass/EG, and rice straw/RS, were separately mixed with coal sample and gasified in a fixed bed downdraft reactor using steam as the gasifying agent. BS and EG ashes enhanced the gas production rate greater than RS ash. Higher catalytic activity of BS or EG ash was mainly attributed to the higher content of alkali and alkaline earth metal (AAEM) and lower content of silica in it. Higher content of silica in the RS ash was identified to have inhibiting effect for the steam gasification of coal. Stable catalytic activity was remained when the amount of AAEM in the regenerated ash was maintained as that of the original one

Gasification of oil sand coke: review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furimsky, E. [IMAF Group, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

1998-08-01

The production of synthetic crude from the tar sands in Western Canada has been steadily increasing. Most of the delayed coke produced by Suncor is combusted on site, whereas all fluid coke produced by Syncrude is stockpiled.The database on the chemical and physical properties of the oil sand coke, including the composition and fusion properties of the mineral matter, has been established. The reactivity of the coke was determined by oxygen chemisorption, fixed bed and fluid bed bench scale gasification and pilot plant gasification. The reactivity of the oil sand coke for gasification is rather low and comparable to high rank coals, such as anthracite. Slurrability tests revealed that a solid concentration in water, approaching 70 wt%, can be achieved. Gasification is the front runner among clean technologies for the conversion of carbonaceous solids to useful products. Several commercial gasifiers are available to cover the wide range of severity. Because of the low reactivity of oil sands coke, high severity conditions are required to achieve high gasification conversion. Such conditions can be attained in entrained bed gasifiers. Gasifiers employing both dry and slurry feeding systems are suitable. A high efficiency, low SO{sub x} and NO{sub x} emissions, as well as a low solid waste production are among the key advantages of the gasification technology compared with thecompeting technologies. Commercial gasification of oil sands coke is delayed because of the availability of natural gas on the site of the upgrading plants. Potential for the transportation of the oil sand coke to USA for electricity generation using the integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) technology was evaluated. 27 refs., 17 figs., 9 tabs.

Oxygen distribution in packed-bed membrane reactors for partial oxidations: effect of the radial porosity profiles on the product selectivity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kurten, U.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2004-01-01

A two-dimensional, pseudohomogeneous reactor model was presented to describe the radial and axial concentration profiles in a packed-bed membrane reactor and the local velocity field while accounting for the influences due to the distributive membrane flow and the radial porosity profile. The effect

Advanced Hydrogen Transport Membranes for Vision 21 Fossil Fuel Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carl R. Evenson; Shane E. Roark

2006-03-31

The objective of this project was to develop an environmentally benign, inexpensive, and efficient method for separating hydrogen from gas mixtures produced during industrial processes, such as coal gasification. A family of hydrogen separation membranes was developed including single phase mixed conducting ceramics, ceramic/ceramic composites, cermet membranes, cermet membranes containing a hydrogen permeable metal, and intermediate temperature composite layered membranes. Each membrane type had different operating parameters, advantages, and disadvantages that were documented over the course of the project. Research on these membranes progressed from ceramics to cermets to intermediate temperature composite layered membranes. During this progression performance was increased from 0.01 mL x min{sup -1} x cm{sup -2} up to 423 mL x min{sup -1} x cm{sup -2}. Eltron and team membranes not only developed each membrane type, but also membrane surface catalysis and impurity tolerance, creation of thin film membranes, alternative applications such as membrane promoted alkane dehydrogenation, demonstration of scale-up testing, and complete engineering documentation including process and mechanical considerations necessary for inclusion of Eltron membranes in a full scale integrated gasification combined cycle power plant. The results of this project directly led to a new $15 million program funded by the Department of Energy. This new project will focus exclusively on scale-up of this technology as part of the FutureGen initiative.

The effect of gas permeation through vertical membranes on chemical switching reforming (CSR) reactor performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wassie, S.A.; Gallucci, F.; Cloete, S.; Zaabout, A.; van Sint Annaland, M.; Amini, S.

2016-01-01

A novel membrane assisted fluidized bed reactor concept has been proposed for ultra-pure hydrogen production with integrated CO2 capture from steam methane reforming. The so-called Chemical Switching Reactor (CSR) concept combines the use of an oxygen carrier for supplying heat and catalysing the

Enhancing the production of hydrogen via water-gas shift reaction using Pd-based membrane reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mendes, Diogo; Chibante, Vania; Mendes, Adelio; Madeira, Luis M. [LEPAE, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto (Portugal); Zheng, Ju-Meng [Dutch Separation Technology Institute (DSTI), 3800 AE Amersfoort (Netherlands); Tosti, Silvano; Borgognoni, Fabio [ENEA, Unita Tecnica Fusione, C.R. ENEA Frascati, Via E. Fermi 45, Frascati (RM) I-00044 (Italy)

2010-11-15

In this work, it is described an experimental study regarding the performance of a Pd-Ag membrane reactor recently proposed and suitable for the production of ultra-pure hydrogen. A dense metallic permeator tube was assembled by an innovative annealing and diffusion welding technique from a commercial flat sheet membrane of Pd-Ag. A ''finger-like'' configuration of the self-supported membrane has been designed and used as a packed-bed membrane reactor (MR) for producing ultra-pure hydrogen via water-gas shift reaction (WGS). A CuO/ZnO/Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} catalyst, from REB Research and Consulting, was used for packing the WGS membrane reactor. The performance of the reactor was evaluated in terms of CO conversion and H{sub 2} recovery in a wide range of conditions: temperature from 200 C to 300 C, feed pressure from 1.0 bar to 4.0 bar, vacuum and sweep-gas modes and with a simulated reformate feed (4.70% CO, 34.78% H{sub 2}O, 28.70% H{sub 2}, 10.16% CO{sub 2} balanced in N{sub 2}). Also, the effect of the reactants feed composition was investigated and discussed. CO conversions remained in most conditions above the thermodynamic equilibrium based on feed conditions. In particular, it is worth mentioning that around 100% of CO conversion and almost complete H{sub 2} recovery was achieved when operating the MR at 300 C with a GSHV = 1200 L{sub N} kg{sub cat}{sup -1} h{sup -1}, P{sub feed} = 4 bar, P{sub perm} = 3 bar and using 1000 mL{sub N} min{sup -1} of sweep-gas. (author)

Les réacteurs à membranes : possibilités d'application dans l'industrie pétrolière et pétrochimique Membrane Reactors: Possibilities of Application in the Petroleum and Petrochemical Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guy C.

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Cet article fait le point sur l'état de la recherche dans le domaine des réacteurs chimiques avec séparation par membrane intégrée et de leur applications dans le domaine du raffinage et de la pétrochimie. Trois applications potentiellement intéressantes sont identifiées et, pour chacune, les avantages de l'utilisation d'un réacteur à membrane sont discutés. Ce sont : la déshydrogénation du propane en propylène, la déshydrogénation d'un naphtène cyclohexanique et le vaporéformage du gaz naturel. Pour ces réactions, les membranes à base de palladium apparaissent les plus performantes compte tenu de leur tenue en température, de leur sélectivité et de leur perméabilité à l'hydrogène. Quelques éléments relatifs à leur développement sont présentés en conclusion. Recently, the use of membrane in reaction engineering has been more and more advocated. The selective separation of the products from the reaction mixture allows to achieve higher conversion or better selectivity or to operate under less severe conditions or with smaller units. This paper presents an update on the recent advances in the field of chemical membrane reactors and on their applications in refining and petrochemistry. Previous work. Most of the possible applications of membrane reactors in petroleum and petrochemical industry concern gaseous catalytic reactions. For this reason, gas permeation membranes are the primary component of membrane reactors. Gas permeation membranes present different types of physical structure : dense, microporous or asymmetric which is a combination of the two. Separating properties of dense membranes are function of the solubility and diffusivity of each gaseous component in the membrane material. For microporous membranes, they follow four mechanisms : Knudsen diffusion, surface diffusion, capillary condensation or molecular sieving. Although organic polymers are the common constituent of gas permeation membrane, their

A novel ion transport membrane reactor for fundamental investigations of oxygen permeation and oxy-combustion under reactive flow conditions

KAUST Repository

Kirchen, Patrick

2013-01-01

Ion transport membrane (ITM) reactors present an attractive technology for combined air separation and fuel conversion in applications such as syngas production, oxidative coupling or oxy-combustion, with the promise of lower capital and operating costs, as well higher product selectivities than traditional technologies. The oxygen permeation rate through a given ITM is defined by the membrane temperature and oxygen chemical potential difference across it. Both of these parameters can be strongly influenced by thermochemical reactions occurring in the vicinity of the membrane, though in the literature they are often characterized in terms of the well mixed product stream at the reactor exit. This work presents the development of a novel ITM reactor for the fundamental investigation of the coupling between fuel conversion and oxygen permeation under well defined fluid dynamic and thermodynamic conditions, including provisions for spatially resolved, in-situ investigations. A planar, finite gap stagnation flow reactor with optical and probe access to the reaction zone is used to facilitate in-situ measurements and cross-validation with detailed numerical simulations. Using this novel reactor, baseline measurements are presented to elucidate the impact of the sweep gas fuel (CH4) fraction on the oxygen permeation and fuel conversion. In addition, the difference between well-mixed gas compositions measured at the reactor outlet and those measured in the vicinity of the membrane surface are discussed, demonstrating the unique utility of the reactor. © 2012 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The investigation for attaining the optimal yield of oil shale by integrating high temperature reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhattacharyya, A.T.

1984-03-01

This work presents a systemanalytical investigation and shows how far a high temperature reactor can be integrated for achieving the optimal yield of kerogen from oil shale. About 1/3 of the produced components must be burnt out in order to have the required high temperature process heat. The works of IGT show that the hydrogen gasification of oil shale enables not only to reach oil shale of higher quality but also allows to achieve a higher extraction quantity. For this reason a hydro-gasification process has been calculated in this work in which not only hydrogen is used as the gasification medium but also two high temperature reactors are integrated as the source of high temperature heat. (orig.) [de

Simulation of petcoke gasification in slagging moving bed reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nagpal, Soumitro; Sarkar, T.K.; Sen, P.K. [Research and Development Center, Engineers India Limited, Gurgaon 122001 (India)

2005-03-25

A mathematical model for simulation of moving bed petcoke gasifiers was developed. The model introduces a new feed characterization method, gas-phase resistance and volatilization models. The model is validated using reported data for a slagging gasifier. Effect of feed oxygen-to-coke and steam-to-coke ratios and feed coke rates on gasification performance was examined. Slagging zone moving bed gasifier operation with very high petcoke fluxes of over 4000 kg/m{sup 2}/h was possible with high petcoke conversion. Peak gas temperatures exceeded 1500 {sup o}C. Fluxes higher than 5000 kg/m{sup 2}/h are limited by an approach to fluidization of small particles in the combustion zone. The moving bed gasifier performance was found superior to performance of an entrained flow gasifier (EFG) with respect to energy efficiency and oxygen consumption.

Carbon-coated ceramic membrane reactor for the production of hydrogen by aqueous-phase reforming of sorbitol.

Science.gov (United States)

Neira D'Angelo, M F; Ordomsky, V; Schouten, J C; van der Schaaf, J; Nijhuis, T A

2014-07-01

Hydrogen was produced by aqueous-phase reforming (APR) of sorbitol in a carbon-on-alumina tubular membrane reactor (4 nm pore size, 7 cm long, 3 mm internal diameter) that allows the hydrogen gas to permeate to the shell side, whereas the liquid remains in the tube side. The hydrophobic nature of the membrane serves to avoid water loss and to minimize the interaction between the ceramic support and water, thus reducing the risks of membrane degradation upon operation. The permeation of hydrogen is dominated by the diffusivity of the hydrogen in water. Thus, higher operation temperatures result in an increase of the flux of hydrogen. The differential pressure has a negative effect on the flux of hydrogen due to the presence of liquid in the larger pores. The membrane was suitable for use in APR, and yielded 2.5 times more hydrogen than a reference reactor (with no membrane). Removal of hydrogen through the membrane assists in the reaction by preventing its consumption in undesired reactions. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Commercialization Development of Crop Straw Gasification Technologies in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhengfeng Zhang

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Crop straw gasification technologies are the most promising biomass gasification technologies and have great potential to be further developed in China. However, the commercialization development of gasification technology in China is slow. In this paper, the technical reliability and practicability of crop straw gasification technologies, the economic feasibility of gas supply stations, the economic feasibility of crop straw gasification equipment manufacture enterprises and the social acceptability of crop straw gasification technologies are analyzed. The results show that presently both the atmospheric oxidation gasification technology and the carbonization pyrolysis gasification technology in China are mature and practical, and can provide fuel gas for households. However, there are still a series of problems associated with these technologies that need to be solved for the commercialization development, such as the high tar and CO content of the fuel gas. The economic feasibility of the gas supply stations is different in China. Parts of gas supply stations are unprofitable due to high initial investment, the low fuel gas price and the small numbers of consumers. In addition, the commercialization development of crop straw gasification equipment manufacture enterprises is hindered for the low market demand for gasification equipment which is related to the fund support from the government. The acceptance of the crop straw gasification technologies from both the government and the farmers in China may be a driving force of further commercialization development of the gasification technologies. Then, the crop straw gasification technologies in China have reached at the stage of pre-commercialization. At this stage, the gasification technologies are basically mature and have met many requirements of commercialization, however, some incentives are needed to encourage their further development.

Carbon conversion predictor for fluidized bed gasification of biomass fuels - from TGA measurements to char gasification particle model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Konttinen, J.T. [University of Jyvaeskylae, Department of Chemistry, Renewable Energy Programme, POB 35, Jyvaeskylae (Finland); Moilanen, A. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, POB 1000, Espoo (Finland); Martini, N. de; Hupa, M. [Abo Akademi University, Process Chemistry Centre, Combustion and Materials Chemistry, Turku (Finland)

2012-09-15

When a solid fuel particle is injected into a hot fluidized bed, the reactivity of fuel char in gasification reactions (between char carbon and steam and CO{sub 2}) plays a significant role for reaching a good carbon conversion. In this paper, the gasification reactivity data of some solid waste recovered fuels (SRF) obtained from thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) experiments is presented. Gas mixtures (H{sub 2}O, H{sub 2}, CO{sub 2}, CO), were used in the experiments to find the inhibitive effects of CO and H{sub 2}. Average char gasification reactivity values are determined from the TGA results. Kinetic parameters for char carbon gasification reactivity correlations are determined from this data. The Uniform Conversion model is used to account for the change of gasification reaction rate as function of carbon conversion. Some discrepancies, due to complicated ash-carbon interactions, are subjects of further research. In the carbon conversion predictor, laboratory measured reactivity numbers are converted into carbon conversion numbers in a real-scale fluidized bed gasifier. The predictor is a relatively simple and transparent tool for the comparison of the gasification reactivity of different fuels in fluidized bed gasification. The residence times for solid fuels in fluidized bed gasifiers are simulated. Simulations against some pilot-scale results show reasonable agreement. (orig.)

