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Abstract: Pyrolysis enables to recover metals and organic feedstock from waste conglomerates such as: automotive shredder residue (ASR). ASR as well as its pyrolysis solid products, is a morphologically and chemically varied mixture, containing mineral materials, including hazardous heavy metals. The aim of the work is to generate fundamental knowledge on the conversion of the organic residues of the solid products after ASR''s microwave pyrolysis, treated at various temperatures and with two different types of gasifying agent: pure steam or 3% (v/v) of oxygen. The research is conducted using a lab-scale, plug-flow gasifier, with an integrated scale for analysing mass loss changes over time of experiment, serving as macro TG at 950, 850 and 760°C. The reaction rate of char decomposition was investigated, based on carbon conversion during gasification and pyrolysis stage. It was found in both fractions that char conversion rate decreases with the rise of external gas temperature, regardless of the gasifying agent. No significant differences between the reaction rates undergoing with steam and oxygen for char decomposition has been observed. This abnormal char behaviour might have been caused by the inhibiting effects of ash, especially alkali metals on char activity or due to deformation of char structure during microwave heating. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The fundamentals and thermodynamic analysis of high-temperature air combustion (HiTAC) technology is presented. The HiTAC is characterized by high temperature of combustion air having low oxygen concentration. This study provides a theoretical analysis of HiTAC process from the thermodynamic point of view. The results demonstrate the possibilities of reducing thermodynamic irreversibility of combustion by considering an oxygen-deficient combustion process that utilizes both gas and heat recirculations. HiTAC conditions reduce irreversibility. Furthermore, combustion with the use of oxygen (in place of air) is also analyzed. The results showed that a system, which utilizes oxygen as an oxidizer, results in higher first and second law efficiencies as compared to the case with air as the oxidizer. The entropy generation for an adiabatic combustion process is reduced by more than 60% due to the effect of either preheating or oxygen enrichment. This study is aimed at providing technical guidance to further improve efficiency of a combustion process, which shows very small temperature increases due to mild chemical reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle image velocimetry and a spectroscopy technique has been used to obtain information on the flow dynamics and flame thermal signatures of a fuel jet injected into a cross-flow of normal temperature and very high-temperature combustion air. Flame fluctuations were obtained using a high-speed camera and then performing fast Fourier transform on the signal. High-temperature air combustion has been demonstrated to provide significant energy savings, higher heat flux, and reduction of pollution and equipment size of industrial furnaces. The dynamics of flow associated with high temperature combustion air conditions (for mean velocity, axial strain rate and vorticity) has been obtained in two-dimensional using propane and methane as the fuels. The data have been compared with normal temperature combustion air case, including the nonburning case. A specially designed experimental test furnace facility was used to provide well-controlled conditions and allowed air preheats to 1100°C using regenerative burners. Four different experimental cases have been examined. The momentum flux ratio between the burning and nonburning conditions was kept constant to provide comparison between cases. The results provide the role of high-temperature combustion air on the dynamics of the flow, turbulence, and mixing under nonburning and combustion conditions. The data provide the direct role of combustion on flow dynamics, turbulence, and flame fluctuations. High-temperature combustion air at low-oxygen concentration showed larger flame volume with less fluctuation than normal or high-temperature normal air cases. High-temperature combustion air technology prolongs mixing in the combustion zone to enhance the flame volume, reduce flame fluctuations, and to provide uniform flow and thermal characteristics. This information assists in model validation and model development for new applications and technology development using high-temperature air combustion principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which examines transient surface temperature, heat flux and effective heat transfer coefficient of a steel slab heated in an industrial reheating furnace. A model for inverse heat conduction is used to calculate the transient surface temperature, heat flux and effective heat transfer coefficient.

