Thermodynamic Equilibrium Prediction of Bed Agglomeration Tendency in Dual Fluidized-Bed Gasification of Forest Residues

Dual fluidized-bed (DFB) gasification is one of the recently developed technologies for production of heat, power, transportation fuels and synthetic chemicals through steam gasification of biomass. Bed agglomeration is a serious ash-related problem that should be taken into account when biomass-based fuels are selected for fluidized-bed gasification and combustion. This study developed a thermodynamic equilibrium model to assess the risk of bed agglomeration in gasification and combustion reactors of a DFB gasifier using biomass (forest residues) as feedstock. The modelling approach combined thermodynamic equilibrium calculations with chemical fractionation technique to predict the composition and melting behaviour of the fuel-derived ash as well as bed particles coating layer in the gasification and combustion reactors. FactSage was employed for the thermodynamic equilibrium calculations. The modelling results were then compared with experimental data obtained from a full-scale DFB gasifier to estimate the reliability and validity of the predictive model. In general, a good agreement was found between the modelling results and experimental observations. For the forest residues as feedstock and olivine as bed material, the modelling results indicate a low risk of bed agglomeration in the DFB gasifier, as long as the dominant temperature in the combustion zone is below 1020°C. In contrast, quartz as bed material in the DFB gasifier was shown to significantly increase the risk of bed agglomeration through coating-induced agglomeration mechanism.