The production of hydrogen through the use of a 77 wt% Pd 23 wt% Ag membrane water gas shift reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liberty N. Baloyi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Hydrogen as an energy carrier has the potential to decarbonize the energy sector. This work presents the application of a palladium-silver (Pd–Ag membrane-based reactor. The membrane reactor which is made from Pd–Ag film supported by porous stainless steel (PSS is evaluated for the production of hydrogen and the potential replacement of the current two-stage Water-Gas Shift (WGS reaction by a single stage reaction. The permeability of a 20 μm Pd–Ag membrane reactor was examined at 320 °C, 380 °C and 430 °C. The effect of continuous hydrogen exposure on the Pd–Ag membrane at high temperature and low temperature was examined to investigate the thermal stability and durability of the membrane. During continuous operation to determine thermal stability, the membrane reactor exhibited stable hydrogen permeation at 320 °C for 120 h and unstable hydrogen permeation at 430 °C was observed. For the WGS reaction, the reactor was loaded with Ferrochrome catalyst. The membrane showed the ability to produce high purity hydrogen, with a CO conversion and an H2 recovery of 84% and 88%, respectively. The membrane suffered from hydrogen embrittlement due to desorption and adsorption of hydrogen on the membrane surface. SEM analysis revealed cracks that occurred on the surface of the membrane after hydrogen exposure. XRD analysis revealed lattice expansion after hydrogen loading which suggests the occurrence of phase change from α-phase to the more brittle β-phase.

Definition of validated membrane reactor model for 5 kW power output CHP system for different natural gas compositions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Di Marcoberardino, Gioele; Gallucci, Fausto; Manzolini, Giampaolo; van Sint Annaland, Martin

2016-01-01

Over the last years, many studies focused on the development of membrane reactors for micro-cogeneration systems based on PEM fuel cells, thanks to its unique feature of separating pure hydrogen. This work deals with (i) the design of a fluidized bed membrane reactor flexible towards different

Food industrial wastewater reuse by membrane bio-reactor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patthanant Natpinit

2007-11-01

Full Text Available The objective of this investigation was to study the possibility and performance of treating food industrial wastewater by Membrane BioReactor (MBR. In addition, the effluent of MBR was treated by Reverse Osmosis system (RO to reuse in boiler or cooling tower. The membranes of hollow fiber type were filled in the aerobic tank with aerobe bacteria. The total area of membrane 6 units was 630 m2 so the flux of the operation was 0.25 m/d or 150 m3/d. The spiral wound RO was operated at 100 m3/d of influent and received 72 m3/d of permeate. The sludge volume (MLSS of MBR was maintained at 8,000-10,000 mg/l. The average COD and SS of MBR influent were 600 mg/l and 300 mg/l respectively. After treating by MBR, COD and SS of effluent were maintained at less than 100 mg/l and less than 10 mg/l respectively. In the same way, COD and SS of RO permeate were less than 10 mg/l and less than 5 mg/l respectively.

A Catalytically Active Membrane Reactor for Fast, Highly Exothermic, Heterogeneous Gas Reactions. A Pilot Plant Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Veldsink, Jan W.; Versteeg, Geert F.; Swaaij, Wim P.M. van

1995-01-01

Membrane reactors have been frequently studied because of their ability to combine chemical activity and separation properties into one device. Due to their thermal stability and mechanical strength, ceramic membranes are preferred over polymeric ones, but small transmembrane fluxes obstruct a

Shell coal gasification process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hennekes, B. [Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. (United States). Technology Marketing

2002-07-01

The presentation, on which 17 slides/overheads are included in the papers, explained the principles of the Shell coal gasification process and the methods incorporated for control of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulates and mercury. The economics of the process were discussed. The differences between gasification and burning, and the differences between the Shell process and other processes were discussed.

Investigation of air gasification of micronized coal, mechanically activated using the plasma control of the process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Butakov Evgenii

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Combination of the processes of coal combustion and gasification into a single technology of mechano-chemical and plasma-chemical activation is of a considerable scientific and technological interest. Enhancement of coal reactivity at their grinding with mechanical activation is associated with an increase in the reaction rate of carbon material, and at plasma-chemical effect, the main is an increase in reactivity of the oxidizing agent caused by the high plasma temperatures of atomic oxygen. The process of gasification was studied on the 1-MW setup with tangential scroll supply of pulverized coal-air mixture and cylindrical reaction chamber. Coal ground by the standard boiler mill is fed to the disintegrator, then, it is sent to the scroll inlet of the burner-reactor with the transport air. Pulverized coal is ignited by the plasmatron of 10-kW power. In experiments on air gasification of micronized coal, carried out at the temperature in the reaction chamber of 1000-1200°C and air excess α = 0.3-1, the data on CO concentration of 11% and H2 concentration of up to 6% were obtained. Air and air-steam gasification of mechanically-activated micronized coals with plasma control was calculated using SigmaFlow software package.

Investigation of air gasification of micronized coal, mechanically activated using the plasma control of the process

Science.gov (United States)

Butakov, Evgenii; Burdukov, Anatoly; Chernetskiy, Mikhail; Kuznetsov, Victor

2017-10-01

Combination of the processes of coal combustion and gasification into a single technology of mechano-chemical and plasma-chemical activation is of a considerable scientific and technological interest. Enhancement of coal reactivity at their grinding with mechanical activation is associated with an increase in the reaction rate of carbon material, and at plasma-chemical effect, the main is an increase in reactivity of the oxidizing agent caused by the high plasma temperatures of atomic oxygen. The process of gasification was studied on the 1-MW setup with tangential scroll supply of pulverized coal-air mixture and cylindrical reaction chamber. Coal ground by the standard boiler mill is fed to the disintegrator, then, it is sent to the scroll inlet of the burner-reactor with the transport air. Pulverized coal is ignited by the plasmatron of 10-kW power. In experiments on air gasification of micronized coal, carried out at the temperature in the reaction chamber of 1000-1200°C and air excess α = 0.3-1, the data on CO concentration of 11% and H2 concentration of up to 6% were obtained. Air and air-steam gasification of mechanically-activated micronized coals with plasma control was calculated using SigmaFlow software package.

Phospholipase C-catalyzed sphingomyelin hydrolysis in a membrane reactor for ceramide production

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Long; Liang, Shanshan; Hellgren, Lars

2008-01-01

A membrane reactor for the production of ceramide through sphingomyelin hydrolysis with phospholipase C from Clostridium perfringens was studied for the first time. Ceramide has raised a large interest as an active component in both pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry. The enzymatic hydrolysis...

Biofluid process: fluidised-bed gasification of biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dittrich, A. [ATEKO a.s., Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic)

1996-12-31

Fluidised-bed gasification of biomass was developed by ATEKO by using long-term experience from coal gasification. An experimental unit was built and a number of tests, first with sawdust gasification, were carried out. A gas combustion engine combined with a power generator was installed and operated in power production. (orig.)

Biofluid process: fluidised-bed gasification of biomass

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dittrich, A [ATEKO a.s., Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic)

1997-12-31

Fluidised-bed gasification of biomass was developed by ATEKO by using long-term experience from coal gasification. An experimental unit was built and a number of tests, first with sawdust gasification, were carried out. A gas combustion engine combined with a power generator was installed and operated in power production. (orig.)

Nuclear Track-Etched Pore Membrane Production Using OAEP's Research Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chittrakarn, Thawat; Bhongsuwan, Tripob; Wanichapichart, Pikul; Nuanuin, Paiboon; Chongkum, Somporn; Khonduangkaew, Areerat; Bordeepong, Sunaree

2003-10-01

Result of this study shows that the OAEP's nuclear research reactor is a good source of both fast and thermal neutrons for pore piercing process on polycarbonate thin film. With our experimental design, the fast neutron provides better results in pore piercing comparing with thermal neutron bombardment. This can be explained that most of the latent tracks that occur by thermal neutron bombardment do not piercing through the thin film. Chemical etching process using NaOH solution with an appropriated time, concentration and temperature was employed to enlarge the latent tracks in the bombarded film by fast neutrons. Fast neutron bombardment with 5, 10 and 20 minutes bombarding time successfully produces the nuclear track membrane. Pore size and pore density of the produced membranes examined by SEM were 0.24-1.01 μm and 4.67 - 245 x 10 6 pore/cm 2 , respectively. Bubble point test showed the maximum pore diameter of the produced membrane ranged between 1.18 - 3.25 μm. Water permeability was studied and compared between the produced and commercial membranes

Catalytic membrane reactors for tritium recovery from tritiated water in the ITER fuel cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tosti, S.; Violante, V.; Basile, A.; Chiappetta, G.; Castelli, S.; De Francesco, M.; Scaglione, S.; Sarto, F.

2000-01-01

Palladium and palladium-silver permeators have been obtained by coating porous ceramic tubes with a thin metal layer. Three coating techniques have been studied and characterized: chemical electroless deposition (PdAg film thickness of 10 μm), ion sputtering (about 1 μm) and rolling of thin metal sheets (50 μm). The Pd-ceramic membranes have been used for manufacturing catalytic membrane reactors (CMR) for hydrogen and its isotopes recovering and purifying. These composite membranes and the CMR have been studied and developed for a closed-loop process with reference to the design requirements of the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) blanket tritium recovery system in the enhanced performance phase of operation. The membranes and CMR have been tested in a pilot plant equipped with temperature, pressure and flow-rate on-line measuring and controlling devices. The conversion value for the water gas shift reaction in the CMR has been measured close to 100% (always above the equilibrium one, 80% at 350 deg. C): the effect of the membrane is very clear since the reaction is moved towards the products because of the continuous hydrogen separation. The rolled thin film membranes have separated the hydrogen from other gases with a complete selectivity and exhibited a slightly larger mass transfer resistance with respect to the electroless membranes. Preliminary tests on the sputtered membranes have also been carried out with a promising performance. Considerations on the use of different palladium alloy in order to improve the performances of the membranes in terms of permeation flux and mechanical strength, such as palladium/yttrium, are also reported

Techno-economic assessment of membrane assisted fluidized bed reactors for pure H_2 production with CO_2 capture

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spallina, V.; Pandolfo, D.; Battistella, A.; Romano, M.C.; Van Sint Annaland, M.; Gallucci, F.

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Membrane reactors improve the overall efficiency of H_2 production up to 20%. • Respect to conventional reforming, the H_2 yield increases from 12% to 20%. • The COH is reduced of at least 220% using membrane reactors. • FBMR capture 72% of CO_2 with a specific cost of 8 eur/tonn_C_O_2_. • MA-CLR can reach 90% of CO_2 avoided with same cost of FTR. - Abstract: This paper addresses the techno-economic assessment of two membrane-based technologies for H_2 production from natural gas, fully integrated with CO_2 capture. In the first configuration, a fluidized bed membrane reactor (FBMR) is integrated in the H_2 plant: the natural gas reacts with steam in the catalytic bed and H_2 is simultaneously separated using Pd-based membranes, and the heat of reaction is provided to the system by feeding air as reactive sweep gas in part of the membranes and by burning part of the permeated H_2 (in order to avoid CO_2 emissions for heat supply). In the second system, named membrane assisted chemical looping reforming (MA-CLR), natural gas is converted in the fuel rector by reaction with steam and an oxygen carrier (chemical looping reforming), and the produced H_2 permeates through the membranes. The oxygen carrier is re-oxidized in a separate air reactor with air, which also provides the heat required for the endothermic reactions in the fuel reactor. The plants are optimized by varying the operating conditions of the reactors such as temperature, pressures (both at feed and permeate side), steam-to-carbon ratio and the heat recovery configuration. The plant design is carried out using Aspen Simulation, while the novel reactor concepts have been designed and their performance have been studied with a dedicated phenomenological model in Matlab. Both configurations have been designed and compared with reference technologies for H_2 production based on conventional fired tubular reforming (FTR) with and without CO_2 capture. The results of the analysis show

Thermodynamic modelling and solar reactor design for syngas production through SCWG of algae

Science.gov (United States)

Venkataraman, Mahesh B.; Rahbari, Alireza; Pye, John

2017-06-01

Conversion of algal biomass into value added products, such as liquid fuels, using solar-assisted supercritical water gasification (SCWG) offers a promising approach for clean fuel production. SCWG has significant advantages over conventional gasification in terms of flexibility of feedstock, faster intrinsic kinetics and lower char formation. A relatively unexplored avenue in SCWG is the use of non-renewable source of energy for driving the endothermic gasification. The use of concentrated solar thermal to provide the process heat is attractive, especially in the case of expensive feedstocks such as algae. This study attempts to identify the key parameters and constraints in designing a solar cavity receiver/reactor for on-sun SCWG of algal biomass. A tubular plug-flow reactor, operating at 24 MPa and 400-600 °C with a solar input of 20MWth is modelled. Solar energy is utilized to increase the temperature of the reaction medium (10 wt.% algae solution) from 400 to 605 °C and simultaneously drive the gasification. The model additionally incorporates material constraints based on the allowable stresses for a commercially available Ni-based alloy (Inconel 625), and exergy accounting for the cavity reactor. A parametric evaluation of the steady state performance and quantification of the losses through wall conduction, external radiation and convection, internal convection, frictional pressure drop, mixing and chemical irreversibility, is presented.

Gasification of Phycoremediation Algal Biomass

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmoud A. Sharara

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Microalgae have been utilized in wastewater treatment strategies in various contexts. Uncontrolled algal species are a cheap and effective remediation strategy. This study investigates the thermochemical potential of wastewater treatment algae (phycoremediation as a means to produce renewable fuel streams and bio-products. Three gasification temperature levels were investigated in an auger gasification platform: 760, 860, and 960 °C. Temperature increases resulted in corresponding increases in CO and H2 concentrations in the producer gas from 12.8% and 4.7% at 760 °C to 16.9% and 11.4% at 960 °C, respectively. Condensable yields ranged between 15.0% and 16.6%, whereas char yields fell between 46.0% and 51.0%. The high ash content (40% on a dry basis was the main cause of the elevated char yields. On the other hand, the relatively high yields of condensables and a high carbon concentration in the char were attributed to the low conversion efficiency in this gasification platform. Combustion kinetics of the raw algae, in a thermogravimetric analyzer, showed three consecutive stages of weight loss: drying, devolatilization, and char oxidation. Increasing the algae gasification temperature led to increases in the temperature of peak char oxidation. Future studies will further investigate improvements to the performance of auger gasification.