Abstract: This work is connected with properties of a flame obtained by combustion of liquified propane gas (LPG) with highly preheated air using a regenerative burner. The attention is focused on both the size and shape of the flame and the results were obtained in a semi-industrial furnace equipped with a regenerative burner system. Results of the CFD-based mathematical modeling have been compared with measurements of a number of parameters including the furnace-wall temperature and the concentrations of gaseous species in the furnace. The results indicate that the flame spread can be well predicted using the numerical model. A flame entrainment ratio has been proposed here for describing and classifying the physical changes of the flame shape. This ratio can be used to optimize the diameter and length of a combustion chamber for specific applications. It is also found that equipping a furnace with a regenerative burner can provide a high saving energy, a larger flame volume and a lower emission of NO. It has been obtained that a lower excess air ratio leads to a low peak temperature and a larger flame volume, thus a lower NO emission. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A study of the mathematical modelling of NO formation and emissions in a gas-fired regenerative furnace with high-preheated air was performed. The model of NO formation via N2O-intermediate mechanism was proposed because of the lower flame temperature in this case. The reaction rates of this new model were calculated basing on the eddy-dissipation-concept. This model accompanied with thermal-NO, prompt-NO and NO reburning models were used to predict NO emissions and formations. The sensitivity of the furnace temperature and the oxygen availability on NO generation rate has been investigated. The predicted results were compared with experimental values. The results show that NO emission formed by N2O-intermediate mechanism is of outstanding importance during the high-temperature air combustion (HiTAC) condition. Furthermore, it shows that NO models with N2O-route model can give more reasonable profile of NO formation. Additionally, increasing excess air ratio leads to increasing of NO emission in the regenerative furnace. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Combustion of a single jet of propane in a cross-flowing stream of preheated and oxygen deficient air is numerically analyzed with emphasis on influences of fuel temperature. Both Eddy-Break-Up and PDF/mixture fraction combustion models coupled with RNG k–#x03B5; turbulent model were applied and the predicted results were compared. Thermal and prompt NO models were employed to calculate NO emissions. Results show that the Eddy-Break-Up model is more suitable for predicting temperature field and flame shape. It was showed that flame during high temperature air combustion condition is spread over a much larger volume. Flame volume increases with a reduction of oxygen concentration, and this trend is clearer if oxygen concentration in the preheated air is below 10%. Additionally, it is almost constant at fixed oxygen concentration and fuel inlet temperature for the temperature of the preheated and oxygen deficient air equal to 1041–1273 K. Increase of the fuel inlet temperature results in smaller flame, shorter mean residence time, smaller temperature peaks, and lower emission of NO. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The performance of high temperature air combustion (HiTAC) depends on the heat regenerator efficiency and on the way fuel is mixed with furnace gases. In this work, combustion of a single fuel jet of gasol (>95% of propane) was investigated experimentally. Experiments were carried out in steady-state conditions using a single jet flame furnace. The jet of fuel was co-axially injected into high temperature exhaust gases generated by means of a gas burner also fired with gasol. Thus, instead of highly preheated and oxygen depleted air, which was normally used by other researches for such studies, this work has used high temperature and low oxygen content exhaust gases as the oxidiser. A water-cooled fuel nozzle was used to control fuel inlet temperature. Influence of the oxygen content in the oxidiser, at temperatures of 860–890 °C, on the flame visibility and the reactants composition was investigated. The combustion of gasol in hot flue gases appeared to be very stable and complete even at very low oxygen concentration. The oxygen concentration in the oxidiser was found to have a substantial effect on flame size, luminosity, colour, visibility and lift-off distance. Reduced oxygen concentration increases the flame size and lift-off distance, and decreases luminosity and visibility. The HiTAC flame first became bluish and then non-visible at sufficiently low concentration of oxygen in the oxidiser. In this work, results are presented for the constant ratio between fuel jet velocity and velocity of co-flowing flue gases. This ratio was equal to 26. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High-temperature air combustion is attracting great interest in the metallurgical industry lately as its claimed benefits include large energy saving, low air emissions, increased product quality and increased productivity. This paper presents a numerical study of combustion performance in a semi-industrial test furnace equipped with a regenerative burner and with a conventional turbulent jet burner. The numerical calculation is also validated by experiment. In this regard, flow field was calculated with k-ℇ turbulence model, the model of combustion employed the eddy dissipation concept with a two-step mechanism to describe chemical reactions; radiation was handled using the discrete transfer method. The results indicate that equipping a furnace with high-cycle regenerative burner systems can provide more uniform gas temperature profiles, a higher energy utilizing efficiency, a low NO x emission, a larger flame, the low maximum local heat release and the possibility of low combustion noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first experimental