Experimental investigation of heavy fuel oil gasification in an entrained flow gasifier.

• The effects of the equivalence ratio on mazut gasification features are explored experimentally. • An equivalence ratio of 0.37 provides the optimum performance for air-mazut gasification. • The consumption of solid char and CCE increases with the increased gasifying agent. • An innovative approach is presented to specify the minimum length of the gasifier. In order to utilize heavy fuel oil in an effective gasification system, it is necessary to comprehend the phenomena within the gasifier. This study provides a performance evaluation and feasibility study for the gasification of specific heavy fuel oil in an entrained flow gasifier. The experiments are performed in the air equivalence ratio range of 0.29–0.41 to assess gasification characteristics by measuring the gas composition at the reactor outlet and the temperature distribution along the gasifier. The characteristic of fuel spray and burner flame is also discussed based on the temperature and pressure of heavy fuel oil. Moreover, the performance parameters are compared with those calculated from previous studies on heavy fuel oil gasification using equilibrium and kinetics models. The results show that optimum gasification performance is obtained at an equivalence ratio of 0.37 so that syngas yield (CO + H 2), cold gas efficiency, and carbon conversion efficiency achieve 76%, 41%, and 63%, respectively. The experiment outcomes give a deep insight into heavy oil gasification in an entrained flow gasifier and indicate its potential for industrial application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]