Steam Gasification in a Fluidized Bed with Various Methods of In-Core Coal Treatment

Abstract

The aim of this work is to study coal steam gasification with various methods of coal in-core treatment in FB using a newly developed thermodynamic calculation method. A calculational study of subbituminous coal steam non-catalytic gasification was carried out using four different methods of coal in-core treatment in single-vessel multisectional fluidized-bed gasifiers. A semi-empirical model based on the entropy maximization thermodynamic method and “restricted equilibria” based on previously obtained experimental data has been developed. Based on thermodynamic calculations, the effect of the leading thermochemical processes and operating parameters of the fluidized bed (temperature, fluidization number, steam/coal ratio feed rate) was revealed. New information was obtained regarding the composition of char and syngas at the gasifier outlet, the syngas heating value, and the cold gas efficiency of the steam gasification of Borodinskiy subbituminous coal char. The results indicate the possibility of significantly accelerating and improving non-catalytic steam gasification in fluidized bed gasifiers through the appropriate organization of in-core coal treatment. Based on the results obtained, the following recommendation is made—when designing multi-section and multi-vessel steam-blown gasifiers, the ratio of residence times should be set in favor of increasing the coal residence time in the steam-blown carbonization zone. Structurally, this can be achieved by increasing the volume and/or area of the steam-blown carbonization section (vessel). © 2023 by the authors.