series applying a new measurement method to determine mass flux and stoichiometry of the conversion gas as well as the air factor from packed-bed combustion of biofuels. The conversion system employed in this experimental study is characterized by the following concepts: overfired, updraft, fixed horizontal grate, and batch reactor. Three types of wood fuels are studied, namely wood pellets (6 mm), wood chips (4–50 mm), and fuel wood (300 mm). The above-mentioned quantities are measured as function of six levels of standard volume flux of primary air in a range of 0.06–0.46 m3 n/m2 s for all the wood fuels. Altogether, 18 (3×6) single tests are carried out. In spite of the fact that single tests are carried out and that the course of a batch run is highly stochastic, it is possible to draw some general conclusions with respect to the particular conversion concept studied. Firstly, the course of a batch conversion of wood fuels is proven to be very dynamic. For example, the dynamic ranges for the air factor of the conversion system is 10:1 and for the stoichiometric coefficients is CH3.1 O:CH0 O0 during a batch for a constant volume flux of primary air. Secondly, despite the fact that the fuel wood was exceptionally dry, only 8 wt% water content on wet basis, the fuel wood studied displayed significantly lower time-integrated mean of mass flux of conversion gas (12–31 g/m2 s) relative to the wood pellets (37–62 g/m2 s) and the wood chips (50–90 g/m2 s). Thirdly, based on the fact that the conversion gas stoichiometry is unsteady it is confirmed that the molecular composition of the conversion gas varies during batch conversion of wood fuels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A chemical equilibrium model was developed to predict the product composition of a biomass gasification system using highly preheated air and steam. The advantages and limitations of this system were discussed from a thermodynamic viewpoint. The first and second law analyses have been conducted for various preheating temperatures and steam/biomass mass (S/B) ratios. The results demonstrated that the chemical energy output of the produced syngas is highest when the S/B ratio is 1.83 under the conditions used in this study. However, higher S/B ratios have a negative effect on the energy and exergy efficiencies. Higher preheating temperatures increase the chemical energy of the produced syngas and the two efficiencies. The peak values for the energy and exergy efficiencies are 81.5% and 76.2%, respectively. Based on the calculated limitation values, where the highest chemical energy (exergy) of the produced syngas and maximum achievable efficiencies are determined, a thermodynamically possible operating region is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the characteristics of waste printing paper and cardboard particles in a reactor pyrolyzed by preheated agents with the aim of simulating a real case in a fixed-bed gasifier. A TGA/DSC was first used to study of the kinetics and enthalpy change of the printing paper and cardboard pyrolysis. Pyrolitic conversion was further carried out in a batch-type reactor with non-electrical heating. Syngas, tar and char were produced and characterized from printing paper and cardboard pyrolysis at 400°C, 500°C and 600°C. Different flow rates of carrier gas were applied to study the effect of residence time on the products distribution. When the flow rate increased, the relative mass change of gas agrees with that of tar. With increase in temperature, the yield of furfural, olefins and other non-aromatic compounds in tar decreased, while phenols and heavier aromatic hydrocarbons increased. The evolution of CO2, CO and other gas species in the syngas was presented. Van Krevelan diagram of chars was also presented in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Kinetics study on levoglucosan primary decomposition in cellulose pyrolysis. [•] Including C–O bond scission, C–C bond scission, and levoglucosan dehydration. [•] Transition state calculation without tunneling correction is suitable method. [•] Arrhenius equation for every elementary reaction and every pathway are obtained. [•] One dehydration pathway is a preferred pathway for levoglucosan decomposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To meet the urgent environmental targets, substituting coal with biomass has been considered to be an effective and promising method over the last decades. In this paper, a new concept of volumetric combustion is proposed and further developed to achieve 100% fuel switching to biomass in large scale coal-fired boilers. Volumetric combustion not only changes the in-furnace flow but also affects the combustion reactions by the intensive mixing and internal recirculation of the flue gases. Firstly, the volumetric combustion properties of the wood pellets were investigated experimentally. An Aspen model was then used to thermodynamically describe and study the volumetric combustion with three different types of fuel, and the emission properties of CO2 and NOx were compared. Finally, two applications of volumetric combustion were discussed. It is concluded that the wood pellets ignited and combusted much faster than the coal pellets and had a larger combustion volume when combusted under lower oxygen concentration conditions, and the ignition time was almost independent of the oxygen concentration when the oxidizer was preheated to 1000°C. In addition, the NOx emissions decreased as the recirculation ratio of the flue gas increased, and as the percentage of biomass used in co-firing increased, the amount of flue gas that needs to be recycled for reduction of NOx decreased. Thus, the volumetric combustion is beneficial as it reduces the operation cost of NOx reduction. The volumetric combustion would be an attractive technology for co-firing a large proportion of biomass in coal-fired boilers with high boiler efficiency and effective emissions reduction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Levoglucosan (1,6-anhydro-β-d-glucopyranose) decomposition is an important step during cellulose pyrolysis and for secondary tar reactions. The mechanism of levoglucosan thermal decomposition was studied in this paper using density functional theory methods. The decomposition included direct Ceaking, direct Ceaking, and dehydration. In total, 9 different pathways, including 16 elementary reactions, were studied, in which levoglucosan serves as a reactant. The properties of the reactants, transition states, intermediates, and products for every elementary reaction were obtained. It was found that 1-pentene-3,4-dione, acetaldehyde, 2,3-dihydroxypropanal, and propanedialdehyde can be formed from the Ceaking decomposition reactions. 