ODL5. CHAPTER 4 PART 1.

GASIFICATION
Gasification has been reliably used on a commercial scale worldwide for more than 60
years in the refining, fertilizer, and chemical industries, and for more than 35 years in the
electric power industry.
Gasification is a flexible, reliable, and commercial
technology that can turn a variety of low-value
feedstocks into high-value products, help reduce a
country's dependence on imported oil and natural gas,
and can provide a clean alternative source of baseload
electricity, fertilizers, fuels, and chemicals.

-It is a manufacturing process

-converts any material containing carbon—such
as coal, petroleum coke (petcoke), biomass or
waste—into synthesis gas (syngas).
-The syngas can be burned to produce electricity
or further processed to manufacture chemicals,
fertilizers, liquid fuels, substitute natural gas
(SNG), or hydrogen.

Gasification is
better
understood as
COMMON
CONDITIONS FOR
GASIFICATION
 • in this first step the temperature reaches about
Heating and Drying
300°C and the feed is completely dried.
• The greater the moisture amount, the higher the
energy needed for drying, with a lower produced
gases enthalpy.
• For this reason, a naturally dry (or previously
dried) biomass is desirable.
• During the heating there is a typical heat transfer
phenomenon, with a temperature profile
decreasing towards the particle centre:
• the greater the radius, the longer the time
required for the treatment.
Pyrolysis: in this second step, a rapid thermal
anoxic degradation of the carbonaceous
material takes place. The ideal temperature for
this purpose is between 400 and 500°C.

Released products:
Gases: H2, CO, CH4, CO2 and some other
light hydrocarbons.

Vapors: The exposition to high temperatures

lead to a thermal cracking process generating
light and condensable compounds (TAR,
Topping Atmospheric Residue) consisting
essentially in polyaromatic hydrocarbons.

Solids: residual porous called CHAR consisting

in a carbon residue and inorganic compounds
(ash).
 F RS
O IE
S T IF
LI A S
G

batch or continuous mode

 high carbon conversion  long solid
residence time  low gas velocity  low ash
carry over
 UPDRAUGHT GASIFIER DOWNDRAUGHT GASIFIER ENTRAINED FLOW (EF)
GASIFIERS

• good heat exchange • Developed for coal gasification,

• outgoing hot gas is cooled with many variants.
down while heating the • Well-known EF processes were
incoming fresh biomass. developed by Koppers-Toptzek,
• Biomass with moisture Texaco, Shell, Pernflo, and GSP.
content up to 60% wet basis • Very finely ground fuel is mixed
• Can process relatively small with water to form slurry
particle, accepts size sprayed into the gasifier.
variation in the fuel • Some variants inject the fuel
feedstock powder and water separately.
• Oxygen/air is mixed into the
fuel-water aerosol and the
mixture is lit by a pilot flame.
• temperatures >1000 C.
• Due to high temperature, most
of the tars&lower hydrocarbons
are converted, and the
produced gas requires little
cleaning.
• has an elevated throughput of
syngas
Advantage/Disadvantages of Few Gasifiers
THANK YOU