Effects of chemical form of sodium on the product characteristics of alkali lignin pyrolysis.

The effects of Na as organic bound form or as inorganic salts form on the pyrolysis products characteristics of alkali lignin were investigated by using thermogravimetric analyzer coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (TG-FTIR), tube furnace and thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA). Results of TG-FTIR and tube furnace indicated that the two chemical forms Na reduced the releasing peak temperature of CO and phenols leading to the peak temperature of the maximum mass loss rate shifted to low temperature zone. Furthermore, organic bound Na obviously improved the elimination of alkyl substituent leading to the yields of phenol and guaiacol increased, while inorganic Na increased the elimination of phenolic hydroxyl groups promoting the formation of ethers. It was also found the two chemical forms Na had different effects on the gasification reactivity of chars. For inorganic Na, the char conversion decreased with increasing the char forming temperature, while organic bound Na was opposite.

Study on biomass circulation and gasification performance in a clapboard-type internal circulating fluidized bed gasifier.

We investigated the solid particle flow characteristics and biomass gasification in a clapboard-type internal circulating fluidized bed reactor. The effect of fluidization velocity on particle circulation rate and pressure distribution in the bed showed that fluidization velocities in the high and low velocity zones were the main operational parameters controlling particle circulation. The maximum internal circulation rates in the low velocity zone came almost within the range of velocities in the high velocity zone, when u(H)/u(mf)=2.2-2.4 for rice husk and u(H)/u(mf)=3.5-4.5 for quartz sand. In the gasification experiment, the air equivalence ratio (ER) was the main controlling parameter. Rice husk gasification gas had a maximum heating value of around 5000 kJ/m(3) when ER=0.22-0.26, and sawdust gasification gas reached around 6000-6500 kJ/m(3) when ER=0.175-0.24. The gasification efficiency of rice husk reached a maximum of 77% at ER=0.28, while the gasification efficiency of sawdust reached a maximum of 81% at ER=0.25.

Operational characteristics of a 1.2-MW biomass gasification and power generation plant.

In this study, we analyzed the operational characteristics of a 1.2-MW rice husk gasification and power generation plant located in Changxing, Zhejiang province, China. The influences of gasification temperature, equivalence ratio (ER), feeding rate and rice husk water content on the gasification characteristics in a fluidized bed gasifier were investigated. The axial temperature profile in the dense phase of the gasifier showed that inadequate fluidization occurred inside the bed, and that the temperature was closely related to changes in ER and feeding rate. The bed temperature increased linearly with increasing ER when the feeding rate was kept constant, while a higher feeding rate corresponded to a lower bed temperature at fixed ER. The gas heating value decreased with increasing temperature, while the feeding rate had little effect. When the gasification temperature was 700-800 degrees C, the gas heating value ranged from 5450-6400 kJ/Nm(3). The water content of the rice husk had an obvious influence on the operation of the gasifier: increases in water content up to 15% resulted in increasing ER and gas yield, while water contents above 15% caused aberrant temperature fluctuations. The problems in this plant are discussed in the light of operational experience of MW-scale biomass gasification and power generation plants.