Product Chemistry and Process Efficiency of Biomass Torrefaction, Pyrolysis and Gasification Studied by High-Throughput Techniques and Multivariate Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Li

), fast growing energy crops (switchgrass), and popular forage crop (alfalfa), as well as biochar derived from those materials and their mixtures. It demonstrated that Py-MBMS coupled with MVA could be used as fast analytical tools for the study of not only biomass composition but also its thermal decomposition behaviors. It found that the impact of biomass composition heavily depends on the thermal decomposition temperature because at different temperature, the composition of biomass decomposed and the impact of minerals on the decomposition reaction varies. At low temperature (200-500°C), organic compounds attribute to the majority of variation in thermal decomposition products. At higher temperature, inorganics dramatically changed the pyrolysis pathway of carbohydrates and possibly lignin. In gasification, gasification tar formation is also observed to be impacted by ash content in vapor and char. In real reactor, biochar structure also has interactions with other fractions to make the final pyrolysis and gasification product. Based on the evaluation of process efficiencies during torrefaction, temperature ranging from 275°C to 300°C with short residence time (gas product using 700°C as primary pyrolysis temperature. In addition, pyrolysis char is found to produce less tar and more gas during steam gasification compared with gasification of pyrolysis vapor. Thus it is suggested that torrefaction might be an efficient pretreatment for biomass gasification because it can largely improve the yield of pyrolysis char during the primary pyrolysis step of gasification thus reduce the total tar of the overall gasification products. Future work is suggested in the end.

Methane-steam reforming by molten salt - membrane reactor using concentrated solar thermal energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanuki, K.; Nakajima, H.; Hasegawa, N.; Kaneko, H.; Tamaura, Y.

2006-01-01

By utilization of concentrated solar thermal energy for steam reforming of natural gas, which is an endothermic reaction, the chemical energy of natural gas can be up-graded. The chemical system for steam reforming of natural gas with concentrated solar thermal energy was studied to produce hydrogen by using the thermal storage with molten salt and the membrane reactor. The original steam reforming module with hydrogen permeable palladium membrane was developed and fabricated. Steam reforming of methane proceeded with the original module with palladium membrane below the decomposition temperature of molten salt (around 870 K). (authors)

Volatilisation of alkali and alkaline earth metallic species during the gasification of a Victorian brown coal in CO{sub 2}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Quyn, Dimple Mody; Li, Chun-Zhu [CRC for Clean Power from Lignite, Department of Chemical Engineering, PO Box 36, Monash University, Victoria 3800 (Australia); Hayashi, Jun-ichiro [Centre for Advanced Research of Energy Conversion Materials, Hokkaido University, N13-W8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628 (Japan)

2005-08-25

A Victorian brown coal was gasified in a bench-scale quartz fluidised-bed/fixed-bed reactor in order to study the volatilisation of Na, Ca, and Mg during devolatilisation and gasification and their roles in the reactivity of chars. It was found that the majority of Na was volatilised at 900 {sup o}C under all conditions and that a Na retention limit was achieved in the char with the progress of CO{sub 2} gasification. In some cases, the presence of CO{sub 2} during devolatilisation enhanced the Na retention in the char. In contrast, the retention of Ca (and Mg) was unaffected by CO{sub 2} during devolatilisation at 900C but decreased drastically upon nascent char gasification. The fundamental differences in volatilisation between the alkali and alkaline earth metallic species are discussed in this paper.

Low-temperature catalytic gasification of wet industrial wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elliott, D C; Neuenschwander, G G; Baker, E G; Sealock, Jr, L J; Butner, R S

1991-04-01

Bench-scale reactor tests are in progress at Pacific Northwest Laboratory to develop a low-temperature, catalytic gasification system. The system, licensed under the trade name Thermochemical Environmental Energy System (TEES{reg sign}), is designed for treating a wide variety of feedstocks ranging from dilute organics in water to waste sludges from food processing. This report describes a test program which used a continuous-feed tubular reactor. This test program is an intermediate stage in the process development. The reactor is a laboratory-scale version of the commercial concept as currently envisioned by the process developers. An energy benefit and economic analysis was also completed on the process. Four conceptual commercial installations of the TEES process were evaluated for three food processing applications and one organic chemical manufacturing application. Net energy production (medium-Btu gas) was achieved in all four cases. The organic chemical application was found to be economically attractive in the present situation. Based on sensitivity studies included in the analysis, the three food processing cases will likely become attractive in the near future as waste disposal regulations tighten and disposal costs increase. 21 refs., 2 figs., 9 tabs.

Groundwater and underground coal gasification in Alberta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haluszka, A.; MacMillan, G.; Maev, S.

2010-01-01

Underground coal gasification has potential in Alberta. This presentation provided background information on underground coal gasification and discussed groundwater and the Laurus Energy demonstration project. A multi-disciplined approach to project assessment was described with particular reference to geologic and hydrogeologic setting; geologic mapping; and a hydrogeologic numerical model. Underground coal gasification involves the conversion of coal into synthesis gas or syngas. It can be applied to mined coal at the surface or applied to non-mined coal seams using injection and production wells. Underground coal gasification can effect groundwater as the rate of water influx into the coal seams influences the quality and composition of the syngas. Byproducts created include heat as well as water with dissolved concentrations of ammonia, phenols, salts, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and liquid organic products from the pyrolysis of coal. A process overview of underground coal gasification was also illustrated. It was concluded that underground coal gasification has the potential in Alberta and risks to groundwater could be minimized by a properly designed project. refs., figs.

Power Systems Development Facility Gasification Test Campaign TC25

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Southern Company Services

2008-12-01

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This report summarizes the results of TC25, the second test campaign using a high moisture lignite coal from the Red Hills mine in Mississippi as the feedstock in the modified Transport Gasifier configuration. TC25 was conducted from July 4, 2008, through August 12, 2008. During TC25, the PSDF gasification process operated for 742 hours in air-blown gasification mode. Operation with the Mississippi lignite was significantly improved in TC25 compared to the previous test (TC22) with this fuel due to the addition of a fluid bed coal dryer. The new dryer was installed to dry coals with very high moisture contents for reliable coal feeding. The TC25 test campaign demonstrated steady operation with high carbon conversion and optimized performance of the coal handling and gasifier systems. Operation during TC25 provided the opportunity for further testing of instrumentation enhancements, hot gas filter materials, and advanced syngas cleanup technologies. The PSDF site was also made available for testing of the National Energy Technology Laboratory's fuel cell module and Media Process Technology's hydrogen selective membrane with syngas from the Transport Gasifier.

Catalysts with Cerium in a Membrane Reactor for the Removal of Formaldehyde Pollutant from Water Effluents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mirella Gutiérrez-Arzaluz

2016-05-01

Full Text Available We report the synthesis of cerium oxide, cobalt oxide, mixed cerium, and cobalt oxides and a Ce–Co/Al2O3 membrane, which are employed as catalysts for the catalytic wet oxidation (CWO reaction process and the removal of formaldehyde from industrial effluents. Formaldehyde is present in numerous waste streams from the chemical industry in a concentration low enough to make its recovery not economically justified but high enough to create an environmental hazard. Common biological degradation methods do not work for formaldehyde, a highly toxic but refractory, low biodegradability substance. The CWO reaction is a recent, promising alternative that also permits much lower temperature and pressure conditions than other oxidation processes, resulting in economic benefits. The CWO reaction employing Ce- and Co-containing catalysts was carried out inside a slurry batch reactor and a membrane reactor. Experimental results are reported. Next, a mixed Ce–Co oxide film was supported on an γ-alumina membrane used in a catalytic membrane reactor to compare formaldehyde removal between both types of systems. Catalytic materials with cerium and with a relatively large amount of cerium favored the transformation of formaldehyde. Cerium was present as cerianite in the catalytic materials, as indicated by X-ray diffraction patterns.

A dense cell retention culture system using stirred ceramic membrane reactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, T; Sato, T; Kominami, M

1994-11-20

A novel reactor design incorporating porous ceramic tubes into a stirred jar fermentor was developed. The stirred ceramic membrane reactor has two ceramic tubular membrane units inside the vessel and maintains high filtration flux by alternating use for filtering and recovering from clogging. Each filter unit was linked for both extraction of culture broth and gas sparging. High permeability was maintained for long periods by applying the periodical control between filtering and air sparging during the stirred retention culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The ceramic filter aeration system increased the k(L)a to about five times that of ordinary gas sparing. Using the automatic feeding and filtering system, cell mass concentration reached 207 g/L in a short time, while it was 64 g/L in a fed-batch culture. More than 99% of the growing cells were retained in the fermentor by the filtering culture. Both yield and productivity of cells were also increased by controlling the feeding of fresh medium and filtering the supernatant of the dense cells culture. (c) 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Development and process optimization of an enzyme membrane reactor for lactose hydrolysis. Entwicklung und verfahrenstechnische Optimierung eines Enzym-Membranreaktors fuer die Hydrolyse von Laktose

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Czermak, P

1990-01-01

The development and process optimization up to the production stage of a vapour sterilizable hollow-fiber membrane reactor for dialysis is illustrated by the example of enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose. The expected conversion efficiency of the membrane reactor is a function of the mass transfer resistance and by the deviations from the defined hydrodynamic status. The transport/reaction behaviour of membrane reactors is therefore described by a model for real reactors which takes account of the non-linear kinetics of the native enzyme, the real mixing conditions inside the reactor, and the mass transfer through the membrane. A coupled numerical solution is used for the calculations. The reaction kinetics, the mass transfer inside the membrane, the hydrodynamics and the conversion rate are determined experimentally. The model can calculate important design data from selected data of the reaction system. Measurements of conversion rates show that the results obtained with real substances, e.g. milk, are well compatible with the model calculations. (orig.) With 85 figs., 25 tabs.

Acid Gas to Syngas (AG2S™) technology applied to solid fuel gasification: Cutting H_2S and CO_2 emissions by improving syngas production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bassani, Andrea; Pirola, Carlo; Maggio, Enrico; Pettinau, Alberto; Frau, Caterina; Bozzano, Giulia; Pierucci, Sauro; Ranzi, Eliseo; Manenti, Flavio

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Coal gasification with improved yield and reduced emissions. • AG2S™ process converts H_2S and CO_2 into syngas, elemental sulfur and water. • Techno-economic simulation of AG2S™ process is carried out. • Industrial case-study on the Sotacarbo S.p.A. gasification pilot plant is proposed. - Abstract: The paper deals with the application of the novel Acid Gas To Syngas (AG2S™) technology to the gasification of solid fuels. The AG2S technology is a completely new effective route of processing acid gases: H_2S and CO_2 are converted into syngas (CO and H_2) by means of a regenerative thermal reactor. To show the application of the AG2S technology, modeling and simulation advances for gasification systems are initially discussed. The multi-scale, multi-phase, and multi-component coal gasification system is described by means of detailed kinetic mechanisms for coal pyrolysis, char heterogeneous reactions and for successive gas-phase reactions. These kinetic mechanisms are then coupled with transport resistances resulting in first-principles dynamic modeling of non-ideal reactors of different types (e.g., downdraft, updraft, traveling grate), also including the catalytic effect of ashes. The generalized approach pursued in developing the model allows characterizing the main phenomena involved in the coal gasification process, including the formation of secondary species (e.g., COS, CS_2). This tool is here further validated on literature data and, then, adopted to demonstrate the AG2S effectiveness, where H_2S and CO_2 emissions are reduced with an increase of syngas production. The resulting process solution is more economically appealing with respect to the traditional Claus process and finds several application areas.

Fates and roles of alkali and alkaline earth metal species during the pyrolysis and gasification of a Victorian lignite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mody, D.; Wu, H.; Li, C. [Monash University, Vic. (Australia). CRC for Clean Power from Lignite, Dept. of Chemical Engineering

2000-07-01

The transformation of alkali and alkaline earth metal (AAEM) species in a Victorian lignite during the pyrolysis and subsequent gasification in CO{sub 2} was studied in a novel quartz fluidised-bed reactor. Lignite samples prepared by physically adding NaCl and ion-exchanging Na{sup +} and Ca{sup ++} into the lignite were used to investigate the effects of chemical forms and valency of the AAEM species in the substrate lignite on their transformation during pyrolysis and gasification. Carboxyl-bound Na was found to be less volatile than Na present as NaCl, but more volatile than carboxyl-bound Ca during pyrolysis at temperatures between 400 and 900{sup o}C. However, the carboxyl-bound Na was volatilised to a much greater extent than the carboxyl-bound Ca in the same lignite during pyrolysis. It was seen that the loading of NaCl into the lignite did not significantly affect the char reactivity in the fluidised-bed reactor at 900{sup o}C.

Potentiality of a ceramic membrane reactor for the laccase-catalyzed removal of bisphenol A from secondary effluents.

Science.gov (United States)

Arca-Ramos, A; Eibes, G; Feijoo, G; Lema, J M; Moreira, M T

2015-11-01

In this study, the removal of bisphenol A (BPA) by laccase in a continuous enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) was investigated. The effects of key parameters, namely, type of laccase, pH, and enzyme activity, were initially evaluated. Once optimal conditions were determined, the continuous removal of the pollutant in an EMR was assessed in synthetic and real biologically treated wastewaters. The reactor configuration consisted of a stirred tank reactor coupled to a ceramic membrane, which prevented the sorption of the pollutant and allowed the recovery and recycling of laccase. Nearly complete removal of BPA was attained under both operation regimes with removal yields above 94.5 %. In experiments with real wastewater, the removal of BPA remained high while the presence of colloids and certain ions and the formation of precipitates on the membrane potentially affected enzyme stability and made necessary the periodic addition of laccase. Polymerization and degradation were observed as probable mechanisms of BPA transformation by laccase.

The characteristics of extracellular polymeric substances and soluble microbial products in moving bed biofilm reactor-membrane bioreactor.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Liang; Jiang, Wei; Song, Yonghui; Xia, Siqing; Hermanowicz, Slawomir W

2013-11-01

The characteristics of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and soluble microbial products (SMP) in conventional membrane bioreactor (MBR) and in moving bed biofilm reactor-membrane bioreactors (MBBR-MBR) were investigated in long-term (170 days) experiments. The results showed that all reactors had high removal efficiency of ammonium and COD, despite very different fouling conditions. The MBBR-MBR with media fill ratio of 26.7% had much lower total membrane resistance and no obvious fouling were detected during the whole operation. In contrast, MBR and MBBR-MBR with lower and higher media fill experienced more significant fouling. Low fouling at optimum fill ratio may be due to the higher percentage of small molecular size (100 kDa) of EPS and SMP in the reactor. The composition of EPS and SMP affected fouling due to different O-H bonds in hydroxyl functional groups, and less polysaccharides and lipids. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of carbon-coated TiO2 for decomposition of methylene blue in a photocatalytic membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mozia, Sylwia; Toyoda, Masahiro; Inagaki, Michio; Tryba, Beata; Morawski, Antoni W.

