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Research concerning biomass

gasification / activities at Delft

University, Process & Energy

TOTEM-40 workshop, Wednesday 22 April 2015

Wiebren de Jong, associate professor

Team Post-docs: Kostas Anastasakis, Manuela di Marcello, Xiangmei Meng PhD students: Yash Joshi, George Tsalidis, Onursal Yakaboylu

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Contents

Introduction to the research group Biomass research approach Biomass characterization studies Biomass gasification – circulating fluidized bed Current projects next to BRISK

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The Energy Technology section

• ET Long history (1966 “Thermal Power Engineering”), nuclear/coal/biomass

The ET people:

• 1 full-time professor : B.J. Boersma (turbulence, low grade heat utilization)

• 1 Associate professor: W. de Jong (thermo-chemical conversion)

• 2 Assistant professors: P.V. Aravind (Fuel Cells, systems), R. Pecnik (gas turbines)

• 2 part-time professors: J. Kiel (ECN, torrefaction) and new Gas Turbines chair

• ~15 PhD students, 5 Post-Docs, 3 research associates

• 1 secretary, department shared administration and technical staff

http://delftpe.nl

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Biomass & Coal Combustion/Gasification

TU Delft Research Methodology

Experimental Fuel characterization

Thermogravimetric analysis

Fast devolatilization

Bench to integrated lab-scale experiments

Pyrolysis modeling Numerical gasification modeling

gas composition

Large scale modeling

Fundamental scale

Industrial application

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Fuel characterization

at low heating rates

TG – FTIR Setup

TG – FTIR set-up at P & E Department Thermal profile of wood

Helium

Air

Volatiles

Volatiles

N2 Purge

DetectorIR

Source

Transfer Heated Line@150°C

Mass Flow

Controller

Furnace:

Up to 100°C/min

And 1500°C

Carrier Gas:

He

Michelson Interferometer

Gas Cell:

2m Opt. Path length

Heated@150°C

Reference and Sample

Crucibles

To vent

TGA Analyzer

FTIR

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Reactivity: TGA for a challenging fuel

Giuntoli J. et al., Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis (2009)

DTG Curve of DDGS: Slow Pyrolysis (10oC/min) in 100mL/min He

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Flash Pyrolysis Measurements & Model

Heated Foil Reactor

(to 1000 oC/s) coupled

with FT-IR

Measurements:

•Volatiles and char yields

• Condensed tars yields

•NOx precursors yields

Numerical modeling:

•T and Velocity Profiles

•Use slow-pyrolysis kinetics

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Wood fast pyrolysis in HG reactor

Product distribution (wt% db) during pyrolysis of wood at various temperatures

Wood, fast pyrolysis, heated foil reactor

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Flash Pyrolysis Measurements

Pyroprobe (up to 20 oC/ms)

Measurements:

•Char and Tar yields

•Possibility of FTIR for

analysis of volatiles

Advantages

•Time of pyrolysis can be precisely controlled

•Second heated zone as trapping zone

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Pyroprobe method developement

Char and tar yields from wood pyrolysis @ 1000 C

• Consistent results for wood, similar char (slightly

lower only) as HGR

• Better tar capture

• Possibility of higher biomass loading

• More rapid to obtain results compared to HGR

Pyroprobe: Flash Pyrolysis Measurements

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Tar collection and extraction from pyroprobe

Tars on glass wool in trap tars on glass wool in DCM not extracted

• Better separation/extraction needed

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The atmospheric CFBG test rig

at TU Delft – chain ‘demo’

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850°°C

830°°C

<1000°°C

<400°C

350°°C

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TU Delft CFB experimental rig

1st floor 2nd floor

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High temperature ceramic filter

Unfiltered syngas Raw synthesis gas

Filter cake

Ash deposition

N2 vessel

Valve

2nd bunker

Collection barrel

Filter candles High temperature ceramic filter

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- Experimental validation experiments on the 100 kWth

pilot test rig (~20 kg/h biomass input capacity). - Experimental study towards agglomeration behavior of

biomass fuels - Hot gas particle filtration; modeling and experiments - Experimental studies on gas upgrading (reforming,

WGS) - Modelling of Circulating Fluidized Bed gasification of

biomass (improving & validating submodels).

Gasification of biomass and gas cleaning

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Comparison of torrefied vs. untreated

biomass – wood pellets

Proximate analysis wt%, a.r. wt%, a.r.

moisture 6.48 7.08

ash 2.00 2.96

Ultimate analysis wt%, d.b. wt%, d.b.

C 48.77 51.23

H 5.98 5.79

N 0.19 0,29

S 0.76 0,78

Cl - 0,00

O (by difference) 42.16 38.72

‘white’ ‘black’

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Impact of torrefaction: Gasification of

‘white’ and ‘black’ wood pellets

white pellets black pellets

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Particle measurements:

impactor

m3

3 4

5 6

7 1

2

8

9

10

Particles: Heated cascade Impactor (PSD 0.2-30 m)

T = 400°C

Aerosol streamlines

Impactor plate

Jet nozzle plate

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Particle capture by the hot gas filter

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Supercritical water gasification

pump

Supercritical water gasification reactor (P > 220 bar, T > 374 ˚C)

Innovative concept 3 patent requests

Heat Exchanger

(CH4,CO2,H2) Gas work-up

Gas Engine

Green Gas

Green Power

Minerals Wet manures / sludge

Clean biosyngas

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• Extreme conditions (typically T>350 oC; P>250 bar)

• Research nowhere done with real, cheap, challenging wet bio-feedstock!

• Initiatives with fluidized bed reactors (NL, Japan)

• Kinetic rates?

• Can fluidization be described similarly to conventional conditions?

• Mineral formation, removal and recycling?

• Which reactor configuration is

most optimal?

Wet feedstock? Supercritical Water

Gasification (SCWG)

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Past projects

EU-FP6: Chrisgas; gasification & hot gas filtration Coordination: Linnaeus University EU-FP7: GreenSynGas; gasification & gas cleaning (on-line tar, S-species) Coordinator: Lund University EU-Marie Curie (EST): INECSE; pyrolysis characterization Coordinator: ENEL National: Gas cleaning (bed materials for tar conversion) Coal-biomass co-firing Clean Combustion Concepts (STW) Petrobras: Gasification of bagasse

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National TKI-BBE INVENT project

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Impact of biomass torrefaction on CFB gasifier performance characteristics on:

Main gaseous components, in particular H2:CO and CH4 content Carbon conversion, cold gas efficiency Tar production (quantity, species distribution)

Partners: ECN, Essent, Topell, Biolake, Torrcoal, UT

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National TKI-Groen Gas project

Synvator gasification process (high turbulence and swirl gasifier), items studied:

Integration with engine, later methanation Main gaseous components, in particular H2:CO and CH4 content Carbon conversion, cold gas efficiency Tar production (quantity, species distribution)

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Thank you for your attention!

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Bagasse (pellets) gasification using

steam-O2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Gas v

ol.%

(dnf)

Gas Composition

H2-CP4900 % dnf

CO-CP4900 % dnf

CH4-CP4900 % dnf

CO2-CP4900 % dnf

CO2

H2

CO

CH4

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Tar quantification (spa), some results

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Pressure drop behavior