1,2-Dihydroxyethene and hydroxyacetic acid vinyl ester can be formed from the Ceaking decomposition reactions. It was concluded that Ceaking is easier than Ceaking due to a lower activation energy and a higher released energy. During the 6 levoglucosan dehydration pathways, one water molecule which composed of a hydrogen atom from C3 and a hydroxyl group from C2 is the preferred pathway due to a lower activation energy and higher product stability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The mechanisms and kinetics studies of the formation of levoglucosan and formaldehyde from anhydroglucose radical have been carried out theoretically in this paper. The geometries and frequencies of all the stationary points are calculated at the B3LYP/6-31+G(D,P) level based on quantum mechanics, Six elementary reactions are found, and three global reactions are involved. The variational transition-state rate constants for the elementary reactions are calculated within 450–1500K. The global rate constants for every pathway are evaluated from the sum of the individual elementary reaction rate constants. The first-order Arrhenius expressions for these six elementary reactions and the three pathways are suggested. By comparing with the experimental data, computational methods without tunneling correction give good description for Path1 (the formation of levoglucosan); while methods with tunneling correction (zero-curvature tunneling and small-curvature tunneling correction) give good results for Path2 (the first possibility for the formation of formaldehyde), all the test methods give similar results for Path3 (the second possibility for the formation of formaldehyde), all the modeling results for Path3 are in good agreement with the experimental data, verifying that it is the most possible way for the formation of formaldehyde during cellulose pyrolysis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Steam explosion (SE) pretreatment is served to separate the main components of woody biomass. In general there is a noticeable gap in literature in terms of application of steam explosion process to upgrade biomass fuel for wood pellet production. In order to study the influence of steam explosion pretreatment on biomass fuel, Salix wood chips was used as raw material. Four different SE experiments were performed by varying two key process factors; time and temperature. Elementary quality and ash properties of the pretreated residue were investigated. Moreover, physical and thermochemical properties of the pellet, produced from the residue, were also investigated. Reduction in ash content especially in alkali metals was observed in steam treated residue. Pretreatment of biomass also enhanced carbon content and reduced oxygen amount in the fuel which enhanced the heating value of the fuel. Moreover, pretreatment enhanced pellet density, impact resistance, and abrasive resistance of pellet. However, small degradation in ash fusion characteristics and char reactivity was also observed as the severity of the process increased. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The processing of agricultural crops results in waste, which is a potential energy resource for alleviating commercial energy supply problems to agricultural-led economies like Tanzania. The energy content of the individual agricultural waste is largely dependent on its chemical composition (C, H and O) and it is negatively affected by the inclusion of inorganic elements and moisture. In this work, fifteen tropical agricultural wastes emanating from export crops for Tanzania were analyzed. The methods used to analyze involved performing proximate and ultimate analysis for determining the biomass composition. Thermal degradation characteristic was established to five selected wastes (coffee husks, sisal bole, cashew nut shells, palm stem, and bagasse) using a thermogravimetric analyzer type NETZSCH STA 409 PC Luxx at a heating rate of 10K/min. On the basis of elemental composition, the palm fibre and cashew nut shells exhibited high energy content due to their higher H:C ratio with relatively low O:C ratio. Results of the thermal degradation characteristic study showed that the cashew nut shells were the most reactive feedstocks due to their highest overall mass loss and lowest burnout temperatures of 364°C. Further, kinetic studies done to the five tropical biomass feedstocks under the pseudo single-component overall model established the activation energy for the bagasse, palm stem, and cashew nut shells to be 460kJ/mole, 542kJ/mole, and 293kJ/mole, respectively. The respective activation energies for coffee husks and sisal bole were 370kJ/mole and 239kJ/mole. With the exception of the sisal bole, which exhibited zero order reaction mechanism, the remaining materials´ reaction mechanism was of first order. These experimental findings form a basis for ranking these materials for energy generation and provide necessary input to equipment and process designers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the influence of oxide scale on heat transfer during reheating of steel. It presents methodology and development of a mathematical model for prediction of the influence of oxide scale on heat transfer during reheating of steel in an industrial furnace. Using the model, temperatures inside the steel billet were measured and with thermocouples at selected places and were collected by a water cooled computer that was traveling inside the slab.

