Modelling of fluidized bed biomass gasification in the quasi-equilibrium regime for preliminary performance studies of energy conversion plants

Thermodynamic equilibrium-based models of gasification process are relatively simple and widely used to predict producer gas characteristics in performance studies of energy conversion plants. However, if an unconstrained calculation of equilibrium is performed, the estimations of product gas yield and heating value are too optimistic. Therefore, reasonable assumptions have to be made in order to correct the results. This paper proposes a model of the process that can be used in case of deficiency of information and unavailability of experimental data. The model is based on free energy minimization, material and energy balances of a single zone reactor. The constraint quasiequilibrium calculations are made using approximated amounts of non-equilibrium products, i.e. solid char, tar, CH4 and C2H4. The yields of these products are attributed to fuel characteristics and estimated using experimental results published in the literature. A genetic algorithm optimization technique is applied to find unknown parameters of the model that lead to the best match between modelled and experimental characteristics of the product gas. Finally, generic correlations are proposed and quality of modelling results is assessed in the aspect of its usefulness for performance studies of power generation plants.