2007-01-01

An application of carbon-coated TiO 2 for decomposition of methylene blue (MB) in a photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR), coupling photocatalysis and direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) was investigated. Moreover, photodegradation of a model pollutant in a batch reactor without membrane distillation (MD) was also examined. Carbon-modified TiO 2 catalysts containing different amount of carbon and commercially available TiO 2 (ST-01) were used in this study. The carbon-coated catalyst prepared from a mixture of ST-01 and polyvinyl alcohol in the mass ratio of 70/30 was the most effective in degradation of MB from all of the photocatalysts applied. Photodecomposition of MB on the recovered photocatalysts was lower than on the fresh ones. The photodegradation of MB in the PMR was slower than in the batch reactor, what probably resulted from shorter time of exposure of the catalyst particles to UV irradiation. The MD process could be successfully applied for separation of photocatalyst and by-products from the feed solution

Performance of integrated bioelectrochemical membrane reactor: Energy recovery, pollutant removal and membrane fouling alleviation

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Yue; He, Weihua; Li, Chao; Liang, Dandan; Qu, Youpeng; Han, Xiaoyu; Feng, Yujie

2018-04-01

A novel hybrid bioelectrochemical membrane reactor with integrated microfiltration membrane as the separator between electrodes is developed for domestic wastewater treatment. After accumulation of biofilm, the organic pollutants are mainly degraded in anodic compartment, and microfiltration membrane blocks the adverse leakage of dissolved oxygen from aerated cathodic compartment. The maximum system power output is restricted by gas-water ratio following a Monod-like relationship. Within the tested gas-water ratios ranging from 0.6 to 42.9, the half-saturation constant (KQ) is 5.9 ± 0.9 with a theoretic maximum power density of 20.4 ± 1.0 W m-3. Energy balance analysis indicates an appropriate gas-water ratio regulation (from 2.3 to 28.6) for cathodic compartment is necessary to obtain positive energy output for the system. A maximum net electricity output is 9.09 × 10-3 kWh m-3 with gas-water ratio of 17.1. Notably, the system achieves the chemical oxygen demand removal of 98.3 ± 0.3%, ammonia nitrogen removal of 99.6 ± 0.1%, and total nitrogen removal of 80.0 ± 0.9%. This work verifies an effective integration of microfiltration membrane into bioelectrochemical system as separator for high-quality effluent and provides an insight into the operation and regulation of biocathode system for effective electrical energy output.

Biomass gasification for energy production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lundberg, H.; Morris, M.; Rensfelt, E. [TPS Termiska Prosesser Ab, Nykoeping (Sweden)

1997-12-31

Biomass and waste are becoming increasingly interesting as fuels for efficient and environmentally sound power generation. Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) gasification for biomass and waste has been developed and applied to kilns both in the pulp and paper industry and the cement industry. A demonstration plant in Greve-in- Chianti, Italy includes two 15 MW{sub t}h RDF-fuelled CFB gasifiers of TPS design, the product gas from which is used in a cement kiln or in steam boiler for power generation. For CFB gasification of biomass and waste to reach a wider market, the product gas has to be cleaned effectively so that higher fuel to power efficiencies can be achieved by utilizing power cycles based on engines or gas turbines. TPS has developed both CFB gasification technology and effective secondary stage tar cracking technology. The integrated gasification - gas-cleaning technology is demonstrated today at pilot plant scale. To commercialise the technology, the TPS`s strategy is to first demonstrate the process for relatively clean fuels such as woody biomass and then extend the application to residues from waste recycling. Several demonstration projects are underway to commercialise TPS`s gasification and gas cleaning technology. In UK the ARBRE project developed by ARBRE Energy will construct a gasification plant at Eggborough, North Yorkshire, which will provide gas to a gas turbine and steam turbine generation system, producing 10 MW and exporting 8 Mw of electricity. It has been included in the 1993 tranche of the UK`s Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) and has gained financial support from EC`s THERMIE programme as a targeted BIGCC project. (author)

Biomass gasification for energy production

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lundberg, H; Morris, M; Rensfelt, E [TPS Termiska Prosesser Ab, Nykoeping (Sweden)

1998-12-31

Biomass and waste are becoming increasingly interesting as fuels for efficient and environmentally sound power generation. Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) gasification for biomass and waste has been developed and applied to kilns both in the pulp and paper industry and the cement industry. A demonstration plant in Greve-in- Chianti, Italy includes two 15 MW{sub t}h RDF-fuelled CFB gasifiers of TPS design, the product gas from which is used in a cement kiln or in steam boiler for power generation. For CFB gasification of biomass and waste to reach a wider market, the product gas has to be cleaned effectively so that higher fuel to power efficiencies can be achieved by utilizing power cycles based on engines or gas turbines. TPS has developed both CFB gasification technology and effective secondary stage tar cracking technology. The integrated gasification - gas-cleaning technology is demonstrated today at pilot plant scale. To commercialise the technology, the TPS`s strategy is to first demonstrate the process for relatively clean fuels such as woody biomass and then extend the application to residues from waste recycling. Several demonstration projects are underway to commercialise TPS`s gasification and gas cleaning technology. In UK the ARBRE project developed by ARBRE Energy will construct a gasification plant at Eggborough, North Yorkshire, which will provide gas to a gas turbine and steam turbine generation system, producing 10 MW and exporting 8 Mw of electricity. It has been included in the 1993 tranche of the UK`s Non Fossil Fuel Obligation (NFFO) and has gained financial support from EC`s THERMIE programme as a targeted BIGCC project. (author)

The effect of microwave pretreatment on chemical looping gasification of microalgae for syngas production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Zhifeng; Ma, Xiaoqian; Jiang, Enchen

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Microwave pretreatment is beneficial to chemical-looping gasification reaction. • Gasification efficiency and gas yield increased greatly under microwave pretreatment. • 60 s is the optimal microwave pretreatment time in CLG to produce syngas. • Suitable microwave pretreatment can make the structure of solid residue become loose. • 750 W is the optimal microwave pretreatment power in CLG to produce syngas. - Abstract: Chemical-looping gasification (CLG) of Chlorella vulgaris was carried out in a quartz tube reactor under different microwave pretreatment. The product fractional yields, conversion efficiency and analysis of performance parameters were analyzed in order to obtain the characterization and optimal conditions of microwave pretreatment for syngas production. The results indicate that microwave pretreatment is conducive to CLG reaction. Furthermore, the higher power or the longer time in the process of microwave pretreatment could not exhibit a better effect on CLG. In addition, 750 W and 60 s is the optimal microwave pretreatment power and time respectively to obtain a great reducibility of oxygen carrier, high conversion efficiency, high products yield and good LHV. The H_2 yield, LHV, gasification efficiency and gas yield increased obviously from 18.12%, 12.14 MJ/Nm"3, 59.76% and 1.04 Nm"3/kg of untreated Chlorella vulgaris to 24.55%, 13.13 MJ/Nm"3, 72.16% and 1.16 Nm"3/kg of the optimal microwave pretreatment condition, respectively.

Effect of Mass-Transport Limitations on the Performance of a Packed Bed Membrane Reactor for Partial Oxidations. Transport from the Membrane to the Packed Bed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Sint Annaland, M.; Kurten, U.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2007-01-01

With a packed bed membrane reactor, the product yield can be significantly enhanced for partial oxidation systems, via distributive addition of oxygen to the reaction mixture along the axial coordinate of the reactor, provided that the reaction order in oxygen of the formation rate of the target

Effect of mass-transport limitations on the performance of a packed bed membrane reactor for partial oxidations. Transport from the membrane to the packed bed

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sint Annaland, van M.; Kurten, U.; Kuipers, J.A.M.

2007-01-01

With a packed bed membrane reactor, the product yield can be significantly enhanced for partial oxidation systems, via distributive addition of oxygen to the reaction mixture along the axial coordinate of the reactor, provided that the reaction order in oxygen of the formation rate of the target

Reverse-Bumpy-Ball-Type-Nanoreactor-Loaded Nylon Membranes as Peroxidase-Mimic Membrane Reactors for a Colorimetric Assay for H₂O₂.

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Ying; Jiao, Xiangyu; Yang, Hankun; Wen, Yongqiang; Su, Lei; Zhang, Xueji

2016-04-01

Herein we report for the first time fabrication of reverse bumpy ball (RBB)-type-nanoreactor-based flexible peroxidase-mimic membrane reactors (MRs). The RBB-type nanoreactors with gold nanoparticles embedded in the inner walls of carbon shells were loaded on nylon membranes through a facile filtration approach. The as-prepared flexible catalytic membrane was studied as a peroxidase-mimic MR. It was found that the obtained peroxidase-mimic MR could exhibit several advantages over natural enzymes, such as facile and good recyclability, long-term stability and easy storage. Moreover, the RBB NS-modified nylon MRs as a peroxidase mimic provide a useful colorimetric assay for H₂O₂.

Catalytic technology in the energy/environment field. Utilization of catalyst in coal pyrolysis and gasification processes; Energy kankyo bun`ya ni okeru shokubai gijutsu. Sekitan no netsubunkai oyobi gas ka ni okeru shokubai no riyo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otsuka, Y. [Tohoku University, Institute for Chemical Reaction Science (Japan)

1998-05-20

This review article focuses on the utilization of several catalysts during coal pyrolysis and gasification. In situ or off line catalytic upgrading of volatile matters during pyrolysis of low rank coals is carried out in pressurized H2 with different reactors to produce BTX (benzene, toluene and xylene). When NiSO4 and Ni(OH)2 are used in the hydropyrolysis of Australian brown coal using an entrained bed reactor with two separated reaction zones, BTX yield reaches 18-23%. MS-13X zeolite and USY zeolite mixed with Al2O3 are effective for producing BTX with powder-particle fluidized bed and two-stage reactors, respectively. Catalytic gasification is described from a standpoint of direct production of SNG(CH4) from coal and steam. When K2CO3 and Ni are compared for this purpose, Ni catalyst is more suitable at low temperatures of 500-600degC, where CH4 formation is thermodynamically favorable. Fe and Ca catalysts can successfully be prepared from inexpensive raw materials and are rather active for steam gasification at {>=}700degC. The use of upgrading and gasification catalysts is discussed in terms of preparation, performance, life and recovery. 27 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

Gasification : converting low value feedstocks to high value products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koppel, P.; Lorden, D.

2009-01-01

This presentation provided a historic overview of the gasification process and described the process chemistry of its two primary reactions, notably partial oxidation and steam reforming. The gasification process involves converting low value carbonaceous solid or liquid feeds to a synthetic gas by reacting the feed with oxygen and steam under high pressure and temperature conditions. Since the gasifier operates under a reducing environment instead of an oxidizing environment, mist sulphur is converted to hydrogen sulphide instead of sulphur dioxide. The gasification process also involves cleaning up synthetic gas and acid gas removal; recovery of conventional sulphur; and combustion or further processing of clean synthetic gas. This presentation also outlined secondary reactions such as methanation, water shift, and carbon formation. The negative effects of gasification were also discussed, with particular reference to syngas; metal carbonyls; soot; and slag. Other topics that were presented included world syngas production capacity by primary feedstock; operating IGCC projects; natural gas demand by oil sands supply and demand considerations; reasons for using the gasification process; gasifier feedstocks; and gasification products. The presentation concluded with a discussion of gasification licensors; gasification technologies; gasification experience; and the regulatory situation for greenhouse gas. Gasification has demonstrated excellent environmental performance with sulphur recovery greater than 99 per cent, depending on the the recovery process chosen. The opportunity also exists for carbon dioxide recovery. tabs., figs.

MHD power station with coal gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brzozowski, W.S.; Dul, J.; Pudlik, W.

1976-01-01

A description is given of the proposed operating method of a MHD-power station including a complete coal gasification into lean gas with a simultaneous partial gas production for the use of outside consumers. A comparison with coal gasification methods actually being used and full capabilities of power stations heated with coal-derived gas shows distinct advantages resulting from applying the method of coal gasification with waste heat from MHD generators working within the boundaries of the thermal-electric power station. (author)

Directing filtration to narrow molecular weight distribution of oligodextran in an enzymatic membrane reactor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Su, Ziran; Luo, Jianquan; Pinelo, Manuel

2018-01-01

) should be minimized to reduce accumulation of large oligodextran molecules on the membrane surface, which might diffuse through the membrane and thus broaden the Mw distribution of the products in the permeate. Both dextranase and dextran caused membrane irreversible fouling. The fouling caused...... product, hypersaline wastewater discharge and potential safety hazards. In this work, a novel enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) system to produce oligodextran is proposed, whereby in-situ product recovery can be manipulated to control the Mw distribution of the resulting products. Results showed...... that the membrane material played an important role in the permeate flux and transmission of oligodextran. Among the tested membranes, a 20kDa polyethersulfone (PES) membrane was found to be optimal for building up the EMR, as it successfully controlled the oligodextran Mw within the desired range with a relatively...

Layout of an internally heated gas generator for the steam gasification of coal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feistel, P.P.; Duerrfeld, R.; Heck, K.H. van; Juentgen, H.

1975-01-01

Industrial-scale steam gasification of coal using heat from high temperature reactors requires research and development on allothermal gas generators. Bergbau-Forschung GmbH, Essen, does theoretical and experimental work in this field. The experiments deal with reaction kinetics, heat transfer and material tests. Their significance for the layout of a full-scale gas generator is shown. Including material specifications, the feasibility of a gasifier, characterized by a fluid bed volume of 318 m 3 and a heat transferring area of 4000 m 2 , results. The data, now available, are used to determine the gasification throughput from the heat balance, i.e. the equality of heat consumed and heat transferred. Throughputs of about 50 t/hr of coal are possible for a single gas generator, the helium outlet temperature of the HTR being 950 0 C/ Bergbau-Forschung has commissioned a medium-scale pilot plant (200 kg/hr). (Auth.)

Potentialities of a Membrane Reactor with Laccase Grafted Membranes for the Enzymatic Degradation of Phenolic Compounds in Water

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vorleak Chea

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the degradation of phenolic compounds by laccases from Trametes versicolor in an enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR. The enzymatic membranes were prepared by grafting laccase on a gelatine layer previously deposited onto α-alumina tubular membranes. The 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (DMP was selected  from among the three different phenolic compounds tested (guaiacol, 4-chlorophenol and DMP to study the performance of the EMR in dead end configuration. At the lowest feed substrate concentration tested (100 mg·L−1, consumption increased with flux (up to 7.9 × 103 mg·h−1·m−2 at 128 L·h−1·m−2, whereas at the highest substrate concentration (500 mg·L−1, it was shown that the reaction was limited by the oxygen content.