Abstract: Coconut and cashew nut shells are two typical biomass wastes abundant in most of the tropical countries. However, despite their enormous potential as energy sources, they are hardly studied and their thermal characteristics are still not well known. In this study, both biomasses are thermally degraded through thermogravimetry and their characteristics such as devolatilisation profiles and kinetics are analyzed, from 250 to 900 °C, in an inert atmosphere, at two different heating rates, and compared with wood pellets. The results show that their pyrolysis profiles are different from that of the commonly studied woody biomass. In fact, they present two different peaks instead of the one overlapping peak, for hemicellulose and cellulose. In addition, they present activation energies ranging from that are slightly above the commonly known maximum for biomass. At 10 and 20 °C/min the activation energy varied from about 130 to 174 and 180 to 216 kJ/mol, for cashew and coconut shells, respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this work, the high temperature air/steam gasification (HTAG) technique has been tested for a fuel in pellet form made from waste material of woody and plastic origin. The feedstock was gasified in an updraft fixed bed reactor by mixtures of air and steam (102 Nm3/h, 4% to 82% steam) preheated to 1400 °C, a temperature well above the fluid temperature of the feedstock. The produced gas was analyzed with respect to composition, including a detailed characterization of the tar. Lower heating values up to 9.5 MJ/Nm3 and gas yields as high as 3.4 Nm3/kg were reported, indicating the process to be highly efficient for waste-to-energy applications. The composition of the tars, suggested extensive cracking as a result of the high temperatures of the outgoing gas. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

High-temperature air combustion using the high-cycle generator is attracting great interest in metallurgical industries. Flame configurations play a very important role when a modern regenerative burner system is adopted in an industrial furnace because multi-burners are required. Numerical studies of combustion in a semi-industrial scale test furnace equipped with two sets of two-flame high-cycle regenerative system have been performed and results were compared with experimental values. Influences of flame configurations on combustion properties and NO emissions of LPG with high- temperature air were numerical studies as well as excess air ratio. The flame volume and size were figured out by a parameter named as oxidation mixture ratio. It is found that the flame configurations have strong influences on the combustion and flame properties as well as NO emission. Increasing the excess air ratio leads to increasing of NO emission. Lesser the ratio of fuel/air injection momentum larger is the NO production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary pyrolysis in fluidizedbed fast pyrolysis of biomassis the focus of this work. A novel computational fluid dynamics (CFD)model coupled with a comprehensive chemistry scheme (134 species and4169 reactions, in CHEMKIN format) has been developed to investigatethis complex phenomenon. Previous results from a transient three-dimensionalmodel of primary pyrolysis were used for the source terms of primaryproducts in this model. A parametric study of reaction atmospheres(H2O, N2, H2, CO2, CO)has been performed. For the N2and H2O atmosphere,results of the model compared favorably to experimentally obtainedyields after the temperature was adjusted to a value higher than thatused in experiments. One notable deviation versus experiments is pyrolyticwater yield and yield of higher hydrocarbons. The model suggests anot overly strong impact of the reaction atmosphere. However, bothchemical and physical effects were observed. Most notably, effectscould be seen on the yield of various compounds, temperature profilethroughout the reactor system, residence time, radical concentration,and turbulent intensity. At the investigated temperature (873 K),turbulent intensity appeared to have the strongest influence on liquidyield. With the aid of acceleration techniques, most importantly dimensionreduction, chemistry agglomeration, and in-situ tabulation, a convergedsolution could be obtained within a reasonable time (∼30 h).As such, a new potentially useful method has been suggested for numericalanalysis of fast pyrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The performances of torrefaction based co-firing power plant are simulated by using Aspen Plus. [•] Mass loss properties and released gaseous components have been studied during biomass torrefaction processes. [•] Mole fractions of CO2 and CO account for 69–91% and 4–27% in total torrefied gases. [•] The electrical efficiency reduced when increasing either torrefaction temperature or substitution ratio of biomass. