Effect of slag composition on corrosion resistance of high chromia refractory bricks for industrial entrained-flow gasifier

The slag composition corresponding to different coals varies significantly,which directly affects the operation of industrial entrained-flow gasifier and the service life of refractory bricks.In this study,the corrosion resistance of several typical coal slags for gasification on high chromia refractory bricks was comparatively investigated by static laboratory crucible tests and thermodynamic simulations.The results demonstrated that the corrosion degree of high chromia refractory bricks by different coal slags was high-Ca/Na slag>high-Fe slag>high-Si/Al slag.The surface structure of the refractory was relatively flat after corrosion by high-Si/Al slag,and the primary corrosion reaction was the partial dissolution of the matrix by the slag.High-Fe slag was prone to the precipitation of iron phases as well as the formation of(Mg,Fe)(Al,Cr)_(2)O_(4)composite spinel layer at the slag/refractory interface.The high-Ca/Na slag was susceptible to react with the refractory to yield a low melting point phase,which led to the destruction of the matrix structure of the refractory and an isolated distribution of particles.In addition,the monoclinic ZrO_(2) in the refractory reacted with CaO in the slag to formed calcium zirconate,which loosened its phase toughening effect,was the primary factor that aggravated the refractory corrosion.

Implementation of a Demoisturization and Devolatilization Model in Multi-Phase Simulation of a Hybrid Entrained-Flow and Fluidized Bed Mild Gasifier

A mild gasification process has been implemented to provide an alternative form of clean coal technology called the Integrated Mild Gasification Combined Cycle (IMGCC), which can be utilized to build a new, highly efficient, and compact power plant or to retrofit an existing coal-fired power plant in order to achieve lower emissions and significantly improved thermal efficiency. The core technology of the mild gasification power plant lies on the design of a compact and effective mild gasifier that can produce synthesis gases with high energy volatiles through a hybrid system: utilizing the features of both entrained-flow and fluidized bed gasifiers. To aid in the design of the mild gasifier, a computational model has been implemented to investigate the thermal-flow and gasification process inside this mild gasifier using the commercial CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) solver ANSYS/FLUENT. The Eulerian-Eulerian method is employed to model both the primary phase (air) and the secondary phase (coal particles). However, the Eulerian-Eulerian model used in the software does not facilitate any built-in devolatilization model. The objective of this study is therefore to implement a devolatilization model (along with demoisturization) and incorporate it into the existing code. The Navier-Stokes equations and seven species transport equations are solved with three heterogeneous (gas-solid) and two homogeneous (gas-gas) global gasification reactions. Implementation of the complete model starts from adding demoisturization first, then devolatilization, and then adding one chemical equation at a time until finally all reactions are included in the multiphase flow. The result shows that the demoisturization and devolatilization models are successfully incorporated and a large amount of volatiles are preserved as high-energy fuels in the syngas stream without being further cracked or reacted into lighter gases. The overall results are encouraging but require future experimental data for verification.

Employment of Two-Stage Oxygen Feeding to Control Temperature in a Downdraft Entrained-Flow Coal Gasifier

The traditional practice of employing a two-stage coal-fed gasification process is to feed all of the oxygen to provide a vigorous amount of combustion in the first stage but only feed the coal without oxygen in the second stage to allow the endothermic gasification process to occur downstream of the second stage. One of the merits of this 2-stage practice is to keep the gasifier temperature low downstream from the 2nd stage. This helps to extend the life of refractory bricks, decrease gasifier shut-down frequency for scheduled maintenance, and reduce the maintenance costs. In this traditional 2-stage practice, the temperature reduction in the second stage is achieved at the expense of a higher than normal temperature in the first stage. This study investigates a concept totally opposite to the traditional two-stage coal feeding practices in which the injected oxygen is split between the two stages, while all the coal is fed into the first stage. The hypothesis of this two-stage oxygen injection is that a distributed oxygen injection scheme can also distribute the release of heat to a larger gasifier volume and, thus, reduce the peak temperature distribution in the gasifier. The increased life expectancy and reduced maintenance of the refractory bricks can prevail in the entire gasifier and not just downstream from the second stage. In this study, both experiments and computational simulations have been performed to verify the hypothesis. A series of experiments conducted at 2.5 - 3.0 bars shows that the peak temperature and temperature range in the gasifier do decrease from 600?C - 1550?C with one stage oxygen injection to 950?C - 1230?C with a 60 - 40 oxygen split-injection. The CFD results conducted at 2.5 bars show that 1) the carbon conversion ratio for different oxygen injection schemes are all above 95%;2) H2 (about 70% vol.) dominates the syngas composition at the exit;3) the 80% - 20% case yields the lowest peak temperature and the most uniform temperature distribution along the gasifier;and 4) the 40% - 60% case produces the syngas with the highest HHV. Both experimental data and CFD predictions verify the hypothesis that it is feasible to reduce the peak temperature and achieve more uniform temperature in the gasifier by adequately controlling a two-stage oxygen injection with only minor changes of the composition and heating value of the syngas.