Pilot Scale Water Gas Shift - Membrane Device for Hydrogen from Coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barton, Tom [Western Research Inst. (WRI), Laramie, WY (United States)

2013-09-01

The objectives of the project were to build pilot scale hydrogen separation systems for use in a gasification product stream. This device would demonstrate fabrication and manufacturing techniques for producing commercially ready facilities. The design was a 2 lb/day hydrogen device which included composite hydrogen separation membranes, a water gas shift monolith catalyst, and stainless steel structural components. Synkera Technologies was to prepare hydrogen separation membranes with metallic rims, and to adjust the alloy composition in their membranes to a palladium-gold composition which is sulfur resistant. Chart was to confirm their brazing technology for bonding the metallic rims of the composite membranes to their structural components and design and build the 2 lbs/day device incorporating membranes and catalysts. WRI prepared the catalysts and completed the testing of the membranes and devices on coal derived syngas. The reactor incorporated eighteen 2'' by 7'' composite palladium alloy membranes. These membranes were assembled with three stacks of three paired membranes. Initial vacuum testing and visual inspection indicated that some membranes were cracked, either in transportation or in testing. During replacement of the failed membranes, while pulling a vacuum on the back side of the membranes, folds were formed in the flexible composite membranes. In some instances these folds led to cracks, primarily at the interface between the alumina and the aluminum rim. The design of the 2 lb/day device was compromised by the lack of any membrane isolation. A leak in any membrane failed the entire device. A large number of tests were undertaken to bring the full 2 lb per day hydrogen capacity on line, but no single test lasted more than 48 hours. Subsequent tests to replace the mechanical seals with brazing have been promising, but the technology remains promising but not proven.

Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) production and gasification in a pilot plant integrated with an Otto cycle ICE through Aspen plus™ modelling: Thermodynamic and economic viability.

Science.gov (United States)

Násner, Albany Milena Lozano; Lora, Electo Eduardo Silva; Palacio, José Carlos Escobar; Rocha, Mateus Henrique; Restrepo, Julian Camilo; Venturini, Osvaldo José; Ratner, Albert

2017-11-01

This work deals with the development of a Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) gasification pilot plant using air as a gasification agent. A downdraft fixed bed reactor is integrated with an Otto cycle Internal Combustion Engine (ICE). Modelling was carried out using the Aspen Plus™ software to predict the ideal operational conditions for maximum efficiency. Thermodynamics package used in the simulation comprised the Non-Random Two-Liquid (NRTL) model and the Hayden-O'Connell (HOC) equation of state. As expected, the results indicated that the Equivalence Ratio (ER) has a direct influence over the gasification temperature and the composition of the Raw Produced Gas (RPG), and effects of ER over the Lower Heating Value (LHV) and Cold Gasification Efficiency (CGE) of the RPG are also discussed. A maximum CGE efficiency of 57-60% was reached for ER values between 0.25 and 0.3, also an average reactor temperature values in the range of 680-700°C, with a peak LHV of 5.8MJ/Nm 3 . RPG was burned in an ICE, reaching an electrical power of 50kW el . The economic assessment of the pilot plant implementation was also performed, showing the project is feasible, with power above 120kW el with an initial investment of approximately US$ 300,000. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Thermodynamic comparison of the FICFB and Viking gasification concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gassner, Martin; Marechal, Francois

2009-01-01

Two biomass gasification concepts, i.e. indirectly heated, fast internally circulating fluidised bed (FICFB) gasification with steam as gasifying agent and two-stage, directly heated, fixed bed Viking gasification are compared with respect to their performance as gas generators. Based on adjusted equilibrium equations, the gas composition and the energy requirements for gasification are accurately modelled. Overall energy balances are assessed by an energy integration with the heat cascade concept and considering energy recovery in a steam Rankine cycle. A detailed inventory of energy and exergy losses of the different process sections is presented and potential process improvements due to a better utility choice or feed pretreatment like drying or pyrolysis are discussed. While Viking gasification performs better as an isolated gas generator than state-of-the-art FICFB gasification, there is large potential for improvement of the FICFB system. Furthermore, a concluding analysis of the gasification systems in an integrated plant for synthetic natural gas production shows that FICFB gasification is more suitable overall due to a more advantageous energy conversion related to the producer gas composition.

WATER-GAS SHIFT KINETICS OVER IRON OXIDE CATALYSTS AT MEMBRANE REACTOR CONDITIONS; A

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carl R.F. Lund

2001-01-01

This report covers the second year of a project investigating water-gas shift catalysts for use in membrane reactors. It has been established that a simple iron high temperature shift catalyst becomes ineffective in a membrane reactor because the reaction rate is severely inhibited by the build-up of the product CO(sub 2). During the past year, an improved microkinetic model for water-gas shift over iron oxide was developed. Its principal advantage over prior models is that it displays the correct asymptotic behavior at all temperatures and pressures as the composition approaches equilibrium. This model has been used to explore whether it might be possible to improve the performance of iron high temperature shift catalysts under conditions of high CO(sub 2) partial pressure. The model predicts that weakening the surface oxygen bond strength by less than 5% should lead to higher catalytic activity as well as resistance to rate inhibition at higher CO(sub 2) partial pressures. Two promoted iron high temperature shift catalysts were studied. Ceria and copper were each studied as promoters since there were indications in the literature that they might weaken the surface oxygen bond strength. Ceria was found to be ineffective as a promoter, but preliminary results with copper promoted FeCr high temperature shift catalyst show it to be much more resistant to rate inhibition by high levels of CO(sub 2). Finally, the performance of sulfided CoMo/Al(sub 2)O(sub 3) catalysts under conditions of high CO(sub 2) partial pressure was simulated using an available microkinetic model for water-gas shift over this catalyst. The model suggests that this catalyst might be quite effective in a medium temperature water-gas shift membrane reactor, provided that the membrane was resistant to the H(sub 2)S that is required in the feed

Adlayers of palladium particles and their aggregates on porous polypropylene hollow fiber membranes as hydrogenization contractors/reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Volkov, V.V.; Lebedeva, V.I.; Petrova, I.V.; Bobyl, A.V.; Konnikov, S.G.; Roldughin, V.I.; Erkel, J. van; Tereshchenko, G.F.

2011-01-01

Principal approaches for the preparation of catalytic membrane reactors based on polymer membranes containing palladium nanoparticles and for the description of their characteristics are presented. The method for the development of adlayers composed of palladium nanoparticles and their aggregates on

Dynamic models of staged gasification processes. Documentation of gasification simulator; Dynamiske modeller a f trinopdelte forgasningsprocesser. Dokumentation til forgasser simulator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2005-02-15

In connection with the ERP project 'Dynamic modelling of staged gasification processes' a gasification simulator has been constructed. The simulator consists of: a mathematical model of the gasification process developed at Technical University of Denmark, a user interface programme, IGSS, and a communication interface between the two programmes. (BA)

Lipase kinetics: hydrolysis of triacetin by lipase from Candida cylindracea in a hollow-fiber membrane reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Guit, R.P.M.; Kloosterman, M.; Meindersma, G.W.; Mayer, M.; Meijer, E.M.

1991-01-01

The aptitude of a hollow-fiber membrane reactor to det. lipase kinetics was investigated using the hydrolysis of triacetin catalyzed by lipase from C. cylindracea as a model system. The binding of the lipase to the membrane appears not to be very specific (surface adsorption), and probably its

Subtask 4.2 - Coal Gasification Short Course

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kevin Galbreath

2009-06-30

Major utilities, independent power producers, and petroleum and chemical companies are intent on developing a fleet of gasification plants primarily because of high natural gas prices and the implementation of state carbon standards, with federal standards looming. Currently, many projects are being proposed to utilize gasification technologies to produce a synthesis gas or fuel gas stream for the production of hydrogen, liquid fuels, chemicals, and electricity. Financing these projects is challenging because of the complexity, diverse nature of gasification technologies, and the risk associated with certain applications of the technology. The Energy & Environmental Research Center has developed a gasification short course that is designed to provide technical personnel with a broad understanding of gasification technologies and issues, thus mitigating the real or perceived risk associated with the technology. Based on a review of research literature, tutorial presentations, and Web sites on gasification, a short course presentation was prepared. The presentation, consisting of about 500 PowerPoint slides, provides at least 7 hours of instruction tailored to an audience's interests and needs. The initial short course is scheduled to be presented September 9 and 10, 2009, in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Test and evaluate the tri-gas low-Btu coal-gasification process. Final report, October 21, 1977-October 31, 1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zabetakis, M.G.

1980-12-01

This report describes the continuation of work done to develop the BCR TRI-GAS multiple fluidized-bed gasification process. The objective is the gasification of all ranks of coals with the only product being a clean, low-Btu fuel gas. Design and construction of a 100 lb/h process and equipment development unit (PEDU) was completed on the previous contract. The process consists of three fluid-bed reactors in series, each having a specific function: Stage 1 - pretreatment; Stage 2- - gasification; Stage 3 - maximization of carbon utilization. Under the present contract, 59 PEDU tests have been conducted. A number of these were single-stage tests, mostly in Stage 1; however, integrated PEDU tests were conducted with a western coal (Rosebud) and two eastern coals (Illinois No. 6 and Pittsburgh seam). Both Rosebud and Pittsburgh seam coals were gasified with the PEDU operating in the design mode. Operation with Illinois No. 6 seam coal was also very promising; however, time limitations precluded further testing with this coal. One of the crucial tasks was to operate the Stage 1 reactor to pretreat and devolatilize caking coals. By adding a small amount of air to the fluidizing gas, the caking properties of the coal can be eliminated. However, it was also desirable to release a high percentage of the volatile matter from the coal in this vessel. To accomplish this, the reactor had to be operated above the agglomerating temperature of caking coals. By maintaining a low ratio of fresh to treated coal, this objective was achieved. Both Illinois No. 6 and Pittsburgh seam coals were treated at temperatures of 800 to 900 F without agglomerating in the vessel.

Gasification of coal making use of nuclear processing heat

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schilling, H.D.; Bonn, B.; Krauss, U.

1981-01-01

In the chapter 'Gasification of coal making use of nuclear processing heat', the steam gasification of brown coal and bituminous coal, the hydrogenating gasification of brown coal including nuclear process heat either by steam cracking methane in the steam reformer or by preheating the gasifying agent, as well as the hydrogenating gasification of bituminous coal are described. (HS) [de

Production of hydrogen from bio-ethanol in catalytic membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gernot, E.; Aupretre, F.; Deschamps, A.; Etievant, C.; Epron, F.; Marecot, P.; Duprez, D.

2006-01-01

Production of hydrogen from renewable energy sources offers a great potential for CO 2 emission reduction, responsible for global warming. Among renewable energies, liquid biofuels are very convenient hydrogen carriers for decentralized applications such as micro-cogeneration and transports. Ethanol, produced from sugar plants and cereals, allows a reduction of more than 60% of CO 2 emissions in comparison to gasoline. BIOSTAR is an R and D project, co-funded by the French Agency for Environment and Energy Management (ADEME) which aims at developing an efficient source of hydrogen from bio-ethanol, suitable for proton exchange membrane fuel cell systems. The objectives are to obtain, through catalytic process at medium temperature range, an efficient conversion of bio-ethanol into pure hydrogen directly usable for PEMFC. CETH has developed a catalytic membrane reformer (CMR), based on a patented technology, integrating a steam reforming catalyst as well as a combustion catalyst. Both catalysts have been developed and optimized for membrane reactor in partnership with the University of Poitiers. The composite metallic membrane developed by CETH allows hydrogen extraction near the hydrogen production sites, which enhances both efficiency and compactness. (authors)

WABASH RIVER COAL GASIFICATION REPOWERING PROJECT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unknown

2000-09-01

The close of 1999 marked the completion of the Demonstration Period of the Wabash River Coal Gasification Repowering Project. This Final Report summarizes the engineering and construction phases and details the learning experiences from the first four years of commercial operation that made up the Demonstration Period under Department of Energy (DOE) Cooperative Agreement DE-FC21-92MC29310. This 262 MWe project is a joint venture of Global Energy Inc. (Global acquired Destec Energy's gasification assets from Dynegy in 1999) and PSI Energy, a part of Cinergy Corp. The Joint Venture was formed to participate in the Department of Energy's Clean Coal Technology (CCT) program and to demonstrate coal gasification repowering of an existing generating unit impacted by the Clean Air Act Amendments. The participants jointly developed, separately designed, constructed, own, and are now operating an integrated coal gasification combined-cycle power plant, using Global Energy's E-Gas{trademark} technology (E-Gas{trademark} is the name given to the former Destec technology developed by Dow, Destec, and Dynegy). The E-Gas{trademark} process is integrated with a new General Electric 7FA combustion turbine generator and a heat recovery steam generator in the repowering of a 1950's-vintage Westinghouse steam turbine generator using some pre-existing coal handling facilities, interconnections, and other auxiliaries. The gasification facility utilizes local high sulfur coals (up to 5.9% sulfur) and produces synthetic gas (syngas), sulfur and slag by-products. The Project has the distinction of being the largest single train coal gasification combined-cycle plant in the Western Hemisphere and is the cleanest coal-fired plant of any type in the world. The Project was the first of the CCT integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) projects to achieve commercial operation.

Numerical simulation of ion transport membrane reactors: Oxygen permeation and transport and fuel conversion

KAUST Repository

Hong, Jongsup; Kirchen, Patrick; Ghoniem, Ahmed F.