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Pretreatment of biomass becomes more and more important due to the large scale application of biomass having low energy density. In this paper, steam exploded biomass pellets (Black pellets) and unpretreated biomass pellets (Gray pellets) were gasified with air and steam at an updraft HTAG (High Temperature Agent Gasification) unit. Decomposition characteristics of pellets were first analyzed with TGA (thermo gravimetric analysis). Early decomposition of hemicellulose and cellulose were seen with Black pellets around 241 °C and 367 °C respectively. Introducing CO2 led comparatively high mass loss rate with Black pellets. Gasification of Black pellets resulted in syngas with high CO and hydrocarbon contents while Gasification of Gray pellets resulted in high H2 content of syngas. LHV (lower heating value) of syngas was high around 7.3 MJ/Nm3 and 10.6 MJ/Nm3 with air gasification and steam gasification respectively. Even with significantly low syngas temperature with gasification of Black pellets, only slightly high total tar content was seen compared to that of Gray pellets gasification. Phenolic compounds dominated the tar composition. In general, steam gasification of Black pellets seems to be more feasible if syngas with high energy value is desired. If higher H2 yield is preferred, gasification of unpretreated pellets likely to be more attractive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Biomasses were devolatilized at high temperatures and high heating rates. [•] Biomass decreases its reactivity after torrefaction. [•] The kinetic parameters of torrefied biomasses were determined. [•] CO and H2 are main released volatiles during devolatilization of torrefied biomass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] CaO shows a good capacity of CO2 adsorption at devolatilization stage of MSW. [•] CaO acted as a catalyst both in MSW devolatilization and char steam gasification. [•] Good dispersion and mobility of calcium in char were observed. [•] Catalytic mechanism during devolatilization and char gasification were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlight: [•] A thermodynamic analysis was conducted to evaluate the characteristics of the PGM. [•] Energy recovery using gas furnaces is suggested due to high total energy and exergy. [•] Gas turbines are not recommended due to high tar yield. [•] Increasing heat to the PGM is beneficial for cold gas energy and exergy efficiencies. [•] A small steam addition is beneficial for PGM energy and exergy efficiencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work, the flame characteristics of torrefied biomass were studied numerically under high-temperature air conditions to further understand the combustion performances of biomass. Three torrefied biomasses were prepared with different torrefaction degrees after by releasing 10%, 20%, and 30% of volatile matter on a dry basis and characterized in laboratory with standard and high heating rate analyses. The effects of the torrefaction degree, oxygen concentration, transport air velocity, and particle size on the flame position, flame shape, and peak temperature are discussed based on both direct measurements in a laboratory-scale furnace and CFD simulations. The results primarily showed that the enhanced drag force on the biomass particles caused a late release of volatile matter and resulted in a delay in the ignition of the fuel–air mixture, and the maximum flame diameter was mainly affected by the volatile content of the biomass materials. Furthermore, oxidizers with lower oxygen concentrations always resulted in a larger flame volume, a lower peak flame temperature and a lower NO emission. Finally, a longer flame was found when the transport air velocity was lower, and the flame front gradually moved to the furnace exit as the particle size increased. The results could be used as references for designing a new biomass combustion chamber or switching an existing coal-fired boiler to the combustion of biomass. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Pelletized recovered solid waste fuel is often applied in gasification systems to provide feedstock with a stabilized quality and high heating value and to avoid the bridging behavior caused by high moisture content, low particle density, and irregular particle size. However, the swelling properties and the sticky material generated from pyrolysis of the plastic group components also tend to trigger bridging in the retorting zone. It is well known that the plastic group materials, which occupy a considerable proportion of municipal solid waste, can melt together easily even under low temperature. This study investigates the pyrolysis behaviors of typical recovered solid waste pellets, including the devolatilization rate, heat transfer properties, char properties, and swelling/shrinkage properties, in a small fixed-bed facility over a wide temperature range, from 900°C to 450°C. The results are also compared with those from wheat straw pellets, a typical cellulosic fuel. Moreover, the SEM images and BET analysis of the char structure are further analyzed to provide additional explanation for the mechanisms of swelling/shrinkage phenomena observed during heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Plasma gasification melting (PGM) is a promising gasification technology aiming at providing sustainable disposal for various wastes. In this work, an Euler–Euler multiphase model was developed to study the characteristics of air and steam gasification of municipal solid waste in a PGM reactor. The model is validated by measurement data from a demonstration PGM reactor. With this model, three groups of simulations were performed to study the influences of operating conditions. It is confirmed that injection of high temperature steam is important for increasing the cold gas efficiency and syngas lower-heating-value. The effect of steam