Mercury adsorption characteristics of HBr-modified fly ash in an entrained-flow reactor

In this study, the mercury adsorption characteristics of HBr-modified fly ash in an entrained-flow reactor were investigated through thermal decomposition methods. The results show that the mercury adsorption performance of the HBr-modified fly ash was enhanced significantly. The mercury species adsorbed by unmodified fly ash were Hg Cl2,Hg S and Hg O. The mercury adsorbed by HBr-modified fly ash, in the entrained-flow reactor,existed in two forms, Hg Br2 and Hg O, and the HBr was the dominant factor promoting oxidation of elemental mercury in the entrained-flow reactor. In the current study, the concentration of Hg Br2 and Hg O in ash from the fine ash vessel was 4.6 times greater than for ash from the coarse ash vessel. The fine ash had better mercury adsorption performance than coarse ash, which is most likely due to the higher specific surface area and longer residence time.

CPFD simulation on particle behaviour in an entrained-flow gasifier

A computational particle fluid dynamics simulation model for entrained-flow gasification was established in this study.The simulation results agree with the experimental data.The detailed particle information and residence-time distribution were obtained by injecting particle tracers in the simulation.The results show that the particles in the gasifier can be classified into three flowing zones,i.e.a fast-flowing zone,a recirculation zone and a spreading zone.The criterion for this classification was also provided.The rapid gas expansion caused by the fast reactions plays a significant role in forming the particle stream into these three zones.It accelerates the particles in the centre of the gasifier while pushing the particles near the expansion edge into the gas recirculation.Also,the concentrated oxygen distribution in the gasifier results in the formation of high-and low-temperature regions.The particles in the fast-flowing zone flow directly through the high-temperature region and most of these particles in this zone were fully reacted with a short residence time.Since particles in the recirculation zone are in a relatively low-temperature region,most of these particles are not fully gasified,although with a long residence time.The rest of particles in the spreading zone show moderate properties between the above two zones.

Study for entrained-flow gasifier modeling and measurement

The syngas composition change during the measurement process was analyzed using a detailed gas phase reaction mechanism.Results showed that the measurement error induced by the temperature and pressure change in the measurement process cannot be ignored.Based on the results,suggestions were proposed for syngas concentration measurement and temperature measurement.

An Investigation on Performance of a Horizontal Entrained Flow Gasifier

A novel study on biomassair gasification using a horizontal entrained-flow gasifier has been conducted. The use of a horizontal entrained-flow gasifier reactor was employed to assess the effect of the gasifier reactor orientation on the gasification process. The gasification experiments were conducted at 800℃ and equivalence ratio of 0.23 while maintaining gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 8000 h-1. Preparation and characterisation of wood powder were performed using classical methods. The research findings showed that maximum fuel conversion and cold gas efficiency using a horizontal entrained-flow gasifier were 99% and 70% respectively compared to 91% and 62% respectively of the vertical design. Moreover, the gasifier length can also be reduced from the common 1000 - 2000 mm to 500 mm. In general, the results of this study suggest that there exists a sensitivity to the gasifier orientation on the overall gasification process.

Characterization of Size and Density Separated Fractions of a Bituminous Coal as a Feedstock for Entrained Slagging Gasification

Coal is one of the main sources of energy in many parts of the world and has one of the largest reserves/production ratios amongst all the non-renewable energy sources. Gasification of coal is one among the advanced technologies that has potential to be used in a carbon constrained economy. However, gasification availability at several commercial demonstrations had run into problems associated with fouling of syngas coolers due to unpredictable flyash formation and unburnt carbon losses. Computer models of gasifiers are emerging as a powerful tool to predict gasifier performance and reliability, without expensive testing. Most computer models used to simulate gasifiers tend to model coal as a homogenous entity based on bulk properties. However, coal is a heterogeneous material and comminution during feedstock preparation produces particle classes with different physical and chemical properties. It is crucial to characterize the heterogeneity of the feedstocks used by entrained flow gasifiers. To this end, a low ash US bituminous coal that could be used as a gasifier feedstock was segregated into density and size fractions to represent the major mineral matter distributions in the coal. Float and sink method and sieving were employed to partition the ground coal. The organic and inorganic content of all density fractions was characterized for particle size distribution, heating value, ultimate analysis, proximate analysis, mineral matter composition, ash composition, and petrographic components, while size fractions were characterized for heating value, ash composition, ultimate and proximate analysis. The proximate, ultimate and high heating value analysis showed that variation in these values is limited across the range of size fractions, while the heterogeneity is significant over the range of density fractions. With respect to inorganics, the mineral matter in the heavy density fractions contribute significantly to the ash yield in the coal while contributing very little to its heating value. The ash yield across the size fractions exhibits a bimodal distribution. The heterogeneity is also significant with respect to the base-to-acid ratio across the size and density fractions. The results indicate that the variations in organic and inorganic content over a range of density and size classes are significant, even in the low ash, vitrinite rich coal sample characterized here. Incorporating this information appropriately into particle population models used in gasifier simulations will significantly enhance their accuracy of performance predictions.