Co–gasification of coal/biomass blends in 50 kWe circulating fluidized bed gasifier

This paper reports gasification of coal/biomass blends in a pilot scale (50 kWe) air-blown circulating fluidized bed gasifier. Yardsticks for gasification performance are net yield, LHV and composition and tar content of producer gas, cold gas efficiency (CGE) and carbon conversion efficiency (CCE). Net LHV decreased with increasing equivalence ratio (ER) whereas CCE and CGE increased. Max gas yield (1.91 Nm3/kg) and least tar yield (5.61 g/kg of dry fuel) was obtained for coal biomass composition of 60:40 wt% at 800 °C. Catalytic effect of alkali and alkaline earth metals in biomass enhanced char and tar conversion for coal/biomass blend of 60:40 wt% at ER = 0.29, with CGE and CCE of 44% and 84%, respectively. Gasification of 60:40 wt% coal/biomass blend with dolomite (10 wt%, in-bed) gave higher gas yield (2.11 Nm3/kg) and H2 content (12.63 vol%) of producer gas with reduced tar content (4.3 g/kg dry fuel).