injection is affected by steam feeding rate, air feeding rate and plasma power. Based on the simulated results, an optimal condition is suggested for air and steam gasification in the PGM reactor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Measurements of temperature in the proximity of wood pellets (8mm diameter) and thin wooden stick slices (5cm diameter and 5mm thickness) were conducted to estimate the effects of mixing between the evolving volatiles and hot steam (T >700°C) flowing around the particles. Measurements of mass loss of the slices were conducted to estimate the apparent kinetic parameters of their pyrolysis. A simple kinetic model of the process (type II by Pyle and Zaror (1984) [20]) was investigated. The experiments showed a plateau-like part in the graphs of temperature measured in the proximity to the samples. The existence of this plateau-like part agrees with the general data of calorimetric measurements of pyrolysis, which show extensive energy consumption in the beginning of an active production of volatiles. A hypothesis regarding feedback on the process due to the micro-expansion and mixing of volatiles in the convective boundary layer is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Torrefied biomass has several benefits, such as higher energy density, good grindability, higher flowability and uniformity. The process of torrefaction moves the chemical and physical properties of raw biomass close to that of bituminous coal, which allows co-utilization with high substitution ratios of biomass in the existing coal-fired boilers without major modifications. In this study, a torrefaction based co-firing system was proposed and studied. Devolatilization and char oxidize kinetics of the torrefied biomass have been investigated experimentally. CFD modeling of co-firing with varying substitutions of torrefied biomass in a pulverized coal boiler have been carried out. To figure out the boiler performance when co-firing torrefied biomass, five different cases were involved and simulated, coal only, 25% biomass, 50% biomass, 75% biomass, and 100% biomass on thermal basis, respectively. The results showed torrefaction is able to provide a technical option for high substitution ratios of biomass in the co-firing system. The case-study pulverized coal boiler could be fired 100% torrefied biomass without obvious decreasing of the boiler efficiency and fluctuation of boiler load. More positively, the net CO2 and the NO x emissions significantly reduced with increasing of biomass substitutions in the co-firing system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Plasma Gasification Melting (PGM) is a novel gasification technology which offers a promising treatment of low-heating-value fuels like municipal solid waste (MSW), medical waste (MW) and other types of waste. By considering the differences in pyrolysis characteristics between cellulosic fractions and plastics in MSW, a semi-empirical model was developed to predict the performance of the PGM process. The measured results of MSW air and steam gasification in a PGM demo-reactor are demonstrated and compared with the model predicted results. Then, the effects of dimensionless operation parameters (ER, PER, and SAMR) are discussed. It was found that all three numbers have positive effects on system cold gas efficiency (CGE). The reasons can be attributed to promoted tar cracking by enhanced heat supply. The effects of PER and ASME on syngas LHV are also positive. The influence of ER on syngas pyrolysis can be divided into two parts. When 0.04

Experimental research on the pyrolysis and gasification of randomly packed straw pellets was conducted with an emphasis on the reactive properties of the shrinking porous structure of the pellets. The apparent kinetics of such pyrolysis was approximated by the random pore, grain, and volumetric models. The best approximation results were obtained with the grain and random pore models. The self-organized oscillations of the pellet conversion rate during pyrolysis were observed. Two complementary explanations of the phenomenon are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Experiments on gasification of chars obtained from original and pulverised wood pellets were conducted in atmosphere of water steam and nitrogen under temperatures of 800, 900 and 950°C. Molar flow rates of carbon containing product gases were measured and approximated using different models with respect to extents of carbon conversion in char of the pellets. Comparison of the random pore, grain and volumetric models revealed the best applicability for approximations of the random pore model. Apparent activation energies obtained as a result of application of the models to the data from experiments with char of original pellets were higher in comparison to those of pulverised pellets, except for a grain model. Approximations under 800°C showed relatively big deviations from experimental data on the beginning of char gasification. This is attributed to catalytic effects from alkali metals in the pellets. