The Chariton Valley Biomass Power Project, sponsored by the U. S. Department of Energy Biomass Power Program, has the goal of converting switchgrass grown on marginal farmland in southern Iowa into electric power. Two energy conversion options are under evaluation: co-firing switchgrass with coal in an existing utility boiler and gasification of switchgrass for use in a carbonate fuel cell. Thi...

The devolatilization process and the moisture content in coal and biomass play an important role on the gasification performance of these fuels. To theoretically understand the complex chemical processes in a gasifier, we developed a multiphysics model to simulate the gasification processes in a well-stirred reactor. This model is a first-of-its-kind: it considers detailed gas-phase chemistry, ...

Biomass gasification technology has been rapidly developed recently. But fire and poisoning accidents caused by gas leakage restrict the development and promotion of biomass gasification. Therefore, probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) is necessary for biomass gasification system. Subsequently, Bayesian network-bow-tie (BN-bow-tie) analysis was proposed by mapping bow-tie analysis into Bayesia...

Thermochemical gasification is one of the most promising technologies for converting biomass into power, fuels and chemicals. The objectives of this study were to maximize the net energy efficiency for biomass gasification, and to estimate the cost of producing industrial gas and combined heat and power (CHP) at a feedrate of 2000kg/h. Aspen Plus-based model for gasification was combined with a...

Decentralized water reclamation is emerging as a new paradigm that pairs local wastewater resources with local users; however, one of the challenges that must be addressed to advance its implementation is the low energy efficiency associated with small treatment plants and the lack of available small-scale energy recovery technologies. Gasification is a technology that could be used to convert ...

Plasma gasification/vitrification is a technologically advanced and environmentally friendly method of disposing of waste, converting it to commercially usable by-products. This process is a drastic non-incineration thermal process, which uses extremely high temperatures in an oxygen-starved environment to completely decompose input waste material into very simple molecules. The intense and ver...

In this paper we present the conceptual design for the optimization of FT-diesel production process from switchgrass via gasification of biomass. We propose a limited superstructure where the process starts with the gasification of the biomass. Two different alternatives are evaluated, direct and indirect gasification. The gas obtained is cleaned up and its composition adjusted in terms of the ...

This paper combines two theoretical perspectives: future technological expectations mobilising resources, and social representations assimilating new ideas through anchoring onto familiar frames of reference. The combination is applied to the controversial case of thermal-treatment options for municipal solid waste, especially via gasification technology. Stakeholders’ social representations se...

Gasification of solid waste for energy has significant potential given an abundant feed supply and strong policy drivers. Nonetheless, significant ambiguities in the knowledge base are apparent. Consequently this study investigates sulphur mechanisms within a novel two stage fluid bed-plasma gasification process. This paper includes a detailed review of gasification and plasma fundamentals in r...

The conversion of various solid low-cost fuels into valuable gas with high energy content is attracting increasing interest within the chemical industry and the energy supply sector. For the gasification of carbonic fuels, fluidized bed processing based on the dual fluidized bed concept is utilized preferably. Dual fluidized bed gasification technology greatly intensifies the conversion of the ...