2012-01-01

Ion transport membrane (ITM) based reactors have been suggested as a novel technology for several applications including fuel reforming and oxy-fuel combustion, which integrates air separation and fuel conversion while reducing complexity

Testing of a 7-tube palladium membrane reactor for potential use in TEP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carlson, Bryan J.; Trujillo, Stephen; Willms, R. Scott

2010-01-01

A Palladium Membrane Reactor (PMR) consists of a palladium/silver membrane permeator filled with catalyst (catalyst may be inside or outside the membrane tubes). The PMR is designed to recover tritium from the methane, water, and other impurities present in fusion reactor effluent. A key feature of a PMR is that the total hydrogen isotope content of a stream is significantly reduced as (1) methane-steam reforming and/or water-gas shift reactions proceed on the catalyst bed and (2) hydrogen isotopes are removed via permeation through the membrane. With a PMR design matched to processing requirements, nearly complete hydrogen isotope removals can be achieved. A 3-tube PMR study was recently completed. From the results presented in this study, it was possible to conclude that a PMR is appropriate for TEP, perforated metal tube protectors function well, platinum on aluminum (PtA) catalyst performs the best, conditioning with air is probably required to properly condition the Pd/Ag tubes, and that CO/CO 2 ratios maybe an indicator of coking. The 3-tube PMR had a permeator membrane area of 0.0247 m 2 and a catalyst volume to membrane area ratio of 4.63 cc/cm 2 (with the catalyst on the outside of the membrane tubes and the catalyst only covering the membrane tube length). A PMR for TEP will require a larger membrane area (perhaps 0.35 m 2 ). With this in mind, an intermediate sized PMR was constructed. This PMR has 7 permeator tubes and a total membrane area of 0.0851 m 2 . The catalyst volume to membrane area ratio for the 7-tube PMR was 5.18 cc/cm 2 . The total membrane area of the 7-tube PMR (0.0851 m 2 ) is 3.45 times larger than total membrane area of the 3-tube PMR (0.0247 m 2 ). The following objectives were identified for the 7-tube PMR tests: (1) Refine test measurements, especially humidity and flow; (2) Refine maintenance procedures for Pd/Ag tube conditioning; (3) Evaluate baseline PMR operating conditions; (4) Determine PMR scaling method; (5) Evaluate PMR

CATALYTIC GASIFICATION OF COAL USING EUTECTIC SALT MIXTURES

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dr. Yaw D. Yeboah; Dr. Yong Xu; Dr. Atul Sheth; Dr. Pradeep Agrawal

2001-12-01

The Gas Research Institute (GRI) estimates that by the year 2010, 40% or more of U.S. gas supply will be provided by supplements including substitute natural gas (SNG) from coal. These supplements must be cost competitive with other energy sources. The first generation technologies for coal gasification e.g. the Lurgi Pressure Gasification Process and the relatively newer technologies e.g. the KBW (Westinghouse) Ash Agglomerating Fluidized-Bed, U-Gas Ash Agglomerating Fluidized-Bed, British Gas Corporation/Lurgi Slagging Gasifier, Texaco Moving-Bed Gasifier, and Dow and Shell Gasification Processes, have several disadvantages. These disadvantages include high severities of gasification conditions, low methane production, high oxygen consumption, inability to handle caking coals, and unattractive economics. Another problem encountered in catalytic coal gasification is deactivation of hydroxide forms of alkali and alkaline earth metal catalysts by oxides of carbon (CO{sub x}). To seek solutions to these problems, a team consisting of Clark Atlanta University (CAU, a Historically Black College and University, HBCU), the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) proposed to identify suitable low melting eutectic salt mixtures for improved coal gasification. The research objectives of this project were to: Identify appropriate eutectic salt mixture catalysts for coal gasification; Assess agglomeration tendency of catalyzed coal; Evaluate various catalyst impregnation techniques to improve initial catalyst dispersion; Determine catalyst dispersion at high carbon conversion levels; Evaluate effects of major process variables (such as temperature, system pressure, etc.) on coal gasification; Evaluate the recovery, regeneration and recycle of the spent catalysts; and Conduct an analysis and modeling of the gasification process to provide better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms and kinetics of the process.

Carbon Dioxide Capture and Separation Techniques for Gasification-based Power Generation Point Sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pennline, H.W.; Luebke, D.R.; Jones, K.L.; Morsi, B.I. (Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA); Heintz, Y.J. (Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA); Ilconich, J.B. (Parsons)

2007-06-01

The capture/separation step for carbon dioxide (CO2) from large-point sources is a critical one with respect to the technical feasibility and cost of the overall carbon sequestration scenario. For large-point sources, such as those found in power generation, the carbon dioxide capture techniques being investigated by the in-house research area of the National Energy Technology Laboratory possess the potential for improved efficiency and reduced costs as compared to more conventional technologies. The investigated techniques can have wide applications, but the research has focused on capture/separation of carbon dioxide from flue gas (post-combustion from fossil fuel-fired combustors) and from fuel gas (precombustion, such as integrated gasification combined cycle or IGCC). With respect to fuel gas applications, novel concepts are being developed in wet scrubbing with physical absorption; chemical absorption with solid sorbents; and separation by membranes. In one concept, a wet scrubbing technique is being investigated that uses a physical solvent process to remove CO2 from fuel gas of an IGCC system at elevated temperature and pressure. The need to define an ideal solvent has led to the study of the solubility and mass transfer properties of various solvents. Pertaining to another separation technology, fabrication techniques and mechanistic studies for membranes separating CO2 from the fuel gas produced by coal gasification are also being performed. Membranes that consist of CO2-philic ionic liquids encapsulated into a polymeric substrate have been investigated for permeability and selectivity. Finally, dry, regenerable processes based on sorbents are additional techniques for CO2 capture from fuel gas. An overview of these novel techniques is presented along with a research progress status of technologies related to membranes and physical solvents.

Experimental investigation on an entrained flow type biomass gasification system using coconut coir dust as powdery biomass feedstock.

Science.gov (United States)

Senapati, P K; Behera, S

2012-08-01

Based on an entrained flow concept, a prototype atmospheric gasification system has been designed and developed in the laboratory for gasification of powdery biomass feedstock such as rice husks, coconut coir dust, saw dust etc. The reactor was developed by adopting L/D (height to diameter) ratio of 10, residence time of about 2s and a turn down ratio (TDR) of 1.5. The experimental investigation was carried out using coconut coir dust as biomass feedstock with a mean operating feed rate of 40 kg/h The effects of equivalence ratio in the range of 0.21-0.3, steam feed at a fixed flow rate of 12 kg/h, preheat on reactor temperature, product gas yield and tar content were investigated. The gasifier could able to attain high temperatures in the range of 976-1100 °C with gas lower heating value (LHV) and peak cold gas efficiency (CGE) of 7.86 MJ/Nm3 and 87.6% respectively. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two-step gasification of cattle manure for hydrogen-rich gas production: Effect of biochar preparation temperature and gasification temperature.

Science.gov (United States)

Xin, Ya; Cao, Hongliang; Yuan, Qiaoxia; Wang, Dianlong

2017-10-01

Two-step gasification process was proposed to dispose cattle manure for hydrogen rich gas production. The effect of temperature on product distribution and biochar properties were first studied in the pyrolysis-carbonization process. The steam gasification of biochar derived from different pyrolysis-carbonization temperatures was then performed at 750°C and 850°C. The biochar from the pyrolysis-carbonization temperatures of 500°C had high carbon content and low volatiles content. According to the results of gasification stage, the pyrolysis-carbonization temperature of 500°C and the gasification temperature of 850°C were identified as the suitable conditions for hydrogen production. We obtained 1.61m 3 /kg of syngas production, 0.93m 3 /kg of hydrogen yield and 57.58% of hydrogen concentration. This study shows that two-step gasification is an efficient waste-to-hydrogen energy process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated Water Gas Shift Membrane Reactors Utilizing Novel, Non Precious Metal Mixed Matrix Membrane

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferraris, John P. [Univ. of Texas-Dallas, Richardson, TX (United States). Dept. of Chemistry

2013-09-30

Nanoparticles of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks and other related hybrid materials were prepared by modifying published synthesis procedures by introducing bases, changing stoichiometric ratios, or adjusting reaction conditions. These materials were stable at temperatures >300 °C and were compatible with the polymer matrices used to prepare mixed- matrix membranes (MMMs). MMMs tested at 300 °C exhibited a >30 fold increase in permeability, compared to those measured at 35 °C, while maintaining H₂/CO₂ selectivity. Measurements at high pressure (up to 30 atm) and high temperature (up to 300 °C) resulted in an increase in gas flux across the membrane with retention of selectivity. No variations in permeability were observed at high pressures at either 35 or 300 °C. CO₂-induced plasticization was not observed for Matrimid®, VTEC, and PBI polymers or their MMMs at 30 atm and 300 °C. Membrane surface modification by cross-linking with ethanol diamine resulted in an increase in H₂/CO₂ selectivity at 35 °C. Spectrometric analysis showed that the cross-linking was effective to temperatures <150 °C. At higher temperatures, the cross-linked membranes exhibit a H₂/CO₂ selectivity similar to the uncross-linked polymer. Performance of the polybenzimidazole (PBI) hollow fibers prepared at Santa Fe Science and Technology (SFST, Inc.) showed increased flux and selectivity at 300 °C, which is comparable to a flat PBI membrane. A water-gas shift reactor has been built and currently being optimized for testing under DOE conditions.

Gasification potential for process industries in Languedoc-Roussillon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-06-01

This study, requested by the French 'BioenergieSud' network, aims at identifying the potentialities of gasification in Languedoc-Roussillon region (France). The goals are: evaluating the degree of information of industrialists with respect to gasification, their present day perception and the different obstacles and levers for the adoption of this technology; estimating the potential market of gasification units in this area through the study of the existing industrial actors; better evaluating the energy needs and expectations of the industrialists from different sectors in order to develop suitable gasification solutions

Investigation of combustion and gasification mechanically activated coal fuel of various degrees of metamorphism on the 5-MW heat setup

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Butakov Evgenii

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The technology of mechanochemical activation of combustion and gasification of coals is of unquestionable scientific and technical interest; an increase in chemical activity of coals at their mechanically activated grinding is associated with an increase in the rate of reaction of the coal substance. To study the combustion and gasification process, the reactor model with tangential scroll input of coal-air suspension and cylindrical reaction chamber was used at the 5-MW thermal power plant. The experiments were carried out with coals of G and SS grades of the Kuznetsk deposit. Coal, ground after the boiler’s standard mill, is fed by a feeder to the disintegrator; then, it enters the scroll inlet of the reactor burner with transport air. The suspension is ignited by a gas igniting device with the power of 50 kW. In experiments on combustion and gasification of fine coal performed at the temperature in the reaction chamber of 1000-1300°C and air excess α = 0.5-0.7, the data on concentrations of CO and H2 were obtained: for coal of grade G, concentration of H2 was 6.3% and concentration of CO was 15.3%; for coal of SS grade, concentration of H2 was 9.5% and concentration of CO was 15.6%.

Bench-scale production of liquid fuel from woody biomass via gasification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hanaoka, Toshiaki; Liu, Yanyong; Matsunaga, Kotetsu; Miyazawa, Tomohisa; Hirata, Satoshi; Sakanishi, Kinya [Biomass Technology Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Suehiro 2-2-2, Hiro, Kure, Hiroshima 737-0197 (Japan)

2010-08-15

The bench-scale production of hydrocarbon liquid fuel was achieved from woody biomass via gasification. The daily production capacity of the biomass-to-liquid (BTL) plant used in this study was 7.8 L of hydrocarbon liquid from 48 kg of woody biomass (on a dry basis), corresponding to 0.05 barrels. The BTL process involved the following steps: oxygen-enriched air gasification of the woody biomass, wet and dry gas cleaning, gas compression, carbon dioxide removal, and the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis reaction. In the gasification step, oxygen-enriched air gasification was carried out using a downdraft fixed-bed gasifier. The content of oxygen, which acts as the gasifying agent, was increased from 21.0 to 56.7 vol%; maximum values of the conversion to gas on a carbon basis and cold gas efficiency-approximately 96 C-mol% and 87.8%, respectively-were obtained at an oxygen content of around 30 vol%. With the increased oxygen content, the concentrations of CO, H{sub 2}, and CO{sub 2} increased from 22.8 to 36.5 vol%, from 16.8 to 28.1 vol%, and from 9.8 to 14.8 vol%, respectively, while that of N{sub 2} decreased from 48.8 to 16.0 vol%. The feed gas for the FT synthesis reaction was obtained by passing the product gas from the gasification step through a scrubber, carbon dioxide removal tower, and desulfurization tower; its composition was 30.8 vol% CO, 25.2 vol% H{sub 2}, 0.9 vol% CO{sub 2}, 2.5 vol% CH{sub 4}, 40.6 vol% N{sub 2}, < 5 ppb H{sub 2}S, and < 5 ppb COS. The hydrocarbon fuel was synthesized in a slurry bed reactor using hexadecane as the solvent and a Co/SiO{sub 2} catalyst. For hydrocarbons with carbon chain lengths of more than 5 carbon atoms (collectively referred to as C{sub 5+}) in the liquid fuel, a selectivity of 87.5% was obtained along with a chain growth probability of 0.84 under the following conditions: 4 MPa, 280 to 340 C, and a ratio of catalyst weight to feed gas rate (W/F) of 9.3 g.h/mol. (author)

Study of a nuclear graphite waste 14C decontamination process by CO2 gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pageot, Justin

2014-01-01

The decommissioning of French gas cooled nuclear reactors (UNGG), all arrested since 1994, will generate 23,000 tons of graphite waste classified Low Level and Long Lived and notably containing 14 C. The aim of this thesis is to study a new method for selective extraction of this radionuclide by CO 2 gasification.The multi-scale organization of virgin and irradiated graphite has been studied by a coupling between microspectrometry Raman and transmission electron microscopy. With the neutron fluence, the structure degrades and the nano-structure can be greatly changed. In extreme cases, the lamellar nano-structure nuclear graphite has become nano-porous. Furthermore, these damages are systematically heterogeneous. An orientation effect of 'crystallites', shown experimentally by ion implantation, could be a cause of these heterogeneities.This study also showed that from a specific fluence, there is an important development of nano-porous zones coinciding with a dramatic 14 C concentration increase. This radionuclide could be preferentially concentrated in the nano-porous areas which are potentially more reactive than the remaining laminar areas which could be less rich in 14 C. This process by CO 2 gasification was firstly tested on 'analogous' non-radioactive materials (mechanically milled graphite). These tests confirmed, for temperatures between 950 and 1000 C, the selective and complete elimination of nano-porous areas.Tests were then carried out on graphite waste from Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux A2 and G2 reactors. The results are promising with notably the quarter of 14 C inventory extracted for a weight loss of only few percent. Up to 68 % of 14 C inventory was extracted, but with an important gasification. Thus, this treatment could allow extracting selectively a share of 14 C inventory (mobile or linked to nano-porous areas) and allows imagining alternative scenarios for graphite waste managing. (author) [fr

Plasma gasification of refuse derived fuel in a single-stage system using different gasifying agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Agon, N; Hrabovský, M; Chumak, O; Hlína, M; Kopecký, V; Masláni, A; Bosmans, A; Helsen, L; Skoblja, S; Van Oost, G; Vierendeels, J

2016-01-01

The renewable evolution in the energy industry and the depletion of natural resources are putting pressure on the waste industry to shift towards flexible treatment technologies with efficient materials and/or energy recovery. In this context, a thermochemical conversion method of recent interest is plasma gasification, which is capable of producing syngas from a wide variety of waste streams. The produced syngas can be valorized for both energetic (heat and/or electricity) and chemical (ammonia, hydrogen or liquid hydrocarbons) end-purposes. This paper evaluates the performance of experiments on a single-stage plasma gasification system for the treatment of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from excavated waste. A comparative analysis of the syngas characteristics and process yields was done for seven cases with different types of gasifying agents (CO2+O2, H2O, CO2+H2O and O2+H2O). The syngas compositions were compared to the thermodynamic equilibrium compositions and the performance of the single-stage plasma gasification of RDF was compared to that of similar experiments with biomass and to the performance of a two-stage plasma gasification process with RDF. The temperature range of the experiment was from 1400 to 1600 K and for all cases, a medium calorific value syngas was produced with lower heating values up to 10.9 MJ/Nm(3), low levels of tar, high levels of CO and H2 and which composition was in good agreement to the equilibrium composition. The carbon conversion efficiency ranged from 80% to 100% and maximum cold gas efficiency and mechanical gasification efficiency of respectively 56% and 95%, were registered. Overall, the treatment of RDF proved to be less performant than that of biomass in the same system. Compared to a two-stage plasma gasification system, the produced syngas from the single-stage reactor showed more favourable characteristics, while the recovery of the solid residue as a vitrified slag is an advantage of the two-stage set-up. Copyright �

WATER- AND COAL GASIFICATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. S. Nazarov

2006-01-01

Full Text Available According to the results of gas analysis it has been established that water- and coal gasification is rather satisfactorily described by three thermo-chemical equations. One of these equations is basic and independent and the other two equations depend on the first one.The proposed process scheme makes it possible to explain the known data and also permits to carry out the gasification process and obtain high-quality hydrogen carbon-monoxide which is applicable for practical use.