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Steam explosion (SE) pretreatment has been implemented for the production of wood pellet. This paper investigated changes in biomass structure due to implication of steam explosion process by its pyrolysis behavior/characteristics. Salix wood chip was treated by SE at different pretreatment conditions, and then pyrolysis characteristic was examined by thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) at heating rate of 10K/min. Both pyrolysis characteristics and structure of biomass were altered due to SE pretreatment. Hemicellulose decomposition region shifted to low temperature range due to the depolymerization caused by SE pretreatment. The peak intensities of cellulose decreased at mild pretreatment condition while they increased at severe conditions. Lignin reactivity also increased due to SE pretreatment. However, severe pretreatment condition resulted in reduction of lignin reactivity due to condensation and re-polymerization reaction. In summary, higher pretreatment temperature provided more active biomass compared with milder pretreatment conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new carbon capture and recycle (CCR) system based on multi-reforming of CH4 with CO2 is proposed in this study. The aim was to develop a novel method to remediate greenhouse gases (CO2) using a high temperature (over 1173 K) process of reforming CH4 and/or O2, and/or H2O without catalysts. Using this novel method, the reactants are individually preheated to over 1173 K using a ceramic honeycomb heat exchanger, and then these high temperature streams enter the reactor to start the reforming reactions. Both thermodynamic and experimental studies were carried out on this novel method. Thermodynamic equilibrium models were built for four types of reforming, including dry reforming, bi-reforming, auto-thermal reforming, and tri-reforming. Only dry reforming was experimentally tested. The feasibility of this novel technology was proven by simulated and experimental results. High temperatures significantly promoted the multi-reforming process while avoiding the problem of catalyst deactivation. The experimental results on the direct system also showed that potential improvements in the efficiency of the novel technology could be achieved by optimizing the reforming reactants. Therefore, a continuous system was proposed. Moreover, the power source for the application of CCR systems was also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Analyses made on the world''s biomass energy potential show that biomass energy is the most abundant sustainable renewable energy. The available technical biomass energy potential surpasses the total world''s consumption levels of petroleum oils, coal and natural gas. In order to achieve a sustainable harnessing of the biomass energy potential and to increase its contribution to the world''s primary energy consumption, there is therefore a need to develop and sustain contemporary technologies that increase the biomass-to-energy conversion. One such technology is the high temperature air/steam gasification (HTAG) of biomass. In this paper we present findings of gasification experimental studies that were conducted using coffee husks under high temperature conditions. The experiments were performed using a batch facility, which was maintained at three different gasification temperatures of 900°C, 800°C, and 700°C. The study findings exhibited the positive influence of high temperature on increasing the gasification process. Chars left while gasifying at 800°C and 700°C were respectively 1.5 and 2.4times that for the case of 900°C. Furthermore, increased gasification temperature led to a linear increment of CO concentration in the syngas for all gasification conditions. The effect was more pronounced for the generally poorly performing gasification conditions of N2 and 2% oxygen concentration. When gasification temperature was increased from 700°C to 900°C the CO yield for the 2% O2 concentration increased by 6times and that of N2 condition by 2.5times. The respective increment for the 3% and 4% O2 conditions were only twofold. This study estimated the kinetic parameters for the coffee husks thermal degradation that exhibited a reaction mechanism of zero order with apparent activation energy of 161kJ/mol and frequency factor of 3.89×104/min. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Gasification of biomass using high-temperature agents (air/steam) has been proven to have many features superior to those of conventional gasification using low-temperature agents. In this work, an experimental fixed-bed gasifier is utilized to investigate the gasification of biomass using high-temperature air up to 1473 K. A mathematical model has been formulated for the prediction of the main chemical and physical processes and is used to study the influence of temperature, oxygen concentration and flow rate of the feed gas. Predicted gas species concentration profiles and their maximum values are in reasonable agreements with the measurements. The results show that: (a) When the temperature of feed gas is increased, a higher gasification rate, a higher ignition front rate, and higher molar fractions of fuel gases (CO, H2 and C m H n ), thus a higher LHV are obtained. (b) Increased oxygen concentration leads to higher peak values of the fuel gas concentrations, a higher gasification rate, and a larger ignition front rate. (c) Based on the air temperature, two distinct ignition modes are identified: the reaction-controlled and convective-controlled modes. (d) A critical air temperature exists, above which further preheating is no longer efficient if the purpose is to maximise the yield of gaseous products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]