Syngas production by gasification of aquatic biomass with CO2/O2 and simultaneous removal of H2S and COS using char obtained in the gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanaoka, Toshiaki; Hiasa, Shou; Edashige, Yusuke

2013-01-01

Applicability of gulfweed as feedstock for a biomass-to-liquid (BTL) process was studied for both production of gas with high syngas (CO + H 2 ) content via gasification of gulfweed and removal of gaseous impurities using char obtained in the gasification. Gulfweed as aqueous biomass was gasified with He/CO 2 /O 2 using a downdraft fixed-bed gasifier at ambient pressure and 900 °C at equivalence ratios (ER) of 0.1–0.3. The syngas content increased while the conversion to gas on a carbon basis decreased with decreasing ER. At an ER of 0.1 and He/CO 2 /O 2 = 0/85/15%, the syngas content was maximized at 67.6% and conversion to gas on a carbon basis was 94.2%. The behavior of the desulfurization using char obtained during the gasification process at ER = 0.1 and He/CO 2 /O 2 = 0/85/15% was investigated using a downdraft fixed-bed reactor at 250–550 °C under 3 atmospheres (H 2 S/N 2 , COS/N 2 , and a mixture of gases composed of CO, CO 2 , H 2 , N 2 , CH 4 , H 2 S, COS, and steam). The char had a higher COS removal capacity at 350 °C than commercial activated carbon because (Ca,Mg)S crystals were formed during desulfurization. The char simultaneously removed H 2 S and COS from the mixture of gases at 450 °C more efficiently than did activated carbon. These results support this novel BTL process consisting of gasification of gulfweed with CO 2 /O 2 and dry gas cleaning using self-supplied bed material. -- Highlights: • A product gas with high syngas content was produced from the gasification of gulfweed with CO 2 /O 2 . • The syngas content increased with decreasing the equivalence ratio. • The syngas content was maximized at 67.6% at an ER of 0.1 and He/CO 2 /O 2 = 0/85/15%. • The char simultaneously removed H 2 S and COS from a mixture of gases at 450 °C efficiently

Simulation of biomass-steam gasification in fluidized bed reactors: Model setup, comparisons and preliminary predictions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Linbo; Lim, C Jim; Yue, Guangxi; He, Boshu; Grace, John R

2016-12-01

A user-defined solver integrating the solid-gas surface reactions and the multi-phase particle-in-cell (MP-PIC) approach is built based on the OpenFOAM software. The solver is tested against experiments. Then, biomass-steam gasification in a dual fluidized bed (DFB) gasifier is preliminarily predicted. It is found that the predictions agree well with the experimental results. The bed material circulation loop in the DFB can form automatically and the bed height is about 1m. The voidage gradually increases along the height of the bed zone in the bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) of the DFB. The U-bend and cyclone can separate the syngas in the BFB and the flue gas in the circulating fluidized bed. The concentration of the gasification products is relatively higher in the conical transition section, and the dry and nitrogen-free syngas at the BFB outlet is predicted to be composed of 55% H 2 , 20% CO, 20% CO 2 and 5% CH 4 . Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Autotrophic Nitrogen Removal in a Membrane-Aerated Biofilm Reactor Under Continuous Aeration: A Demonstration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gilmore, Kevin R.; Terada, Akihiko; Smets, Barth F.

2013-01-01

This work describes the successful coupling of partial nitrification (nitritation) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation in a membrane-aerated biofilm reactor (MABR) with continuous aeration. Controlling the relative surface loadings of oxygen versus ammonium prevented complete nitrite oxidation and a...

The 7th European gasification conference

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

The theme of the conference was 'extending resources for clean energy'. Sessions covered coal gasification, gasification of biomass and waste, hydrogen and CO{sub 2} capture and storage, and development. The poster papers are also included. Selected papers have been abstracted separately on the Coal Abstracts database.

Wood biomass gasification in the world today

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolikj, Ognjen; Perishikj, Radovan; Mikulikj, Jurica

1999-01-01

Today gasification technology of different kinds represents a more and more interesting option of the production of energy forms. The article describes a biomass gasification plant (waste wood) Sydkraft, Vernamo from Sweden. (Author)

Gasification: in search of efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whysall, M. [UOP N.V., Antwerp (Belgium)

2007-07-01

Gasification of low cost feed stocks such as coal and heavy residues enables the supply of synthesis gas, hydrogen, power and utilities at a lower cost relative to conventional methodologies. The resulting synthesis gas can be used, after cleaning and sulphur removal, as a fuel or to produce other chemicals such as ammonia, methanol, or Fischer-Tropsch liquids. The paper covers coal and residue upgrading through the use of gasification, conversion and hydroprocessing and its integration with synthesis gas treatment and hydrogen recovery. Residue conversion choices can be influenced by hydrogen cost which can be controlled by integrating hydrogen production, recovery and purification into the gasification complex. Flow-schemes that maximize generation efficiency and minimize capital and operating costs and offer possibilities for CO{sub 2} capture are discussed. 3 figs.

Economic evaluation of pre-combustion CO2-capture in IGCC power plants by porous ceramic membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franz, Johannes; Maas, Pascal; Scherer, Viktor

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Process simulations of IGCC with pre-combustion capture via membranes were done. • Most promising technology is the water–gas-shift-membrane-reactor (WGSMR). • Energetic evaluations showed minimum efficiency loss of 5.8%-points for WGSMR. • Economic evaluations identified boundary limits of membrane technology. • Cost of electricity for optimum WGSMR-case is 57 €/MW h under made assumptions. - Abstract: Pre-combustion-carbon-capture is one of the three main routes for the mitigation of CO 2 -emissions by fossil fueled power plants. Based on the data of a detailed technical evaluation of CO 2 -capture by porous ceramic membranes (CM) and ceramic membrane reactors (WGSMR) in an Integrated-Gasification-Combined-Cycle (IGCC) power plant this paper focuses on the economic effects of CO 2 -abatement. First the results of the process simulations are presented briefly. The analysis is based on a comparison with a reference IGCC without CO 2 -capture (dry syngas cooling, bituminous coal, efficiency of 47.4%). In addition, as a second reference, an IGCC process with CO 2 removal based on standard Selexol-scrubbing is taken into account. The most promising technology for CO 2 -capture by membranes in IGCC applications is the combination of a water gas shift reactor and a H 2 -selective membrane into one water gas shift membrane reactor. For the WGSRM-case efficiency losses can be limited to about 6%-points (including losses for CO 2 compression) for a CO 2 separation degree of 90%. This is a severe reduction of the efficiency loss compared to Selexol (10.3% points) or IGCC–CM (8.6% points). The economic evaluation is based on a detailed analysis of investment and operational costs. Parameters like membrane costs and lifetime, costs of CO 2 -certificates and annual operating hours are taken into account. The purpose of these evaluations is to identify the minimum cost of electricity for the different capture cases for the variation of the boundary

A theoretical analysis of methanol synthesis from CO2 and H2 in a ceramic membrane reactor

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gallucci, F.; Basile, A.

2007-01-01

In this theoretical work the CO2 conversion into methanol in both a traditional reactor (TR) and a membrane reactor (MR) is considered. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of increasing CO2 conversion into methanol with respect to a TR. A zeolite MR, able to combine

GASIFICATION BASED BIOMASS CO-FIRING - PHASE I

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babul Patel; Kevin McQuigg; Robert F. Toerne

2001-12-01

Biomass gasification offers a practical way to use this locally available fuel source for co-firing traditional large utility boilers. The gasification process converts biomass into a low Btu producer gas that can be fed directly into the boiler. This strategy of co-firing is compatible with variety of conventional boilers including natural gas fired boilers as well as pulverized coal fired and cyclone boilers. Gasification has the potential to address all problems associated with the other types of co-firing with minimum modifications to the existing boiler systems. Gasification can also utilize biomass sources that have been previously unsuitable due to size or processing requirements, facilitating a reduction in the primary fossil fuel consumption in the boiler and thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

Influence of geometrical and operational parameters on the performance of porous catalytic membrane reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aran, H.C.; Klooster, H.J.G.; Jani, J.M.; Wessling, Matthias; Lefferts, Leonardus; Lammertink, Rob G.H.

2012-01-01

In this study, porous membrane reactors with various characteristic length (inner diameter), controllable catalyst support thickness, active catalyst surface area and tunable wetting properties are described for heterogeneously catalyzed gas¿liquid¿solid (G¿L¿S) reactions. We developed porous

Sequentially aerated membrane biofilm reactors for autotrophic nitrogen removal: microbial community composition and dynamics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pellicer i Nàcher, Carles; Franck, Stephanie; Gülay, Arda

2014-01-01

Membrane-aerated biofilm reactors performing autotrophic nitrogen removal can be successfully applied to treat concentrated nitrogen streams. However, their process performance is seriously hampered by the growth of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). In this work we document how sequential aeration...

Fluidised-bed combustion of gasification residue

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Korpela, T.; Kudjoi, A.; Hippinen, I.; Heinolainen, A.; Suominen, M.; Lu Yong [Helsinki Univ. of Technology (Finland). Lab of Energy Economics and Power Plant Engineering

1996-12-01

Partial gasification processes have been presented as possibilities for future power production. In the processes, the solid materials removed from a gasifier (i.e. fly ash and bed material) contain unburnt fuel and the fuel conversion is increased by burning this gasification residue either in an atmospheric or a pressurised fluidised-bed. In this project, which is a part of European JOULE 2 EXTENSION research programme, the main research objectives are the behaviour of calcium and sulphur compounds in solids and the emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x} and N{sub 2}O) in pressurised fluidised-bed combustion of gasification residues. (author)

Steam Gasification of Sawdust Biochar Influenced by Chemical Speciation of Alkali and Alkaline Earth Metallic Species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dongdong Feng

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of chemical speciation (H2O/NH4Ac/HCl-soluble and insoluble of alkali and alkaline earth metallic species on the steam gasification of sawdust biochar was investigated in a lab-scale, fixed-bed reactor, with the method of chemical fractionation analysis. The changes in biochar structures and the evolution of biochar reactivity are discussed, with a focus on the contributions of the chemical speciation of alkali and alkaline earth metallic species (AAEMs on the steam gasification of biochar. The results indicate that H2O/NH4Ac/HCl-soluble AAEMs have a significant effect on biochar gasification rates. The release of K occurs mainly in the form of inorganic salts and hydrated ions, while that of Ca occurs mainly as organic ones. The sp3-rich or sp2-sp3 structures and different chemical-speciation AAEMs function together as the preferred active sites during steam gasification. H2O/HCl-soluble AAEMs could promote the transformation of biochar surface functional groups, from ether/alkene C-O-C to carboxylate COO− in biochar, while they may both be improved by NH4Ac-soluble AAEMs. H2O-soluble AAEMs play a crucial catalytic role in biochar reactivity. The effect of NH4Ac-soluble AAEMs is mainly concentrated in the high-conversion stage (biochar conversion >30%, while that of HCl-soluble AAEMs is reflected in the whole activity-testing stage.

High-purity fatty acid methyl ester production from canola, soybean, palm, and yellow grease lipids by means of a membrane reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao Peigang; Dube, Marc A.; Tremblay, Andre Y.

2008-01-01

High-purity fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) was produced from different lipids, such as soybean oil, canola oil, a hydrogenated palm oil/palm oil blend, yellow grease, and brown grease, combined with methanol using a continuous membrane reactor. The membrane reactor combines reaction and separation in a single unit, provides continuous mixing of raw materials, and maintains a high molar ratio of methanol to lipid in the reaction loop while maintaining two phases during the reaction. It was demonstrated that the membrane reactor can be operated using a very broad range of feedstocks at highly similar operating conditions to produce FAME. The total glycerine and free glycerine contents of the FAME produced were below the ASTM D6751 standard after a single reaction step. Under essentially the same reaction conditions, a conventional batch reaction was not able to achieve the same degree of FAME purity. The effect of the fatty acid composition of the lipid feedstocks on the FAME purity was also shown. It was demonstrated that, due to the fatty acid composition, FAME from virgin soybean oil and virgin canola oil was produced in the membrane reactor within ASTM specifications even without a water washing step

Integrated Gasification SOFC Plant with a Steam Plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rokni, Masoud; Pierobon, Leonardo

2011-01-01

A hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and Steam Turbine (ST) plant is integrated with a gasification plant. Wood chips are fed to the gasification plant to produce biogas and then this gas is fed into the anode side of a SOFC cycle to produce electricity and heat. The gases from the SOFC stacks...... enter into a burner to burn the rest of the fuel. The offgases after the burner are now used to generate steam in a Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG). The generated steam is expanded in a ST to produce additional power. Thus a triple hybrid plant based on a gasification plant, a SOFC plant...... and a steam plant is presented and studied. The plant is called as IGSS (Integrated Gasification SOFC Steam plant). Different systems layouts are presented and investigated. Electrical efficiencies up to 56% are achieved which is considerably higher than the conventional integrated gasification combined...

The influence of chlorine on the gasification of wood

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Scala, C von; Struis, R; Stucki, S [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

1997-06-01

Chlorides of the heavy metals copper, lead and zinc inhibit the CO{sub 2}-gasification reaction of charcoal. This is observed either by impregnation the wood with the salts before pyrolysis or by mechanically mixing the salts with the charcoal before gasification. Charcoal impregnated or mixed with ammonium chloride reacts more slowly than untreated charcoal. Treating the charcoal with HCl also influences negatively the gasification reactivity, indicating that chlorine plays an important role in the gasification. (author) 2 figs., 4 refs.

CFD modelling of a membrane reactor for hydrogen production from ammonia

Science.gov (United States)

Shwe Hla, San; Dolan, Michael D.

2018-01-01

Despite the growing use of hydrogen (H2) as a transport fuel, one of the major barriers still remaining is efficient and inexpensive fuel distribution and storage. Current approaches, such as compression, liquefaction or metal hydride formation, incur a significant energy penalty. Ammonia (NH3) has long been considered a prospective H2 medium, exhibiting a higher volumetric H2 density than liquid H2, through liquid-phase storage at mild pressure. Decomposition of NH3 into H2 and N2 can be achieved via use of catalytic reactors and fuel-cell-grade H2 can be produced using metal membranes at H2 distribution sites.In this study, a 3-Dimensional (3D) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model has been developed to understand the performance of the H2 separation process in gas mixtures derived from an NH3-cracking reaction. The reactor consists of 19 tubular membrane tubes, each 470 mm long, inside a tubular shell with an inner diameter of 130 mm. Standard transport and energy equations governing a 3D, pressure-based, steady-state model were derived from the laws of conservation of mass, momentum and energy. The governing equations were solved using commercial CFD software ANSYS Fluent 18.0. Gas flow and mixing were modelled by the two-equation standard k-epsilon model for closure. Coupled solver was used for pressure-velocity coupling, enabling a pseudo-transient option with pseudo time steps of 0.01 s. To estimate H2 permeation through the metal membrane, a constant H2 permeability of 3.0E-07 mol.m-1 s-1 Pa-0.5 derived from series of experiments tested under a range of industrial conditions, was used. Model simulations were conducted for an adiabatic temperature of 300 °C, a feed-side pressure of 7.8 bara and a permeate side pressure of 0.1 bara. A parametric analysis was carried out to explore the effects of variation in total feed-gas flow and effects of changes in NH3-cracking efficiency on H2 production rates and H2 yields. The model estimated that 4.6-11.6 kg H2

Azo dye removal in a membrane-free up-flow biocatalyzed electrolysis reactor coupled with an aerobic bio-contact oxidation reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui, Dan; Guo, Yu-Qi; Cheng, Hao-Yi; Liang, Bin; Kong, Fan-Ying; Lee, Hyung-Sool; Wang, Ai-Jie

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A membrane-free up-flow biocatalyzed electrolysis reactor coupled with an aerobic bio-contact oxidation reactor was developed. ► Alizarin Yellow R as the mode of azo dyes was efficiently converted to p-phenylenediamine (PPD) and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). ► PPD and 5-ASA were further oxidized in a bio-contact oxidation reactor. ► The mechanism of UBER for azo dye removal was discussed. - Abstract: Azo dyes that consist of a large quantity of dye wastewater are toxic and persistent to biodegradation, while they should be removed before being discharged to water body. In this study, Alizarin Yellow R (AYR) as a model azo dye was decolorized in a combined bio-system of membrane-free, continuous up-flow bio-catalyzed electrolysis reactor (UBER) and subsequent aerobic bio-contact oxidation reactor (ABOR). With the supply of external power source 0.5 V in the UBER, AYR decolorization efficiency increased up to 94.8 ± 1.5%. Products formation efficiencies of p-phenylenediamine (PPD) and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) were above 90% and 60%, respectively. Electron recovery efficiency based on AYR removal in cathode zone was nearly 100% at HRTs longer than 6 h. Relatively high concentration of AYR accumulated at higher AYR loading rates (>780 g m −3 d −1 ) likely inhibited acetate oxidation of anode-respiring bacteria on the anode, which decreased current density in the UBER; optimal AYR loading rate for the UBER was 680 g m −3 d −1 (HRT 2.5 h). The subsequent ABOR further improved effluent quality. Overall the Chroma decreased from 320 times to 80 times in the combined bio-system to meet the textile wastewater discharge standard II in China.

Azo dye removal in a membrane-free up-flow biocatalyzed electrolysis reactor coupled with an aerobic bio-contact oxidation reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cui, Dan; Guo, Yu-Qi; Cheng, Hao-Yi; Liang, Bin; Kong, Fan-Ying [State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 202 Haihe Road, Harbin 150090 (China); Lee, Hyung-Sool [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1 (Canada); Wang, Ai-Jie, E-mail: waj0578@hit.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, No. 202 Haihe Road, Harbin 150090 (China)

2012-11-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer A membrane-free up-flow biocatalyzed electrolysis reactor coupled with an aerobic bio-contact oxidation reactor was developed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Alizarin Yellow R as the mode of azo dyes was efficiently converted to p-phenylenediamine (PPD) and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA). Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer PPD and 5-ASA were further oxidized in a bio-contact oxidation reactor. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The mechanism of UBER for azo dye removal was discussed. - Abstract: Azo dyes that consist of a large quantity of dye wastewater are toxic and persistent to biodegradation, while they should be removed before being discharged to water body. In this study, Alizarin Yellow R (AYR) as a model azo dye was decolorized in a combined bio-system of membrane-free, continuous up-flow bio-catalyzed electrolysis reactor (UBER) and subsequent aerobic bio-contact oxidation reactor (ABOR). With the supply of external power source 0.5 V in the UBER, AYR decolorization efficiency increased up to 94.8 {+-} 1.5%. Products formation efficiencies of p-phenylenediamine (PPD) and 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) were above 90% and 60%, respectively. Electron recovery efficiency based on AYR removal in cathode zone was nearly 100% at HRTs longer than 6 h. Relatively high concentration of AYR accumulated at higher AYR loading rates (>780 g m{sup -3} d{sup -1}) likely inhibited acetate oxidation of anode-respiring bacteria on the anode, which decreased current density in the UBER; optimal AYR loading rate for the UBER was 680 g m{sup -3} d{sup -1} (HRT 2.5 h). The subsequent ABOR further improved effluent quality. Overall the Chroma decreased from 320 times to 80 times in the combined bio-system to meet the textile wastewater discharge standard II in China.

Prediction of biomass-generated syngas using extents of major reactions in a continuous stirred-tank reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Ashokkumar M.; Kumar, Ajay; Madihally, Sundararajan; Whiteley, James R.; Huhnke, Raymond L.

2014-01-01

Syngas, the main gasification product, is a well-known intermediate for making fuels, chemicals and power. The objective of this study was to develop and validate reaction kinetics-based gasification model using extents of major reactions in a CSTR (continuous stirred-tank reactor) to predict syngas composition and yield. The model was studied by varying biomass and air flowrates from 2.9 to 4.2 dry kg/h and 4.5–10 kg/h, respectively, with temperature from 801 to 907 °C. Results showed significant improvement in the predictions of syngas composition and yield, and gasification efficiency. The extents of gasification reactions indicated that at ERs (equivalence ratios) below 0.32, the water gas reaction contributed the most to the syngas CO and H 2 yields. The char oxidation reaction was also the dominating reaction contributing to CO yield at ERs below 0.40. At ERs above 0.29, the Boudouard and methane oxidation reactions were the most dominating reactions contributing to the CO yield while the water gas shift reaction contributed to the H 2 yield. The developed model corrected one of the key underlying assumptions that biomass decomposes into elemental forms (C, H, O, N and S), however, gasification temperature, carbon conversion efficiency and tar yield were assumed to be given. - Highlights: • Modeled gasification using extent of reaction in a continuous stirred-tank reactor. • Extents of major reactions during gasification were predicted. • Model greatly improved prediction of biomass-generated gas composition and yield. • Water gas, Boudouard and methane oxidation reactions contributed to CO production. • Water gas and water gas shift were the dominating reactions for H 2 production

Hydrogenation of Maltose in Catalytic Membrane Reactor for Maltitol Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Makertihartha I.G.B.N.

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Maltitol is one of the low-calorie sweeteners which has a major role in food industries. Due to its characteristics of comparable sweetness level to sucrose, maltitol can be a suitable sugar replacement. In this work, catalytic membrane reactor (CMR was examined in maltitol production through hydrogenation of maltose. Commercial ceramic membrane impregnated with Kalcat 8030 Nickel was used as the CMR. The reaction was conducted at a batch mode operation, 95 to 110°C of temperature, and 5 to 8 bar of pressure. In the range of working conditions used in this study, up to 47% conversion was achieved. The reaction conversion was significantly affected by temperature and pressure. Results of this preliminary study indicated that CMR can be used for hydrogenation of maltose with good performance under a relatively low operating pressure.

Modeling integrated biomass gasification business concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Peter J. Ince; Ted Bilek; Mark A. Dietenberger

2011-01-01

Biomass gasification is an approach to producing energy and/or biofuels that could be integrated into existing forest product production facilities, particularly at pulp mills. Existing process heat and power loads tend to favor integration at existing pulp mills. This paper describes a generic modeling system for evaluating integrated biomass gasification business...

Electrochemical membrane reactor: In situ separation and recovery of chromic acid and metal ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Jeeshan; Tripathi, Bijay P.; Saxena, Arunima; Shahi, Vinod K.

2007-01-01

An electrochemical membrane reactor with three compartments (anolyte, catholyte and central compartment) based on in-house-prepared cation- and anion-exchange membrane was developed to achieve in situ separation and recovery of chromic acid and metal ions. The physicochemical and electrochemical properties of the ion-exchange membrane under standard operating conditions reveal its suitability for the proposed reactor. Experiments using synthetic solutions of chromate and dichromate of different concentrations were carried out to study the feasibility of the process. Electrochemical reactions occurring at the cathode and anode under operating conditions are proposed. It was observed that metal ion migrated through the cation-exchange membrane from central compartment to catholyte and OH - formation at the cathode leads to the formation of metal hydroxide. Simultaneously, chromate ion migrated through the anion-exchange membrane from central compartment to the anolyte and formed chromic acid by combining H + produced their by oxidative water splitting. Thus a continuous decay in the concentration of chromate and metal ion was observed in the central compartment, which was recovered separately in the anolyte and catholyte, respectively, from their mixed solution. This process was completely optimized in terms of operating conditions such as initial concentration of chromate and metal ions in the central compartment, the applied cell voltage, chromate and metal ion flux, recovery percentage, energy consumption, and current efficiency. It was concluded that chromic acid and metal ions can be recovered efficiently from their mixed solution leaving behind the uncharged organics and can be reused as their corresponding acid and base apart from the purifying water for further applications

System design study of a membrane reforming hydrogen production plant using a small sized sodium cooled reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chikazawa, Y.; Konomura, M.; Hori, T.; Sato, H.; Uchida, S.

2004-01-01

In this study, a membrane reforming hydrogen production plant using a small sized sodium cooled reactor was designed as one of promising concepts. In the membrane reformer, methane and steam are reformed into carbon dioxide and hydrogen with sodium heat at a temperature 500 deg-C. In the equilibrium condition, steam reforming proceeds with catalyst at a temperature more than 800 deg-C. Using membrane reformers, the steam reforming temperature can be decreased from 800 to 500 deg-C because the hydrogen separation membrane removes hydrogen selectively from catalyst area and the partial pressure of hydrogen is kept much lower than equilibrium condition. In this study, a hydrogen and electric co-production plant has been designed. The reactor thermal output is 375 MW and 25% of the thermal output is used for hydrogen production (70000 Nm 3 /h). The hydrogen production cost is estimated to 21 yen/Nm 3 but it is still higher than the economical goal (17 yen/Nm 3 ). The major reason of the high cost comes from the large size of hydrogen separation reformers because of the limit of hydrogen separation efficiency of palladium membrane. A new highly efficient hydrogen separation membrane is needed to reduce the cost of hydrogen production using membrane reformers. There is possibility of multi-tube failure in the membrane reformers. In future study, a design of measures against tube failure and elemental experiments of reaction between sodium and reforming gas will be needed. (authors)

Radiative Gasification Apparatus

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — This apparatus, developed at EL, determines gasification rate (mass loss rate) of a horizontally oriented specimen exposed in a nitrogen environment to a controlled...

CATALYTIC GASIFICATION OF COAL USING EUTECTIC SALT MIXTURES; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dr. Yaw D. Yeboah; Dr. Yong Xu; Dr. Atul Sheth; Dr. Pradeep Agrawal

2001-01-01

The Gas Research Institute (GRI) estimates that by the year 2010, 40% or more of U.S. gas supply will be provided by supplements including substitute natural gas (SNG) from coal. These supplements must be cost competitive with other energy sources. The first generation technologies for coal gasification e.g. the Lurgi Pressure Gasification Process and the relatively newer technologies e.g. the KBW (Westinghouse) Ash Agglomerating Fluidized-Bed, U-Gas Ash Agglomerating Fluidized-Bed, British Gas Corporation/Lurgi Slagging Gasifier, Texaco Moving-Bed Gasifier, and Dow and Shell Gasification Processes, have several disadvantages. These disadvantages include high severities of gasification conditions, low methane production, high oxygen consumption, inability to handle caking coals, and unattractive economics. Another problem encountered in catalytic coal gasification is deactivation of hydroxide forms of alkali and alkaline earth metal catalysts by oxides of carbon (CO(sub x)). To seek solutions to these problems, a team consisting of Clark Atlanta University (CAU, a Historically Black College and University, HBCU), the University of Tennessee Space Institute (UTSI) and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) proposed to identify suitable low melting eutectic salt mixtures for improved coal gasification. The research objectives of this project were to: Identify appropriate eutectic salt mixture catalysts for coal gasification; Assess agglomeration tendency of catalyzed coal; Evaluate various catalyst impregnation techniques to improve initial catalyst dispersion; Determine catalyst dispersion at high carbon conversion levels; Evaluate effects of major process variables (such as temperature, system pressure, etc.) on coal gasification; Evaluate the recovery, regeneration and recycle of the spent catalysts; and Conduct an analysis and modeling of the gasification process to provide better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms and kinetics of the process

Power Systems Development Facility Gasification Test Campaign TC24

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Southern Company Services

2008-03-30

In support of technology development to utilize coal for efficient, affordable, and environmentally clean power generation, the Power Systems Development Facility (PSDF), located in Wilsonville, Alabama, routinely demonstrates gasification technologies using various types of coals. The PSDF is an engineering scale demonstration of key features of advanced coal-fired power systems, including a KBR Transport Gasifier, a hot gas particulate control device, advanced syngas cleanup systems, and high-pressure solids handling systems. This report summarizes the results of TC24, the first test campaign using a bituminous coal as the feedstock in the modified Transport Gasifier configuration. TC24 was conducted from February 16, 2008, through March 19, 2008. The PSDF gasification process operated for about 230 hours in air-blown gasification mode with about 225 tons of Utah bituminous coal feed. Operational challenges in gasifier operation were related to particle agglomeration, a large percentage of oversize coal particles, low overall gasifier solids collection efficiency, and refractory degradation in the gasifier solids collection unit. The carbon conversion and syngas heating values varied widely, with low values obtained during periods of low gasifier operating temperature. Despite the operating difficulties, several periods of steady state operation were achieved, which provided useful data for future testing. TC24 operation afforded the opportunity for testing of various types of technologies, including dry coal feeding with a developmental feeder, the Pressure Decoupled Advanced Coal (PDAC) feeder; evaluating a new hot gas filter element media configuration; and enhancing syngas cleanup with water-gas shift catalysts. During TC24, the PSDF site was also made available for testing of the National Energy Technology Laboratory's fuel cell module and Media Process Technology's hydrogen selective membrane.

Development of a membrane-assisted fluidized bed reactor - 2 - Experimental demonstration and modeling for the partial oxidation of methanol